Charles,

I have done a lot of field work in WA, ID, and OR and have found
that higher clearance is really necessary on FS roads--especially the
ones I work on!! The person I worked for last season has a Suburu
wagon and has found that it really does not have the clearance
necessary for many of those roads. She could not get to several of
our transects with her car.

I drive a Nissan 4x4 pick-up, which I find perfect for my job. If
you want to sleep inside, just put a canopy on the back.
I have also used a newer Suburban (a bit large for some of the FS road turn-
arounds!), the old GMC Jimmy (old ones were very, very noisy), the
old Jeep Cherokee, full-size Chevy pick-ups, the new Chevy Blazer,
a Suzuki Samarai, and have ridden in both the old and new Isuzu
Troopers. I still favor my new truck--it's a kingcab, so I can stow
lots of gear inside, and I'm rather small, so I can also sleep in the
cab if I need to. It handles great on rough roads--although I do
wish I had auto-locking hubs (lazy, lazy). It's small enough to get
through many narrow, overgrown roads and to turn-around fairly easily on
the narrow roads!

Cindy McCormack
Spokane, Wa
cbirds at mt.arias.net