MaxTrax vs TRED Pro vs Exitrax — which recovery board works in soft Kalahari sand?
Running the Isuzu D-Max AT35 for 6 months now, 41365km on the clock including 10 proper off-road trips. Here is my honest take.
The good: the off-road capability straight from factory surprised me. I have done Sani Pass, Kgalagadi and multiple Kruger trips without a single mechanical issue. The 2.8L turbodiesel is 10L/100km on tar if you keep it under 120km/h.
The bad: the dealer experience left something to be desired. Also the dealer here in Vaalwater could learn something about customer service, but that is a SA-wide problem not specific to this brand.
Mods I have done: Rhino 4x4 bar (R13k fitted), Ironman suspension lift (R11k fitted), TRED Pro recovery boards, and a Dometic CFX3 45 fridge. Total spend on mods: around R93k. Worth every cent.
Price paid at my Vaalwater dealer was R680,000 — they threw in a full tank and floor mats. Finance rate was 11.5% over 72 months which is the reality of SA interest rates in 2025.
Would buy it again. Happy to go into detail on any specific aspect.
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The fuel consumption figures you mention match what I see. The GD6 is thirsty when you push it. The issue for me is long-range touring — I fitted a Brown Davis 125L long-range tank to solve the range anxiety completely.
What suspension are you running now? I have the same setup and am looking at Ironman 4x4 lift kit — around R10k fitted at my local workshop. Keen to know if the ride quality improvement on corrugated gravel roads is as significant as people claim.
On the mod budget — R60k sounds like a lot but if you are amortising it over 8 years of serious use, it works out to less than R1,000 per month. And the safety improvement in a real recovery situation is not something you can put a price on.