Rod's Aussie Rig

[rodw]

Hi guys, I've been lurking on this forum for well nigh a year now and I thought it was about time I introduced myself.

I live in Brisbane, Australia and purchased a base model SR Hilux ( A diesel Auto) which is similar to your Tacoma but on a different chassis about 12 months ago after my poor little Suzuki Sidekick was totalled after the steering failed on the highway and it picked a very large tree to come to rest against at about 30 mph, bounced back about 3 yards and flipped on it's lid. the sudden stopped hurt a bit, so I decide dto buy a brand new car



So I have been modifying it ever since. he first things to go were the 16x6" rims. I replaced them as soon as I could get to my trye shop and they had a set of 15x7" alloy rims of the more upmarket SR5 model. I slipped on some 31x 10.5 Dick Cepek FC-II's as I do too much town driving for my liking and that is the biggest tyres I can fit legally. Bit better than the 29" 205R16's it came with.

then I went along to ARB and got them to fit a dual battery tray under the hood and some power in the back.





ARB also added a link switch so I can hook the 2 batteries together for winching or jump starting.



And I put in an extra Cig lighter in the dash and another Hella point beside the glove box





Then I found out that the wider tyres made a bit of a mess of the paintwork in mud, so I added some made in Thailand pre painted flares



I also put on some under body protection. These are made by TJM a competitor to ARB who have a store directly accross from my closest ARB retail store I drive past to and from work every day.





After a lot of research, found a canopy I liked


that opens right up so you can get stuff in and out.



And about then I added An ARB Rear tow bar as the SR has no rear bumper.



I was going to get an ARB front bar but they were totally out of stock and could not deliver for 3 months so I ended up with an Iron man bar which is manufactured in Thailand were the utes are made.



You can see while I was at it, I added an Ironman winch with wireless remote and 3 year warranty.



Somewhere along the way, I fitted some DIY diff breathers right up behind the engine block.



and some tie downs which I sourced from ARB



Thes allowed me to stick in the camping storage rack and fridge slide I fabbed up for my Sidekick as a temporary measure



I have an Oz tent RV4 fully configured with fly, front wall and peaked side walls. we call them the 30 second then as that is how long it takes to put up the main tent section. Down side is it is about 7 foot long and has to sit on the roof rack.

Before I put the bull bar on I fitted som real recovery points which had to come off when the bar went on


And I have only recently got them back on after modifying the bull bar mount and fabbing up a spacer to go behind it



I got carried away and slipped in a JL amp and matching splits speakers in the front.





I did not bother with the rear speakers as I wanted to put in a car computer which took up most of the room left behind th erear seat



I imported a Xenarc 7" monitor and managed to get it into the dash



You can see the GME TX 3440 UHF here that has all of the controls in the microphone and a controller box under the dash board.



Sadly, the Xenarc died and is on its way back to the US for repair at the moment, which is annoying. In the menatime I have an Alpine Head unit in place. It'll probably end up in an overhead console or my wife's car when the monitor comes back.

In amongst all of this, I was researching Lifts and really wanted to put in Fabtech UCA's and Fabtech coilovers which I could source locally. Sadly I went overseas for a few weeks last year and while I was away we had a global financial meltdown. The Aussie Dollar was a casualty and depreciated 30% so I decided AUD $4,660 was a bit too much to spend, so I settled on a Tough Dog 9 way adjustable kit which is compatible with the Rancho in cab adjustment kit. Top of the range local stuff and about half the coilover price!





With the money I saved, I added a snorkel at the same time



A heat exchanger hot water system from www.helton.com.au and a Shurflo pump to run the shower as well as a robust compressor (still got the air tank to do).













Some Lightforce spotties I bought from a mate



and a factory switch in the cab for the spotties


And an auto transmission cooler



About this time I became pretty good mates with HILUX_Max through the www.newhilux.net forum and I decided to build a t/case protector so I could practice a bit of fabrication to see if I could make up some sliders soon. He got carried away and did his own with some help on this forum, so I am coming along as I am planning a few more fabrication projects and the guys on newhilux are not much into that sort of thing.



We know now that these are not a good design and both of us are planning to redo this with a bolt on cross member in the near future.

So anyway, guys, that is the journey my Hilux and I have been on for the last few months. I still have a lot of stuff in store for it. Hope I got the photos right, looks like I can't preview yet.

[Hilux_MAX]

Welcome Rod, bout time I got another hilux owner onto here.

The Yank boys so wish they had our diesels...just wait for the comments.

[rodw]

Gee Max, You are a cheeky sod!

You mean this one ?



The D4d Common rail injected Turbo Diesel With the top mounted intercooler up out of the road of sticks and rocks that has a cool bonnet scoop like this?



Can't imagine why the Yanks would go want our engine that runs on the smell of an oily rag with the low down torque to go anywhere you like offroad at 1500-2,000 revs that only a diesel can deliver.

[FshTaco]

Since people here in the states aren't lucky enough to enjoy a diesel I still gotta know whether there's aftermarket support for that oil burner inbetween the fenders. I.e tuner, exhaust, intake. Personally think it would be nifty to have a 400 ft lbs. torque from a Hilux... Badass none the less.

[Fishbone]

Nice build. Did you by chance hit the lottery down under?

[TEJASYOTA]

Hidey-ho neighbor! Welcome to TTORA!

Great build!
You need to also post this on the Garage Section.
Now how about some off-road photos!

[seagrave6]

Nice, Welcome!

[rodw]

FshTaco, Yes there are some rechipping options some are as simple as unpluggng the computer, plugging in a piggyback plug and replacing the computer. This gives about a 20% gain. Toyota in Germany even use one of these on som emodels. But the meanest mother is a guy we call Monster Hilux in Thailand you get about 400 horsepower out of them!

Fishbone, I wish! but I did get an insurance payout on my last rig which helped a bit.

Thanks for the welcome all, I'll post in the garage as suggested. Have not been off road much on it becasue life is pretty busy ATM but when I am driving not taking photos. As you can see it is an expedition style rig and hope to do a big trip later in the year.

[kamaaina1]

Damn! Bro.....Sweeeeet Rig!!!!!!!

[Tacoma Jake]

Welcome. Very nice! Looks like you could live in that thing . X2 more pics.

[Willman]

That is one sweet rig!

Welcome!

[redrazr]

Nice rig man! Welcome!

[rodw]

Been a while since I updated this. Had a bit of a setback as I wrecked my knee and had an operation and six weeks on crutches, so did not get achance to do much.

Anyway, my mate Scotty finally got my stainless steel water tank done for me:



It holds about 107 litres which is around 24 gallons.

It has a simple breather and filler setp. Just push the breather outside when filling in case it glugs, then tuck it away.



All nicely secured with nutsert threads that crimp in like a pop rivet.



I set it up so I can switch the pressure pump betwen the tank or an outside source using a 2 way valve under the bull bar.



Here is it all fitted up:



I have got the shower set up but still need to get a tap into the back somewhere for general use (probably when I get the drawer unit in.)

Then I lucked onto some new tyres. You guys will be familiar with the Dick Cepek Crushers but they are a bit special over here. These were the first set fitted in Australia and they are not generally available yet. In the process, I went up from 31's to 32's (265/75 R16's)





Anyway took a few guys along for a drive



And got myself stuck but was able to winch out.



The trail was a bit rougher than we expected



And we took about 3-4 hurs to get our 10 cars back up the hill. Not many cars could get up unless they were dual locked and wearing 35" Simexes (like the Swampers). My truck got the furthest of all vehicle with open axles before I needed a bit of a tug. Got back out to air up and noticed I had taken a bit of a hit on the sill.



This was realy quite annoying becasue 2 days later I was booked to be measured up for sliders. These will also be a first as Custom 4x4 Fabrications are measuring up my Hilux and have initial orders for about 20 of these so stay tuned, they will look super sweet when they are finished (and the sill is fixed.)



This is 44 mm DOM tube to CAM specs and the rear half of this tube will have another tube slid inside and welded in via a few 3/8 holes. The total wall thickness will be 5.2 mm.

Now that probably does not mean much to you guys until I tell ya that that tube is used for the roll cages of the Aussie V8 super cars which are pretty big over here. Here's one I snapped last year:









We are also planning to mount a transfer case protector guard off the front slider mount

So anyway, stay tuned, I will be out for a final fitting of the sliders on Sunday but won't get them on for a while till they are painted and my dinted sill fixed.

[Taco4Takoma]

nice hilux! On another note- Marcos Ambrose( I believe from Tasmania) has really started to pick up some steam running ovals in Nascar. I really think he will take one of the road courses this year. Your Hilux seems to be a great mix of expedition and wheeling vehicle.

[rodw]

Originally Posted by Taco4Takoma

nice hilux! On another note- Marcos Ambrose( I believe from Tasmania) has really started to pick up some steam running ovals in Nascar. I really think he will take one of the road courses this year. Your Hilux seems to be a great mix of expedition and wheeling vehicle.

Thanks for the compliments.

Yes Marcus cut his teeth in our V8's so it is good to hear he is doing well over there.

I have modelled my truck on what I want it to do but you are right. It is probably more of an expedition vehicle but it has to be able to provide a bit of entertainment on weekends. (I do like a bt of comfort while camping).

I have decided I will stick with the 32" tyres now. Still so much to do. Next step is to get the drawer unit and accommodation sorted out, then I will be regearing the axles from 3.7:1 to 4:1 which will put it at 9 RPM from the stock specs at 60 MPH. Hopefully I will slip some lockers in at that time and am debating whether to put the Detroit ot the ARB in the rear, but will be stuck with the ARB in the front as my model Hilux is constant drive with no ADD. Because of the exchange rate, the price difference is not significant.

[wslytoy]

Sweet Hilux. How do you like that engine? We're all so jealous of your diesel options over there.

[rodw]

Originally Posted by wslytoy

Sweet Hilux. How do you like that engine? We're all so jealous of your diesel options over there.

We love it and know you are jealous

[hockeyplayer4]

just be happy you have a toyota motor in general, they last forever. i feel sorry for the jeep and chevy/ford gas owners. i do want a diesel tho

[rodw]

Brooksy managed to get a bit more of the sliders done, but he is in full production of about 20 sets and it might be another week before I get them on my rig. Here is what they looked like tacked together for a trial fit.



And sitting on the vehicle:



Double thickness tubing to make sure the back section does not bend


It goes right up to the middle mount.



Anyway, I decided I'd go the whole hog and get the stainless steel infill plates that will looks something like this:



I am planning on having the tubes powder coated in black. I think I'll get the infill plates polished to a mirror finish so they match the hoops on my front bull bar for a bit of Bling seeing I have polished mag wheels these days. The bull bar has stood up really well for the last 12 months and there are as yet no stains on it at all like you would get on an aluminium one.



I am booked in at the panel shop for next week to repair the bent sill and hopefully, by the time it comes back to me, I'll have this stuff painted and polished and ready to be fitted.

[4307]

Nice rig there!

Any more pics of the rear storage solution?

And a big Canadian welcome!

[rodw]

Originally Posted by 4307

Nice rig there!

Any more pics of the rear storage solution?

And a big Canadian welcome!

Thanks for the compliment. The storage rack was built for my Sidekick where it looked like this:



the fridge runs on a commercial 2 foot long 220 lb drawer slide from Hafale, a german cabinet making supply company:



And I strapped a gas bottle in the back of it.



It was held in by 8 bolts through the 1" SHS Aluminium into Tee nuts embedded into the shelf below so it was easy to take out.



The inverter plugged into an Anderson socket on the side of the car and the wire runs through the SHS to the other side




And I also made a tailgate table for the Sidekick:




The material I have used we call Cubelock and there are six kinds of plastic connectors that are used to join it all up. I have used 3mm, 6mm and 12mm ply covered in marine carpet using contact cement. The SHS can be cut with an ordinary timber drop saw.

So the next step is to build a drawer unit into the back which I will use a 440 lb x 4 foot long drawer slide. I have decided to use Cubelock again. I liked the nutserts Scotty used to secure the water tank so I am planning on using these to secure it all in so it is all removeable. I want to be able to stack stuff on top of the water tank, but the crates I will use are a bit too long, so maybe I will end up building a narrow box behind the water tank that finishes at the top of the tank to hold an axe and high lift jack.

Once this is done, I was planning on rebuilding the rack to make the most of the bigger form factor I have to work with now and get rid of the plastic boxes and use drawer slides instead. It does not matter what you want, it always seems to be in the other plastic crate!

[rodw]

Well It has been a few weeks since I posted pics of my sliders under construction, but they are finlly finished and powder coated! Now before you look at thes pics, you got to promise not to make fun of my slippers...

They look pretty understated from a distance becasue they lean upwards a bit:



But there is plenty of bling up close:



And panel by panel:





Now remember your promise before looking at this next pic!





The back section is designed to push the car away from rocks, stumps and trees etc. The infills are 3 mm stainless steel plate with custom dimple holes Brooksy pressed in to the steel. Debating whether or not to have the infills professionlly polished to a mirror finish to match the bull bar hoops.

Brooky sure is a pretty exceptional fabricator.