Aussie Prado

[Reddave]

This is an older build that I've copied from another forum I am on:
Bought the car in November 2014



As good as my Patrol was, it was time for a change and something with "on road manners"
The GU has been out 3 times that year due to other commitments and was going to waste in my driveway dropping kids off at school, so it was time for it to go.
I ummed and ahhed about this decision for months before finally pulling the pin today and trading the GU on a Prado

It's a good base as an in between car for us that will actually drive like a car on road, yet will handle touring duties with ease off road.
The specs:
05 V6 Auto GXL with leather
2" Ironman lift
Cooper All Terrains
GME UHF
Alloy bullbar
Driving lights
Rear power
First things that need to be done:
Underbody bash plates
ARB Deluxe bar
Dual batteries
Anderson plug
Snorkel
BFG All Terrains
On the wish list:
Front and rear E-lockers
Steel rear bar
Roof top tent
With 180lt of fuel capacity should be good on fuel, the average fuel consumption should be better than my ZD30 even with the petrol engine.
Don't have any long distance trips with planned in the immediate future, but should still be able to conquer the Simpson and the Cape. Without the reliability issues in the back of my head about the GU going bang!!!
Not too mention being able to actually tow my camper well.

 

[Reddave]

Picked it up 2014 on a Friday morning, drives like a dream.
Big day in the workshop Saturday morning, the transformation begins
Trailer brakes:

Safari Snorkel:

Very well made, but the template leaves a lot to be desired, I'm not 100% happy with the way that it follows the guard, Even though all the edges lined up I feel that it was up to 5mm too low.
Redarc Solenoid and Anderson plug to the rear:

I had the Ducks nuts Piranha system on my GU, but found out the hard way when I got a flat main battery that I couldn't jump start it using my auxillary battery unless I had jumper leads, so went with something alot simpler this time.
ARB Under vehicle protection:

Very well made, instructions were very vague, but in ARB's defence these particular plates suit 3-4 different Toyota types.
I like that there is access holes that make it easy to service the vehicle without removing them. Also the Transfer case skid is around twice the weight of the factory one and picks up through the Transfer instead of just over the top.
Once I got home I started to remove alot of excess wiring that second hand cars seem to accumulate when accessories are fitted and then removed. The accessories get removed but the associated wiring never does in my case :eek:
Didn't get the dual batteries sorted, the Battery tray never showed up on my doorstep on Friday :(
But will happen during the week.

 

[Reddave]

Fitted up my dual battery tray tonight and fitted the Optima out of the GU so when it goes to the auto elec on Thursday all he has to do is wire it up for me

Couldn't go past ARB's Christmas specials, buy a compressor and get a tyre plug kit free!!
Fitted up today but left bits on my old compressor that I left in the patrol when I traded it in :(
So will have to go back and buy a tyre inflation kit during the week.

Finished fitting up my dual batteries last week, got my rhino racks and bolted my basket to them. Not the greatest fit as these are fixed mounting points on the roof and I can't adjust them :(
So now looking at a pioneer platform

 

[Reddave]

Then in 2015 this happened:

Bought a secondhand Kaymar wheel spacer and telescopic light pole:

Fitted an LED light to it, just need to run power through the back door:

Went away with a couple of mates over the Labour day weekend, the plan was to make our way from Big river to Buller

An engine bay fire in the Jeep just about stopped us in our tracks, we were on Mitchells track just out of Jamieson and attempted to drag it back out to the main road, but couldn't get it up the last hill

We made the best of a bad situation and emptied the contents of the Jeep into the 2 mobile cars we had and left it on the side of the track. Made up camp at Howqua and drove into Yea to get parts to fix it.

Made our way back to the car the next morning, replaced some parts and got it running, drove it back to the campsite and had breakfast.
Then drove home and gave the Prado a wash:

This thing still surprises me, everywhere I point, it eats it up and so much nicer to drive home with leather and IFS on the blacktop

 

[Reddave]

Then 2016 happened:

Went on a bit of a spending spree last week:
Ordered ARB deluxe bar, the best thing about the colour of our car is that the ARB powder coat is very close to a colour match!!
Put a new winch in at the same time, the Warn had filled with water and destroyed the motor :(

Fitted a Rhino pioneer platform, now I can leave the roof rack on and still get in my garage!!

Added an awning and a shovel holder:

Added a new set of spotlights, these leave my IPF's for dead:

I still need to replace my aerial and have ordered some more bits and pieces for the rhino rack to hold some more lights

 

[Reddave]

Then replaced the tyres with Procomp Extreme A/t 265/70R17
Fitted up my diff breathers and did the trans and transfer case as well!
Then went up to Mt. Disappointment for a quick overnighter

 

[Reddave]

2017 I replaced suspension

It's suspension time, the ironman stuff had seen its day with the extra weight I had added up front

Dobinson remote reservoirs, dobinson coils, 100-300kg constant load in the back and adjustable upper control arms for the front,
This should make it better with my camper on the back as well as let me actually adjust the alignment properly, my tyres which are 23,000kms old are wearing super uneven and started howling, fitting day is tomorrow

Fitted the new suspension over the weekend
Started with the front

I mounted the remote reservoir inside the bulbar bash plate

I have since added P clips to route the reservoir line
Then went to the rear

And mounted the reservoir on the chassis rail in the rear wheel arch

I need to extend the rear sway bar links now, but is a marked improvement on the Ironman lift that it replaced

 

[Reddave]

In preparation for going away over the long weekend, I fitted my rooftop tent to the Rhino platform, I was trying to find a way to do it without drilling holes but after nearly a whole day trying to get my head around it I buckled and drilled 4 holes. I won't be leaving the tent there permanently, the V6 drinks enough as it is!!

So went away, Started in Marysville, camped at big river, found 15 mile hut, made our way to Matlock then cut back to Knockwood for the second night, then made our way to Eildon and camped there the last night meeting up with another group

After the trip with all the dust around I decided to buy a Unifilter to go on the snorkel head, hopefully that might cut down on dust a little entering the intake

 

[Reddave]

With the new control arms, my tyres were hitting the very top edge of the control arm so new wheels were required

Spent all weekend fitting my latest purchase, 4wd Supacentre Titan drawers, I couldn't even make them for the price

First impressions,
Really clumsy to fit, generic instructions, drawers and fridge slide roll really well, All the ply must be cut before it is carpeted as the wings are really tight and slow the fridge slide
I am happy with my purchase, it's 10 times better than anything I could have constructed lol

That brings us up to date as of yesterday :)

 

[Young Satchel]

Great looking build. Subscribed!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[MagnoliaOverland]

Love the build and super jealous of all the Prado parts you have available over there. We have a hard time getting Prado parts for our GX's over here in the US however we are starting to get more and more things available since the entry price for a GX is coming down.

 

[Reddave]

Love the build and super jealous of all the Prado parts you have available over there. We have a hard time getting Prado parts for our GX's over here in the US however we are starting to get more and more things available since the entry price for a GX is coming down.

Thanks, I get jealous of all the cool cars that the US gets, so I suppose it doesn't matter what part of the world you're in :)

 

[Mike G]

Wow! Great build, looking forward to see what comes next. Thank you for sharing.