Mods for around oz trip

[BrisVegas Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close BrisVegas]

Hi all, newbie here.

I'm looking at buying an 02 GXL 3.0 diesel auto Prado off a family member. The car is in good nick, stock as a rock, low kms, never off road and still on the original tyres! (These will be the first thing replaced.)

My wife and I (+ 2 young kidss) want to take 6-12 months off and head around oz camping and seeing the sights. I've driven LandRover 110's in the army, but have never owned my own 4wd. We're going to buy a camper trailer to be comfortable for camping and kit it out as comfortably as possible.

I've been reading as much as I can about Prado's and modding 4wds to cope with rough roads and off road trips. I'd be looking at spending a reasonable amount on it to get it sorted, so please let me know what you think would be the priority things to upgrade to help it cope with the trip. If there's a brand that's the best, feel free to share. I appreciate the advice and look forward to your suggestions!

Ideas so far...

HD 2" lifted springs and shocks - Bilstein/Lovell??
Light Truck A/T tyres + 2 spares. - BF Goodrich/Mickey Thompson??
front protection bar & winch - ARB?? anything cheaper just as good?
engine/sump guards
Tradesman Rack for spare tyre/jack/shovel/awning etc.
Front/rear/both air lockers
Dual battery setup
UHF radio

[leachy_9 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close leachy_9]

Re: Mods for around oz trip

If you are going into places that require front and rear lockers you may also want to consier steel side steps / sliders.

Leachy

[BrisVegas Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close BrisVegas]

Re: Mods for around oz trip

If you are going into places that require front and rear lockers you may also want to consier steel side steps / sliders.

Leachy

Thanks Leachy, have you got them on yours? Any recommendations? In the meantime, are the standard alloy sideboards worth keeping or do they get in the way?

I figured the lockers made sense for traction in sand and mud. I won't be looking for rocky or shaley climbs just for the sake of it.

[leachy_9 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close leachy_9]

Re: Mods for around oz trip

I've got steel side steps and they have saved they side of my Prado numerous times ( I push it fairly hard off road). The alloy side steps are next to useless at protecting the vehicle and if your doing hard aff roading will eventually get destroyed.
Mine (120 Prado) are from ATS, who no longer supply them. You might try Darren McCrea at Auto-Craft (Pradopoint member Assasinoffroad). Though the steel side steps are only going to be of use if your planning on harder offroad excursions.

I've got front and rear lockers and don't think they povide that much improvement in the sand. The situations where the lockers really make a bid difference is when your on uneven ground and lifting wheels. Agian whether these are appropiate very much depends on where you intend taking the Prado.

Leachy

[AJ120 Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close AJ120]

Re: Mods for around oz trip

Hi Brisvegas,

if you are going on an extended trip i reckon get a good storage system for the back, especially with a couple of kids things just shoved into the back turns into a great big mess pretty quickly. same goes for the camper trailer, make sure you can access everything easily. having to remove everything from the trailer to get to the one thing your after wears thin really quickly. if you are handy a custom made system to suit your needs is probably the best way to go.
ive got a set of black widow drawers that whilst they are good, they are very pricey. i am about to start making another set to mount on top of my existing drawers. you will find plenty of good ideas on PP if you decide to make your own.

Oh and of course a good fridge almost goes without saying.

Cheers Andrew

[adam's prado Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close adam's prado]

Re: Mods for around oz trip

Don't forget a cargo barrier, spot lights and, snorkel and K&N air filter
Adam

[Schaffer Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close Schaffer]

Re: Mods for around oz trip

Maybe a PradoPoint sticker as well so people can spot you and catchup for a yack or a beer in your travels.

[BrisVegas Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close BrisVegas]

Re: Mods for around oz trip

Well, it turns out that the Prado is a TX model. I hadn't noticed the wood grain dash. Not sure if I'll be able to buy it now as the owner's health took a turn for the worse last week and selling their pride and joy isn't their number one priority right now. I'm looking around for similar vehicles and also something like an early HDJ100 Cruiser. A good mate of mine is telling me to go the Cruiser at all costs... I think I'd prefer the "smaller" Prado/Pajero sized vehicle, but then I don't really know what I want as I haven't done a big outback trip before...

[Derb Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Derb]

Re: Mods for around oz trip

Hi BrisVegas. Take the larger landcruiser for a good drive then hop back into a prado - is a no brainer. The greater part of the time you are cruising empty and a prado is a good cheap vehicle to run, a delight to drive and when you are towing, a diesel prado will still do the business and return good economy. If you are towing really serious heavy loads continually and tend to be pretty hard on a vehicle, maybe the larger vehicle might be a better choice. Gotta remember - when you move up to a full cruiser or a safari, you are getting into light truck territory. (horses for courses) Cheers, Derb.

[BrisVegas Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close BrisVegas]

Re: Mods for around oz trip

Hi BrisVegas. Take the larger landcruiser for a good drive then hop back into a prado - is a no brainer. The greater part of the time you are cruising empty and a prado is a good cheap vehicle to run, a delight to drive and when you are towing, a diesel prado will still do the business and return good economy. If you are towing really serious heavy loads continually and tend to be pretty hard on a vehicle, maybe the larger vehicle might be a better choice. Gotta remember - when you move up to a full cruiser or a safari, you are getting into light truck territory. (horses for courses) Cheers, Derb.

Thanks derb. As I've said, I think I'd prefer the Prado/Pajero sized vehicle. Not only are they a bit smaller and easier to manouvre, but they're 4cyl engines for rego costs and I could get a bit newer for the same money. SWMBO is pretty keen on a fullsize Cruiser, but we're still in the early stages of buying. To be honest, a Forester would do us for the majority of our excursions. It's just that we're taking the year off for the big around oz trip and will be living out of the car and trailer so need a bit more size and ground clearance for rough spots.

Also, I see in your sig your at Kawerau. My wife spent some time there working at the CHH mill. I visited and did the White Island trip and played some golf around there. Nice part of the world mate!

[Grant Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Grant]

Re: Mods for around oz trip

Hello Brisvegas.
I have a 2000 V6 Prado, yes would prefer the diesel.
Took 3 months off last year and took the family from Adelaide to Cape York, (wife and 3 kids).
Mods I made to the stock Prado are as follows:
ARB roof rack: probably had 200kgs on it most of the time, rated to 150kgs, would be happy to build a house on it.
ARB (steel) bull bar with IPF spotties, after many corrugations, still working perfectly.
XGS shocks and coils via TJM, with polyair bags, still working well and gave a very smooth ride.
Airtec snorkel via TJM, seemed to work when the water came over the top of the bonnet on a creek crossing.
Made my own shelving system which included a drawer system from DRIFTA, suggest you do a search on DRIFTA, way cheaper than black widow etc.
BF Goodrich A/T's. Over 6000kms of dirt via Birdsville, no punchers, lowered tyre pressures to about 28psi on rocky stuff.
59 litre Weaco, kept the pale ale's cool, never missed a beat.
Dual battery system via TJM, with an IBS management system. did the job well when we had a flat with the main battery at Archer River, able to automatically link the 2 from inside the cabin.
An alpine IPOD tuner, saves carrying CD's and illiminates discs skipping on rough roads.
We slept in a Black Wolf tent for 73 out of the 77 nights. Great tent, but would recommend a camper trailer or van.
We are planning on travelling around the west side in 4 years, will tow a Windsor rapid off road van behind a D4D 120 series.
Hope all this helps, have a great trip, and enjoy living the dream!

[LeighW Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close LeighW]

Re: Mods for around oz trip

Hi all,

Not exactly mods but should also be considered if you haven't

Extended diff breathers
Maps, GPS & compass
Fire extinguishers and a spray bottle of water.
A couple of spare tyres and or wheels.
Bead breaker and tyre repair gear
Recovery gear and a winch if you can afford it.
Long handle shovel
Axe or chain saw
Inverter to charge phones etc
On board water tank and or a few jerries of water.
First aid kit
maxtrax
compressor

If towing, extended mud flaps to protect the body work and trailer. A rear window protector

If travelling to remote areas:
A HF outback radio setup
An EPRB
Better First aid kit
Spares, oils, hoses, wonder tape etc
Good tool kit

Granted some of the above are very expensive but the outback can be very unforgiving and one
mistake can and does lead to tradgety every year for a few travellers. I recently read about a support
group who was accompanying a couple of cyclists in an output back challenge that bumped into a group
of vehicles in the dessert. On talking to the group leaders of the other group they found that the group was 500Km
east of where they thought they were! The cyclist support group had to give the others fuel so that they would be
able to follow them to safety.

[BrisVegas Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close BrisVegas]

Re: Mods for around oz trip

Thanks Grant & LeighW!

"We slept in a Black Wolf tent for 73 out of the 77 nights. Great tent, but would recommend a camper trailer or van."

Grant, I'm impressed you did a 3month trip with 3 kids and no trailer! We're checking out the camping and caravan show this weekend, to see how big the canvas touring tents are. The extended Southern Cross ones look pretty good. If we could get away without towing a camper trailer, it would definitely make it a cheaper and easier trip, but just not sure if we'll have room for all the gear we need to take. I imagine the roof rack would take the tent, extra spare tyre and some recovery gear etc.. That leaves the back of the car for fridge, bedding, chairs and all our clothes and food etc etc.... dunno how that's gonna work! I was definitely planning on building a shelf system for the back to try and keep things in order as much as possible.

Thanks again guys, my wife and I appreciate all the suggestions. Keep em coming!