William's 150 GXL D4D

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

Re: William's 150 GXL D4D

My brother and I got a start on the drawers today. We bought some screws at the local market and picked up some wood at bunnings. I think the 12mm ply was on sale as it was out the front of the trade centre and I hadn't seen it there previously. My original estimate:
"1. Plywood 6 sheets of 1200x600x12mm @ $27ea: $162 (Bunnings)"
The ones I bought were: 4 x Plywood sheets, 1200x1200 12mm @ $17.50ea. Bringing it to a total of $70!
To add to the tally of costs:
- Ply wood: $70
- 2 bags of screws: $7
- Car carpet: $30 for 1.3m x 2m... It wasn't the exact colour I wanted, though it was a couple dollars cheaper than Clark Rubber and the quality feels superior.
Total cost thus far is: $196

What's still required:
Mounts:
- Some longer M10 bolts(not yet measured)
- L brackets (not yet decided if I want to mount it this way...)

Misc:
- 7x 60mm M10 bolts to replace the 40mm bolts I currently have for the bearing system in the middle piece of the frame.

Other comments
- I have some spare wood and carpet to make "wings" ... It'll require a couple hinges and L brackets. Also thinking of closing the gaps on the side.
- It was 6pm and we had just finished building the drawers and outter frame. I then realised that I forgot to pick up the steel rails at Bunnings! Having some spare wood to work with, I decided to use wood for the rails. If this fails later on I can always replace it with the steel rails (as planned originally) as they are of the same width and length.
- Just a tip for those who may make the same mistake as me while in the designing stage, the calculations on my plan didn't take into account the carpeting! The mock-up fits perfectly right now, we'll have to shave a little off the front end so that the carpet wont get jammed up.

Here are a couple photos of the work in progress:





Still to do:
- Install all bearings and stopper blocks
- Mounting system
- Carpeting
- Install handles and locks
- Wings and "gap blocks"

Cheers

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

Re: William's 150 GXL D4D

Just a little update on what's going on...
After a discussion with Samo, I've decided to get slides for the drawers. I've also decided to remove a drawer and save a place for a future fridge. The build will hopefully continue this weekend.

A couple things to add to the list....
A recovery hitch:


A 24W LED worklight:

I've got another one on the way and they will both be acting as a camping light. My hopes would be to mount it similar to Matt and Samo (which can be found here), however as it'll be a camping light, I want it to be extendable to a decent height. Until I get a dual battery system, they will more than likely be running off a portable battery box on camping trips.

Upon testing the light, I must say the output is impressive. I'm hoping that two of them can make up for the 35W HID I'm currently using which has an output of approx 3000-3500 lumens. These LED worklamps are rated to have an output of 1600 lumens. Being a torch/light enthusiast I was going to build my own, however this unit has an aluminium body and would be far superior for heat dissipation (high output LEDs get REALLY hot) than anything I could build.

I also forgot to leave a review on the ABR Sidewinder HID spotties. I've taken them for a couple 5hour drives at night and through fog. Comparing them with the standard highbeam, the spotties spread/wide vision was more or less the same. I didn't want to unscrew it to make the beam wider as the light unit vibrates on the bullbar and I reckon it may very well unscrew on its own. The problem with vibration was that it can cause alignment problems and you can't fix it by tightening the bolt/nut as the mounts are plastic! It would be good if the mounts had little groves/teeth which would lock it in position. Anyway, the spot beam was perfect! It covered a decent amount of distance. As for the colour, the light is white and has a very slight blue tinge to it - this is using the clear lenses. The light colour with the blue lens on it is VERY blue and I wouldn't recommend using it. Also, fog and spotties don't mix, just don't do it as it'll reduce your vision greatly. Hope this review helps those who are interested in getting a set.

Cheers

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

Re: William's 150 GXL D4D

So after heavily modifying the original design, I have now completed the drawers. They slide very smoothly and there's a locking mechanism at the end to hold the drawer in. So what was modified?
- It is now a single drawer system with area for a fridge when I get one in the future.
- The bearing system was scraped and just went with drawer slides
- I used liquid nails and a staple gun for the carpet.

Whats left to do is to mount it to the cargo bay. It will be a modified version of the original design as I no longer have a side wall on one side. Anyway, here are some pics I took while doing a mock up of where to mount it.









I'm busy next weekend but I'll try my best to get it done!

Cheers

[Melbo Member Find all posts View Profile Close Melbo]

Re: William's 150 GXL D4D

That looks very nice.

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

Re: William's 150 GXL D4D

Thanks Melbo. It has a very smooth drawing action, everything is square and the carpeting is tidy. It is beyond the build quality I was expecting. Thanks to Samo of course who provided helpful tips and photos of his own set up.

Cheers

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

Re: William's 150 GXL D4D

top work william, looks like a bought 1 , as for helping others out thats what this place is all about. cheers samo :wink:

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

Re: William's 150 GXL D4D

top work william, looks like a bought , as for helping othesr out thats what this place is all about. cheers samo :wink:

Thanks Samo. I wholeheartedly agree with your comment. I like to give more back than I take, hence why I've been documenting the build (as well as for my own reference).

Anyway, onto the next side project! Reading that people had problems with the lock nut getting sheered on the spare wheel, I took the nut off (mine wasn't that tight) and thought I might do some recon for the rear work light.

So I took the rear wheel off.


To remove the cover you undo 4 screws and pop a clip located on the bottom right of the camera.


So here are is where the mounting bracket would go.


Close up of the bolt. Any idea what type of bolt (diameter and thread) that is?


Behind the carrier hosing is the rear camera connector, where I saw a grommet that could be exploited.


But then I noticed two nipple grommets on the bottom


Close up of the grommet.


When applying my telescopic design that I roughly sketched up the day before, I found that it was impossible to fit (without precision bent/welded metalwork) due to the curves of the wheel carrier. Here's a couple side pics.



As you can see it could probably see, it's going to be a tight squeeeze.


Oh and the second 24W worklamp arrived today.

This one was purchased from a different person, though I didn't expect two different products. They both share the same aluminium housing however one came with extra mounts and the biggest difference is the spread of the beam. One is much more floodier than the other - though I believe both of them are 24W as they are just as bright when tested against a wall.

On the right there is a 12v wireless remote switch. I forgot to put the remote in the photo... Basically the idea is that I will have the battery box in the car wired up to the lights. In between them, I'll have a fuse, switch, remote wireless bypass switch (incase the wireless switch fails) and the wireless switch. Why the remote switch you may ask? Well, it's a matter of convenience. To be able to go into my tent then close the lights off (hence not requiring a torch or walking in the dark) as well as waking up in the middle of the night to go take a leak without having to carry around a torch.

After reviewing the rear wheel carrier, it seems I won't be able to get the desired height, even if I were to buy the Kaymar worklight. For my design to work, the wheel carrier/hardcover shell would have to stick out some what... which would look really weird. So I'm thinking of mounting it to my Thule roof bars instead.


Any ideas are welcomed

Cheers

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

Re: William's 150 GXL D4D

An update on the camp light project... At this stage, I've completed the wiring. Here are some snaps of the trial run to see if the electrics works and operate the way they should.

Hooked up to my trusty ABR Sidewinder battery box with 105AH Fullriver AGM ... covered in sawdust from the drawer build :lol:


Light unit, front end. The electrical box is built to be water resistant so it can be run outside in the rain. I've yet to seal the box, hence the electrical tape holding the lid shut lol


Light unit, back end. Those cable ties are just temporary. I have yet to drill larger hole in the L bracket to properly mount the lights. I'll also be painting the brackets and bolts black once it's all ready to go.


Override switch. In the event the remote runs out of batteries or if the 12v switch module fails, this switch can be used to operate the light.


Wiring through the bar using a rubber grommet


The remote switch, which can be used from a distance of 100m. I've tested it from the back of the house to the front (exceeding the distance I'd pitch a tent from the Prado) and it works perfectly fine. Click here for a video of the light in action.

The current mounting solution will be across a pair of Thule Aero bars. Two L brackets will be held in using the T track and the light unit will be swung up and locked into position (I'll be able to post some pictures once the T adaptors arrive from Thule). This is where the T track adaptor will go into.



As for the power source, it will run from the battery box until (or should I say IF) a permanent mounting solution is made available. The unit could always be modified to be a rear work light if I ever want to in the future.

[hookedon4wding Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close hookedon4wding]

Re: William's 150 GXL D4D

Looks fantastic William. Can't wait to see the end result of the work light.

Cheers, Sam.

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

Re: William's 150 GXL D4D

Thanks Sam, as big Kev would say "I'm excited!" :lol: :lol: Just to be clear, it's a camping light, not a reverse light, so don't be shocked when you don't see it strapped behind the spare wheel lol. What you can expect though are a pair of lights towering approximately 3 meters from the ground. The idea is to get as high as possible in order to get a wider spread of light at camp as well as not to dazzle while walking around.

Anyway, I'm going on a trip next weekend so I'll definitely have the camp light ready by then so I can test and use it. I hope to get the drawer mounted by then too.

Cheers

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

Re: William's 150 GXL D4D

My T track adaptors arrived from Thule yesterday and I finished drilling the mounts on on the pole. I temporarily removed the rubber strip from the roof bars to access the T track and mounted the pole to it using L brackets. I'll be cutting the rubber as I need the extra grip when securing the maxtrax. Here are the pictures I that I promised in my previous thread.

Two L brackets mounted between the pole using 4 T track adaptors and M6 bolts. I've actually got a threadless bolt with a hole drilled through the side for a split pin. It'll be quicker and easier to pop the light up and down. I've also got to drill in a stopper plate to prevent the light from falling/swinging down to the rear, which would more than likely scratch and dent the rear spoiler.



A couple of shots to give you an idea of how tall this unit actually is. It's sturdy as a rock too.




Light unit folded down. I will get some rope or something to secure it down properly when in transit.



Brackets and bolts have been painted and are drying at the moment, I'll post more pics once the project is complete.

These T track adaptors have given me an idea! I might make a shovel holder next.

Cheers

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

Re: William's 150 GXL D4D

Drawer has now been mounted. I used wood instead of steel. Screwed the cross bars to the base of the box and drilled a couple holes to bolt the whole thing down. Some pics!

With the rear door closed, the handle has a 1cm gap between the door.


By using the two cross bars, a gap has been made. This is a good thing as the drawer now has extra clearance to slide


I was painting L brackets for my camp light project and decided to paint a couple more for the drawers. There are screws that run across the crossbars, but I thought I'd add an L bracket for added support.


On the other side, it's simply a bolt straight through.


Starting to load up some gear, with plenty of room for more. Notice, I ran out of carpet the first time around for the back of the drawer. I have some leftover carpet from the cross bars, so I might pull the drawer out and recarpet the interior properly.


I've noticed the drawer auto lock pin is starting to become loose, however it is still holding the drawer in. I can't imagine how much longer until it completely wears out. Can't expect much out of it since the bracket that locks it is made from plastic. Taking an idea from my fishing kayak, I'm thinking of using a simple bungee style lock to hold the drawer in.

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

Re: William's 150 GXL D4D

Next project! Dual battery system. I picked up an ARB battery tray and an Allrounder MRV50 80Ah battery today. I did a trial fit of the tray and battery and the cap connected to the aircon pipe rubs against the side of the battery. So I unscrewed the bracket and malleted out the locking pin then repositioned it. The battery now fits with a 10mm gap to the aircon pipe. I might fabricate a bracket to suit it better... Anyway, for those interested, here are some pics.

ARB tray fitted


Aircon valve touching battery


Bracket with locking pin malleted out and repositioned


Close-up of the new bracket position


I forgot to take a photo of the battery fitted in with the new bracket position. The aircon pipe was not bent in any shape or form.

Redarc sbi12 Isolator is on it's way and I've yet to measure up the wiring requirements, more on that later.

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

Re: William's 150 GXL D4D

You've been busy mate! those drawers look the part and a fine job there on the battery install too... Top work!

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

Re: William's 150 GXL D4D

Thanks Matty&Loz!
Always good to get some feedback from the audience :lol:
Yep, very happy with the drawer system, I made it so I could easily take it in and out of the cargo bay when the rear seats are needed. Anyway, the fridge platform measures up perfectly for the waeco fridge slide, but I have a feeling those bolts will be in the way. I'll have to deal with that when the time comes. :wink:


I forgot to mention that I gave the L brackets on the camp light project an extra coat today.. so they should be ready tomorrow and ready to rock at a camping trip I've got planned this weekend.

Cheers