My 2007 Discovery 3 build journey

[ndrew]

Hi, everyone.

I wanted to share my build journey with you all, as I turn my 2007 Discovery 3 into the touring machine I want it to be. I also wanted to document the work I do on the car for my own purposes, so I'm also using this as an opportunity to do just that.

The starting point:

I picked up this 2007 Discovery 3 in Stornoway Grey from Newcastle in December 2017. Very low kays – a mere 67,000 on the clock – and in pristine condition. I was bloody thrilled with the pickup. It already had a couple of items checked off – an ARB winch bar, Toyo Open Country ATs at 285/60R18s, Narva LED spotlights and GME UHF radio was already on the Disco when I bought it.

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The car had a half-reasonable service history, but not perfect: because it was only doing very few kays every year, the previous owner seems to have waited 'till it clocked up the kays to get it serviced. My plan is to service it myself every 5,000km and really pamper it – barring a lottery win, I'll hold onto this car for around ten years. All that said, I took the view that only limited damage could have been done in so few kays, and it didn't otherwise appear to be a poorly cared for truck.

The vision:

I'm a bit of a gadget nut... so part of the appeal of this project is all the tinkering and accessorising one can do! I've got a bit of an idea in my head of what this will look like eventually, give or take a few changes along the way:


Rhino-Rack Pioneer Platform on Backbone
Safari snorkel
Winch
Auxiliary battery system based around the Redarc BCDC 1225D
Solar power as required
Rear drawer system
External lighting all around
Awning
On-board ARB air compressor for tires etc
Potentially a long-range fuel tank (and, by default then, a rear wheel carrier)
Decent stereo and mobile phone setup
Nicely integrated switching and wiring etc for accessories
Some custom-made CAN bus toys, probably made with Arduino

Getting it home

I had a lovely drive back from Newcastle to Adelaide, flying over first thing in the morning and driving back to Narrandera for an overnight stop, then home the next day. The Disco performed flawlessly, and I loved the opportunity to get to know it over a decent drive.

The first hurdle was getting it registered. I duly went down to Regency Park for the obligatory identity inspection... only to be told they couldn't find the engine number and that I'd have to get a mechanic to pull parts of the car and take photos for them. I smelt bull****, laziness or combination of both, but really had no alternative – you're not left with much of a right of appeal when they say that. They also didn't like the tint that was on the car – that all had to come off.

I took it to a local independent Land Rover specialist, got them to do a service and take the photos. $1000 later, it was back to Regency for another shot at the inspection. I didn't even get past the paperwork stage, though, because the photos taken by the service mob were of the wrong thing. Not the engine number, but the casting number or some other thing. I was a little peeved, to say the least.

So, back to the service mob: they informed me the starter motor would need to come off to get the photos. My wallet was left $400 lighter for that exercise but I got the photos. Back to the good folk at Regency, who this time, were good enough to pass the car so I could get it registered. All told, that saga took about two weeks of stuffing around, delayed because it was around Christmas. So between servicing, costs associated with the ID check and rego, it'd cost be about $3K to get a SA number plate on the car. Ouch!

Anyway, that's the starting point. I'll slowly catch up with further posts in the thread documenting the build progress to date. Hope some of the lessons learned and so forth are of use to others on the forum.

Best,

- Andrew

[ndrew]

One of the first tasks for me was to get the auxiliary battery setup sorted, as well as clean up some of the existing wiring work that had been done. I'm no fan of the Scotchloks ARB provides with their bars, and the spotties that came with the car had been installed pretty... quickly. There was loose, unprotected wiring all over the place, stuff cable tied to the radiator – it just looked pretty agricultural.

For the bullbar, I replaced all of the Scotchloks with soldered and heat-shrunk joins. All the cabling got a bit of protection with split-tube corrugated conduit and cable tied securely in place.

I already owned a Redarc BCDC1225D and was very happy to continue with that approach for the auxiliary power system. The goal was somewhere in the vicinity of 100Ah of storage on board. I had a Century 105Ah AGM battery from the previous vehicle, but I couldn't find anywhere in the engine bay to hold that unit. As many others here have done, I elected to go with Optima Yellow Top D34s. I decided on two of those mounted under the bonnet.

I did a whole bunch of research on battery trays and mounting options and settled on a custom-made stainless steel tray from Tim at Autospark at Osborne Park in WA. It's a beautifully made product and Tim was incredibly helpful on the weekend I installed it. It has provision for the BCDC1225D to mount on the tray nicely too.

Installation was a wee bit fiddly, but mostly because of the mess of other accessory wiring that was already in place. Installing the tray requires you remove the two bolts that hold the coolant reservoir in place and slide the foot of the battery tray under it. The power steering fluid reservoir attaches to a bracket welded onto the tray.

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It's all a pretty tight fit in there! I wound up taking a stanley knife to one of the plastic ribs on the case of the battery so the coolant reservoir didn't rub. This is my problem rather than a design flaw in the tray – I've got a protruding stereo fuse that causes the battery to be further over to the left of the picture than is ideal:

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After a bit of shimmying and jiggling, the tray was installed. The next task for me was to create a bit of a wiring loom from the back of the BCDC. I like to wrap my conduit in cloth tape – it makes the finished product look nice and factory. It does it for me, anyway!

The BCDC1225 is then mounted and the wiring loom fed through. I secured the two batteries in their respective locations and hooked it up. Huzzah! We have battery charging. I love this setup – the Redarc charger does a great job of keeping the batteries topped off, and it comes ready to go for solar. I reckon there's enough juice there to run my 40l Engel for about 3 full days before I need to turn the engine on. That's plenty for my purposes, and particularly with the ability to drop in some extra charge via a rooftop panel, I've basically got unlimited 12v power.

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At this stage of the game, I haven't got a roof rack up there, much less a solar panel and associated wiring, so I've left the solar input lead in the drivers-side battery box, ready to connect up when the time is right.

While I was waiting for the factory battery bracket to arrive from an online purchase, I made up my own hold down bracket from some 6mm threaded rod and galv angle – two pieces of galv on each of the top edges of the battery, and one across the top that is held down to the factory nutserts. That worked incredibly well and provided a rock-solid mount for the battery on the driver's side. When the factory bracket and bolts arrived, I chucked my home-made job out, but regretted it soon after. The factory bracket doesn't quite fit the Optima battery quite right, and it's secure... but just not quite as secure as before. I'll probably shoot down to Bunnings and re-make my home-made bracket one of these days.

The next step was to run auxiliary power into the cabin. I bought a fuse block online and mounted it in the third row storage area where (I believe) the optional rear AC gear would otherwise go:

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6B&S twin core cable was run from the auxiliary batteries to the fuse block in the rear and 4mm twin core feeds were run to various accessory locations. I pulled apart the dash and re-wired the passenger-side cigarette lighter socket to the auxiliary power. All joins get soldered and heatshrinked. An Engel socket was installed in the third row too.

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That's a wrap... for now. There's further 12v work to do yet. I'll replace the standard ARB indicator/parker assembly with an LED equivalent, as well as put some Deutsch connectors on the cables that hook into the system. The passenger-side indicator on the bullbar is dicky and it's due to a crap connection from the low-quality, non-weatherproof connectors ARB use. Lighting still needs to be addressed, and I'll run my campsite lights from the auxiliary batteries. Solar will need to be sorted to. I've got my eye on a Switch-Pros switch panel (http://store.switchpros.com/sp-9100-bezel-style-8-switch-panel-power-system-with-concealed-mounting-hardware/), but bloody hell, they're expensive. I'll slowly work out all of that too.

[Globetrotter]

Well done, sounds like a nice vehicle, pity about the SA registration process. Good luck with all the updates and keep the forum posted[thumbsupbig]

[donh54]

Hi, everyone.

I wanted to share my build journey with you all, as I turn my 2007 Discovery 3 into the touring machine I want it to be. I also wanted to document the work I do on the car for my own purposes, so I'm also using this as an opportunity to do just that.

The starting point:

I picked up this 2007 Discovery 3 in Stornoway Grey from Newcastle in December 2017. Very low kays – a mere 67,000 on the clock – and in pristine condition. I was bloody thrilled with the pickup. It already had a couple of items checked off – an ARB winch bar, Toyo Open Country ATs at 285/60R18s, Narva LED spotlights and GME UHF radio was already on the Disco when I bought it.

138465

The car had a half-reasonable service history, but not perfect: because it was only doing very few kays every year, the previous owner seems to have waited 'till it clocked up the kays to get it serviced. My plan is to service it myself every 5,000km and really pamper it – barring a lottery win, I'll hold onto this car for around ten years. All that said, I took the view that only limited damage could have been done in so few kays, and it didn't otherwise appear to be a poorly cared for truck.

The vision:

I'm a bit of a gadget nut... so part of the appeal of this project is all the tinkering and accessorising one can do! I've got a bit of an idea in my head of what this will look like eventually, give or take a few changes along the way:


Rhino-Rack Pioneer Platform on Backbone
Safari snorkel
Winch
Auxiliary battery system based around the Redarc BCDC 1225D
Solar power as required
Rear drawer system
External lighting all around
Awning
On-board ARB air compressor for tires etc
Potentially a long-range fuel tank (and, by default then, a rear wheel carrier)
Decent stereo and mobile phone setup
Nicely integrated switching and wiring etc for accessories
Some custom-made CAN bus toys, probably made with Arduino

Getting it home
.....

All sounds good except the Redarc system. Why shell out for a completely unnecessary DCDC component that won't assist in battery maintenance?

Look into the Traxide systems, solar compatible, designed especially for D3/4 vehicles, all components needed for a DIY fit, and excellent backup support. (And he supports AULRO, as well!) Check out one of Tim's D3 offerings here:

D3-AS | TRAXIDE - RV | Traxide - RV (http://traxide.com.au/diy-dual-battery-kits/land-rover-dbs-kits/discovery-3-dbs-kits/d3-as.html)

I'm running one of Tim's earlier systems in our "expedition" D1 - Dual batteries, plus one in the camper trailer if we're towing it, and portable solar panels that can be hooked into either, or both. No problems whatsoever, and when I emailed him for advice about the solar setup, the answer was forthcoming in less than 10 minutes.
Highly recommended!

[loanrangie]

I have your twin minus the bar which is waiting on arb to make the brackets, I recently fitted a traxide system and single agm under the bonnet.

[ndrew]

All sounds good except the Redarc system. Why shell out for a completely unnecessary DCDC component that won't assist in battery maintenance?

Look into the Traxide systems, solar compatible, designed especially for D3/4 vehicles, all components needed for a DIY fit, and excellent backup support. (And he supports AULRO, as well!) Check out one of Tim's D3 offerings here:


I’ve just written up my auxiliary battery story thus far; for some reason it’s not showing up yet. I suppose it must need to be approved first or something…

However, three reasons for my choice of the Redarc — first, I already owned a BCDC1225D from my previous vehicle; second, my personal preference is to completely isolate the main and auxiliary batteries — I didn’t like the idea of the battery sharing the Traxide does, and; third, I disagree that the multistage DC-DC chargers offer no benefit.

I did a bunch of my own research and considered buying a Traxide kit, but in the end decided on what I knew and already owned (and what I was personally most comfortable with). I’ve certainly got no regrets. I’m sure there are plenty of happy Traxide users out there (you’re clearly one of them!) but I decided it wasn’t for me.

— Andrew

[donh54]

I’ve just written up my auxiliary battery story thus far; for some reason it’s not showing up yet. I suppose it must need to be approved first or something…

However, three reasons for my choice of the Redarc — first, I already owned a BCDC1225D from my previous vehicle; second, my personal preference is to completely isolate the main and auxiliary batteries — I didn’t like the idea of the battery sharing the Traxide does, and; third, I disagree that the multistage DC-DC chargers offer no benefit.

I did a bunch of my own research and considered buying a Traxide kit, but in the end decided on what I knew and already owned (and what I was personally most comfortable with). I’ve certainly got no regrets. I’m sure there are plenty of happy Traxide users out there (you’re clearly one of them!) but I decided it wasn’t for me.

— Andrew

I didn't see your second part until after I had posted.[biggrin]

Traxide system only shares the batteries until the starter battery drops to a set level, then isolates them. Most other VSR type systems do similar things, to some degree or other. (Some better than others!)

I'll leave it for others with a much greater level of expertise than mine to explain the issues with DC-DC chargers. (There will be some along pretty soon, I think!) The fact that you already owned it is a pretty powerful argument for getting your moneys' worth out of it. [thumbsupbig]

Good luck with the build, and I'm looking forward to further updates.[thumbsupbig]

[Aussie Jeepster]

I feel your pain on the rego and engine number check.
I drove my D3 back from Sydney and had the same hassle with the engine number, and mines a petrol.
The guys at Soverign got pics of the number but the Lonsdale guys reckoned the number was wrong by one! so the number in my manual is different by 1 to that on the rego document.
Sigh.
Whatever floats their boat. I also loved the drive back from Sydney - its a great way to learn about the vehicle. My previous Landy was a Perentie, so the D3 was a "little" different!!!!!!!
Good luck with yours.

[hpal]

I like some gadgetry too. I got my D3 a month ago, today and tomorrow i'm putting in a reverse cam, running electric brake controller wires, and an anderson lead to the back to plug into the ark pak.

[SeanC]

Hi Andrew,

Keep an eye on the weight.
You have about 730kgs under GVM to play with.
70kgs for the driver and a full fuel tank are included in the tare.

On my 2008 D3 I have a bull bar, winch, snorkle, dual battery, long range tank, rear wheel carrier, rear drawers, 66 litre fridge freezer, roof racks and awning. Pretty much what you are looking at. Also on more remote trips I have a second spare.

This doesn’t leave much weight under GVM for other passengers, equipment, food etc.

I have removed the rear seats. On longer trips the second row of seats come out and as much weight as possible goes into the camper trailer.

With out the camper trailer I don’t think I would be able to keep the vehicle under GMV.

It might be an idea to visit a weigh bridge a couple of times as you add equipment to get an idea where you are with regards to weight.

Enjoy your Disco.

Cheers
Sean

[ndrew]

Keep an eye on the weight.
You have about 730kgs under GVM to play with.
70kgs for the driver and a full fuel tank are included in the tare.

On my 2008 D3 I have a bull bar, winch, snorkle, dual battery, long range tank, rear wheel carrier, rear drawers, 66 litre fridge freezer, roof racks and awning. Pretty much what you are looking at. Also on more remote trips I have a second spare.

This doesn’t leave much weight under GVM for other passengers, equipment, food etc.

I have removed the rear seats. On longer trips the second row of seats come out and as much weight as possible goes into the camper trailer.

With out the camper trailer I don’t think I would be able to keep the vehicle under GMV.

It might be an idea to visit a weigh bridge a couple of times as you add equipment to get an idea where you are with regards to weight.


I’ll definitely get her weighed at some point soon — I’ve been concerned about weight based on what I’ve read along the way. Disappointing there aren’t any readily available GVM upgrades on the market like there are for LC200, but thems the breaks! Plenty of positives to outweigh any negatives!

The weight concern is what’s stopped me from putting a Kaymar on it already — a little bit here, a little bit there… you chew through that GVM pretty quick.

Cheers,

— Andrew

[goofyr]

Congrats and good luck with your build. I’ve had my D3 for 6 months and just about to do a first road trip before I commit to bolting things on. I will probably go the long range tank and RWC first.

Cheers,
Randy

[SeanC]

I’ll definitely get her weighed at some point soon — I’ve been concerned about weight based on what I’ve read along the way. Disappointing there aren’t any readily available GVM upgrades on the market like there are for LC200, but thems the breaks! Plenty of positives to outweigh any negatives!

The weight concern is what’s stopped me from putting a Kaymar on it already — a little bit here, a little bit there… you chew through that GVM pretty quick.

Cheers,

— Andrew

Yep that's why I don't have a Kaymar. Would be a lot more convenient than chucking the 2nd spare onto the roof racks but we all must make sacrifices sometimes.

Sean

[jh972]

Hi Andrew, following with interest.
One thing missing from your wish list which weighs near nothing is a Llams ride height controller!
Also, wondering what you have in the provided place for a second battery in the right rear of the engine bay?

[Reactbob]

Hi,
I liked your write up its a pity you didn't live in Victoria both My son and I bought Discovery 3s about 2 weeks a part from Sydney and we both got them registered by Vicroads using the number on the rocker covers. It was a simple process. Regarding the over flow bottle I had the same problem there is a cone shaped holder on the vertical panel that the over flow bottle slots in to. I made up a fitting with 2 washers and a small spacer the over flow bottle now sits about 10 to 15 ml forward and gives you more room for the battery.
Regards Bob

[Brendan1477]

Please keep posting pictures and write ups, I'm desperately searching for a tdv6 here in Perth but there is very little choice. Looks like I might have to go over east myself.
Really keen to see what you do with it. All the best

[Blue C]

Hi Andrew
I've enjoyed reading about your build. Your D3 looks immaculate! I did the same things in 2009 on a D3 and most of the same things on my 2014 D4. The OL winch bull bar is going on next month after a couple of near misses with wildlife on 2 recent trips. Re the Traxide- I've used it on both vehicles and very happy with it. On my current D4 I've got the USI-160 which you may not know has a in cabin toggle switch so you can choose between a "Shared Mode" or a more traditional isolator mode (around 12.6 V cutout from memory- Tim will soon correct me if I haven't got that right!). I certainly have no issue with using RedArc as I know they are good products too.

For others interest though- One thing I've learnt is that in "Shared Mode" you need to keep an eye on the status of your starting battery. If it's past its best then in "shared mode" it's failing status may be in part masked by the Optima which in effect supports it- well at least until you turn on a fridge. Then the starting battery isn't providing support to the Optima to run the fridge- it's reducing the Optima's reserve (at least that's my amateur interpretation of what I've observed in the real world!). So I have a sticker on my Starting battery telling me the installation date and keep a multimeter in the car as well. If in doubt I switch it to traditional isolator mode for a while and do some testing.

You might also like to consider a Air compressor protection plate (Maybe you have already?)- Gordan at Green Oval Experience supplies a good one which I've had on both D3 and D4 and very happy with it.
Also check your brake pedal switch has been replaced as failure can cause cascading faults I believe (it's cheap and both Sovereign Auto and PCB Land Rover here in Adelaide will be familiar with this issue) and check on the status of your OEM air compressor- in a 10yo D3 it may need updating. I look forward to reading more about your progress. Feel free to private message me as I'm in Adelaide and happy to share any info/tips.

Regards,
David

[ndrew]

I've enjoyed reading about your build. Your D3 looks immaculate! I did the same things in 2009 on a D3 and most of the same things on my 2014 D4. The OL winch bull bar is going on next month after a couple of near misses with wildlife on 2 recent trips. Re the Traxide- I've used it on both vehicles and very happy with it. On my current D4 I've got the USI-160 which you may not know has a in cabin toggle switch so you can choose between a "Shared Mode" or a more traditional isolator mode (around 12.6 V cutout from memory- Tim will soon correct me if I haven't got that right!). I certainly have no issue with using RedArc as I know they are good products too.


I did not know that about the in-cabin toggle. That's interesting! I've been extremely happy with everything that I've bought from Redarc, and I like that it's manufactured here in Adelaide too.



You might also like to consider a Air compressor protection plate (Maybe you have already?)- Gordan at Green Oval Experience supplies a good one which I've had on both D3 and D4 and very happy with it.


New underbody protection is certainly on the list! I'd like to grab rock sliders and plates to protect the compressor, air reservoir, and transmission. It seems like the toss up is between GOE and APT Offroad. I'll make a decision on those soon, once the bank balance recovers a little!



Also check your brake pedal switch has been replaced as failure can cause cascading faults I believe (it's cheap and both Sovereign Auto and PCB Land Rover here in Adelaide will be familiar with this issue) and check on the status of your OEM air compressor- in a 10yo D3 it may need updating. I look forward to reading more about your progress. Feel free to private message me as I'm in Adelaide and happy to share any info/tips.


I haven't looked into the brake pedal switch, other than having briefly read online that it's a potential issue – I'll have to do some more digging; thanks!

Funny you should mention the EAS compressor – I knew from my pre-purchase research that it was a potential issue, and, of course, it packed up within the first few months. I started getting the "normal height only" messages on the dash and decided to bite the bullet and replace it with an AMK compressor. I figured I could spend $100 refurbing the old Hitachi, or put that $100 towards a whole new compressor – as you say, it's 10 years old.

I called up Sovereign Autos and asked for a rough guestimate on the cost to change over the compressor and was told about $2K or so. That sounded like than I wanted to pay, so I set about researching doing it myself. Between the resources here, YouTube and over at disco3.co.uk (http://www.disco3.co.uk), there's an absolute pile of in-depth instructional material to do it yourself.

A bit more research later and I'd ordered an AMK replacement kit (https://www.island-4x4.co.uk/suspension-compressor-lr072537-lr023964-lr010376-ryg500160-rqg500072-rqg500090-lr045251-lr044360-lr061663-p-34944.html) from Island 4x4, which came in at about $750 before shipping. I wound up buying a handful of other bits too, so, call it $800 delivered. I realised I'd also need to reflash the suspension ECU, so bought a GAP Diagnostic IIDTool (bluetooth), which I'd been wanting anyway. So about $1500 in materials.

I stupidly didn't take any photos of the process, but I reckon it took me about an hour and a half. And that's for a mug who's never done it before. I spent a bit of time scratching my head working out which way was up and how the rubber feet and springs went together, but once I'd nutted it all out, it was very quick and easy. Reflashing the suspension ECU took all of about 2 minutes.

Cheers,

- Andrew

[ndrew]

The roof rack

I'd had my heart set on a Rhino-Rack Pioneer Platform for this build, but in the lead-up to a rack purchase, the Front Runner Slimline II rack also caught my attention. I umm'd and arr'd about it for a while and in the end settled on the Rhino, mainly because I liked the Backbone mount more and I thought it was ever so slightly less tall than the Front Runner.

One of the key criteria for me in choosing a rack was to be able to put a full 1200x2400 sheet of timber/gyprock etc on the roof. I'd seen others suggest getting a narrower rack than the standard for this reason but decided I'd rather have the extra width. On that basis, I went for the JA8250 2128x1426mm platform (http://www.rhinorack.com.au/products/roof/roof-racks/pioneer-platform/pioneer-platform-2128mm-x-1426mm-_ja8250), and I'm glad I did.

It arrived half-assembled, in the sense that the main platform itself is 80% assembled and already at its full size. You need to add a couple of extra cross-members to the platform before it's good to put on the car. The backbone mount is pretty straightforward to deal with – it bolts down to the factory nutserts and you're good to go.

It probably took my Uncle and me about 4 hours of fiddling around to get it done, but I'm really thrilled with the final product. I also added a rear roller, which is handy for chucking sheet goods onto the roof on your own. The only downside is that it rattles a bit, but I've learned to live with it. I was given a Kings awning for Christmas, so that got chucked up at the same time. Pretty neat for the price, but I can't see it lasting too long. The aluminium extrusion is already a bit bent. I'll get a Batwing when this carks it.

I've seen a lot of people ask about wind noise from the platform. My take is this: there's no doubt it adds wind noise, and I reckon it's cost me about 1l/100km in fuel economy too. That said, it's hardly a specifically noticeable drone or whoosh or anything; to me, it easily fades into the background noise and doesn't bother me at highway speeds. The car also has a snorkel on it and to my ear, that makes a more noticeable sound, but it's one I like :)

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Rear drawer system

This particular addition wasn't entirely supported by the Speaker of the House, who was concerned about losing boot space and not being able to flatten the seats and turn it into a giant storage area. My counter was that a) we don't need that kind of storage often, b) it keeps a LOT of stuff organised and more accessible and c) we've got a roof rack and a trailer for the very few occasions we need to haul bulky stuff. In what I thought was a slightly contradictory suggestion, the Minister for War and Finance suggested a setup with stacked drawers on one side and a fridge on the other. I'm not personally a fan of that configuration for the same reasons as the good Speaker (lack of usable boot storage).

Anyway, that wasn't an argument I think I "won", so decided that seeking forgiveness rather than permission was the better strategy. My research centred around finding some drawers that were tightly fit to the Disco, gave me ready access to the spare tire when needed and were built with a bit of strength. I narrowed it down to three options: custom-built, Drifta, or Front Runner.

I went with the Front Runner drawer system (https://www.frontrunneroutfitters.com/en/au/front-runner-schubladensystem-fur-den-land-rover-discovery-3-4.html) and couldn't be happier. I mentioned to the Speaker there "might be a few bits and pieces for the car being delivered" one morning. I got a text in the afternoon including a photo of a small pile of stuff in the driveway, accompanied by, "that's not a few things, that's a ****ing palletload!"

Anyway, once the marital crisis was resolved, my bloody legend of a wife actually helped me install them. She's pretty great, actually, and so are the drawers. Installation was pretty straight forward – essentially lift the drawer unit out of the box and into the back of the car. It's held down with turnbuckles which pickup the factory floor tie down points, so they're non-destructive and can be removed in about 30 minutes if you're that way inclined.

I keep a handful of tools and recovery gear in the front of the driver's-side drawer and have added one of the Front Runner drawer dividers to keep things in place. Neat enough solution.

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Things I really like about the Front Runner drawers:


Great fit and finish – the wings are beautifully contured to the side of the interior
The passenger-side drawer can hold three Cub Packs (https://www.frontrunneroutfitters.com/en/au/storage-systems/boxes-bags/front-runner-cub-pack.html), which are great to organise camping gear
There's a bit of space down either side of the drawers to put extra stuff
It comes with an extension bar/winder to lower the spare tire, through a hole on the top deck

Things I'm less keen on:

The drawers don't remove from their slides, making working on the interior or sides a bit difficult (you need to remove the top deck to gain access to the drawer space
The carpet is a bit too wooly for my liking. Seems to hold onto dirt and bits too easily. A tighter weave fabric would be better

I really like the MSA 4x4 drawers (https://msa4x4.com.au/catalogue/4wd-drawer-systems/toyota-lc200-double-drawer-system/) with their built-in LED strip lighting. That's one feature I'd really like to see added, but it's certainly no show stopper, as I can do something myself pretty easily.

That's it for today's update!

- Andrew

[Blue C]

That's a great looking setup Andrew. I like the Front Runner drawer system-like you say more compact than the stacked drawers system (like I have from Off Road Systems) and almost looks like a factory option! I have the Front Runner long roof tray and I agree it's probably a fraction higher perhaps in part because it's slightly more "chunky" in profile view. I've got a couple of LED strip lights on the inside of the rear tailgate glass which light up the drawers on right side and fridge on left side quite nicely. That's another option to the strip lights inside the drawers. Regards, David

[shanegtr]

I've got the same roof rack combo - been great so far and Im glad I got that size as it fits my rack bag perfectly

[ndrew]

One thing missing from your wish list which weighs near nothing is a Llams ride height controller!


Yes, that's probably right. I've got the IIDTool, which let me adjust the suspension height for a recent trip to the Flinders, but the convenience of a dial on the dash would be pretty exceptional!



Also, wondering what you have in the provided place for a second battery in the right rear of the engine bay?

I've got an Optima D34 battery, so I've got a total of 110Ah of auxiliary battery storage.

Cheers,

- Andrew

[ndrew]

Things I really like about the Front Runner drawers:

The passenger-side drawer can hold three Cub Packs (https://www.frontrunneroutfitters.com/en/au/storage-systems/boxes-bags/front-runner-cub-pack.html), which are great to organise camping gear

[/QUOTE]

I had to say it, didn't I?

See, when I bought my first Cub Pack, I thought, "Geeze, this'll fit three of them PERFECTLY in this space!". That appeals rather a lot to the OCD bits in my brain. Perfect for trips away – organise your camping gear into different boxes that fit neatly into the drawer.

Sadly, this was not to be: for some inexplicable reason, Front Runner made either the drawers or the Cub Packs fractionally too small (or large, depending on what you're talking about), meaning the third Cub Pack doesn't fit by about 20mm. I only found this out the day before we left for a trip to the Flinders and my extra two Cub Packs arrived. My fault for not checking the measurements more carefully – the dangers of assuming!

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There was much tearing of hair and gnashing of teeth. To me, this is a massive design failure – what's the point of selling an integrated storage system if they don't properly fit together? I'm going to send Front Runner some feedback.

Cheers,

- Andrew

[AGRO]

Hi Andrew,

I have a similar drawer setup as you. They have been in my vehicle for 7.5 years and still great. If you can't fit the boxes in the drawers you can get Front Runner draw partitions that bolt straight in.

I use the larger ammo front runner boxes as well but simply put 2 of them on top of the draw unit behind the second row seats and lash them down using the eyebolts/rails. For extended trips, 4 x boxes will sit on top of the draw unit.

As an aside, I remove remove the centre second row seat and slip the Engel in there on the floor using 10mm eyebolts as replacements for the seating bolts.

An amazing elegant combined solution to in-vehicle storage in my opinion.

All the best

Agro

[cripesamighty]

That would annoy the hell out of me! Maybe hunt around for a slightly smaller box to get one that fits.

[ndrew]

I have a similar drawer setup as you. They have been in my vehicle for 7.5 years and still great. If you can't fit the boxes in the drawers you can get Front Runner draw partitions that bolt straight in.

I got myself some of those! They’re great. The drawers come pre-drilled for dividers at specific locations which didn’t suit me, so I drilled a few of my own.

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That let me organise all my recovery and utility bits (air hose and inflation tools, jumper leads, puncture repair kit, multimeter, ratchet spanners etc). In the future, I might make some timber sub-dividers, but the Front Runner stuff will do for now.



I use the larger ammo front runner boxes as well but simply put 2 of them on top of the draw unit behind the second row seats and lash them down using the eyebolts/rails. For extended trips, 4 x boxes will sit on top of the draw unit.

As an aside, I remove remove the centre second row seat and slip the Engel in there on the floor using 10mm eyebolts as replacements for the seating bolts.

An amazing elegant combined solution to in-vehicle storage in my opinion.


I do like how everything integrates so nicely. If I can just find a nice solution for the third box in the passenger-side drawer, I’ll be set!

Cheers,

— Andrew

[ndrew]

Air compressor

I did a bit of research and decided I'd grab an ARB CKMTA12 – the main criteria were high output (not interested in waiting for ages to air up tires), 100% duty cycle and decent quality, and the ARB seemed to tick all the boxes. I had a brief squizz at the Air Onboard systems, but I've got a couple of mates with ARBs and they're really happy with them – it seemed like a safe option.

With the under bonnet space filled to the brim with batteries, the only option for mounting the CKMTA12 was inside the cabin. My intention was to use the space between the side of the drawers and the interior of the car to mount the compressor. It was... a pain in the arse. The Front Runner drawers don't actually come off their runners, so the only way to get access to that space was to unscrew the timber deck.

In the end, it was a pretty dirty install process, as it's fairly tight for space in there. That said, now it's all put back together, it's pretty neat. This is mounted on the driver's side of the car, bolted to the side of the drawers. I'd previously run a feed from the main battery to that space and chucked an Anderson connector on it, so it was simply a matter of terminating the power cables that come from the compressor and plugging it in.

I wasn't interested in using the supplied ARB rocker switch as I wanted it integrated into the main 12v control panel I'd put in. The compressor has it's own relay onboard, so you're only ever switching the minuscule current to trigger the relay. They supply a four-pin connector (forget the correct name for those things is) which also provides for switching for air lockers. I was only interested in on and off, not having air lockers, so I simply cut the cable and connected the red and black wires appropriately into my switch panel.

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External lighting and switch panel

The external lighting is (for now) relatively straight-forward: two Lightforce ROK-10s either side of the roof rack for front scan lighting, a ROK-40 ultra flood on the back and LED strip lighting under the awning.

The Lightforce lights are great. They come with Deutsch connectors, so it's just a matter of bolting them to the spot you want and soldering the supplied male connector into your wiring loom. The ROK-10s are great even when you're not camping – it's nice if you're pulling up at night somewhere and you want to see the curb better or the number on a letterbox :) The ROK-40 is bright as hell, but where I've got it mounted, the light gets caught by the side of the car; we're not really getting the full benefit of it in its current position.

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I got this Switch-Pros rip-off from eBay. It's a bloody good rip off, in that the thing is identical – down to the instruction manual – bar the fact that it's neither programmable or controllable by Bluetooth. That's a shame. I'll probably replace it with the genuine article down the track. Still, it's pretty good and turns stuff on and off as it should. The backlight has been flickering though, which is annoying. Had to pull half the dash apart to get the wires through, but it was worth it in the end.

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That's it for today!

[AGRO]

Hi,

Great install location for that air compressor.

How is the noise level during operation.

I have the ARB unit with the air tank but may dismantle it an install in a similar location.

Agro

[specwarop]

Who would be stupid enough to pay $550 for genuine Switch-Pros gear.

[ndrew]

How is the noise level during operation.

I have the ARB unit with the air tank but may dismantle it an install in a similar location.


Noise isn’t too bad at all, actually. It’d be annoying if you had to sit in the car with it for an extended period of time, but for the five minutes it takes to air up tires, it’s not an imposition at all.

Cheers,

- Andrew

[ndrew]

Who would be stupid enough to pay $550 for genuine Switch-Pros gear.

It’s more like $850 [bigrolf]

That’s why I went for the yum-cha version in the end. $200 was easier to swallow than $850. I reckon I’ve found the genuine item on Alibaba for about $250USD. I reckon I’ll wind up buying one of those at some point, as there are a number of features that I’m keen for (additional input triggers, Bluetooth control, programming options).

- Andrew

[ndrew]

I’ve been thinking about a rear cargo carrier for a little while now but hadn’t got around to it until now. I wanted something that’d fit with my Front Runner drawers, as well as be a half-decent barrier for when I’ve got crap in the back on trips.

I wound up grabbing a Britpart half-height dog-guard. (https://www.britpart.com/parts/interior-protection/dog-guards/discovery/discovery-3/da5511a/) I think this is identical to the Travall one — I’m not sure who’s ripping off who! [bigrolf] I bought this one from Advanced Factors in another load of stuff I was buying.

Installation was a piece of cake; lower hooks grab the cargo hooks on the floor, the middle bar braces against the plastic of the outer trim and the top c-clamp thing secured against the C-pillar.

The only modification I needed to do was creating a small cut out in the deck wings for the drawers. That took 10 minutes with the jigsaw.

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It fits nicely and, so far, is doing exactly what I wanted it to do. I reckon I’d characterise the quality as “reasonable”. It looks like it’s spot welded wire, possibly not the most bomb-proof thing you’ve ever seen, but I reckon it’ll do the job. The main thing is that plastic tubs or other stuff like that don’t slide forward on braking.


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Cheers,

— Andrew

[ndrew]

I actually didn't mean to do this, but I was driving past an ARB store and thought I'd poke my head in for a look around... you know how that goes!

One of the things that get on my nerves a bit is the rear drawer organisation. I can pack it nice and neatly, but the minute you pull anything out to use it, the whole thing falls in a heap and you're fighting to get stuff packed in any kind of order:

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I've been loosely thinking about some kind of rigid canvas bags to go in the drawers to hold some of the tools and bits and pieces that I leave in the car, but haven't found anything that fit nicely. Anyway, allowed to roam free through the ARB store, I noticed their Cargo Organisers (https://www.arb.com.au/drawers-cargo-solutions/cargo-bags-and-organisers/#snippet-43121). The bloke at the store was good enough to bring a few out to the car and let me have a play to see how they fit. I walked out with three :)

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One of the things I like about these bags is that they've got a bit of rigidity to them, which makes them useful with the lid zipped up or not. Most of the time, you don't need "grab and go" access to your air tools, for example, so zipping up the bag makes sense. But, if you're on a trip and in and out of the boot grabbing stuff, you can just as easily open up the top and fold it down the side so you've got ready access to the contents:

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The bags were about $39 a piece. Not too bad, but not dirt cheap either. I've got my eye on some Drifta bags too for other purposes, but I thought these were a good solution to a little niggling issue :)

Cheers,

- Andrew

[letherm]

I actually didn't mean to do this, but I was driving past an ARB store and thought I'd poke my head in for a look around... you know how that goes!



That's as bad as passing a hardware store and going in. Always come out with something you didn't think you needed.[smilebigeye]

Martin