B34CONs overlanding build from NZ

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G'day all - thanks for checking this out!

I picked up my KZJ95 in early 2019. She was a gorgeous example freshly imported from Japan with a single previous owner.
1998 Toyota landcruiser prado TX 3.0td 1kz-te
Factory 5 speed manual
75,000 kms when I purchased her.

When I picked her up, I was in love with having my first "real" 4x4. Here's a photo of her the day I brought her home.

The first thing that I HAD to do - was upgrade my head unit from the Japanese band stock unit. In comes a JVC Android auto head unit. There is something very neat about driving a 20 year old truck with Android auto.

I left her as she was for a good two years, just slowly rolling the kilometers on as I got to know the new truck.

Some 33 inch wheels and tires popped up locally for $400 - and while they were on 15" wheels and people say you can't run 15s... I picked them up, and set out to prove you can fit 15s.

You can run 15s.. you just need some big ass spacers... Also, stock height? Not gonna happen... So the modification bug bit me..

I said to a mate "I'm not going to do much of a lift, maybe 1.5" tops" two weeks later I had picked up a set of 80s springs to run in the rear and a 2" front lift from dobinsons. She looked pretty damn good.

With the 2" front lift and 3" rear lift, I could easily run my 33s with no issues. However, I really HATE spacers, they just make me nervous. So after proving the naysayers wrong and running 15s, I decided to sell them off and get some wheels that fit without spacers. So I picked up some 16x8 -22 steelies and I'm so much happier.

I've reached the photo limit for this post, I'll update further soon!

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So - after I picked up my new shoes, I started exploring my backyard again, saw some incredible sceneries. Then I decided to go and hit the beach...

This particular beach is great fun, 25 odd kilometers north to south.. out of the 25kms of sand there is maybe 10 meters of bog hole... So, I had to give the bog hole a go... This was my first time getting truly stuck.... I was saved by a passing 4 wheeler, but when I got home I decided I cannot run the risk of getting stuck on my own with minimal recovery gear... So the hunt was on for a winch/bull bar. I live in New Zealand, so I considered my options very carefully, and in reality, I don't have a huge need for large hoops. This was fortunate as the company only had one bar in stock... A low hoop MCC Rocker bar - knowing how hard it is to find winch bars at the moment, I bit the bullet and purchased my bull bar. It looks sweet!

So feeling pretty happy with the setup, it was time to get some more kilometers on the clock. I did 6,000kms in 5 weeks with the new suspension and holy damn is it comfortable! However I began getting very frustrated every time I looked at the truck... I knew there was going to be some rake given I had 3" in the rear and 2" in the front... But I didn't realize how much it would bother me... (It was the beach picture that drove me nuts)

I have a pretty stubborn mentality when it comes to cars... If I'm lowering a car it can only go lower. However if I'm lifting a car it can only go higher..

So to figure out my plan of attack, I did a dummy load of my overlanding gear to see how high the back will sit fully loaded. Fully loaded it's slightly over 3" from stock. So this gave me the confidence to do something silly.. 3" front lift!

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So I made mention of my overlanding setup - I totally forgot to actually show you all and describe it!

I'll start with the best pictures - the final (90% final) product.

So it's a double height dual drawer system. I'm currently in the process of revising my final design to gain more drawer depth and hopefully a slightly lower overall weight.

On the right hand side (drivers side) I have my kitchen. Dual extension bench and stove top. Underneath the bench is my pantry - storing food & cooking utensils.
On the left hand side, the bottom drawer is designed to easily store and organize my recovery equipment for quick efficient recoveries. The top drawer is my "activities" draw. Filled with fishing gear, camping gear and anything else I may need.