Best Surf Vehicles of All Time

Those deep tracks in the sand indicate why you need a 4WD on this beach. Photo: Sean Davey

I was actually doing some extra work for Blue Crush on this day and I had never met Kala before. They had him starring in the film and I remember talking to him later and complimenting him on what a great job he was doing, "acting" as a bad boy. Photo: Sean Davey

This was super early one morning in the hills behind Raglan, in New Zealand. That Toyota Tarago proved to be a most worthy traveling companion on this trip. Photo: Sean Davey

I did this trip with Australian Surfing Life Magazine back in the early '90s where we drove this old mid '70s Ford Falcon across several thousand miles of coast line in South Australia and Victoria. We called it "Operation Tubequest." The car was affectionately known as Tubey. Photo: Sean Davey

Some places in Australia, you're just better off with a capable 4WD. Some beaches just won't let you through in anything else. This is on Porky's Beach, on King Island, In Australia. Photo: Sean Davey

I took this image back around 2002-ish. I was just walking along and spotted this scene of Joel Tudor happening, so I snapped off just two frames and kept walking. I told Joel about the picture a couple of years ago and he reminisced on how much he had loved that old car. Photo: Sean Davey

This is Scott Dunton on a last minute trip to King Island in 2004. I was loving the early morning silhouettes. Photo: Sean Davey

Back in the early '80s I spotted this guy launching his small fishing boat with his classic '68 Falcon (one of the most collectable Aussie Muscle cars there is), but there was a bit of a swell running. He got bogged. I saw him open the door right as a wave came from behind and filled up his car. I saw it for sale the very next week. Poor bloke must have been devastated. Photo: Sean Davey

Hey, even world champions have to be gate-boy sooner or later when riding shot-gun. Photo: Sean Davey

This is my trusty old 1970 Datsun 1600 station Wagon which used to take me everywhere on my Tasmanian surf missions, even when it was snowing. Photo: Sean Davey

One of the local farmers writes messages on the side of the hill with tires that he has painted white. He obviously had heard through the grapevine that we were coming. Photo: Sean Davey

Legendary surfer and scribe, Derek Hynd, whose adult life has been one long search. Photo: Sean Davey

Rural driving just about always entails a couple of unscheduled traffic stops. Photo: Sean Davey

This is from my days scouring the coasts of Tasmania back in the '80s with my mate Alan Davis who owns this little Super Bug with a full mini Home Stereo in the glove box. Thing was sick for day trips up and down the coast. He let it go after one of those king tides flooded it. Photo: Sean Davey

This is Eddie Vedder preparing to go for a surf on King Island back in 2001. The 4WD's made it easy to get him to some more of the out of the way locations. Photo: Sean Davey

This is north shore resident Mike Helperley's old 1920's woody that he used to drive several years back. I was just cruising along in the heli on a big surf day and spotted it cruising along Kam Highway. Photo: Sean Davey

Another image from my many visits to King Island over the years. There's this old fella on the island who owns this classic old 1929 model Chevy. He let us borrow it for a few photos when we were shooting Musica Surfica shoot in 2007. Photo: Sean Davey

This is a late '70s Aussie Holden station wagon. A very effective mode of surf transport. Photo: Sean Davey

I spotted Occy getting ready for a surf at Bondi beach one morning back in the mid '80s. He was driving Rabbit's RX7 with Queensland license plates. Photo: Sean Davey

This is one of my personal fave surf car images. This is my mate Alan Davis' classic old '58 Holden station wagon. It was such an authentic Aussie surf wagon, we called it "Greystoke." Photo: Sean Davey

This is J.O.B.'s dad's truck, complete with personalized plates. Photo: Sean Davey

This is a typical view of what you'll see when you first drive up to the beach at a certain place in Tasmania. Photo: Sean Davey

Long time north shore resident Mike Hemperley and his classic Fleetline. Photo: Sean Davey

This is one of the coolest most practical Aussie surf beast I've ever seen. My mate "Wire" took a mid '70s Holden Premier and put a massive V8 engine in it along with some big old fats on the back. He reckons that thing went anywhere a 4WD would go. Photo: Artirs Innes

Some of the best places can only be reached by hours behind the wheel. Photo: Sean Davey

Long hours behind the wheel are a staple for Tasmanian surfers, but the rewards are usually more than worth it. Photo: Sean Davey

This was getting really off road in Tasmania. I was amazed at where this car took us this day. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it myself. Photo: Sean Davey

In the hills up behind Bundoran on Ireland's West Coast. Photo: Sean Davey

This was the glorious sunset somewhere way, way off the beaten track on the wild west coast of New Zealand's north island. Photo: Sean Davey