Read about Ron & Viv's vehicle and camping setup.
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Ron & Viv's Nissan Patrol setup with bullbar, lights, winch and snorkel.
Outback 4WD in Bayswater got our vehicle ready for its big trip.
Creative Conversions in Queensland, did the chassis stretch modifications on the Patrol.
Ron & Viv's Patrol with the Carry Me Camper on the back.
Carry Me camper erected over the kitchen area.
The side walls erected on the Carry Me Camper.
The Black Widow awning erected, and the Engel fridge on its slide and tilt tray from Candy Canvas.
Hide Away Safe.
Brantz Trip Metre.
Magellan GPS .
Our Vehicle
The Nissan Patrol 4.2-litre started life as a wagon but was converted to a dual-cab ute a couple of years ago. In Australia it has seen 4WD action on Cape York, through the Gulf of Carpentaria, the Kimberley, Tasmania and has just returned from a long foray along the remote Canning Stock Route.See our website: www.guidebooks.com.au for more details on our vehicles, or for any of our books as well as tips and travel information for traveling remote Outback Australia.
There's a long list of accessories and modifications. These include the following:
All our servicing and much of the preparation work on our vehicle was done by Outback 4WD in Bayswater, Victori, ph: (03) 9720 6226 or: www.outback4wd.com.au
The Carry Me Camper is by Candy Canvas and the camper includes the dust free canopy and the rooftop tent: www.candycanvas.com.au
The chassis stretch and body work modification was done by Creative Conversions in Queensland. It is a top job: www.creativeconversions.com.au
For the best in vehicle protection we have an ARB bullbar and sidesteps: www.arb.com.au
To carry the big loads over the roads and tracks we have fitted a full Old Man Emu LTR suspension and heavy duty 50mm lift coil springs: www.arb.com.au
To get us out of trouble a Warm 9000lb electric winch graces the bullbar. A 30-metre length of plasma rope not only lightens the weight of the winch but is easier and safer to use: www.arb.com.auTo improve the offroad ability of any 4WD vehicle you can't get any better than a set of cross-axle diff locks. We fitted Air Locker front and rear diff locks: www.arb.com.au
For even more offroad ability we have had fitted a set of Marks 4WD crawler gears, which increases the reduction of the transfer box when in low ratio: www.marks4wd.com
A set of Max Trax will help us get through the soft sandy patches: www.maxtrax.com.au
For driving at night you can't go past a set of IPF Driving Lights: www.arb.com.au
A Rhino Roofrack graces the top of the Patrol. These lightweight but durable racks carry all the light bulky gear: www.rhinorack.com.au
Good seats make long distance driving painless and we've fitted a pair of Paratus seats: www.arb.com.au
We've tried the lot of different tyres over the years, but for a tough radial tyre meant for rough offroad work, there is none better than the Cooper STT tyre: www.coopertires.com.au
One of the things that save tyres, especially in the bush, is a tyre monitoring system and they don't come any better than the SmarTire system distributed in Australia by Autron: www.autron.com.au
To make the long hauls easier we've fitted the excellent Autron Cruise control: www.autron.com.au
We've fitted an excellent Piranha dual battery system, while to give our electrical system a bit more grunt we fitted an Optima battery. We've also improved the normal headlights with a Piranha light upgrade kit: www.piranhaoffroad.com.au
Projecta make a range of handy electrical and electronic products for your 4WD vehicle including a range of inverters and battery chargers and we have a 1000 watt inverter fitted to the Patrol: www.projecta.com.au
Our radios, sat phone and long distance communication needs have always been looked after by Telstat Communications, ph: (03)9786 9422, or: www.telstat.com.au
As far as a fridge/freezer is concerned you can't beat the Engel range and we have fitted a 40-litre Engel to our vehicle: - www.engelaustralia.com.au
Our brakes have been upgraded with a full set of dimpled and slotted rotors and Kevlar impregnated discs from RDA Brakes: www.rdabrakes.com.au
Our turbo system was upgraded and we fitted a 3-inch exhaust system at the same time, all from MTQ Engine Systems: http://www.mtqes.com.au/
To make the Patrol run cooler in the heat of the Top End of Australia - and Africa - we fitted a bigger more efficient radiator from PWR Cooling Products: www.pwr.com.au
We run the Patrol on Red Line Oil products - in the engine, gearboxes and diffs. For the engine we've also fitted a Franz oil filter: www.frantzfilters.com.au & www.redlineoil.com.au
We never send our vehicles bush without a snorkel - it is the cheapest insurance around - and the Patrol is fitted with a Safari snorkel: www.arb.com.au
To help clean air get to the engine and to help save the air cleaner element we quickly slip on a UniFilter filter sock, especially when we are traveling in dusty conditions or in convoy: www.uniflow.com.au
For the best of fuel we've changed the Patrol's fuel filter for a more readily procurable Lucas/CVA filter with a Water-Stop sedementer. As well, we fitted a De-Bug fuel filter and we use a 'Mr Funnel' fuel filter funnel when refulling from drums or jerry cans: www.thedieselexperts.com & www.morison.com.au & www.mrfunnel.com
We've used quite a bit of MSA Products and the Patrol has their excellent and durable seat covers and their handy seat organizer: www.msaproducts.com.au
Black Widow Storage accessories offer a wide range of tough and handy storage drawers but we've fitted the Patrol with their handy awning and table: www.blackwidow4wdstorage.com
We've added a water pump and a water filtration system to the Patrol. This includes a paper sludge filter and then a 1-micron carbon filter backed up by a First Need RV purifier. We're also carrying a Steripen for the handy purifying of small quantities of water. Purifiers Australia, ph: 1300 303 605 or: www.purifiersaustralia.com.au
Steripen - www.hydro-photon.com
First Need - www.generalecology.com/portablesystem.htmFor security we've fitted a couple of Hide Away Safes to the vehicle: www.hideawaysafe.com.au .
To help us find the way we have a Magellan eXplorist XL GPS as well as a Brantz Laser 3 tripmeter: www.4wdworld.com.au/products/brantz
For real time mapping we're using OziExplorer and have a PDA connected to the GPS which we set up through GPS Oz. Check out the two sites: www.oziexplorer.com & www.gpsoz.com.au
To improve our vision out the back of the Patrol we fitted a reversing camera from Cobra Automotive Accessories: www.cobracaralarms.com.au
See our website: www.guidebooks.com.au for more details on our vehicles, or for any of our books as well as tips and travel information for traveling remote Outback Australia.
Old Man Emu LTR Shocks.
Warn 9000lb winch and Plasma Rope.
Max Trax for those sandy situations.
Rhino roofrack and Michelle's Sac bag help store gear on the roof.
ARB Paratus seats.
Cooper STT tyres.
Projecta Inverter.
RDA Brakes .
Red LIne Oil.
Lucas Oil filter.
Mr Funnel in action.