AJ120s 2009 D4D and DIY camper trailer

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

Next on my list is to get the shower system working better, my solar power water heater (tank on the roof) didn’t really work as I had hoped and pressurizing it by air was a bit messy, with effort I could have got that side of things to work better; but instead I have fitted a heat exchanger and will add an electric pump.

I got the Helton Red exchanger and as they recommend you fit this upright I ultimately decided to fit it behind the bulbar straight under the LHS headlight. To fit it I only needed to make a small bracket pictured below.



Then I was able to drill a few mounting holes in the bulbar support bracket and bolt it on. In this position I had to make the hoses take a sharp 90 degree bend as soon as they exited the heat exchanger, so I made the bends in copper and silver soldered them on, in hindsight I should have looked for a piece of heater hose with a formed tight right angle bend but things ended up slightly different to how I first envisaged them so such is life.








Only allowed 4 pics per post so will continue in another post.

Cheers Andrew

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

Fist 2 pictures below show the heater hose I removed for the hookup, hose is first pic and gone in the second, it’s the one that runs from the housing on the top of the motor and loops back up and over the motor and into the top pipe on the heater core. I ran a hose from the housing to the exchanger, than out of the exchanger to the heater core, looks pretty much like it is factory if you didn’t know any better.






first of I just ran the hoses through a hole in the radiator support panel, it was pretty difficult to get them through in such a way as they would not rub or get cut through over time from the radiator support panel, so I made a braket to bolt in and screwed brass directors on so the hoses don’t run through the panel, it all came together well in the end.






That’s my 4 pics so start I’ll start another post.

Cheers Andrew

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

Looking for a suitable spot to mount the shower water inlet and outlets I thought that seeing as the Ariel holes in my bulbar are of no use due to my scrub bars I would put the inlet and outlets on either side of the bulbar, easy access and easy to install. A rubber stopper over the fitting while not in use should keep the dust and mud out.






I ran the shower hose across the front of the radiator inside the loser support rail, try as I did I was unable to source the correct hose in black, only bright blue (compressor hose) so after installing the hose I wrapped the visible parts in split conduit to make it look a bit less obvious.






A quick test run by running the garden hose through the system produced water that was warmer on the outlet than it was going in, so it should all work fine.

Next step is to add the pump; I might do something a bit different with where I mount that! Will update when it’s done.

Cheers Andrew

[1coolbanana Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close 1coolbanana]

So nice to watch a craftsman at work

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

I decided to put the pump for my shower on the roof rack (just to be different) which is where my shower water tank is.

I made a simple aluminium box which houses the pump and all the hoses and the shower rose, the wiring for the pump is just coiled up in the box and I will plug it into my Anderson plug when in use. Down the track I have plans to run power up to the rack so I might do something different with the wiring down the track.











Cheers Andrew

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

Bloody good effort there mate, looks great!

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

Looks great AJ! You've been reasonably quiet on the forum... Must be getting ready for the GTG you lucky bugger drive safe and represent SA well!

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

Top work AJ.. again you've raised the bar making it very hard for us amateurs! My flojet has arrived now, was quite surprised as it is much bigger then I was expecting.

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

Top work AJ.. again you've raised the bar making it very hard for us amateurs! My flojet has arrived now, was quite surprised as it is much bigger then I was expecting.

I especially like the way Andrew drops into conversation that he knocked up a box to put the gear in, and it looks worthy of professional sale.

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

Looks great AJ! You've been reasonably quiet on the forum... Must be getting ready for the GTG you lucky bugger drive safe and represent SA well!

Nearly ready to head off in the morning for the GTG, hoping for 1 more mod before I leave………. If it arrives tonight! No doubt I will be very quiet on the froum for the next couple of weeks, no Internet in most of the places I plan to be.

Top work AJ.. again you've raised the bar making it very hard for us amateurs! My flojet has arrived now, was quite surprised as it is much bigger then I was expecting.

Thanks Jase, one of the reasons I don’t like buying on the net is there is so much you can’t know from just looking at a picture and a description, as I said in the other thread, I went for that Flojet pump as it is the same as I have in the camper, so better to have 2 identical pumps that 2 different ones for me.

I especially like the way Andrew drops into conversation that he knocked up a box to put the gear in, and it looks worthy of professional sale.

The box is reasonable but nothing to write home about, I have been teaching myself to TIG weld Aluminium, I think I need a few more lessons before my welding is up to scratch, I am aiming at a major aluminum project once the house is finished, so I have a couple of years to get up to standard.

Cheers Andrew

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

Andrew popped past my place on the way back from the GTG, that rig was looking nice and dirty but still in great shape and well thought out.

Have a safe trip back home.

Cheers OldGreyGuy

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

My Sandgrabba mats arrived the night before we headed for the GTG and I fitted them up the morning we left.








They did a great job on the trip, should have bought these when it was knew!

Back from the GTG now, picked up some great ideas looking at some of the other rigs up there, even picked up some more bits on the way home, so more updates soon.

Cheers Andrew

[REV Find all posts View Profile Close REV]

Glad to here that you all arrived home safely Andrew.
Thanks for the up dates & photos, all good stuff!!!

Thanks for making the effort, a lot of people appreciated it.

Really liked the trailer & the bush welding demo.

Cheers
Lawrie

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

I have been looking at a permanent light source for the rear of the Prado for a while; with my floor to ceiling storage system the rear interior light is basically useless. After checking out the LED’s that numerous other members have on the rear door I have picked the best bits from those that I have seen and installed my own.










The LED light has a screw on both ends underneath the removable end caps. Where I have placed it is not quite a flat surface so I have also used double sided tape to secure it so it sits flush and looks neat. The light was from BCF (used the voucher I won at the GTG) not the cheapest option but I thought it was the best and neatest! The mini rocker switch is an off the shelf job from the local auto store and the placement of the switch is inspired by Foxclan, Thanks Troy.

I picked up the power from the rear interior light, this meant running the power cable through the rear door to the tail light area and then up the rear pillar and over too the light, I needed a conduit to double insulate the wire that was small and very flexible to maneuver through the tight spaces. Some 4mm dripper hose was ideal for the job!

Cheers Andrew

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

Andrew a very neat looking setup. Once again a little information gathered from others has led to great outcome.