VXWesty's 2011 VX D4D

[Troy1 Member Find all posts View Profile Close Troy1]

Hi,
How are lightforce Xgts going? What watts are they? I have been told they are a bit of an overkill for normal highway driving how do you find them?
Thanks Troy

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

Hi,
How are lightforce Xgts going? What watts are they? I have been told they are a bit of an overkill for normal highway driving how do you find them?
Thanks Troy

Hi Troy,

The lights are fantastic. They are 50watt HID but I found that I needed to put combo covers on both lights to give them a bit more spread. Without the diffuser the light is too focussed for me.

[Troy1 Member Find all posts View Profile Close Troy1]

Hey thanks for the reply, I was looking at going to the genesis although it is a smaller light and only 35w in hid, i figure if i am going to spend the money i might as well go the xgts?

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

Picked up an Avenger Mako 9.5TDS winch at the Perth 4WD Show on the weekend. I'm going to install it myself during the week and it looks like I should be able to fit from underneath without removong the ARB bar totally... Are there any tips or tricks I should be aware of?

VXWesty

[hookedon4wding Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close hookedon4wding]

Awesome build with very neat installs!

I'm curious about the carbon fiber gear shifter. Is that standard on the VX? Might have to order one from Toyota as I've scratched my silver one.

Cheers, Sam.

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

Picked up an Avenger Mako 9.5TDS winch at the Perth 4WD Show on the weekend. I'm going to install it myself during the week and it looks like I should be able to fit from underneath without removong the ARB bar totally... Are there any tips or tricks I should be aware of?

VXWesty

Westy I just installed mine with an ARB bar. If your going to mount your controller between your spotties you will need to make some sort of a bracket up as the mako one is designed to mount to the winch itself. Which is useless because you can't get to it once you put the bottom plate back on under the bar. I made a mount out of a rubber jockey wheel chock I got from Repco for 6 bucks. It looks the part and the wiring is all hidden. Once you have worked out what your going to do for a bracket mount the control box before the winch because feeding the cables through when the winch is there is a pain in the arse. Also if your going to fit an isolator switch in the cab now is the time to run your wire to the solenoid.
When you lift the winch up underneath there are two bars running back to the bull bar mounts you can put the winch on while you have a rest before getting to bastard part of holding it in place while someone else feeds the bolts through. Top ones first of course.
Oh yeah I nearly forgot! I had to get longer bolts because the ones with the winch weren't long enough to go through the thick plating on the ARB bar. I think they where 40mm long from memory. Be careful of over tightening aswell because the square nuts that come with the winch are pretty soft I found. I threaded one I had to go back to the shop and beg for another because fastener shops don't stock square ones. Also if your using a hawse just check if it will fit in the gap first. Mine didn't. Enjoy

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

This is the mount I made for the winch control box

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

Awesome build with very neat installs!

I'm curious about the carbon fiber gear shifter. Is that standard on the VX? Might have to order one from Toyota as I've scratched my silver one.

Cheers, Sam.

Yep, it's the standard finish on the VX model. That said... It's only a fake carbon fibre finish so don't expect too much

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

I spent this morning installing the winch! First step, bash plate off and then sit the winch up on te two diagonal bars that support the lower section of the ARB bar. I used a couple of tie down straps to lift and hold the winch in place while I fastened the bolts - NOTE: I bought some longer bolts to make life easier... 2 x 35mm x M10 for the top, and 45mm x M10 for the bottom two (the extra length in the lower two bolts allows for the thickness fo the hawse). By the way, the standard hawse is fine for the job, no need to get an offset hawse as some others have suggested is necessary, but you will need to trim about 4mm from each end of the hawse to make it fit inside the bar recess.






I went to ARB and picked up a mounting bracket for the controller. I was supposed to have been given the bracket when I bought the bar, luckily my local ARB carries spares. A couple or stainless bolts and the controller is on... wires are run to the winch and bolted onto the terminals. I ran each wire through split tube conduit for the factory look!

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

I went and got my bracket of ARB yesterday after you mentioning it was part of the kit. It looks heaps better now.

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

Yeah, the bracket will give it a more streamlined look!

[waz2011 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close waz2011]

Hi Westy

Just reading thru your build and can't see a response to the query from ondaboat.

I am thinking about a Fowing. or the Supa Wing Awning, http://www.suparvaustralia.com.au/Su...nings_s/45.htm, which looks very similar to the Foxwing, except it seems to come out square from the side of the vehicle.

Nice Rig Westy,
Just wondering about the foxwing awning, was looking at buying one, are they worth the money??
Regards Adam

Waz

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

Hi Waz,

Well look at that, I did miss the reply, I don't know how I missed that one???

Ok, the Foxwing is probably the best add-on I've bought for my rig! I've used it mainly on the beach and found that the massive amount of shade it provides easily keeps two families under cover. A good set of sand pegs will help to keep it rock solid in the windiest conditions. I did also use it once during a fairly hefty downpour and it kept us all nice and dry. I couldn't recommend it highly enough.

I did look at the Supawing and decided the Foxwing was better for my needs.

VXWesty

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

Hi All,

I spent the weekend making up a couple of simple brackets for my Maxtrax.

I bought the mounting pins online from maxtrax.com.au for around $35 and also a couple of flat bar brackets from Bunnings - $5 each.


I had a couple of spare channel bolts from the Foxwing installation and added a couple of wingnuts to hold them in place. The wingnuts allow me to easily install and remove the brackets so that I can still get into my garage. I had to bend up the ends slightly to clear the rails on the Rhino Platform rack.


Once the Maxtrax are in place, it is impossible to get to the wingnuts - so they are nice and secure.


This combination padlock fits perfectly into the locking hole already in the mounting pin.


They take all of about 2 minutes to install and are rock solid when driving, plus I can move them to a different part of the platform rack depending on the load I carry.

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

I also finally found the time to install my Outback Ideas recovery points.





Thanks go to William for the tip about using cable ties to secure the original nut plate and leave it inside the chassis rail.

I used a Dremel to enlarge the upper rear bolt hole and the supplied HT bolt fitted perfectly. The whole job took just over an hour and a half, and most of that time was spent fishing the nut plate from inside the chassis rail!