Finding a 4WD

So before we get into the build’s progression let’s start from the beginning.

What was I looking for?

When I was looking at cars to buy it was a long process, I kept an eye out for over 9 months to find something that I liked and during that time there were probably only 4 cars that stood out to me, with most being overpriced (even within the already overpriced COVID world of 4WDs).

I didn’t know what I wanted straight away, but over time I narrowed it down to a few things which kind of limited my options anyway.

Automatic

Having driven manuals my whole life, and getting rather sick of it, I was sold on getting an automatic almost instantly. The comfort of being able to use the car through the city, as well as it giving me more control made it an easy decision.

I wanted it to be simple, although manuals offer the advantage of roll starting, theft deterrence and being towable, I didn’t foresee these being a big enough issue for my style of travel.

The greater throttle control, comfort, ease of operation for me knees, better sand driving capabilities and having a sealed transmission unit seemed like the way to go. The only thing I needed to do was make sure to keep the temperatures as low as possible.

Extra cab

I wanted a ute, because I knew I wanted a chassis mount canopy on the rear. This eliminated all wagon 4WDs.

I didn’t want a dual cab ute, despite the greater range of accessories available I thought that all that space wasted by the seats in front of the axle could be done away with.

Single cabs didn’t appeal to me with their upright seating and generally they are only released in the lowest trim models as work cars.

As a single man without kids, this decision was the happy medium.

Non – DPF

I wanted to get a pre-DPF model ute for reliability.

There were horror reports about DPFs being very bad for the cars, as well as reports of inaccurate fuel economy being advertised.

Although I had no intention of using the car for small trips to the shops etc, it was inevitable that it would sometimes be used in short trips which are famously bad for vehicles with DPFs.

This meant that I was trying to find cars with Euro 5 emissions control and not Euro 6, but it also meant that the below desire was achieved by by virtue of having to look for a 5 year old car.

No unnecessary tech

I wanted to avoid the new cars, not only for cost and wait times, but all the sensors and warnings that they come with really put me off. They’re being over developed and I had no interest in paying for features like rear cross traffic alerts when I didn’t want them in the first place.

I wanted comfort, so climate control would be good but non-essential, but not some over priced high spec ute that has leather seats. Honestly, leather seats on a ute!?

It is supposed to be a work car, and in the majority of Australia leather seats are an absolute nightmare in the heat. One of the worst things about some of the higher spec utes is the use of leather, as well as the abundance of annoying tech.

Low kilometres

This was a difficult one to pin down, due to looking at 2012-2015 era vehicles it was hard to find a low kilometre vehicle as they’re often used to travel the country with.

Anything under 80,000km I considered to be reasonably low given the age.

I wanted low kilometres to help mitigate the risk of the automatic transmission having been driven too hard whilst towing, and leading to early failures.

Few existing modifications

Although having some modifications done to a car when you buy it second hand helps alleviate a lot of the costs of doing it yourself, I wanted more or less a clean slate.

I wanted to do a lot of the work myself, or at least be able to make enough decisions to get the build going in the direction that I thought I wanted it to go.

Finding a car with good tyres and a bullbar is always good, but I dismissed most that had too much work done to them.

Value

This may have been the hardest thing to find (avoid John Hughes like the plague).

It is hard to buy a car when you are away at work more than you are home to look at cars. It was also during the peak of COVID that I was looking and people were taking the piss.

I would often see a good car come on at a reasonable price, only to be gone within a week.

On the other end of the spectrum you’d have a good car come through John Hughes at $4,000 too high a value. I would save it on Carsales and get price alerts, they would always sit there for months.

Gradually the price would drop to where I originally placed value on it and it would sell within the week of hitting that price. So I knew my valuations were accurate, which was a good sign.

I just had to wait for the right timing.

The utes I ruled out

Given the consideration of everything above the following cars were ruled out.

Toyota Hilux

The Hilux did not meet the requirements of offering an extra cab in automatic for the cars pre-2015. They were all in manual for that spec.

Even if they had have offered it I’d have steered clear as they are massively over priced and work on a reputation built during the 80s of being “indestructible”.

The newer cars are just as fallible as all the others, the price on these cars was laughably high.

I do like the Hilux, it is lighter than the Mazda BT-50, more nimble, but it was never really an option for me.

Mitsubishi Triton

I heavily considered buying a brand new Triton extra cab, they are so well priced that a brand new Triton could have almost been had for as much as a second hand car of another manufacturer.

I rarely if ever saw a Triton that was extra cab though, and many had been heavily modified already. This could be a result of the car being so affordable that people are willing to spend more on mods.

Volkswagen Amarok

Never interested me in the slightest.

Nissan Navara

I kind of ruled this out because I wanted to have leaf springs, and I had read some bad reviews along the line which stopped me looking further into it.

I admittedly didn’t do my due diligence in researching this car after being put off with some early reviews.

The utes I considered

That left the following three utes for my consideration, which helped me stay on top of search results, because looking at too many things can be daunting and make you lose interest.

Isuzu D-Max

This was the ute I wanted the most.

Although it lacked a rear diff lock, it had a reliability that appeared more valid than that of the Hiluxs because it was built around its current capabilities, not some 20 year old mythology.

The 4JJ engine was reliable, was not highly strung, the gearbox was shared with the Hilux and they still had the feel of a work vehicle.

Mazda BT-50

An often cheaper variant of the Ford Ranger.

Why pay the mark up for the Ranger when they’re the same car?

Admittedly Ford moved the Ranger forward from the BT-50 in a lot of areas post 2015/2016 but since I was looking at cars from that time they were basically identical.

All the negatives listed below however also apply to this car.

Ford Ranger

They had a bad rep for transmission failures, Ford have a poor customer service record as well from what I can tell. Besides that, these cars were highly regarded as the most comfortable and capable of the class.

Same as the BT-50 with different trim (American flavour).

Even though these were equally as over priced as the Hilux when brand new, they offered better value second hand.

The Purchase

After a long search, I found an extra cab, automatic Mazda BT-50 with only 35,000 kilometres on the clock!

At the same time there was an Isuzu D-Max of the same year with 40,000 km, but it was massively over priced by John Hughes. I later watched that car fall by $3,000 over the course of 3 months before selling.

I decided to buy the Mazda almost instantly. It was properly priced, it had a bunch of things that gave it the heads up over the D-Max such as comfort, climate control, downhill descent control and a rear diff lock from factory.

On top of this, the accessories that were fitted (see below) were more to my liking than the accessories fitted to the D-Max, which I would have had to remove.

Car specifications table

Here are the car’s specifications as advertised in the Mazda BT-50 brochure, as a point of reference.

Purchase Costs

Purchase price

$40,000

Stamp duty

$2,000

Total cost

$42,000

The ute set me back $42,000 after the stamp duty. I chose not to get any extended warranty (much to the dealerships shocked disbelief).

The costs were ridiculous for warranty, and the majority of things that can go wrong I will fix myself.

Studies have shown that more people lose money than save money in these programs and I was willing to take my chances.

I won’t include insurance and rego costs towards the 4wd touring build total as it’s forever ongoing.

What accessories were already fitted?

The car came with minimal accessories, but those that were fitted were in good condition and were all by reputable brands.

Bullbar

Fitted with an ARB deluxe bar, with fog lights and the ability to install a winch at a later date. These will normally cost you ~$3,200 to supply and fit so I was happy to have it.

Tyres

The car was fitted with 4x Toyo Open Country All terrain (eBay) tyres in a 265/65/R17 sizing.

These were all at about 80% tread life, although they’re not huge in size, it is the original size that the XTR model is released with so it maintains good fuel consumption and handling with these.

I read reviews on them and they are all positive.

Steel tray

A heavy duty steel tray from Unicorn trays was fitted to the back. Using the serial number I called them and found that the tray has a weight of 230kg.

The purchase price of the tray brand new, with tail lights etc was $3,900.

It was good to have the details, but I had no interest in keeping it as I was after a chassis mount canopy. The tray is also 2100mm long which makes the car very long coupled with the bullbar!

Spotlights

The car had some floodlights that didn’t work correctly, the dealership replaced these with 9 inch King’s LEDs (eBay) which do the job, for now.

I will replace these, but it is not high on my priorities as long as they work.

Mazda BT-50 Initial thoughts

I was very happy with the purchase but there were some things to be mindful of moving forward.

Pros 

I liked the following things about the car:

• Surprisingly good fuel economy (a true 11.1L/100km calculated on over 3,000kms of driving before any modifications were done).
• Came with a good solid base with tyres and a bull bar that were quality.
• Very low kilometres, so less chance of previous owner abuse to have had a negative affect.
• The car was comfortable to drive for long periods.
• Factory fitted rear diff lock and downhill control.

Cons

There were some things that I didn’t like in the initial stages:

• The weight of the car, it is a heavy starting point being between 105-220kg heavier than Hilux / D-Max / Triton depending on model and make. Either way, they top the class in weight.
• Reports of transmission failures.
• Reports of engine failures.
• Poor turning circle.
• Very long length (measured at ~5700mm with the tray, towball and bull bar on).
• As the car had a bull bar and towbar fitted but no other mods, I assume it was used to tow a caravan mostly.

With that in mind, I knew that keeping the transmission cool, as well as clearing out the old oil and filling it with new oil would be one of my first jobs on the vehicle.

Being proactive with the transmission would avoid high future costs.

Shot with the Sony a7 IV using the Sony 24mm f/1.4 GM (affiliate links).

The 4WD Touring Build Overview

So I have the car, time to slowly chip away at it (and this post). In this section we will have the 4WD touring build timeline, the costs, the weights, and break up the modifications into categories.

My approach to the build

Everyone looks at a build differently. Everyone wants to extract different experiences from the process. Here are my thoughts on some factors of the build.

Weight Savings

Due to the car already being heavy-ish to begin with. Keeping the rest of the mods light will help avoid problems. Every kilogram you add is more fuel used and more wear on driving parts.

I aim to save weight on the majority of the mods that I do, including using lithium over AGM batteries, upright fridges over heavy drop downs and getting a light canopy.

Costs

I don’t mind spending more to have something last longer. I am a firm believer in “buy once cry once”, but the most expensive thing isn’t always the best just because it costs the most, nor is it the best for your build.

So yes, I may spend a bit, but I’m more likely to spend more in things that interest me like a canopy and a 12-volt system than I am on things like tuning the engine, getting a roof top tent, over the top suspension mods or getting front lockers.

If those things do get done, it will be down the track.

Tyres

I am not looking at getting super large tyres, this is for touring. I also doubt I will get mud terrains, preferring all terrains for travel.

Adding bigger tyres increases fuel consumption, puts more stress on the driveline, and costs a lot in further suspension modifications.

Doing the work yourself

Wherever possible I will look to do the work myself, mostly in the electrical field, but also jobs such as suspension, aftermarket coolers etc.

The point of this is twofold:

1. Get an understanding of how the car works, to better assist you if something goes wrong when you’re out and about.
2. Save money. Builds are expensive, so you need to cut costs where you can.

There are things I can’t do though, such as metal fabrication, so fabricating fridge compartments etc will be left to professionals.

*Affiliates Disclosure

Affiliate links are present on this page. Through partnerships with, but not limited to: Amazon, eBay and Commission Factory, I will make a small commission through qualifying purchases. This comes at no extra cost to you and is just a way for me to try and support myself and the blog.  Thank you.

4WD Touring Build – Costs, Weights & Dates Table

This table gives an overview of the prices, roughly when I did the install and all of the weights involved. The weight column is not how much the item weighs, but it is how much weight was added to the car for that part of the build. This includes cables, conduit, lugs and every other little bit. Things removed from the car are then subtracted from the weight.

Also, please note that clicking the “item” link will take you to Amazon, eBay or mygenerator.com.au, these are affiliate links that cost no extra money for you to use but do help me support the blog.

4WD Touring Build – Timeline

Below is the sequence of fitting equipment, not necessarily when I purchased the equipment but rather when I installed it or had somebody else install it on the car.

Click on the item to be taken to more information on what I installed and my reasoning behind it:

1. OBD II scanner.
2. Seat covers.
3. Spare wheel change to alloy and fit new tyre.
4. Tinted windows.
5. Diff breathers.
6. Bash plates.
7. Fuel filter and catch can.
8. Snorkel.
9. Air box drain valve.
10. Transmission oil cooler.
11. Roof console.
12. Canopy.
13. Insulation and rubber matting.
14. Engine bay fuse box and battery terminal upgrade.
15. Aluminium headboard, roof bars & tie down rails.
16. Lithium battery, DCDC charger, inverter, fuse hub.
17. 270° Awning.
18. Interior lights, USB outlets, cig socket & switch panels.
19. Shower awning & Maxtrax mounting.
20. Fire extinguisher & mounting bracket.
21. Solar panel.
22. Fridge.
23. Drawer & table combo.
24. Twin compressor.
25. Switch panel.
26. Reverse camera.
27. UHF.
28. Side & reverse canopy lighting.
29. Winch & isolating solenoid.
30. 240 volt outlets.
31. Overhead shelf.
32. Shower and hot water system.
33. Suspension and bump stops.
34. Intercooler pipes.
35. 3″ turbo back exhaust.
36. Sound deadening.
37. Dash camera.
38. Long range tank.
39. Head unit.
40. Wheels & tyres.

Engine Reliability

Outside of what is already written about in this section, the following things I am also either wanting, considering, or have already purchased but not yet installed:

• Full intercooler upgrade.

The intercooler is not a high prioroty item for me, with the front of the car already having plenty of stuff on it I am not in a rush to add a massive intercooler up there as well, especially given it has no issues at the moment.

Transmission Oil Cooler

Due to the reported failings of the transmissions over time, mostly for those who tow heavy caravans etc, I wanted to get on the front foot and install a transmission oil cooler.

I went with this transmission oil cooler kit from Wholesale automatics (eBay), so far I have seen it cap the transmission temperatures to 85°C.

Read more about how to cool your transmission and the reasons I chose to use this transmission cooler kit over some of the other options available in this dedicated post here.

Fuel Filter & Catch Can

The fuel filter and catch can combo is one of the most important things from my point of view. Both of these are filters, one obviously for diesel and the other is an oil filter to remove oils from your exhaust recirculation system.

The kit that I have purchased is from Direction Plus and is called the Oil Separator Kit (Outback Equipment). To me it was essential to get both of these on the same bracket due to the limited space in the engine bay.

See this video regarding the install of these into a Mazda BT-50 / Ford Ranger.

It comes with a 30 micron fuel filter which is used here as a pre-fuel filter, but the bracket and hosing allows you to change in the future for a post-fuel filter. You can also upgrade from the fuel manager to the more advanced preline variant without changing brackets.

Snorkel

The snorkel that I purchased was the ARB Safari snorkel (Outback Equipment), there’s so many of these getting around without reported issues so it was an easy choice for me.

Click here to see a video on how to install the safari snorkel to a Mazda BT-50.

I didn’t care about, nor necessarily believe all the talk about colder air intakes, I only wanted it for the insurance it provides when crossing water.

Intercooler pipes

The cold side intercooler pipe on the Ford Ranger engine is a common problem on these cars. Over time it develops splits and puts the car into limp mode. I decided to change this out for a stronger hose.

I used Plazmaman pipes (eBay) which are a strong silicone on both the cold and hot side.

On top of the reliability improvements there are slight performance benefits due to the pipes being stronger and expanding less under boost, as well as the hot side pipe being 40% shorter than the OEM pipe.

3″ Turbo back exhaust

This is one of those mods that can be done right at the end of the build,  the reason I got it was because I wanted this before I looked at getting a tune.

I went for a Legendex 3″ exhaust (eBay) for its reasonable price and yet still being good quality. The main reason for this was that it helps the engine run smoother by dropping the temperatures at the dump.

Anything that puts less stress on the engine to me is a win, it can improve performance as well as fuel economy. It will drop exhaust temperatures and help the engine out now that I have added a lot of extra weight to the car.

Air Box Drain Valve

The install of the air box drain valve is covered in much more detail in this post.

There is also this video describing the install.

The idea behind this is to allow the air box to drain after you have installed a snorkel. When doing the snorkel install you will have blocked the factory drain valve from operating so your air intake system won’t take in water.

Installing this drain valve gives manual control over whether the air intake system is sealed, or open.

Off-Road Reliability & Protection

Outside of what is already written about in this section, the following things I am also either wanting, considering, or have already purchased but not yet installed:

• Rock sliders.
• Rear bar.

The two above items aren’t a high priority at the moment as they are excessive for the style of driving I intend on doing, but they could be useful down the track.

Bash Plates

After doing some research into bash plates I decided to go for Bushskinz bash plates.

The reason behind this was to try and minimise the weight gain as much as possible, these bash plates are alloy instead of steel. This also means that they are rust proof and will last a lifetime.

See this video about installing the bash plates.

I chose the fully fledged kit that covers the front, sump, transmission and transfer case.

This arrangement weighed 23.8kg but after the factory bash plates are removed it leaves an increase of 17.2kg which I found quite reasonable. If I hadn’t have gone for these then Custom off-road would have been my second choice of bash plate.

I think most people would be fine without the transmission and transfer case for everyday use and you could easily just install the two rear plates when going on a trip if you wanted to keep day to day weights down.

Seat Covers

One of the very first things that I decided to do as there was already slight wear on the driver’s seat where the previous owner had seemingly been sliding in and out of the car, like a penguin would into the water.

I’ll admit to not doing too much research into this matter, having seen and used Black Duck seat covers before, I was pretty happy to use them.

I ordered 4 Elements covers, for the front seats only as I had no need for the small bench seats or the centre console to be covered.

Diff Breathers

I was given a BRC quad port diff breather kit (eBay) and decided to install it. During the install I noticed that the Mazda BT-50 and Ford Ranger could get away without diff breathers in a lot of cases due to the high location of the factory breathers.

Alternatively, check out this install video.

Bull Bar

The car came with the ARB deluxe upon purchase. I am happy with the bull bar as it has a winch cradle for future upgrades. I don’t know that I’d have necessarily gone with ARB had I had to make the purchase myself.

They’re a brilliant company, but the prices are too high and I hate the recovery points that they designed for this car. The recovery point is central and underneath.

I might have bought a bar like AFN or TJM if this wasn’t already installed as they have built in revovery points.

Spare Alloy

Although the car comes with a full sized spare, the spare wheel is steel with the rest being alloy. I went ahead and bought two alloy wheels.

I contacted Mazda and found that the load rating on these wheels is 925 kg.

This is lower than dedicated 4WD wheels, but I plan on keeping the car light, and I don’t plan on doing extremely hard four wheel driving with this car any time soon.

As alloys can’t be repaired and bent into shape, I bought two spares, but I doubt I will ever carry both unless going extremely remote.

My reason for keeping the alloys is their light weight compared to steel. The strength given for their weight is better, and as I don’t plan on doing aggresive tracks the risk of breaking one is very small.

If I do, I have a spare, if not two.

*In order to help this page load faster I haven’t uploaded an image here, the wheels are visible in other images.

Off-Road Performance

Outside of what is already written about in this section, the following things I am also either wanting, considering, or have already purchased but not yet installed:

• Engine tune.

The engine tune will come in time, it could fall into this category or arguably the engine reliability if not overdone. It is not a priority for me though as I think the car is running fine for now. With more weight added though that can change quickly.

Long range tank

I decided to install a long range tank, changing the capacity from 80 litres to 140 litres of diesel, the equivalent of an extra 3 jerry cans.

The advantage here being that the fuel is secured in the tank, it can’t be stolen, it is heavy and stored down low underneath the car for the best balance and for most scenarios means I should never run out of fuel.

I went with a poly tank for the strength, flexibility and the weight savings.

See this post for more information on whether you need a long range tank, why I bought one and poly vs steel tanks. 

Suspension

The one modification to rule them all!

Out of everything I have done up until this point, this is the one modification that has drastically changed the way the car behaves, both on and off road. The suspension makes this car feel light again.

I decided to go with Outback Armour (Outback Equipment link) suspension.

The reason for this was because of the good reputation that they held in the industry, amongst people who install suspension and people who build touring 4WDs for a living.

I bought the Adjustable Bypass Expedition HD for both the front and the rear of the car, see this post about 4WD suspension selection to see more about why I chose this option.

Lastly, I added some progressive bump stops (Outback Equipment link), also from Outback Armour. These will allow the harshest of bumps to be absorbed more comfortably, especially at high speeds.

Wheels and tyres

After a year or so with the Toyo Open Country AT II tyres I decided that it was time to change out the wheels and tyres for a larger tyre and a stronger wheel. I downsized to 16 inch wheels to give more sidewall without needing too big a tyre.

The wheels are CSA 16×8, 6/139.7, P45, CB93.1 alloy wheels with a load rating of 1150kg each.

They tyres are Falken Wildpeak AT3W 265/75/R16 123S all-terrain tyres (eBay link).

For more information check out this tyres and wheels guide.

Winch

Definitely a matter of overkill here. I do not need a winch, nor do 90% of people. However for about $1,000 for the winch I got the comfort of knowing that I might be able to save myself a lot of hassle in the future by getting out of a sticky situation.

As I plan on travelling alone, I found it hard to not have this as insurance. I did not buy this to go on crazy tracks, but as extra cover for solo travel when there is nobody else to help get you out.

I bought the Carbon 12k (Outback Equipment) for its lightweight design and great features for the price. See this video here for more details on the install and a comparison between this and the Runva 11XP (eBay).

There are a wide variety of winches available as you can see here on Outback Equipment (affiliate link).

Maxtrax

Technically it’s the Maxtrax mounting that is the modification to the car here, the Maxtrax themselves (affiliate choice page) are just accessories that need to be stored somewhere accessible for those sticky situations.

For the mounting of the Maxtrax I used a set of the 40mm mounting pins (Amazon) and simply bought some square plates from RS-Components, which worked out much cheaper than other offerings.

All I did then was join these brackets to the shower awning brackets, into the existing roof bars and that was the job done!

Brackets are as simple as square plate mounted into roof bars.

12 Volt System

Outside of what is already written about in this section, the following things I am also either wanting, considering, or have already purchased but not yet installed:

• Solar blanket / portable solar (see comparison posts).
• Water pump.

If you want to know how to plan a 12 volt setup from start to finish then head over to this compelte 12 volt guide here.

Lithium Battery

After doing a lot of research comparing the lithium batteries available on the market I decided to try and minimise the weight and size of my purchase to the ~100Ah range.

Ultimately I ended up with the Enerdrive 125Ah B-tec battery (eBay), which was an opportune buy from Marketplace online, going second hand with only 11 charge cycles on it.

For more details on why I chose this battery check out the linked comparison post above. Long story short though, 100Ah usable at 15kg of weight was hard to pass up for the price.

DCDC Charger & AC Charger

With the lithium battery installed I needed to get a charging solution sorted, I did plenty of research into comparing all the common DCDC chargers on the market and in the end I went with the Redarc BMS1230S3R (Outback Equipment).

The beauty of this setup was the fact that it did AC charging and DC charging in the one unit (as well as solar), I got it during tax time sales for $1,907. I went or the option with the Redvision display rather than the standard Redarc BMS1230S3 (eBay) which you can pick up for cheaper.

I did need to decide between a few different charging solutions but in the end this was just too good quality at a good price.

Inverter

I tried to limit myself here with the size of inverter, because of the maximum discharge rates of the batteries you need to pair the two together properly. With my Enerdrive 125Ah I could technically run a 1200W inverter but never had any intention to do so.

I planned out the entire 12 volt setup to see how much my power draw requirements might be, then I combined that with research comparing all the common inverters on the market.

After all of that I landed on the Enerdrive 600W inverter (affiliate link), small enough to resist the temptation of running (and bringing) too many appliances, but large enough to cover all of my needs.

Canopy Fuse Hub

As per below, the Blue sea safety hub 150 (Amazon).

This one was mounted centre of the headboard and is the power distribution hub of the entire operation. Running things like the inverter, floodlights, reverse light, canopy interior lighting, fridge, USB-outlets and I even run my compressor from there.

Blue Sea Safety Hub 150 & Unilug Two Up

This was something that I wanted to get done before I started running cables to the back of the car for the canopy wiring and before I installed a winch.

The Blue Sea Safety Hub 150 (Amazon) was the best thing I could find on the market, offering 4x Midi fuses, 6x ATO fuses, huge power draw specs and a negative bus bar. The idea here was that I needed a central fuse hub to get rid of all the poor wiring in the engine bay as well as be able to add more circuits later without crowding the battery terminals.

The install was not easy because these new cars don’t have much room for the mounting of accessories. See the video here that shows the install.

The Unilug Two Up battery terminals (eBay) were essential for my future winch installation, because they need to be hooked directly to the battery terminals but the Mazda BT-50/Ford Ranger battery is a very poor design for this. They use flag clamps and these don’t allow good accessory connections. Unilug fixes this.

Bluesea mounted on the fuse box, Unilug is mounted to the battery posts with the original battery clamp mounted to the Unilug.

Interior Lighting, Switch Panels, USB-C & Cig Socket

I installed two National Luna bi-colour LED strip lights that offer a touch control, three brightness settings and two colour choices. Firstly a white light, then a warm orange light to minimise the insects around the canopy and be easier on the eyes.

I went for these lights for their small claimed power draw, although they do emit a buzzing noise when on the dimmed settings, but this disappears on the brightest setting.

I installed two switch panels, a six gang switch panel on the left hand side of the canopy with a switching arrangement of: LHS floods, reverse flood, canopy interior lights, spare, “dash” lights, fridge.

On the right hand side is a four gang switch panel with a switching arrangement from left-right of: spare, USB outlet power, canopy interior lights (2-way to LHS) and then RHS floodlights.

For charging I like to rely on USB-C wherever possible because it stops me needing to run an inverter, then I installed a cig socket as they can sometimes be handy.

Left hand and right hand side switch panels with USB outlets on right hand side.

Solar Panel

Part of my decision to use a 125Ah lithium was the knowledge that it could be replenished with a solar panel.

I installed the Enerdrive 180W fixed mono solar panel (eBay), I did some research comparing a few different fixed solar panels and found this to be the best option at a medium price point, with just the right dimensions to fit the roof of the canopy.

As I had no intentions of using the canopy roof for storage I wasn’t bothered by taking up this space with a solar panel. I did also consider getting either a portable solar panel or a solar blanket to compliment the fixed panel, but haven’t made that jump yet as it’s not yet necessary.

The solar panel positioned against the Maxtrax, before the brackets were bolted on and UHF installed.

Fridge

I started out the fridge install with an uncertainty of whether to choose a dual zone chest fridge/freezer or an upright fridge.

I compared all the different dual zone chest fridges, then I compared all the upright fridges.

In the end I decided to sacrifice the flexibility that dual zone chest fridges offer for the massive weight and cost savings of a reputable upright fridge with low power draw that had amazing word of mouth reputation.

I bought the Bushman DC85-X upright fridge (mygenerator).

A large part of the appeal was also the fact that it can be paired with this great fridge cage from TLX 4X4 without needing to install a 45kg fridge drop down slide to see inside the fridge after the car is lifted.

Compressor

The compressor could easily be classified as “off-road performance”, because that is what the intention is here, to be able to deflate your tyres whenever you want knowing that you have a means of re-inflating them when needed. You can’t have a 4WD touring build without a compressor.

I bought the ARB twin compressor, portable version (eBay).

However, I mounted it in the car, removing it from the case that it comes in and putting it up on the ceiling. This keeps the compressor up out of the way, not taking up any cargo space but giving it a short cable run.

I went for the twin compressor for the speed that it can inflate tyres and the fact that it doesn’t need to have a rest, it comes with a 100% duty cycle (temperature dependant).

To read more about wiring a compressor from a lithium battery see this post.

Switch Panel

As part of my lighting plans for the 4WD touring build I needed a 6-gang switch panel in the car, wireless switch panels were no good as they didn’t offer two way switching abilities.

There was a product that I was interested in but that had been discontinued, so I had to make something myself. I used a sheet of 3mm plastic, cutting to suit the centre storage area, applying heat with a heat gun (Amazon) and then bending it into shape.

The end result was very pleasing, the plastic has a protective film that can be removed, when filled with 6 switches it almost looks factory made.

Safety (Lighting & Communication)

Outside of what is already written about in this section, the following things I am also either wanting, considering, or have already purchased but not yet installed:

• Portable radio.
• Brake upgrade.

UHF

I purchased the GME XRS 370 in the 4WD pack (Outback Equipment link), which pairs it with an AE4704B antenna which is very heavy duty. I didn’t need to go for such a heavy duty antenna but it will last me a lifetime. I opted to roof mount it on a fold down bracket from Rhino Rack for the best reception.

The GME XRS 370 stood out to me for the updatability and future proofing facets it offers via firmware updates, but also the hand piece controls, loud speaker, GPS app pairing and more.

I have mounted the unit itself into the roof console I installed earlier, with the hand piece connected near my ear to the magnetic bollard for the best access and clear communications.

Reverse & Side Lights

Due to the lack of light in the bush I wanted to install a reverse light with a nice wide beam to make sure I didn’t back into things by accident. I also decided to add the same floodlights, Rok 20 Ultra Floods (eBay), to both the right and left hand sides of the cars.

The purpose of this was mostly for camp, but they can also be used whilst driving to light up the side of a track for better visibility.

For this to be affective I needed them to be switched from the cab, but also from the canopy, so I used two way switching around the car. This is all explained in this video as well as how to pick up a reverse trigger for the reverse light.

Spotlights

Already on the car were some King’s 9 inch LEDs. I will keep them for a while as this is something that is low on my priority list, it seems like a waste of time and money to change them immediately when the King’s lights are working.

Eventually I plan to have something with a high CRI for ease of vision, but as my night time driving is very limited at the moment it can wait. You can’t have everything immediately after all.

*In order to speed up load times there won’t be an image of these as they’re visible in other images on the page.

Fire Extinguisher Bracket

A critical part of safety when out by yourself is being able to extinguish a fire, the more electrical work you have in the car the more opportunity there is for things to go wrong, so this was important to me.

I used a KAP Industries fire extinguisher bracket (eBay), this bolts to the front seat, either the driver’s or the passengers (same bolt setup) and is therefore easy to access. I decided to bolt it to the passenger’s seat so as to not annoy me as I drive but still be accessible in a hurry.

You can order these with extinguishers, or just fit any 1kg fire extinguisher (Amazon) to it as the size is common.

Comfort & Camping

This section covers things that just make life easier off the beaten path. These aren’t going to make the car more reliable, they won’t really affect the car so much as they affect me.

So they are very important to the overall enjoyment of the experience. Things like shower awnings for privacy, a canopy for liveability, 270° awnings for shade, insulation to drop canopy temperatures and so on.

Canopy

Concept Canopies are a Queensland based company that make properly custom canopies. Unlike all of the other large name manufacturers, Concept will make a canopy that suits you, fully customisable, not just having you pick “packages”.

Besides this they also specialise in light weight design, this was one of the main reasons I went with Concept, it was more than 120kg lighter than the others, as well as being made to my dimensions and being the absolute best quality!

Click here to see a video walk through of the canopy before any modifications were done to it. I explain why I chose the canopy as well as what it came with.

I purchased the canopy mostly as an emtpy shell, but with the following features:

• Behind the wheel toolboxes.
• Trundle drawer.
• 60 litre water tank.
• 2x jerry can holders.
• 1x spare wheel holder.

The canopy is one of the best things I have done to the car, hands down.

Insulation & Rubber Matting

Canopies are great, but they’re also kind of massive heat sinks. All of that exposed metal, large flat surfaces absorbing the sun.

This was especially bad for my car which is a nice dark colour, so the first thing I did to the canopy was to insulate it.

The insulation I got was from Clark Rubber, it is called Formshield and although it isn’t advertised on their website, it comes in different thicknesses from 10mm, 15mm, 20mm etc.

I went for 10mm, the sticking on is super easy, check out this video to see how to install it. It is the cutting that takes time.

As for the rubber mat, well that was also from Clark Rubber. A 10mm thick heavy duty floor mat to protect the canopy floor and stop things from sliding so easily across the floor.

Shower

My shower setup consists of a permanent fixture, which is basically a water pump and hardwired electrical switching and then both a summer and winter setup which involve different accessories being packed for the ride.

The components all came from the Smarttek Black 6 l/m kit (eBay), but I only carry the full kit when I am in need of the luxury of hot water and have the space to fit it in the back. Other times I simply use the shower head alone to save weight.

There are a few good shower and hot water unit options out there. If you are having trouble deciding between the Smarttek Black or the Joolca Hottap V2 then check out this comparison post that compares the two.

Tinted Windows

This could also have gone into the “safety” section. Thing is, Australia is hot, many people develop skin cancer in this country due to lack of protection.

For such a cheap modification the benefits are massive, on top of the protection it helps keep the car cool, which helps the air con (which isn’t great) stay on top of the outside heat.

It’s so much more enjoyable inside the cabin now.

Aluminium headboard, tie down rails & roof bars

Using aluminium from Ezystrut I created some light weight roof bars instead of paying overs for a roof-rack.

I also purchased a pre-cut sheet of aluminium from Custom Aluminium at 2.5mm thick to use as an electrical headboard at the front of the canopy. This worked out well as it is the same weight as 12mm marine ply but doesn’t require carpeting.

The roof bars I used were originally 21mm side walls to keep a low profile but I later changed these as they were too weak. Now I have 41mm side walled extrusion which gives better strength and clearance for awnings.

With some more lengths of aluminium extrusion I made tie down rails that run north/south in the canopy to give greater flexibility in the tie down options inside, with these bars sliding east/west on existing extrusion.

270° Awning

I didn’t go for the most expensive awning on the market, just a relative cheapy. I installed the Dune 4WD 270° Awning which can be purchased from Anaconda stores here in Australia.

I went for a left-hand side awning as this is the side of the canopy that will have the fridge, so this will become the side where the majority of the “living” space will come together.

In the future I might change to a smaller awning, or an awning that is free-standing and quicker to setup. For now though I like the fact that this awning only added 20kg to the car, with some of the free-standing awnings weighing in excess of 35kg.

Shower Awning

This is a comfort thing that gives you a bit of privacy as you wash up, but also handy for the using of a Thetford porta potti (Amazon) in those places that require them, or just because you don’t want to go dig holes in the bush.

Again, I just went for the Dune 4WD offering, nothing fancy and quite cheap for what you get so you can always upgrade later down the track.

UPDATE

I have since removed this from the car. It was too restricting, it either blocked the canopy door or it would have to be moved to the cab, which would mean purchasing roof bars.

By removing this I was able to reduce wind drag, drop 7kg off the car (for most trips) and change it out for an ensuite tent. I purchased the Coleman Single Instant Up Ensuite tent (Amazon/Tentworld eBay).

This weighs the same, without wind drag as it is inside the canopy, can be removed when not needed and can be moved away from the car so it never blocks the doors and if used as a shower leaves no puddles right near the car.

Drawer & Table Combo

On the same side as the fridge is this 600mm wide drawer and table combo.

This thing gives heaps of storage space and also a slide out table for both preparing food and working on the laptop standing up. Although it did weigh a fair bit, I had saved the wieght by going with an upright fridge and it is so useful that it’s an easy pill to swallow.

See the install video to see all the dimensions of the drawer and table.

Overhead shelf

This is literally a bolt in unit, although I did need to make mounts for it as it is from TLX 4X4 and doesn’t fit the extrusion slots of the Concept Canopies canopy perfectly.

I decided to go with 1200mm variant, but also available are 600mm and 900mm. I do consider this to be a bit overpriced.

Sound deadening

In an effort to make the cab as quiet as possible for the ease of listening to music and podcasts at lower volume levels I decided to install sound deadening to the entire car.

I purchased a dual cab sound deadening pack like this (Outback Equipment link) and covered it all including the roof and doors.

Read more in this post here where I go over the test results and discuss whether it is worth the hassle in modern utes.

Accessories & Other

These are accessories and modifications that don’t quite fit the rest of the categories but that can still be important for a 4WD touring build.

OBD II Scanner

I decided to fit the Ultragauge MX 1.4 over the Scangauge II (affiliates).

My reasons for this come down to the display and the greater flexibility in adapting the screens to show the information you want, in the layout that you want.

To read the full review and see how I set it up check out this longer post here.

The main reason I wanted this was for monitoring my automatic transmission temperatures.

Outside of that feature I love having a TRUE speed on the car as the factory one is always about 6km/h out of whack. I also get automated fuel economy for trips, short trips and the lifetime of the car.

The Ultragauge, after you calibrate it, will give you true fuel economy readings as well, when you pair this with a long range tank for example you can know exactly how much fuel you have left despite the car’s fuel gauge no longer being accurate.

It’s frankly brilliant, I think it’s a must for people whether they go off-road or not, the amount of data available gives me a hard on.

I have tried a few mounts and the best mount BY FAR is the A-pillar mount shown below!

Pros

• Modifiable to your liking.
• Monitor all your temperatures.
• Bright large screen.
• Multiple mounts available (but one stands out above the others).
• Get calibrated fuel use, speed, and trip data.

Cons

• Their website is trash.
• AU website rips you off (order from USA).
• The cord is moulded in, you can’t unplug it. So as you see in the picture above, when you run it through the trim, you can’t take it out again without a lot of hassle.

Roof console

I purchased the Outback Equipment RCMA12EC (Outback Equipment links) which is for the extra cab, single cab and dual cab variants are also available. I bundled this with a GME insert 1228x30mm which was the closest fit to the GME XRS connect 370 which I had recently ordered.

This was one of the few modifications that I did “just because”.

Click here to watch the installation video.

There are no real benefits to this roof console, although I do like the idea of having the UHF handpiece mounted up high near my ear so that I can hear it over music and road noise more easily. Outside of that though, it is mostly a looks thing with a larger storage compartment that could be handy.

Head unit

I always wanted a head unit that had full access to the Google Play store, I had tested head units that come with Android Auto and Apple Car Play and they’re so limited. There is no customisation or freedom to change it to suit your needs at all. They’re also overpriced.

After a lot of trial and error I finally settled on the T’eyes CC3 2K head unit pictured below. It is so much better than the factory unit and way better than the overprice Kenwood unit I had briefly installed.

See this video here for more information.

Reverse camera

After installing the canopy one of the first things that stood out to me was the lack of vision out the back of the car. For safety reasons I wanted to change this, so I installed a full time reverse camera feed as a replacement rear view mirror.

I installed the Gator GRV90MKT (eBay) as it was quite cheap when on special. I wasn’t looking for ground breaking features, just a view out the back.

240V outlets

All though I don’t have anything in particular that would require RCD protection, I decided to modify the inverter to be RCD protected and feed two outlets, rather than the one that comes with the inverter.

The main benefit to this is that I can charge both my laptop (Amazon) and the drone (Amazon) at the same time, which technically will work off USB-C power, but really need the correct output. 240V is required to charge them properly at a good rate. 

Dash camera

This was just something cheap to offer that little bit of insurance in case someone hit my car and did a runner.

Read more about what I chose and why in this post which explains it all much better.