Thread: Lets get serious

Andrew

Don't do it.

I sold my D3 in January & bought a Prado Altitude with all the ARB gear.

The Prado does not drive anywhere near as nicely as a D3 although to be fair was more than competent off road.

I now have a D4.

Spend the money on the D3:
17's if you can.
GOE's manual air bag inflation kit.
Rock Sliders.

I regret selling my D3 (someone on this forum bought it)

Cheers

Chuck

Is a winch necessary for your expected touring, considering having to carry the extra weight all the time?

You might consider a fault code reader.

With the long range tank is the kaymar bar really necessary to carry extra fuel ? I had a kaymar for 6 years on my patrol and never once did I need to remove one tyre let alone two....and it has been to most remote tracks in australia.

I put a long range tank and a single wheel carrier on (keeping factory bumper). Factory bumper has had a few scrapes, but to me the weight and extra fuel usage was of greater benefit to me.

Brett....

Originally Posted by AnD3rew

Hi all.

I have had my D3 for just over 3 years now and it has been a gem, no major hassles other than some small warranty niggles with Land Rover who are ******s and this has been a universal experience over 3 Land Rovers.

That aside my warranty has ended so don't have to worry about them anymore.

I have become after some minor outback forays in my standard D3 increasingly enthusiastic about the idea of getting serious in this department. For the last year my plan has been to replace the disco with a Hilux and kit it out. This because the received wisdom is that Land rovers are not reliable enough and if you get in trouble in the bush you need to have a Toyota.

But in the last few weeks I have realized I love my D3 TDV6 and would be very sorry to part with it. It has only done 50,000k and has been totally reliable from a mechanical point of view.

So sorry for the long lead up. 2 questions. Is it a dumb idea to spend a lot of money on a 3 year old D3 to prepare it for extended outback touring?

And how much should I expect to spend. (roughly)
I am thinking
Bull bar with winch and lights
Longranger tank
Kaymar rear bar with wheel and Jerry carriers
Roof rack.
Safari snorkel
UHF radio

I realize I am probably asking the converted but I would be very interested to hear your thoughts.

Perceived perhaps!!! Reality often bites...

Toyota reliability is NOT what it seems...

And as one who suffers a Hilux (or occasional 70 or 200 series) daily for work... They are horrendously uncomfortable, require constant ongoing parts replacement (racks, tailshafts, CV boots, CVs) and ride like an Amish Buggy...

Stick with the D3... They're not that scary to maintain..

Originally Posted by Graeme

Is a winch necessary for your expected touring, considering having to carry the extra weight all the time?

You might consider a fault code reader.

I would say after just returning from the cape that I would put a winch right up their in something that should be on a touring vehicle.

Depending on where your going to tour that is I guess. but if you plan on touring on your own and you decide to take an off the beaten track they are invaluable to have if you get stuck....

I would however save weight a bit by putting on a synthetic rope

If you really Enjoy the D3 and the driving Comfort then why change ? I'd keep it and put all the gear on it and enjoy it for outback Touring for next few years , I see a lot of Kitted out D3 's now in my area and it seems a lot of these Folks use their D3's a lot.

Hi Andrew, just a few things we have experienced with our fully kitted out D4.

Bullbar is a necessity, if only for peace of mind, our last trip to SA we hit an Emu, that was our first animal strike, if it wasn't there, that would have ended our trip, that was day 5 of 20 days away, the bar paid for itself right there.

Winch, you may only use it once, but that once is going to get you out of trouble, on a trip to the High Country, we were stuck on a slippery hill, can't go back, the second vehicle on the trip was behind us, the winch saved us.

Rear bar, Kaymar bars in my opinion are not worth the money you pay for them, just get a wheel carrier from Frontrunner, you'll save money and a bit of weight.

Long Range tank, yes, saves carrying jerries, gives extra Ks and you need them if your towing.

The weight of a bullbar is 45kg and winch (with plasma rope) is 27kg

A kaymar bar weighs 48kg, each carrier weighs 25kg

Longrange tank is 25kg to 30kg.

BUT, the gear is not cheap

Bullbar $1450 from Opposite lock(the cheapest) ARB is $1600, ECB is $2000, LR bar is $4000

Winch, $1050 ours is a VRS from OL

Kaymar bar $1850 and 2 wheel carriers $1300 at the time of purchase, I think the wheel carriers have gone up in price.

Long Range Tank $1600

Got a package deal on installation of everything from OL.

We have not noticed any difference in the car after adding these accessories, fuel economy maybe 1/2 a litre per 100k.

Now, all this talk about not taking Land Rovers to remote areas really gets up my nose, I'm actually sick to bloody death of it.

We bought our D4 to tour the outback and other places, don't care what these halfwits say, this is what we wanted, so they can get stuffed.

Kit it out with what you think you want and need, and get out there.

Baz.

Originally Posted by Redback

Now, all this talk about not taking Land Rovers to remote areas really gets up my nose, I'm actually sick to bloody death of it.

We bought our D4 to tour the outback and other places, don't care what these halfwits say, this is what we wanted, so they can get stuffed.

Kit it out with what you think you want and need, and get out there.

Baz.

Probably the best quote you've made on this forum ever Baz