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TRAVELLING PATROL


4.2 litre turbo diesel GU PATROL

OUTSIDE THE CAB

ARB Bullbar, Steel Side Rails & Warn 9000i Winch
An ARB deluxe bullbar was one of the first items we fitted and tucked in behind it is a Warn winch. Not that a winch is an essential part of the make-over for touring Australia, but if you intend travelling on your own in far-off country some form of self-recovery is a definite requirement - and a hand winch is just too much hard work.
And the bar? Steel protects better than anything else and we wanted the best protection! To the bar, after a couple of forays bush, we added a set of steel side rails and decent steps.

IPF Driving Lights
At the same time a set of IPF driving lights from ARB were fitted. These are the rectangular 800 series fitted with HIR bulbs for increased efficiency and more light on the road where you need it. One (the near side) is a wide pattern to search out wildlife standing on the edge of the road, while the driver's side is a spot beam that stretches down the centre of the bitumen pinpointing any animals standing in harms way.

Piranha Light Upgrade Kit
We also improved the normal headlights by fitting a Piranha light upgrade kit. This kit of relays, wiring and globes improved the lights both on low and high beam allowing the driving lights to be aimed to reach out further.

 

Lightforce HID Driving Lights
More recently I have also been running a set of Lightforce HID Xenon gas discharge lights, mounted rather dawkishly on the top rail of the bullbar. These large, hi-tech and expensive lights draw very little current but throw an impressive, near pure-white beam a long, long way down the road. They are the ultimate lighting set-up for those that do a lot of night driving. The trouble is they are only on loan for testing purposes so the company will probably want them back – I'm dreading the call!

Tyres - Cooper ST's
Tyres were also one of the first things to be changed, the HT style of rubber that comes with the Patrol may be fine on the blacktop but are found wanting when mud turns to glug and gravel turns to gibber.

We opted for a set of 285/75R16 Cooper ST's for all of our running around and back country work. These have been fitted to a set of ROH alloy 'Monsoon' rims which not only look good but have proven to be a robust roller.

On our most recent trip we ran a set of the new Cooper STT's and have been very pleased with them.
We’ve now done 30,000km on our Cooper STT tyres in the last six months around Oz, most of that heavily loaded with a van on the back and for much of the time with four people in the cab. Over 10,000km was on dirt roads or tracks.

Like any muddy these tyres do cost you a little in fuel economy over an all-terrain or highway tread pattern. They are also noisier than those tread designs, but I’m hard pushed to notice any difference between them and, say, a Cooper ST tread pattern. With tread wear just over the half way mark we’d suggest we’ll get 45 to 50 thousand out of this set of tyres. That’s more than acceptable for the conditions we’ve experienced.

Over the years I’ve used a lot of tyres but these are now my preferred tyre for the long tough trips we do – a good compromise between ride quality, bitumen road manners, dirt road grip and handling and wet track traction. That third ply in the side wall seems to do the trick in regard to toughness and reliability! Given my druthers I’d run something less aggressive around town or on those mainly blacktop hauls – probably a set of Mickey Thompson FC11’s – they are not so aggressive but still pretty good offroad!

SmarTire
We’ve now got a SmarTire tyre monitoring system fitted. These continually monitor tyre pressure and temperature and sound an audible warning if they vary by a set figure. They can save tyres! In Australia SmarTire is distributed by Autron.

 

Suspension - ARB Old Man Emu Springs & Shocks
Not long after getting our Patrol we changed the suspension completely. Carrying the loads we do as well as having such items as a winch at the front and a dual tyre carrier at the back an upgraded suspension is a real necessity.
While we settled for Old Man Emu (OME) springs and shocks we did muck around a bit trying to find the right rate spring which best suited our travels - which often includes our Track T-Van. What we have settled on is a spring that gives us a good 50mm lift and a fairly firm ride at the back end when the vehicle is empty, but is more than adequate in all regards for when we are fully loaded with the camper trailer on the back. It is a compromise, but as you'll discover you can't have everything!

We’ve now backed the springs up with the latest OME LTR (Long Travel Remote Canister) shocks. Not that there was anything wrong with the OME Nitrochargers, far from it in fact and we never had any trouble with those shocks.

But the LTR’s are something else again. These are shocks meant for the rough stuff whether you are in competition, or doing a lot of travelling on outback roads and carrying heavy loads, or travelling quickly on corrugated roads. They are not cheap but they are superb.

ARB Front and Rear Locker Diff Locks & ARB Air compressor
Front and rear air locker diff locks from ARB, complete with an ARB air compressor (mounted under the front passenger seat) have added a big improvement in offroad ability, while giving us the flexibility to air down and pump up when required. One thing we like about the lockers and the lower ratio gears in the transfer box (see below) is the ability to tackle hard stuff at a slower, more controlled pace. It's nothing to do with being 'gung- ho' or competitions and the like, but on preserving the vehicle and making it easier on the people inside.

Marks 4WD Adaptors Rock Crawling Gears
Increasing the offroad ability even more has been a set of rock crawling gears from Marks 4WD Adaptors. These have replaced the normal low ratio gears in the transfer box, dropping the reduction in low first from a standard 33.6:1 to an impressive 62.2:1. It more than makes up for the slightly taller tyres!

Kaymar Rear Step & Towbar
While the Patrol was a wagon we have replaced the standard bumper with a Kaymar rear step and towbar. These are much more robust, protecting body work and rear lights a great deal more so than the standard fare. As well, the rear step acts as a fine place for a Kaymar swing away tyre carrier, complete with adjustable height work light. While we only normally carry just the one spare though, the step is set up to hold two separate tyre carriers for those long trips into isolated country.

Now we've made it into a dual cab ute we don't have any requiremnt for a rear step although the towing is taken care of with a Haymen Reese heavy duty 3-tonne tow-hitch.

 

Safari Snorkel
A Safari snorkel has been added to keep water and dust away from the engine. While it normally has a ram intake on the inlet we also have a pre-cleaner for dusty conditions or when running in convoy. A snorkel is the cheapest insurance you can buy and anyone who heads bush and plans to do water crossings really needs one!

 

Long Range Fuel Tank - ARB
Even though the Patrol comes with two tanks there's still many times when in the remoter parts of the outback when more fuel is not only handy but a definite requirement. We opted to add a Long Ranger tank, replacing the main tank with a bigger unit. We now haul 180 litres of fuel, a 45 litre increase over standard. We could add more by replacing the smaller sub-tank, but at this stage we don't think we need it

 

See you in the bush.

 

Ron and Viv.

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Equipment and Accessory Suppliers
ARB, ph: (03) 9761 6622
Autron Electronics, ph: (03) 9329 2992
Berrima Diesel, ph: (02) 4877 1256
Black Widow Storage Systems, ph: (03) 5428 8088
Bushranger 4WD Accessories, ph: 1800 654 767
Car Tint, ph: (03) 9870 6667
Cooper tyres, ph: (07) 3272 98886
Creative Conversations, ph: (07) 3881 0577
Engel Fridge/Freezers, ph: 1300 302 653
De-Bug Australia, ph: 03 9798 1145
Flexi-Tank, Ph: (03) 9887 5277
GME Electrophone, ph: (02) 9844 6666
Garmin, ph: (02) 9844 6666
Kaymar 4WD Accessories, ph: (03) 9870 4419
LightForce, ph: (08) 8340 2766
Long Ranger Fuel tanks, ph: (02) 4953 3288
Magellan, ph: 1800 644 033
Marks 4WD Adaptors, ph: (03) 9793 3388
Mickey Thompson tyres, ph: (07) 3272 9888
Michelle's Sacs, ph: (08) 9248 1111
Milford Cargo Barriers, ph: (08) 8294 5955
Nissan Australia, ph: (03) 9797 4111
Outback 4WD Centre, ph: (03) 9720 6226
Outback 4WD Storage, ph: 1800 354 066
Piranha Offroad Products, ph: (03) 9762 1200
Radtel Network, ph: (02) 4943 1745
Rankin Diesel Injection Service, ph: (03) 9762 9133
ROH Wheels, ph: (08) 8468 4140
Safari snorkels, ph: (03) 9720 4211
Tanami Storage Systems, ph: (03) 5981 0377
Telstat Communications, ph: (03) 9786 9422
Thule roofracks, ph: (02) 9439 2526
VKS-737 Network, ph: (08) 8287 6222
Warn winches, ph: (03) 9761 6622