rexhavoc

You didn't specify anything about a) towing capacity or b) interior volume other than be able to sleep in it.  Sounds like you aren't planning to haul a 5 YPH trommel into no mans land over boulders. So I'm going to disqualify larger vehicles including my favourite - Yukon XL 2500 4x4 with the 8.1 litre engine (and the same interior space as the Carlsbad Caverns) - on point 3 fuel economy alone :)

Lots of good suggestions - I like the all Toyota and Isuzu options mentioned here myself. One point that maybe should also be on your list of criteria is "reliability" - which rules out Jeeps IMO.  I'm also disinclined to go off-road with "newer" vehicles suffering a +/-30% annual depreciation (not to mention top to bottom wear and tear on everything from paint to frame , from overgrown bush, rocks, sand, mud, and cargo). That, and the needed on-board factory trained technician Luigi connected via a high speed internet connection to a Cray supercomputer to converse with the electronic toys on board, to determine which one put the vehicle into "limp mode" at the worst possible time, because the filler cap is loose. Not joking. Stuff it if you can't fix it with a 9/16 wrench and get an alternator at the gas station in Outer Podunk. Please trust me, BTDT - helicoptering in a Jeep electronic module can really, really ruin your day. 

So, all things considered, in your application I suggest an Audi Allroad Quattro with a Thule roof box on it for your detector, and go wild. 

rex

Haven't had any issues with 4.1 and MI-6 so far. Just curious what issues you are seeing and what configs you might be running?

Thank you for that info. I know someone who is now getting one for Christmas ;)

Thanks!  Interesting video but inconclusive - too bad there was no gold in the area he demonstrated the technique in.  On the other hand, Jeff seems to lend credence to the method... ?

Rex

I find this all very interesting - including Chris' comments. I'm very new to detecting and so don't want to disagree but I wonder if there might be occasional real world conditions in which it could prove useful. Locally, we have diffuse fluvial flour gold everywhere, but reasonable concentrations are rare - neither the diffuse or concentrated varieties are detectable with current technology afaik excepting perhaps a Goldspear.

But I would be interested to read the river, detect for relative magnetite concentrations and then start test panning from there, should there be any value in that approach. 

Trying to track down that Hoagland video... any pointers?

Rex