First Prado, First Post !

[99tripper Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close 99tripper]

Hi Pradologists, just got my first 4wd , A 99 GXL Snowy auto 3.4 , 12000 kms, 1 owner dealer serviced, and this thing is PRISTINE !
Paid $16,800 , ( in WA ) Hope I got a good deal, I think so. This vehicle is SWEEEET ! Now the scary bit . 4WDriving. I know next to nothing on the subject, but cant wait to get started. Thats where you guys come in. Is there a publication / website I can use to begin learning all the basics , so that I dont do stupid things on my first few trips ? ops: I can just see the wifes face now.

Specific questions : should I get the undercarriage treated in some way, and can I tell if its already done ?
What basic equipment should I get ie : deflators , air compressor etc?

Cant wait to get out there , but baby steps at first. Maybe a beach run or something ?

Anyway enough from the newbie, great forum hope u can help. my adventure begins. :wink:

Stevo, Doubleview W.A.

[99tripper Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close 99tripper]

Re: First Prado, First Post !

O.K , I meant 120, 000 KMS not 12,000 as above ops: The extra 0 makes all the difference , hey ?

Stevo.

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

Re: First Prado, First Post !

Congratulations on your buy. If you are headed for the beach, or anywere really, you should make sure you have some descent recovery points for the front and maybe a snatch block for the rear, if these arn't already with the vehicle. You should be able to pick up some front recovery points for a 90 from just about any good 4wd shop. Fit them yourself to get familiar with the undercarriage and where things are located. Should cost about $110-120 and take maybe an hour to fit (well that's about how long it took to fit mine to my 120 about two years ago).

There is a big contingent of PPers over in WA so maybe you could be lucky and go along on a trip with them. I would suggest you either go along to a 4wd club or do some driver training. Ron Moon has a DVD that isn't too bad and and there is a book by Vic Widman which I found to be a very interesting read. The DVD and the book can only teach so much and you will learn so much more from actual experience and driving with reasonably experienced people.

The basic items you should look at are:
1. Tyre deflator of some sort (yeah you can use a key if you need to but don't use a stick). My preference is the ARB Ezideflator but there are other optiopns. Some love the Staun deflators. You will drop tyre pressure to preserve the track, your tyres and youre traction.
2. Tyre gauge so you know what pressure you are on. There are also two pressures. Therev is cold and hot. Coild is before doing any driving or about an hour after you have done some driving. Hot is about ten minutes aftre you have started driving and is usually 3-5 degrees warmer than cold as the air expands when HOT.
3. Air compressor to inflate your tyres and you use the tyre gauge with it.
4. (Rated) Recover points as listed above. About $110 for a set. Don't use the tie down points as they are only held on with welds and you will find that others will not recover you with these as they are a high risk of breaking.
5. (Rated) shackles to go with the recovery points. The 3.25t should be fine for your vehicle
6. (Rated) snatch strap. Look at something about 8-9meters and rated at 8000kg
7. Keys for your car and a full tank of juice

[99tripper Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close 99tripper]

Re: First Prado, First Post !

Thanks Nick, thats the response I was hoping for !
I shall start investigating this gear shortly.

I was looking at air compressors on ebay, it seems reasonable quality ones are around $125 - $ 250. They are 150L/min.
Is that the type I should look for ?

Cheers, Steve.

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

Re: First Prado, First Post !

Thanks Nick, thats the response I was hoping for !
I shall start investigating this gear shortly.

I was looking at air compressors on ebay, it seems reasonable quality ones are around $125 - $ 250. They are 150L/min.
Is that the type I should look for ?

Cheers, Steve.

I paid about $300 for mine and that is mounted under the bonnet. Mounted vs portable is all personal preference but it you are looking at something around the $125 mark then do a little research. Some of these might be good but others fail. Mine if the ARB High Flow and I'm very happy with this. There are a lot out there that are probably better and maybe cheaper. Can't comment too much myself as I only have this one but there are other posts in this forum about compressors and issues. Have a troll through the threads and soak it all in. Once you have read a bit then make a buy afterwards. As a work around you could go with someone else who has a compressor and will let you use it.

[ozwapet2 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close ozwapet2]

Re: First Prado, First Post !

Best thing you can do is join a 4WD Club ( preferably one that does 4WD training courses ).

Even if you only stay with them for a year, do as many trips with them as you can, you'll learn more than you could in 5 years on your own.

( spekaing from my own experience )

[99tripper Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close 99tripper]

Re: First Prado, First Post !

Good advice Wayne, I will look into that. Being a fly in/ fly out worker I have 6 days off at a time so hopefully can tag along to some outings
and learn from other more experienced people. I will be checking out training courses too. First stop it seems is a good 4WD shop armed with a full wallet.

Cheers, Steve.

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

Re: First Prado, First Post !

Best thing you can do is join a 4WD Club ( preferably one that does 4WD training courses ).

Even if you only stay with them for a year, do as many trips with them as you can, you'll learn more than you could in 5 years on your own.

( spekaing from my own experience )

http://www.wa4wda.com.au/
Have a look at this link 99tripper as they will have some of the clubs listed with them and by using the search tool you can narrow down by region..hope that helps
Wes

[99tripper Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close 99tripper]

Re: First Prado, First Post !

Thanks for the link Wes. Very helpful. Thanks to all that replied.

Steve.

[g.t Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close g.t]

Re: First Prado, First Post !

Thanks Nick, thats the response I was hoping for !
I shall start investigating this gear shortly.

I was looking at air compressors on ebay, it seems reasonable quality ones are around $125 - $ 250. They are 150L/min.
Is that the type I should look for ?

Cheers, Steve.

Hey mate
Cant go wrong with those twin motor ebay compressors for around $99. Myself and a few mates have them and they are very good value, no problems so far.

Enjoy the car, plenty of places to get about here in WA