Alternatives to a motorbike as a second vehicle

Hi all,

We're going to upgrade our tug from our trusty LC100 to something bigger - F250, Ram, etc. This means there will be places offroad where our big ute can't go - or maybe can't go, such that we want to have a look first to check. If we want to be able to explore side roads, mountain tracks to see if they're passable etc, we probably want something road-legal.

We can carry a small dirt bike, either on the truck or the van, but Lana's not all that keen on riding pillion on a dirt bike, or becoming a rider in her own right. Loading a bike into the truck would be a hassle. There are solutions but they're more weight/space.

I'm wondering what other solutions members have come up with?

Options seem to include:
- A very very small car: An effie could just about carry a smartcar but with not much room or GVM left over. Probably have to go 350.
- Motorised bicycles: Nice and light but not much good for 20-30km side trips or on sandy tracks.
- Straight mountain bikes. Hard work for anything but short trips. No good in sand.
- Quad bike: Not registerable in WA I think.
- Some form of side by side ATV: ditto not registrable?
- A very old (ie. small, light) Suzuki Sierra, stripped for minimum weight.

What have you used and what were your experiences?

Thanks in advance,

Matt