Tweet
So after being a member of Prado Point for a bit under a year now, I figure I might as well post something and I guess the build-up of our Prado is the best place to start.
We started our adventure in Prado ownership with a '01 95 series Prado with the 1KZ under the bonnet.
This 95 series (which we were the 2nd owners of) came fitted with the sovereign bar, driving lights, DVD player and a drop-down screen for the 2nd row seats (previous owners did long highway trips with the kids). While we had this Prado, I fitted a 2 3/4" exhaust from Beaudesert Exhausts, Steinbauer Chip, Safari Snorkel, Narva 225 driving lights with HID conversion (removed before selling) , Narva Compac 100 driving lights (removed before selling), Uniden UH013 UHF CB (removed before selling), and a Red Arc EBRH Brake controller.
I was pretty sad to see this car go (particularly as I had spent some time setting it up), but I wasn't going to complain when the other half told me she wanted to sell both her car and the 95 series to upgrade to a near new 120 series Prado (and I still get to keep my 79 series ute
).
So earlier this year we got our hands on a '08 120 Series 1KD Prado (graphite in colour) that seemed to be used as a shopping trolley in Brisbane, with only 28k on the clock. After sorting out a few dramas with the Toyota salesman who was trying to go back on his word and screw up for a few thousand dollars (so much for looking after repeat customers - not to mention that they didn't bother even detailing the car before shipping it to us.....) we had the car delivered to our doorstep. I don't have any photos of the Prado when it first arrived but you all know what a 120 series looks like.
Sadly, it's taken a while to get around to doing anything worthwhile with it but let me assure you the list of mods and accessories that I'd like to get done or put on is ever-growing!
So the first thing that we did with it was order some genuine Toyota mats for it, both in rubber (for off-road use) and in carpet-like material (for around town) and a rubber mat for the cargo area/3rd row seats. The rubber mat in the cargo area is mainly for the Blue Heeler and Labrador that tend to live in there. Tip: if you're driving along the highway on the coast of NSW and you're following a Prado with a Blue Heeler and a Lab staring out the back window at you (and the Lab occasionally licking the back window), chances are that's us.
Straight after the the mats, we ordered an Autosafe cargo barrier to keep the dogs in the back (also a legal requirement in NSW). I opted for the Autosafe because it seemed to be the only barrier I could find that could be mounted easily without any modification to the Prado. As you can see from the pics (presuming that I have uploaded them properly and not like an idiot) it mounts using the 3rd row seats grab handles and the front cargo tie down loops.
Although there is a slight amount of lateral movement when installed, it's rock solid with pressure from front or back.
Installing or removing the barrier takes about 1/2 an hour, so changing between a 5 seater and an 8 seater is pretty painless.
The latest thing that we have done with the Prado is get a Hayman Reese heavy duty towbar and a TJM T13 Winch Bullbar fitted (although no winch just at the moment). The Prado looks a little bit blue in these photos, I'd just washed it and bonnet is reflecting the sky.
The next things immediately on the to-do list is fit some HID driving lights that I've got on order and the Tyredog system I picked up the other day.
Obviously there is the usual long list of bits and pieces to do and I'll keep adding to this thread as I manage to (slowly) cross them off.
We started our adventure in Prado ownership with a '01 95 series Prado with the 1KZ under the bonnet.
This 95 series (which we were the 2nd owners of) came fitted with the sovereign bar, driving lights, DVD player and a drop-down screen for the 2nd row seats (previous owners did long highway trips with the kids). While we had this Prado, I fitted a 2 3/4" exhaust from Beaudesert Exhausts, Steinbauer Chip, Safari Snorkel, Narva 225 driving lights with HID conversion (removed before selling) , Narva Compac 100 driving lights (removed before selling), Uniden UH013 UHF CB (removed before selling), and a Red Arc EBRH Brake controller.
I was pretty sad to see this car go (particularly as I had spent some time setting it up), but I wasn't going to complain when the other half told me she wanted to sell both her car and the 95 series to upgrade to a near new 120 series Prado (and I still get to keep my 79 series ute
).So earlier this year we got our hands on a '08 120 Series 1KD Prado (graphite in colour) that seemed to be used as a shopping trolley in Brisbane, with only 28k on the clock. After sorting out a few dramas with the Toyota salesman who was trying to go back on his word and screw up for a few thousand dollars (so much for looking after repeat customers - not to mention that they didn't bother even detailing the car before shipping it to us.....) we had the car delivered to our doorstep. I don't have any photos of the Prado when it first arrived but you all know what a 120 series looks like.
Sadly, it's taken a while to get around to doing anything worthwhile with it but let me assure you the list of mods and accessories that I'd like to get done or put on is ever-growing!
So the first thing that we did with it was order some genuine Toyota mats for it, both in rubber (for off-road use) and in carpet-like material (for around town) and a rubber mat for the cargo area/3rd row seats. The rubber mat in the cargo area is mainly for the Blue Heeler and Labrador that tend to live in there. Tip: if you're driving along the highway on the coast of NSW and you're following a Prado with a Blue Heeler and a Lab staring out the back window at you (and the Lab occasionally licking the back window), chances are that's us.
Straight after the the mats, we ordered an Autosafe cargo barrier to keep the dogs in the back (also a legal requirement in NSW). I opted for the Autosafe because it seemed to be the only barrier I could find that could be mounted easily without any modification to the Prado. As you can see from the pics (presuming that I have uploaded them properly and not like an idiot) it mounts using the 3rd row seats grab handles and the front cargo tie down loops.
Although there is a slight amount of lateral movement when installed, it's rock solid with pressure from front or back.
Installing or removing the barrier takes about 1/2 an hour, so changing between a 5 seater and an 8 seater is pretty painless.
The latest thing that we have done with the Prado is get a Hayman Reese heavy duty towbar and a TJM T13 Winch Bullbar fitted (although no winch just at the moment). The Prado looks a little bit blue in these photos, I'd just washed it and bonnet is reflecting the sky.
The next things immediately on the to-do list is fit some HID driving lights that I've got on order and the Tyredog system I picked up the other day.
Obviously there is the usual long list of bits and pieces to do and I'll keep adding to this thread as I manage to (slowly) cross them off.
Comment