AJ120s 2009 D4D and DIY camper trailer

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

WOW you weren't kidding. That certainly looks the goods way beyond the Foxwing. Just look at that bracing. Do you know if they plan on selling them here in the future? Would be a large market for them.

Cheers.

I believe they are thinking about a distributor for Australia, not sure about a time frame though.

Certainly looks sturdy. Ive been very happy with the foxwing, but the key is to peg it down well. Now the ostrich is in Australia, is it called an emu?

Yeh the Foxwing is OK if you do a full set up and peg it down. You would only attach the guy ropes and peg this one down in really strong winds, so for me that makes it much more practical.

Am I seeing it correctly that it only has one leg. If so thats brilliant

Yes you are seeing correctly, only one pole and that is permanently attached, it just swings down and has a quick action lock to adjust the hight. To be honest though putting the pole down is probably overkill most of the time anyway. It also has provision to attach guy ropes for holding it down in really strong winds.

Rather than end up with pages of discussion about the awning in my build thread I have started a dedicated thread here http://www.pradopoint.com/showthread...072#post336072


Cheers Andrew

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

I am heading off on Friday to take on one of the toughest challenges in Australia, Madigans line through the Simpson Desert. Given minimum fuel carrying for a diesel for this trip is 220lts, then 100lts of water, 2 spare tyres and enough food and supplies to be self sufficent for 10 days + 7 days emergency supplies extra storage was needed in the Prado, fortunately going solo made fitting everything in a bit easier.

I had a few issues leading up to building the storage system so finishing everything off pretty had to take a back seat, making it strong and functional was what I needed, and hopefully what I got.

Its all mounted to the seat mounts so is held down nice and strong, everything else is either boxed in, tied down or bolted down, the spare tyre is both bolted and tied down! Not shown in the pics very well but lots of storage under the jerry cans and swag with a hinged lid under the swag.









I still have to add a 7ltr pressure sprayer that will go on the shelf next to the spare tyre (for fire emergecies), its a new sprayer that hasn't been used so the water in it can also be used for drinking if we get that desperate, other than that I am just about packed and ready to go.

Expect a trip report when (if) we make it home!

Cheers Andrew

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

That's awesome, AJ.

When can you start on a back seat setup like that for my bus? :P

Have a good trip.

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

Good luck and have a great trip Andrew

Want to see plenty of pics when you get back

[Trekrider Banned Find all posts View Profile Close Trekrider]

Great job on the storage as always there Andrew, have fun on your trip.

[REV Find all posts View Profile Close REV]

Hi Andrew,

At the 2011 GTG I said to you, that if you started your own business there would be enough custom from PP alone, to make it a success.

Well, I still haven't seen anything to make me change my mind.

Love your work.

Cheers
Lawrie

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

Nice work Andrew, good luck with the trip.

I'd be surprised if you dont make, if preparation has anything to do with it.

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

Best of luck with your trip Andrew! Look forward to the trip report!

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

Thanks for all the positive comments guys. Shes Lifted< Locked and fully loaded now.......... just the pillows to throw in; in the morning and I am off.

Should be a great opportunity to test out The Prado and all the mods and see what what works and what doesn't.

Threw in a couple of last minute mods which I will update you on when I return.

Cheers Andrew

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

Have a great trip Andrew, the Madigan Line is an awesome trip to do.

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

Great trip mate. This time last year we were planning the Vic high country... guess it can wait

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

Back from the big trip now and all is good, for all the info on the Madigans trip and any comments and questions about the trip have a look at the report here http://www.pradopoint.com/showthread...ine-with-AJ120 I will continue adding to that over the next few days as I get a chance to sort stuff out.

Just a quick update on how the Prado and all the mods performed on the trip. The low coolant alarm was brilliant and saved me from almost certainly cooking the motor after putting a hole in the radiator.

This was the first real workout for the Ipad mount and the VMS, very happy with both of those, my "dodgyoptions" in dash GPS continues to be next to useless but I no longer have any expectations of that ever doing what it is supposed to!

The new back seat storage system worked like a charm, I will pull that out now and put the back seats in again, so one more thing to store in the shed until the next big trip without DJ needing a back seat.

The Ostrich wing awning was just brilliant, it always attracted a crowd given that it was stinking hot for most of the trip, I set it up 3-5 times a day and it is just sooooo easy to use and sooooo good.

The only real issues as mentioned was the hole in the radiator where a stick went up through the cut out sections around where the tie down loops go in the ARB bash plate, stay tuned for the new improved bashplate to replace the ARB one! One of the indicators / parker lights in the ARB bar also parted company with its mounting point and smashed itself to pieces bouncing around under the bullbar, and a couple of flat tyres were the only other issues (for me anyway)

All in all I am very happy with the way everything performed, all the storage systems made accessing almost anything a quick and simple affair, and all my DIY mods continue to stand the test of time and tough conditions.

I have been procrastinating about a TPMS system ever since returning from Cape York, I bit the bullet at the last possible second and bought a tyre dog system for the trip, now I have it I am not sure how I ever survived without one, it was really very handy on the trip given the I had a couple of tyres constantly going down for most of the trip across the desert, it is also very educational as to how temperature can make huge variations to tyre pressure from one part of the day to another.







I will now look at hard wiring the tyre dog unit so I don't need to worry about batteries going flat!

Cheers Andrew

[Torrie 72 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Torrie 72]

G'day AJ, great write up on the Madigan Line! Sounds like you had an adventure!
I'm really keen on a TPMS too. I'd prefer the external sensors as I have a couple of sets of wheels/tyres and want to be able to swap the sensors over. By the looks of the pics yours survived ok, any damage or problems with the system?
Cheers, Ben.

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

G'day AJ, great write up on the Madigan Line! Sounds like you had an adventure!
I'm really keen on a TPMS too. I'd prefer the external sensors as I have a couple of sets of wheels/tyres and want to be able to swap the sensors over. By the looks of the pics yours survived ok, any damage or problems with the system?
Cheers, Ben.

No problems at all with the sensors. I had initially thought I wanted internal sensors but now I have these I think they are the way to go. Since getting home I have been fixing tyres and swapping wheels around and I can just put the sensor on whichever rim I put in a particular spot. The only thing I am super concious of is not loosing one when airing up or down, I have misplaced a lot of standard valve caps over the years but at only a few cents each they don't matter. I can always buy more sensors if I loose one but they are not cheap.

I have the metal valve stems so the sensors are fine to screw straight on, another guy on the trip with rubber valve stems had rubber blocks over the stems to stop them flexing and breaking with the extra inertia from sensors, don't know if they are really nescessary but they cant hurt.

Cheers Andrew

[D4D Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close D4D]

Do you think the 4 tyre TPMS is enough or if you had your time again would you buy the 8 tyre version?