Tour Vehicles
There were two types of vehicles used on Isla Nublar. Utility Jeeps used by park personnel, and Tour Vehicles (Ford Explorers in the movie or Toyota Land Cruisers in the novel) that ran on electric power delivered through a track in the ground. Their purpose was to drive visitors into enclosures to encounter the dinosaurs in complete safety.
Contents
Novel [ ]
In the novel, the tour vehicles were referred to as Toyota Land Cruisers. They were constructed in Osaka, Japan, custom made for use in the park, thus explaining the low weight and electric engines. Approx. two dozen of them were stored in the Garage, which would’ve formed an endless loop of tours throughout the island.
They had a spare tire at the back, a special antenna on the roof and inside there were night vision goggles in the glove box, walkie-talkies for communication, and a CD-ROM drive on the main console with a computer monitor which was coordinated with the motion-sensor system to update dinosaur information onscreen. In the garage of the Visitor Center, there were two lanes of Land Cruisers which could transport all the visitors in an endless loop throughout the park, running on tracks buried in the roadway.
During the Isla Nublar Incident, two Land Cruisers were used, BB4 and BB5, and they seemed to have some problem with shifting gears. They passed Hypsilophodon, Dilophosaurus, the Aviary, Triceratops, Tyrannosaurus rex, Apatosaurus, Hadrosaurus and Stegosaurus before they turned around.
After Nedry’s shutdown of the park’s security system, both Land Cruisers stopped near the T. rex paddock. Vehicle BB4 got attacked by the Tyrannosaurus first, thrown to the side and then lifted into the air, when Lex fell out of the back door. Tim Murphy stayed inside the car which was thrown by the T. rex over the fence into the paddock onto a tree. The second Land Cruiser got attacked afterwards and was thrown to the side.
When Tim Murphy tried to get out of the Land Cruiser on the tree, he had to climb down rapidly because the car followed him and finally crashed to the ground. Later on Robert Muldoon and Donald Gennaro found both Land Cruisers empty. But inside BB4, Muldoon also recognized Tim’s digital watch and his vomit. He assumed that at least the boy survived the T. rex attack.
Movie [ ]
All of the Tour Vehicles in the film version were 1992 Ford Explorer XLTs, but only two were in operation during the Jurassic Park Incident, on their first real test run of the park.
It took visitors on a tour throughout Jurassic Park, passing by the different dinosaur paddocks of the park. Starting at the Visitor Center, they continue off passing through the main gate and continuing on through the Dilophosaurus, Triceratops, and Tyrannosaurus rex paddocks. Due to the oncoming storm, Ray Arnold programmed the Tour Vehicles to return to the Visitor Center, but they never did.
During the Jurassic Park Incident, EXP 4 and 5 were put to a standstill outside the T. rex enclosure when the power was switched off. EXP 4 was attacked by the T. rex, with Lex and Tim Murphy inside it. With Tim still inside, the carnivore pushed the overturned vehicle off a cliff and into a tree. To rescue Tim, Alan Grant went up into the tree. When the branches could no longer hold its weight, the heavy vehicle chased them down the tree with great speed. Luckily, they escaped being crushed to death.
EXP 5 was found abandoned when Ellie Sattler and Robert Muldoon drove to the T. rex enclosure to look for the tour group.
The wreck of EXP 4 would remain in the jungle for the next 20 years until being rediscovered by Owen Grady. It was destroyed shortly afterward by a lava flow from the erupting Mount Sibo. [1]
Features [ ]
Each Tour Vehicle possessed a self-navigation system. They had leather interiors, night-vision goggles under the seats, and a drinking tap that supplied visitors with water. Road flares, flashlights and brochures were stored in the trunk. Although the Tour Vehicles were powered by electricity from their track, their lights could have been powered non-stop by their batteries; when the T. rex pushed EXP 04 off the track, the headlights and high beams continued to work. The top speed of the vehicles were 20/12 mph, which wasn’t very fast.
Games [ ]
The Tour Vehicles appear in all games based on the first film (except the NES and SNES version), mostly as unusable scenery pieces. In Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis, players can build Safari Adventures and drive Land Cruisers into enclosures. However, the Tour Vehicles in this game are operated by a driver: if a Tour Vehicle is destroyed, Robert Muldoon will tell the player that the driver has been killed.
The Tour Vehicle also appears in Telltale’s Jurassic Park: The Game, with Explorer 02 being featured near the Triceratops Enclosure, the Visitor Center and eventually chased by a Tyrannosaurus rex. In Bygones, when Gerry and Nima decide to head for the Marine Facility, the car reappears, suffering moderate damage to the rear, like due to the Tyrannosaurus. The vehicle gives them an easy ride to the facility. Gerry later thanks when they catch up with Laura, Billy and Jess.
An immobile tour vehicle appears briefly in the 2015 arcade game in front of the Visitor Center, where the player and his team hunts down a Tyrannosaurus rex.
The tour vehicles appear in the Jurassic World: Evolution expansion «Return to Jurassic Park». As in the original film, the vehicles follow a set path constructed by the player, and allows them a first-person view of their park. They also feature upgrades that enable the use of binoculars, cameras, and night vision goggles akin to the set worn by Tim Murphy. Eventually, the player can unlock a version they can control, drivable off of the track.
Toy Lines [ ]
It is one of the Jurassic World Legacy, available at Target in five-packs or individual packages.
Shown Units [ ]
Trivia [ ]
- There were several Explorers created for the movie as props, with regular versions and damaged versions.
- Upon completion of filming, the remaining Explorers were sent back to the States. EXP 5 was sent to Universal Studios: Orlando — Island of Adventures and a destroyed EXP 04 is on display in Universal Studios: California.
- On the computer program for the Tour, there were 2 additional Explorers (EXP 6 and EXP 7) that were either a) yet to be built/implemented or b) not needed for the tour.
- The Explorer seen at Universal Studios: Japan is only a mockup/semi-replica, as it has none of the unique features of the actual version. It’s lacking the proper grill guard, the searchlight, the antenna, the glass roof plus the three light rear mount, the custom seats, and custom dash. It also has tinted windows that the movie versions didn’t have. As an added bonus the number «03» on the side was never an Explorer featured.
- The use of Land Cruisers in Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis is most likely attributed to licensing issues that don’t cover vehicle trademarked use.
- It is possible to see a Ford Explorer in Jurassic Park III.
- There are Ford Explorers behind the Embryonics Administration in the Jurassic Park III arcade game, perfectly lined up by about half-dozen or so. This is odd, as is the one seen in the film, because Isla Sorna was never meant to accommodate tourists, although it is possible that, similar to raising animals, that jeeps were initially «tested» and stored on Site B before transportation to Isla Nublar.
- The modifications carried out on the original Jurassic Park movie Tour Vehicles (Ford Explorer’s) were done by the legendary George Barris, designer of the original (red & black) Batmobile from the 1960s Batman TV series starring Adam West, and many other movie-vehicles from the mid-to-late 20th century. It is unknown if Barris carried out the modifications on the Utility Jeeps or not, evidence of his work only exists for the Explorers, not the Jeeps. It is also not known to what extent Barris modified the Explorers from the original film. Almost the entire interior had to be rebuilt to accommodate for the driver in the SUV’s backside to give the illusion of an autonomous electric vehicle riding the rails. A set of remote foot controls for acceleration and braking were also installed, while tinted rear windows hid the driver during the filming. A television camera was mounted on the upper dash panel and provided an image in the rear compartment on a small monitor used by the stunt driver to navigate the vehicle. [2] An immaculate EXP 07 is on display at the ‘Hollywood Dream Machines’ exhibit from May 2019 through March 2020. This vehicle does not include the iconic bubble-style transparent roof but instead is a standard shaped roof with a cargo cage on roof-racks and 3x rectangular spotlights.
Jeep 18
Jeep 18 was a Jeep Wrangler Staff Vehicle that appeared in the films Jurassic Park and Jurassic World.
It appeared near the beginning of Jurassic Park as one of the Jeeps that transported Alan Grant, Ellie Sattler and Ian Malcolm from the helipad to the main visitor center (the other vehicle, in which John Hammond rode, was Jeep 29 ). It was not seen after that in the first film.
In Jurassic World, Jeeps 18 and 29 are discovered in an abandoned garage by Zach and Gray. After they repair Jeep 29 and escape in it, Jeep 18 is discovered in the garage by Owen Grady and Claire Dearing. Owen attempts to open the hood of Jeep 18 so that they can get it running, but abandons the plan when the Indominus rex catches up to them. They hide from the Indominus behind Jeep 18, and the Indominus nudges the Jeep with her nose and almost tips it over. When the Indominus breaks through the roof of the garage, Owen and Claire run away, and the Indominus rex hits the Jeep and slams it into the garage wall while chasing Owen and Claire. Its fate is uncertain, although it was most likely destroyed by the Indominus rex as it chased after Owen & Claire, or along with the rest of the old park and island when Mt. Sibo erupted.
What jeep was in jurassic park
The Jeeps of Jurassic Park
In Jurassic Park there were a total of four Jeeps depicted on screen. The number of Jeeps used in production could be as little as two or three and as high as six or more. We never see more than two Jeeps at any given time and it is possible the production changed numbers to imply that there were more Jeeps than they had. The numbers used in the film were:
Jeep #10
The most used Jeep appearing at several different points during the movie. The number #10 Jeep was unique as it had no roll cage and was meant to be used as a utility vehicle. It is first parked in a field while Dr. Harding tends to a sick Triceratops. It reappears as the search vehicle driven by Muldoon and is damaged in a T-Rex attack. At the very end of the film it is driven by John Hammond and is used to flee from the island. Jeep #10 is also the only Jeep in the film to have a manual transmission; however later in the film the Jeep used is an automatic. This Jeep also lacks a Mopar Light Bar, and CB antenna (but the mount is there) which could mean that this was a different Jeep that was renumbered.
Jeep #12
This Jeep is driven by Dennis Nedry as he flees Jurassic Park with the stolen embrios and is the most featured Jeep in the movie. It also has the most options out of any Jeep in the films and is the only Jeep to use its Soft Top. Unlike the other Jeeps this one utilizes its Light Bar and has a full array of four Jabsco 135SL fully motorized search lights. The Ramsey winch is also used as Nedry attempts to free himself before getting attacked by a Dilophosaur.
Jeep #18 & Jeep #29
These final two Jeeps are identical and are the first Jeeps that are seen in the film. They pick up the characters that arrive via helicopter and transport them to the visitor center. They are being driven during the momentus first time seeing the dinosaurs of Jurassic Park. These Jeeps are similar to Jeep #12, and were intended to be indentical. The main difference between these Jeeps and #12 is the lack of Jabsco 135SL search lights (but the wiring location and light bar are present). The lights may have been installed but removed as they would have gotten in the way for the shots of the Jeeps with the dinosaurs.
