New Black D4 Build

[Smcconnell]

Hey Gents,

It's time to make the dream into reality. Later this month my wife and I are heading up to QLD, NT and WA, which means the vehicle had to be kitted out appropriately.

In preparation, I spent the last 2 months mulling over equipment choices and budgets - and finally arrived at this configuration:

- Opposite Lock bullbar
- VRS with
- Prospeed Sliders + Guard
- Compomotives
- BFG KO2s
- Frontrunner roof rails
- Bundutec Moremi RTT
- Bundutec Bunduawn Awning
- Uniden Antenna + CB package

Last week I dropped my D4 at Opposite Lock Rockdale to start the fitting process. Three days later I got a call saying I can pick it up. I have to say, I'm pretty impressed by the speed and the workmanship of the boys at that shop. Here's what it looks like so far (see pics). I also like the look of Prospeed sliders. They look much better in real life than in photos.

I have to say, the car looks pretty funny with so much offroad equipment bolded on to it and with the 20" wheels. There's a shortage of KO2s in the county ATM, so I have to wait until mid next to put the Compomotives on.

I'm also toying with the idea of tidying up the appearance by matching colour of the RTT and awning covers to the colour of the car. Black covers will get much hotter in the sun, but they'll look smarter - at the moment everything looks quite noisy. I wonder if a can of good spraypaint and some masking tape will do the trick?


Steven


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[Chops]

Looking very smart as is Steven,,, [biggrin] Black will be hot, but it'll only be the covers, and if you set up shop early enough, it will allow the tent/bedding to cool down sufficiently.

your trip rip sounds like a beauty,, what's the time frame you e got planned?

[rocket rod]

Hi Steven

Looks great. If you're not towing anything get rid of the tow hitch otherwise your shins will feel the pain. Think about installing a 2nd battery system (Traxide preferred option) and then setup some LED strips at various spots around the car and tent. Saves heaps of times with setup. Your tyre selection will be a benefit if you are on the Gibb River road at some stage. It's an easy drive but the top end has a very sharp surface and can cut up tyres pretty quickly. I recently bought some Rhino wheel carrier planks for the front part of my roof rack to carry a 2nd spare but I'm nor sure if you can use your tent with that setup though.

Have fun.

[LRDisco_Fever]

Great build so far mate, can't wait to see it in the metal when you make your way up here. [emoji1417]

[LandyAndy]

Love seeing Black D4's.I was so close to going black again,had a choice of white,silver or black.The only reason I changed was the black was pretty hard to maintain.They look smick!!!!!
Andrew

[Smcconnell]

Thanks gents.

Over the weekend we did a little shakedown trip to Diggings Campground near Lithgow.

The Bundutec awning was quite intimidating at first, but once I figured it out it's quite a breeze to set up and pack down. I chose it over the typical square awnings because I liked the idea of a massive protected living space and so far it has hit the nail on the head.

Below are some photos of the setup in which you can see the awning; you'll also see me trying to work out how to set up the RTT.

As you can see, I'm also very excited about the Compomotives. They arrived weeks ago, but there's a shortage of KO2s in the country, so waiting for a shipment to come in (next week, I'm told). Until that happens the Compomotives being used as footstools in my living room and I'm rolling around on 20"s.

One interesting detail are the Luci lanterns. I like creating living spaces which have a nice ambiance. Lighting plays a huge part in achieving that and that's why I've never been a fan of LED lights which you typically see in campsites - they give out a harsh, contrasty light which changes mood of the space for the worse. I spent quite a bit of time searching for campsite lights which emit nice and soft light and found these ones. They are solar rechargeable and fold flat when not in use. Quite a few of them are required to illuminate a decent-sized campsite.

Steven

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[BrianElloy]

plenty of 265/65/18 K02's available.. only the 60 series are a little hard to come by, and there are even 122 load rated versions available which for your trip would be a huge advantage

Bfgoodrich ALL-TERRAIN T/A KO2 265/65R18 122S Tyres - Buy Online Price $380 (https://www.tyresales.com.au/buy/tyre/bfgoodrich/all-terrain_t-a_ko2/265-65r18/112177?q=4)

and apparently clearance is not a problem. I'll know for sure thursday when I fit mine!

[veebs]

Looks like an awesome setup Steven - rather jealous! We are in the very early stages of collecting the bits and pieces we need for a remote trip or two - getting the car was a pretty big recent step!

I'm totally with you on the lighting - I despise the big long lines of ultra white, ultra bright LED strips you see when camping nowadays. A quick google of the lanterns shows they have any number of models - which one did you go with? Is it a 'warm white' light? (Hard to tell from photos)

[DiscoJeffster]

For those who can solder, you can get warm white (2700k) LED flexible, silicone sheath covered strips on AliExpress for about $12 for 5 metres. Wire on a dimmer ($3) and you've got a better light than the $70 oztrail 'white' LED strips.
This setup gives off a far more pleasant ambient light colour. I'm about to also order another strip of deep orange for those times I'm camped on the beach where the crazy beetles arrack the light. You can get waterproof 5.5mm x 2.1mm dc plugs as well to make switching LED strips a simple exercise.

[LRD414]

Looking good Steve. What are you thinking for internal storage?

Scott

[Smcconnell]

Hey Scott,


Your High Country trip is looking nice, I’m following with interest.


My interim storage solution is 8 x Frontrunner Wolfpack boxes. They integrate with their sliding drawer system, so they'll be forwards-compatible with this system when I get it. I got them because they're very sturdy, so, when stacked in various ways, they can be used as steps, stools or extra bench space. You can see them in one of the photos above.

Brian, as tempting as they were, I decided against 265s. Mainly because I didn't want to be in a situation where I have an accident and cops + insurance company discover (no pun intended, ha) that my tyres are illegal - and use that to refuse cover / make me liable for damages / punish me by making me drive a LandCruiser for the rest of my life / etc.

As an interesting sidenote, another item arrived today - Darche RTM 1440 inflatable roof top tent mattress:

RTM 1400 | Darche Outdoor Gear (https://darche.com.au/product/rtm-1400/)

It's designed to replace the standard mattress in any standard-sized roof tent, but I like a good night's sleep, so I'm going to use it in addition to the standard one. My RTT's 60mm thick foam mattress is certainly OK, but together they'll make sleeping in that RTT a hotel room level experience :)


Steven

PS I got most of my camping equipment from snowys.com.au They're currently having an Easter sale. Quite good savings and tonnes of great gear - check them out if tents, camp ovens, etc are on your shopping list this year.