# Australian Dopers and other outdoorsy types - help me build a ute! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 17, 2011, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-dopers-and-other-outdoorsy-types-help-me-build-a-ute/599882 "2011-10-17T03:40:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2011, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-dopers-and-other-outdoorsy-types-help-me-build-a-ute/599882/41 "2011-10-18T04:41:39Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > I should add it doesn’t much surprise me that he would call it a ute because the term is definitely used to some degree for tray back utilities. It’s a vague distinction. Gotcha. For all I know, he was calling it a ute as a playful comparison with the Holden Ute, since it’s sort of a hybrid of two types of vehicles all mashed together. I dunno. I just like to say “ute”. ---
**Author:** ![\_Olive](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/_/4af34b/32.png) [@\_Olive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/_Olive)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2011, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-dopers-and-other-outdoorsy-types-help-me-build-a-ute/599882/42 "2011-10-18T04:49:20Z")
> [@Ogre](#): > > A variety of things. Definitely canoes/kayaks. Also, at times, a wide variety of scientific instruments and supplies in addition to camping supplies. > > Thank you very much! That’s awesome! > > Yeah? Where have you been? > > Might be a local name then, but he definitely called it a ute, so _shrug_. it seems to me almost everyone in australia has a ute … i spent a lot of time in the goldfields of western australia …along the rabit proof fence …i was with a bushie …he cut burls in the goldfields …we also traveled from outside perth up to darwin…in the ute … i have been all over australia …but that was my ute experience … ---
**Author:** ![\_Olive](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/_/4af34b/32.png) [@\_Olive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/_Olive)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2011, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-dopers-and-other-outdoorsy-types-help-me-build-a-ute/599882/43 "2011-10-18T04:50:34Z")
> [@Ogre](#): > > Gotcha. For all I know, he was calling it a ute as a playful comparison with the Holden Ute, since it’s sort of a hybrid of two types of vehicles all mashed together. I dunno. I just like to say “ute”. it is called a ute …i was teased everytime i called the ute …the truck … ---
**Author:** ![Sierra\_Indigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Sierra\_Indigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sierra_Indigo)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2011, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-dopers-and-other-outdoorsy-types-help-me-build-a-ute/599882/44 "2011-10-18T07:18:22Z")
Anything with an open tray is a ute. Even though it appears built off a Hilux, that is a ute. It’s a dual-cab ute, as opposed to a single or king-cab ute, but it’s still a ute. And no, not just about everyone in Australia has a ute. They’re pretty ubiquitous out in the country areas, but in cities you’ll find the usual range of sedans, small cars, hatch-backs, station wagons and SUVs as you’d find anywhere else in the world. Australia’s not just some homogenous fucking outback hole where we all drive utes and shoot roos and go walkabout. It’s just as varied from city to country as the US is. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2011, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-dopers-and-other-outdoorsy-types-help-me-build-a-ute/599882/45 "2011-10-18T07:42:45Z")
> [@Ogre](#): > > Gotcha. For all I know, he was calling it a ute as a playful comparison with the Holden Ute, since it’s sort of a hybrid of two types of vehicles all mashed together. No, almost certainly not. No one in Australia thinks of a ute as being a ute because it is like a Ute. The colloquial term precedes the (very recent) usage of the colloquial term as the manufacturer’s official name for a particular vehicle. He called it a ute because it was basically a ute. It would be like if Ford started marketing an F150 as a Ford “Truck”. You wouldn’t then call a variation on a truck a truck because it was like a Truck. It would be a truck because it was basically a truck. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2011, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-dopers-and-other-outdoorsy-types-help-me-build-a-ute/599882/46 "2011-10-18T16:25:55Z")
> [@Sierra\_Indigo](#): > > And no, not just about everyone in Australia has a ute. They’re pretty ubiquitous out in the country areas, but in cities you’ll find the usual range of sedans, small cars, hatch-backs, station wagons and SUVs as you’d find anywhere else in the world. > > Australia’s not just some homogenous fucking outback hole where we all drive utes and shoot roos and go walkabout. It’s just as varied from city to country as the US is. You can relax now, since nobody said anything like this. We spent a week in Broome and surrounds and a week in Sydney. While they were nowhere as ubiquitous in Sydney as they were in Broome, they were still not terribly uncommon. I saw many driving around even in Darling Harbour. They were by far outnumbered by the delivery trucks, the cabs, the sedans, and the sports cars, but they were definitely present. Where the hell are you getting this “homogenous fucking outback hole” stuff? ---
**Author:** ![Falchoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/76d3ee/32.png) [@Falchoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Falchoon)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-dopers-and-other-outdoorsy-types-help-me-build-a-ute/599882/47 "2011-10-19T08:51:13Z")
Some links you may find helpful [http://www.blueys.com.au/](http://www.blueys.com.au/) > **[Home](https://www.arb.com.au/)** > > Built for the harsh conditions of the Aussie Outback, ARB's 4x4 accessories are designed tough to withstand the extremes faced by 4WD enthusiasts. ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-dopers-and-other-outdoorsy-types-help-me-build-a-ute/599882/48 "2011-10-19T09:44:29Z")
I’m just gonna repeat what’s already been said - I likes the camper trailer idea, you could get it built in oz or locally I would imagine, and much easier than the customisation route. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-dopers-and-other-outdoorsy-types-help-me-build-a-ute/599882.md?page=2)