Wagon Boy's 2004 Grande minivan

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

I'm running the dobbie 302 coils up front and the 327 up the rear. They are firm but not harsh even without any weight. And now I've added all the extra weight they are still fantastic, haven't sagged yet. Will be interesting once she's loaded up for the camping trip


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[wagon boy Member Find all posts View Profile Close wagon boy]

Yeh I am extremely happy, The bags are a bit of a strange feeling, but they'll do for now. First sign of trouble I'll be at Bud's Customs getting coils in though.

Low beam with the Philips Diamond Vision 5000K globes (they are a personal favourite)


High Beam, no light bar


High beam and Aurora 20" combo light bar.


I hate driving with bad lights.

[wagon boy Member Find all posts View Profile Close wagon boy]

Being that my life fairly heavily revolves around bikes, a bike rack was necessary. I can fit a few in the back with the seats rolled forwards, and the front wheel off, but who wants to do that every time? A bit of research, and a couple phone calls and a the new rack is on. Kuat NV was the weapon of choice; fits two bikes, has a built in work stand for when I'm at race days, and most importantly, locks everywhere!

[fido666 Banned Find all posts View Profile Close fido666]

Good looking bike there Wagon Boy. That's an awesome rack too. How are you dealing with the number plate & indicators being obscured?

[wagon boy Member Find all posts View Profile Close wagon boy]

I've ordered some auxiliary lights and an accessory plate to be mounted on the rack to be safe. It's kind of a crappy angle, you can actually see both quite clearly from behind, bit of a deceiving pic.

Cheers

[fido666 Banned Find all posts View Profile Close fido666]

Fair enough. In Victoria I know you have to have them if the number plate is obscured in any way.

May I ask what the rack set you back or is it too painful to talk about LOL?

[wagon boy Member Find all posts View Profile Close wagon boy]

Yeh it'd be the same deal here I guess, accessory plates aren't too badly priced. Rrp on the rack is $750 delivered aust wide. It's in a different league to the Thule racks I've had previously.

[fido666 Banned Find all posts View Profile Close fido666]

That's some serious bikkies but I'm sure it's worth it to carry expensive bikes without damaging them. I've got a dropped bar bike like that (nowhere near as fancy) but only have the standard type dual carrier which requires attaching a cross brace between the head stem and seat post to carry it level.

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

Being that my life fairly heavily revolves around bikes, a bike rack was necessary. I can fit a few in the back with the seats rolled forwards, and the front wheel off, but who wants to do that every time? A bit of research, and a couple phone calls and a the new rack is on. Kuat NV was the weapon of choice; fits two bikes, has a built in work stand for when I'm at race days, and most importantly, locks everywhere!

That's one mother of a bike rack, nice bike to mate,

I'm running the Yakima spare time bike rack, downside was its a lot of extra weight to hang off your door, that issue is solved now I have the rear bar, one thing I like is I can access my rear end even with the bikes on



Obviously not a pic of the prado.....


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[wagon boy Member Find all posts View Profile Close wagon boy]

That's some serious bikkies but I'm sure it's worth it to carry expensive bikes without damaging them. I've got a dropped bar bike like that (nowhere near as fancy) but only have the standard type dual carrier which requires attaching a cross brace between the head stem and seat post to carry it level.

Yeh I like this style because there's actually no contact with the frame at all. Quite often I'll be transporting bikes worth as much as the car, so it's a worthwhile investment I reckon!

[wagon boy Member Find all posts View Profile Close wagon boy]

Going to be a busy week coming up! Booked the prado in for an E-locker next wednesday! Waiting on some switches to arrive so I can wire in some new lights; front and rear. Have a Pirahna dual battery tray to go in, as well as an ARB compressor and diff breather kit.

Then on to the stereo/entertainment... :mrgreen:

[wagon boy Member Find all posts View Profile Close wagon boy]

Well I got the second battery tray in this morning, what a mission! Definitely not a 'bolt in' option! It's a shame there's not many options for the V6 120's. Now to mount the CTEK D250s charger, and run power leads to the rear for the fridge, and all the lighting. All auxiliary lighting will be powered from the second battery, and the start battery will be swapped out for an Optima D34 red top. I am planning to put a Century 105ah N70 sized battery in the aux spot, should keep the beers cold for a few days!

[wagon boy Member Find all posts View Profile Close wagon boy]

So it's been a couple weeks since an update, but have been tinkering away.

I got around to installing my reverse light finally, it's triggered from reverse but can also be switched on from a switch on the dash.



The alloy plate covers the wheel nuts, and the factory lock keeps everything nice and secure.

I've had the E-locker fitted to the back end, still haven't had a chance to test it out!

I've been spending a lot of time getting the wiring tidied up, and power cables run from front to back. I will hopefully get a chance in the next week or two to get my ARB compressor and CTEK D250s into the engine bay.

[wagon boy Member Find all posts View Profile Close wagon boy]

Also on the cards is getting roof rack made up, and ditching the factory rails. I'm planning a Cape trip in mid august, and I want a rack that can fit a spare wheel and a pair of jerries. Somewhere to store the high lift and shovel would be good too. I have been searching all over the place for a rack that comes to just behind the sunroof, and though bajarack make something perfect for the 4runner in the states, the local distributor seems to want nothing to do with it.

So much to do before we leave, and it feels like it's just around the corner! The list just keeps getting longer haha

[wagon boy Member Find all posts View Profile Close wagon boy]

I fitted a decent reverse camera system the other morning, in place of the factory mirror. THe new mirror has auto dimming and whatnot, and the camera is nice and clear (photos don't do it justice)



And also got a little bored with the standard lighting, so I 'Smoke' plasti-dipped the rear lights and front repeaters. All the lights on the car are LED so they are more than bright enough still. Also did the badging too, though not overly excited with my attempt. Will probably remove the badges in the future and do them properly.