Thread: Defender Cab Chassis, spare wheel storage?

Hi,
the weight is a factor I am considering.
When compared with the Patrol that was used for the testing, the Defender 130 has much more spare capacity.
The Patrol seems close to its over hang limit of 60% wheelbase behind the rear axle.
The testing that was done (Simpson and Cape York) was with in the capabilities of the Patrol (Coils replaced with Airbags).
The payload of the Defender is 1,777kg vs 1153 for the Patrol Dx Coil, (both without tray).
The Defender 130 has some 400mm spare, which is why I considered moving the tray 250mm backwards for the two spare wheels and 114L of water. That should give me room for the tanks and space to mount the wheels I think.
I don't have the measurements from the rails to the deck of the tray as yet.

Nx205, any chance of a closeup photo of the turn-buckles that hold your Trayon in place? Have yet to check that out on the Innovan. I know they use a different leg to cab attachment to Happyjack or Hijack systems.
If you could measure

• Top of chassis rail to tray deck
• Max diameter of standard tyre

it would be appreciated.

cheers

How much water do you intend to carry? One of the Innovan's strong points is its huge storage compartment up-front. You can easily put 200l worth of water tanks in there without even noticing (space wise, again weight will be a factor), so wouldn't have thought you'd want to carry even more outside of the camper.

And you can get a roof rack for the tyres. That's where mine are.

I've seen the Innovan up-close, and looked certainly well designed and built.

Originally Posted by austastar

Hi,

Nx205, any chance of a closeup photo of the turn-buckles that hold your Trayon in place? Have yet to check that out on the Innovan. I know they use a different leg to cab attachment to Happyjack or Hijack systems.
If you could measure

• Top of chassis rail to tray deck
• Max diameter of standard tyre

it would be appreciated.

cheers

I can do that, but you will have to wait till tomorrow. i want to watch the tribute to Skippy.

This is what the Trayon attachment buckle looks like:



The Michelin XLZ 7.50R16s that come standard with the new 130s are approx 31.5" in diameter, or just a touch over 80cm.

Hi slt,
yep, I've climbed in to the 'warehouse' at the front of the Innovan, it is impressive the space that can be created without all the framing and bracing needed with 'traditional' builds.
The tanks I am looking are Camec 006096, at 355mm high I doubt they will go under a tray, at 760 long two should fit across the back, and at 230mm there should be enough space between the head board and the cab for the width of tyres.
Where the top of the spare tyres, and over hang of the Innovan will meet, I have no idea yet. If I can get the measurement of a wheel diameter and the distance from chassis rail to tray deck top surface, I will know whether to persevere or abandon the idea.

I want to get a substantial water supply on the truck independent of what is being carried on the back. This will give me the option of going 'light weight' with a tent for the Simpson and Canning and not having to leave all creature comforts in the Innovan if we park it some where while we explore the more serious tracks.

cheers

Originally Posted by slt

This is what the Trayon attachment buckle looks like:

Thanks for the photo, it looks like it is very substantial.
So that will fit any standard tray? or do they adapt them to what ever tray you have on the ute?

Originally Posted by slt

The Michelin XLZ 7.50R16s that come standard with the new 130s are approx 31.5" in diameter, or just a touch over 80cm.

Thanks for that, it looks like the Innovan is 960 from the deck to under the small overhang, so it is still looking good.

cheers

Originally Posted by austastar

So that will fit any standard tray? or do they adapt them to what ever tray you have on the ute?

That's what they use for trays with combing rails. Not sure what they do for tray's without. vnx205's looks like it's attached to the tray directly, so he might be able to give you a better description on that one.

The attachment in Sit's photo is the standard Trayon fitting.

The original owner of mine made a couple of fairly clever modifications.

One of them was some legs and attachments that are much stronger and more stable than the original. That is not to say there is anything inadequate about the original ones. It's just that his wife wanted it to be more stable when on its legs off the camper.

He had it on a dual cab Hilux and when I drove up to Qld to pick up the camper, I just changed the length of the clamps to suit my tray by bending the hook at the bottom of the threaded rod in a different place.

When I got home, I made new ones to hook directly onto the lip of the tray instead of to the rope rail. That made them a lot shorter.

These cropped images from a couple of photos might give you an idea of what they look like. I can take some detailed shots tomorrow if these don't show what you need to see. I may modify them one day. I won't bore you with the details of my idea unless you really want to know.

If you get a new Trayon, they make the clamps to suit your vehicle.