Thread: Help me build up my D4 for touring!

Originally Posted by BMKal

Where abouts did you fit the compressor Baz. I assume that you have an Optima battery on the left side of the engine bay with Tim's mounting platform.

Wayne, for touring, I would seriously recommend getting the spare wheel onto a rear carrier (can be a full rear bar replacement like a Kaymar or one of the single carriers which does not replace your rear bumper) and put a long range fuel tank where the spare wheel was.

The advantages of this are numerous, not least of which is getting rid of that mongrel spare wheel "winch" that came as original with the vehicle. This makes it a lot easier when selecting drawers for the rear of the vehicle, as you do not have to worry about access to the jacking / winching point in the rear floor.

Also, you might want to consider carrying a decent bottle jack. The original LR jack is not something I would want to rely on, especially if you ever have to change a tyre on uneven ground. Take note though that most bottle jacks will not get under the jacking points of the vehicle if you have a completely flat tyre, or if the suspension has lowered to the bump stops. Because of this, it is sometimes easier to use the original LR jack to raise the vehicle far enough to get a more substantial / stronger jack in under the vehicle.

Hey Brian, next to the Transmission ECU.




Baz.

You mentioned a camping trailer with brakes and the tow hitch is another area where you have some choice.
The stock tow hitch is pretty good but can be a bit cumbersome and does reduce rear clearance when being used. Some have had issues with it but many use it without any trouble.

An alternative is the Mitchell Brothers tow hitch that replaces the stock unit and is pretty much a permanent fixture, which some people don't want. But it does maintain rear clearance and makes achieving a horizontal draw bar easy, especially if your tow a camper trailer with high ground clearance.



I have a tow-hitch-mounting bike carrier that I take on & off regularly, so the Mitch Hitch has been excellent for that & the camper trailer.



Also, you may want to have a look at bash plates, in particular for the air compressor. It's beside the chassis near the rear passenger wheel but hangs a bit low. I have a GOE one. You can make it out in this photo, note the air gap between plate and compressor.



A number of companies fabricate various other plates too (radiator, transmission, etc) that are worth looking at, depending on how rough you expect to get but most experienced guys advise that the compressor one is the first priority.

Cheers,
Scott

G'day Wayne,

Looks like others have just about covered it all off, but the one thing I would highlight is watch the weight.

I notice you don't include a long range tank or a rear wheel carrier in your list, so that will help in the weight department, but once fully kitted out, these things approach GVM pretty fast! (As would the 200)

My setup includes:

ARB front Bar
Hella 4000 HID's
Traxide Dual Battery Kit
Safari Snorkel
Llams
Sliders, built by Brad on this forum, but the APT ones look great too.
Icom 440 UHF
Redarc Tow Pro controller
LRA long range tank
Kaymar rear wheel carrier
Rijidij rear light
Autosafe Cargo Barrier
Rhino Roof Platform
Engel
Blue tongue compressor (yet to be mounted under bonnet)

I stay under GVM, cause I generally only tour alone, if I had the whole family with me, I'd struggle. I suspect a full set of draws might tip me over if I didn't remove the third row of seats. ( Which I'm told weighs about 75Kg.)

As the others have said, 18" rims certainly give you more options, but I'm currently still running 19" which have still got me plenty of interesting places and back. ( I'm running Hankook Dynapro AT-m's)

However you set it up, I am sure like the rest of us, you will love the D4

Originally Posted by Bytemrk

G'day Wayne,

Looks like others have just about covered it all off, but the one thing I would highlight is watch the weight.

I notice you don't include a long range tank or a rear wheel carrier in your list, so that will help in the weight department, but once fully kitted out, these things approach GVM pretty fast! (As would the 200)

My setup includes:

ARB front Bar
Hella 4000 HID's
Traxide Dual Battery Kit
Safari Snorkel
Llams
Sliders, built by Brad on this forum, but the APT ones look great too.
Icom 440 UHF
Redarc Tow Pro controller
LRA long range tank
Kaymar rear wheel carrier
Rijidij rear light
Autosafe Cargo Barrier
Rhino Roof Platform
Engel
Blue tongue compressor (yet to be mounted under bonnet)

I stay under GVM, cause I generally only tour alone, if I had the whole family with me, I'd struggle. I suspect a full set of draws might tip me over if I didn't remove the third row of seats. ( Which I'm told weighs about 75Kg.)

As the others have said, 18" rims certainly give you more options, but I'm currently still running 19" which have still got me plenty of interesting places and back. ( I'm running Hankook Dynapro AT-m's)

However you set it up, I am sure like the rest of us, you will love the D4

Very good point Mark, accessories add up, a bonus with the D4 over the 200 series is, the D4 can still tow 3500kg when fully loaded legally, which is a GVM of 3245kg, the Tare/kerb weight includes a driver and full tank of fuel and is around 2550kg approx, depending on the model spec, so you have around 670kg of load capacity, of coarse as you add an accessory, that figure comes down, and as yet there is no GVM upgrade available for the D4.

Baz.

Originally Posted by aus86inch

Hi Tombie

Are the 18" wheels as strong as the GOE/Compomotive ones, & when do you think availability will be.

Wheels are rated at 1250kg each.

Availability is pending - bit of work to be done with tooling etc.

If you're looking for a quick delivery I'm not sure that's likely.

Plus I want to test this set for a while before we come out with anything

Do they also fit the front of the MY11/MY12 4.4 RRV with its 6-piston Brembos that allow a specific LR 19" rim, or perhaps the MY07-MY09 3.6 RRV with its 4-piston Brembos that the GOE rims fit?

Originally Posted by Graeme

Do they also fit the front of the MY11/MY12 4.4 RRV with its 6-piston Brembos that allow a specific LR 19" rim, or perhaps the MY07-MY09 3.6 RRV with its 4-piston Brembos that the GOE rims fit?

I will need to get access to one and take some measurements before I can advise..

agree with most of what is posted here, there is a list of some of my mods in my sig line.

Ther have been a couple of comments about watching the weight limits on the wheels and tyres. but also need to watch tthe total weight limit for the vehicle. Therre is not a huge margin between tthe unladden weight of the vehicle and the manufacturers and thus legal maximum loaded weight.

When you add 4 people, a wheel carrier, long range tank, bullbar, extra battery ,fridge etc, you are already pushing it. If you then add camping gear, water etc you are going to find yourself going over the limit pretty quickly. unfortunately with these suspension systems there is really no easy way to up the load limit with mods.