AJ120s 2009 D4D and DIY camper trailer

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

When we first started travelling to remote areas we had to make the decision between Satelitte phone and HF radio for emergency communication. We purchased the sat phone as that was portable, so also useful for bushwalking and was quickly removeable from the vehicle in case of a fire that would destroy a HF and leave you stranded.

However the HF also has its advantages with the backup of the network behind you, the ability for people to follow your progress and sound the alarm if for any reason you are unable to communicate. The ability to talk between vehicles over longer distances and so on!

So after our Madigans trip, and getting a new appreciation for just how remote, remote can be, and with many more extremely remote trips planned I figure a foot in both camps is good insurance. So I picked up a second hand 9323 Codan HF with a 9350 auto tune antenna. This setup came out of the vehicle of a local guy that has run a radio / communications store locally for the past 30 years and he updated to the latest and greatest before closing his business.











Of course it's a little more work than just fitting the unit, I need somewhere to mount the aerial, I have a spot for the main unit but I also need a spot to mount the remote head. So expect a couple more custom projects before this is all fitted and running.

Cheers Andrew

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

I got my sat phone this week, and with the travelling we'll be doing in the near future, just the sat phone will be suffice. As you say there are more remote trips for you, it is definitely best to have more than one style of decent contact to the outside world

[LostDingo2 Find all posts View Profile Close LostDingo2]

Which sat phone out of curiosity? Buddy of mine just got the Iridium Extreme...great looking phone for a sat phone

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

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

We bought the Motorola 9505 and it is on the Iridium network, that is a few models old now as we have had it for quite a few years. Never needed it for an emergency, buts its been a great comfort when remote and its also great for ringing mates whilst away.

This pic was taken at Mitchell falls in the Kimberly, I was talking to a mate at home who was working outside in the rain whilst it was 9 degrees, worth every cent just for those moments




But if you are remote and in trouble and the phone has an issue, well now I have backup. Also I hire out my phone from time to time, I only gave it to a bloke the other day who is going on a 6 week trip up through the APY lands and onto the Pilbara, so that means I can't get too adventurous when I hire it out, until I get the HF in

Cheers Andrew

[Matty80 Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Matty80]

Has anyone else noticed what's wrong with this photo? WHERE'S YOUR HAT AJ?

[120D4D Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close 120D4D]

Dont worry about the missing hat - looks like you forgot to remove the shorts before a squat in the bushes!

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

I'm sure I'm not the only one who is glad that DIDN'T make the photo!

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

My chassis stands don't get the old girl high enough to bolt the wheels on at full droop now, so haven't measured but it should be in the 930-940 mark based on my measurements. I was a bit rushed putting it back together on the weekend and haven't checked the brake lines but will do!
Cheers Andrew

Next time your rig is on the chassis stands, if you measure hub to guard (HTG) and add 235mm it will give you a rim to guard (RTG) approximation for OE 17" alloy rims.

[120D4D Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close 120D4D]

Following on from the suspension upgrade started in post #277.

I purchased a set of Old Man Emu N71E shocks to suit an 80 series Landcruiser, they are physically identical to the Prado shocks except that the open and closed measurment are longer and they have more travel.

Prado OME shocks: 580mm open, 356mm closed and 224mm travel.
LC80 OME shocks: 620mm open, 370mm closed and 250mm travel.

The old shocks still had 20mm of uptravel left when they hit the bump stops so the 14mm longer closed length has no effect, just means I can use all the shock length now. Just replacing the shock gave me an extra 20mm of down travel until the swaybar holds things up, adding the spacers to the sway bar mount from post #277 gave me another 10mm of down travel. I still have another 10mm of down travel available in the shock but the swaybar wont allow it to drop, so looks like a bit more work is required on the sway bar mounts to gain the maximum droop.

Eventually I should go from 80mm droop to 120mm of droop, so a 50% improvement.

G'day Andrew,
Whilst thinking about the value in doing the mod myself I have managed to 'stumble across' some good 80/100 OME shocks that are available to me - for nix!

Only issue I see is that they are the nitrocharger sports and are 5mm longer extended and 8mm longer closed.
Stats are: 625mm open, 378mm closed and 247 travel.

In relying on your info above i'll be within 2mm of the closed length and a 5mm spacer plate on the bump stop should solve that issue.

Being 5mm longer extended i'm more concerned about one of your comments about one of the springs coming loose at full droop. I wont be running without the swaybay but have extended it by around 14mm - how have you found the springs at full droop?? Do you think the airbags inhibit full extension of the spring at all, and therfore make our rigs suseptible to the spring moving off the seat or pulling the valve off the bag?

Of course i'll be keeping an eye on the brake lines also but im hoping the extra 5mm length is not going to ruin my plans of a flexy rear end!!

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

G'day Andrew,
Whilst thinking about the value in doing the mod myself I have managed to 'stumble across' some good 80/100 OME shocks that are available to me - for nix!

Only issue I see is that they are the nitrocharger sports and are 5mm longer extended and 8mm longer closed.
Stats are: 625mm open, 378mm closed and 247 travel.

In relying on your info above i'll be within 2mm of the closed length and a 5mm spacer plate on the bump stop should solve that issue.

Being 5mm longer extended i'm more concerned about one of your comments about one of the springs coming loose at full droop. I wont be running without the swaybay but have extended it by around 14mm - how have you found the springs at full droop?? Do you think the airbags inhibit full extension of the spring at all, and therfore make our rigs suseptible to the spring moving off the seat or pulling the valve off the bag?

Of course i'll be keeping an eye on the brake lines also but im hoping the extra 5mm length is not going to ruin my plans of a flexy rear end!!

Extending the bump stops should solve the issue with the closed length on those shocks. As for the springs coming loose at full droop that will depend on what springs you run in the rear. I have the 895 OME, and they only just come loose at full droop, another 5mm wouldn't cause an issue but if you went much more with those springs then spring retainers might be needed.

I dont think the airbags have any effect on full extension, in fact they basically do nothing at all once the spring extends a bit, they just hang in the middle of the spring. I'll let you know after the GTG how they go at full extension and whether I have any real world issues, haven't been off road much since fitting them, in fact haven't been anywhere much in the Prado since fitting them.

Cheers Andrew

[Matty80 Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Matty80]

I'll be looking for some helpful advise from you Andrew on and after the GTG regarding getting more out of the suspension and your sway bar modifications...

[120D4D Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close 120D4D]

Extending the bump stops should solve the issue with the closed length on those shocks. As for the springs coming loose at full droop that will depend on what springs you run in the rear. I have the 895 OME, and they only just come loose at full droop, another 5mm wouldn't cause an issue but if you went much more with those springs then spring retainers might be needed.

I have the 895 OME's too but as the free height is the same across OMEs springs I guess even the HD springs would be in the same boat.

I'll let you know after the GTG how they go at full extension and whether I have any real world issues

Thanks for rubbing it in that im missing out on probably the best GTG PradoPoint will ever see!

I may have to do my own real world testing in the next few weeks...

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

Tweaking the front suspension!

After the rear suspension upgrade it was time for a few tweaks at the front. The main aim was to get a bit more lift, but without sacrificing down travel.

I started with a front ride hight of 775mm, that is with the 885 OME springs, I had 100mm of down travel giving me 875mm at full droop. I was looking for a ride hight around 800mm without sacrificing the down travel much. I also didn't want to spend big bucks on new struts or UCA's. So for no out of pocket expense other than running the lathe for a little while and a few licks of spray paint this is what I came up with.

A 6mm strut spacer to sit on top of the strut, machined from Aluminium; and a 6mm spacer machined from steel to sit under the spring base, lifting the spring base using much the same theory as the adjustable circlip on the Bilstein shocks.








Will continue in another post due to photo restrictions.

Cheers Andrew

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

Tweaking the front suspension continued!

After removing the struts and disassembling them; its just a matter of putting the small spacer on the strut raising the spring seat 6mm.






Then reassemble the strut and replace; making sure to place the larger strut spacer on top of the assembly when installing.




Once installed it is impossible to see the strut spacer!




So the results!

Old ride hieght, 775mm. New ride Hieght 800mm
Old down travel 100mm for 875mm at full droop.
New down travel 95mm for 895mm at full droop.

So an extra 25mm lift for only 5 or 6mm less down travel, just the result I was after!

For those scratching their heads as to how 12mm worth of spacers gives you 25mm lift; it is due to the leverage factor of the upper and lower control arms, you pretty much get a 1:2 ratio.

Cheers Andrew

[Trekrider Banned Find all posts View Profile Close Trekrider]

I'm surprised you were that low on the front Andrew. I have 884s in mine riding at about 790/800mm and that's with the steel bar, winch, 2nd battery and steel bash plates. I thought the 885s were heavier duty than the 884s?