Ron & Viv set for the next leg, Overland through South America, with their trusty Patrol and Tvan.
Ron & Viv's Nissan Patrol setup with bullbar, lights, winch and snorkel.
Click on sponsors button
above and the logos below to go to links.
Outback 4WD have ensured the vehicle is in the best condition for the next long haul.
Ron & Neil outside the RAC
centre in Bristol at the end of the Africa trip, sorting our Carnets.
SOUTH & CENTRAL AMERICA OVERLAND
Our Track Trailer Murranji Tvan
We’ve just upgraded to the latest Murranji Tvan – you can’t get too much of a good thing!
For a bit more … no, a lot more … comfort, we are taking a Track Tvan to the Americas with us. For this long trip we’ve just upgraded to our third Tvan over the 10 years they have been manufactured, and this one is their top-of-the-line Murranji camper that has just been developed (see: www.tracktrailer.com).
To see more details about our new Tvan, check out the link ourcampers T-van.
Our Nissan Patrol 4.2-litre 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, Victoria, 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
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
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/
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 refilling 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. Purifiers Australia, ph: 1300 303 605 or: www.purifiersaustralia.com.au
First Need - www.generalecology.com/portablesystem.htm
For security we've fitted a couple of Hide Away Safes to the vehicle: www.hideawaysafe.com.au .
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
Creative Conversions in Queensland, did the chassis stretch modifications on the Patrol.
Our Patrol is fitted with the best accessories from ARB.
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.
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.
Mr Funnel in action.
