Thread: Lets get serious

Frankly I'd be more scared of taking a kitted up Hilux to some remote places, especially if you plan on towing any sort of trailer.
Many a tale of chassis cracking as they are not heavy enough.
This is particularly true with all brands dual cab utes.

On my last trip Simpson Desert Trip Australia / Geographical centre - July12 read it especially re the Patrol, on the D3 everyone on it loved the air suspension for three main reasons:

Load the D3 right up and it does not need a suspension kit, it still sits level!

The ability with LLAMS fitted to have more clearance than just about every 50mm lifted 4wd.

The ability to soak up the bumps better than any other brand!
Yes you still feel the bumps but it is not violent and throw you about needing to hold on for grim life in the passenger seat.
Corrogations can be travelled with much more safety & confidence as the vehicle feels "solid" in these conditions.

I've owned 4wds with winches and would not fit another. Travel in convoy, carry a Sat phone when needed. Carry a tirfor or even a long rope & snatch block for slingshot recoveries.

Like Baz said save on the Kaymar rear bar, just fit one that fits under the existing bumper.
Yes to the long range tank too.

Rich

Originally Posted by ~Rich~

Carry a tirfor or even a long rope & snatch block for slingshot recoveries.

What is a slingshot recovery?

I bought the D4 recently after a Nissan. I turned up at my 4wd club meeting expecting a good natured ragging - but just kept getting told how good they are off road. Even better kitted out.
As for Hilux, we have one in the club, cos no one else wanted to waste money on their constant repairs. The 'unbreakable' status certainly does not apply to current or previous models, but those from many years back.

Stick with the D3 that you know. You'll lose money on any changeover if buying new with no guarantees of anything 'better' off road, especially in stock form. You'll then need to spend just the same on any other vehicle to get it off road ready. They all come out of the factories as 'road cars' effectively. Spend the money on a good fit out!!!

Originally Posted by garrycol

What is a slingshot recovery?

A slingshot is very simple, place a tree trunk protector and snatch block up further than the car ( which of course is first in line and unable to proceed further) around a good anchor point, run the rope up to the snatch block and back behind the first car to one behind. The second car reverses back ( or turn around if able) and with the first car driving pulls it forward. The use of more snatch blocks can reduce the load required to assist. This page might help explain the concept:
[ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Block_and_tackle"]Block and tackle - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]

Thanks everyone, you are all doing a good job of validating the decision I wanted to make

Some excellent advice and tips here too.

I think I need to head over to opposite lock for a chat. SWMBO will be delighted.

Originally Posted by ~Rich~

A slingshot is very simple, place a tree trunk protector and snatch block up further than the car ( which of course is first in line and unable to proceed further) around a good anchor point, run the rope up to the snatch block and back behind the first car to one behind. The second car reverses back ( or turn around if able) and with the first car driving pulls it forward. The use of more snatch blocks can reduce the load required to assist. This page might help explain the concept:

thanks - happy with that - took your original point to be something that could be done with one vehicle.

Cheers

garry

Hi AnD3rew,
We are just returning from our first major touring trip. We bought Chuck's D3 earlier this year with the intention of turning it into our tourer. Our main focus was to cross the Simpson Desert. We did this about a week ago as solo travellers. I am cautious to say this, but we did it easily. And comfortably, So comfortable. We didn't use any of the recover gear we took, not even the maxtrax. We did drop the tyre pressures.
We are just coming up to 9000km for this trip and it will be over 10000km by the time we get home. No bad backs, never got out of the car stiff after the long days. Just great.
We had the car serviced before we left. However the air compressor failed on our way up through the Flinders before starting the Oodnadatta Track and the Simpson. The failure left us with normal height only so was still drivable and allowed us to drive the 500 odd km back to Adelaide where it was replaced under the LR extended warranty at Solitaire Land Rover (excellent service from those guys - I am hoping they keep it up because my rear brake pads have warn out during this trip. I was told before the trip that they had 10k km left. Pretty accurate estimate really! I am hoping I can get them done before returning home). We had some fault messages during the crossing but nothing that stopped us.
I am hoping that I can do a proper write up later including the additions we made to the ones Chuck had started. But I can only say that the D3 is a joy to drive for long distances and is excellent on dirt roads. The best part about the modern electronics is that they alert you to potential mechanical problems before they stop the vehicle completely. Reliability is about good maintenance. The electronics still sits on top of a mechanical system. Keep the mechanical system in order and keep an eye on the electronics. Follow the recommendations from the experienced folks on the forum for trip preparations. I just keep being impressed by the D3.
I didn't put rear wheel carriers or permanent long range fuel tank because there was only about 500kg between kerb weight and the GVM. Every thing you add to the vehicle eats into you load carrying capacity. 500kg isn't much, especially since this has to include all of your passengers. I did add an ARB bullbar and winch.
Cheers,
Doug

Don't be fooled by the whole Toyota is more reliable argument I spent a lot of time researching my next vehicle and after spending a fair bit of time on the pradopoint and hiluxnet forums you will be surprised at how many problems and how common they are ranging from the D4D issues( injectors with a 4k fix, if you get it in time) cracked inner guards, clutches, cracked dashboards and the list goes on needless to say I'm the proud owner of a D3 and I will tell everyone I meet why I chose this vehicle as opposed to a prado/hilux . I'm not buying it as a toorak tractor I'm currently in the process to build mine up with many accessories listed above and plan on using it for what the LR engineers designed it for.

Cheers
Julian