So it’s been a busy few weeks since my last update and a number of things have been fitted in this time.
Firstly I fitted up a pair of Kaon front recovery points which I believe are far superior to any other recovery points I’ve seen for the front of 70 series Landcruisers .
The most time has been spent measuring up and turning my Troopy “The Truck” into a colander (trying to save weight?) adding precisely positioned holes (bullet holes??) down the passenger side to fit the tracks.
Well actually there are 10 holes all painted and prepped, a pair of Front Runner 1.8 metre Universal Load Tracks which I Sikaflex (flexible glue) and stainless steel bolted with extra large thick washers on the inside for extra support .
So why the tracks down the side of the vehicle?
Well I have been wanting to put a Maxtrax table on the side of the vehicle so I am able to cook outside so any smells from the cooking do not end up inside making it a bit smelly to sleep inside at night.
Normally they are riveted or bolted through the bodywork and permanently fixed and at some point in time when using the vehicle but I like the ability to remove the Table and Maxtrax’s from the side of the vehicle.
So with the universal load tracks connected to the side of the vehicle permanently I can loosen the security bolts and slide the table off the side of the vehicle.
Yes I first saw this used on Andrew @ 4xOverland South Africa project Troopy build.
I ended up having a face to face video call with Andrew about a number of different things about the build of my vehicle and information and he told me exactly which load rails I needed to order and use.
PS: the video phone call with Andrew was extremely informative and helped me save a lot of money on a few different things. I learned so much Moreland this enhanced the knowledge I have from my background.
The other person I spoke to over the phone was Sean @ Mission 4×4 who had just fitted a set of tracks to his new Troopy build and had a different position and placement to those they used in South Africa on Andrew‘s Troopy. In this position and distance related to other accessories that he has got coming out including one I’ve just seen released in the last few days.
Sean recommended drilling out the mounting points to 6 mm and using 6 mm bolts to hold the table to the rails, the only problem was that the 6 mm nuts that I found to fit in to the track were a little bit too tight to fit and extremely expensive to purchase in New Zealand in stainless steel. I found some available from Svnty Offroad Oz and a whole packet with a few spare left over landed in New Zealand and came to the same price as just two stainless steel nuts that weren’t quite fit the tracks.
The problem was that they were M8 so I drilled the table mounting holes out to 8 mm holes and used M8 security bolts to hold the table to the vehicle.
Note to all these people above these companies that I’ve paid full retail prices and shipping to New Zealand.
There were no discounts involved and it’s been a trying process to make it all fit up and find parts to make it fit.
I’m glad I’ve done it this way because it’s given me some flexibility with the table being able to be removed or even just moved forward or back depending on my desires.
Also, I can mount other things at the front and the back of these tracks which I have a plan on the other side to mount a funnel temporarily when camping to allow me to dispose of my grey water directly into my grey water tank mounted under the back of the vehicle. This will save me from carrying any grey/washing up water inside to dispose of it into my extremely small sink.
Now you may be thinking that I’m trying to build this to the latest certification green stickers.
And I was but I’ve got to the point that some of the regulations are not convenient or practical to be used in my planned purpose off-road going on up to hiking trails, seeing the remote parts in New Zealand. Also, I learnt working on Overland trucks and tour buses in Europe has meant I have changed it to a more functional design to be used every day in New Zealand, and instead the green certification I have joined Responsible Camping Association which certified the camper and not the vehicle following the old simple principle of Leave No Trace camping .
Yes I have removed the V8 and Toyota badges.
In 1987 I left my parents home for the first time and hopped on a plane to the UK and started exploring the world.
Being a mechanic by trade (well actually a motorcycle engineer to be exact) and the number of the lower tier travel companies were willing to take anyone on with the bus drivers license who could budge or fix any thing broken down bus/truck in the middle of nowhere! This lead to the start of my adventures that I have been lucky enough to be involved in over the years.
In the coming weeks I have to fit my main stainless steel 49 litre water tank up underneath the driver side floor and a 45 litre grey water tank mounted up behind the rear sub tank in front of the rear bumper. This is made from plastic and is on its way from Australia at this very moment.
Also, I’m making up the mounting bracket to go onto the side wall to locate the fridge and also making up the drawer slide for the toilet to slide into.
More to come, if you see me out and about just come over and say hi and have a look.
Also, you might like to check one of my earlier project Troopy posts like this one Project Troopy Update – April