Setting up D4 with the lot!

As has been said, WEIGHT. Weigh the vehicle now - total weight and the weight on the front and rear axles. The rear axle is normally the problem area. If you are proved to be over weight, the insurance company will wave bye bye and the police can become very interested.

As has been pointed out, ball weight applies more weight to the rear axle than the simple number of kilos and takes weight off the front axle. Usually multiplying the ball weight by 1.4 will give you a good idea of the actual weight added to the rear axle. Many camper trailers have horrendous ball loads when you load them up, 300 kg or more. A steel rear bar with wheel carrier plus spare wheel will also add more weight to the rear axle than the actual weight of the combination. And you have to open it every time you want to open the boot...

Roof loads are another area people conveniently ignore - and then the car rolls or the roof rack comes off all together. Many manufacturers have different roof loading for their racks depending upon whether you are driving on bitumen or dirt - yes, dirt roads, not black diamond tracks... Rhino are now infamous for this.

Before:


https://hosting.photobucket.com/albu...080&fit=bounds



After:

https://hosting.photobucket.com/albu...080&fit=bounds

Slightly overloaded? Two motor bikes and at least six jerry cans...

Try to only fit and take what you really need, not what YouTube gurus tell you that you must have.

Keep it light.

Cheers
Numb Thumbs ;)

PS I'm in Melbourne and I try to weigh my axles and camper each time I go away. Luckily we have free, 24/7 weighbridges on our main highway out of Melbourne, provided by Vicroads. Very handy!

Hi,

I agree with David and Alan on their advice. I however am a fan of having a bullbar, but in saying that bullbars for your vehicle are ridiculous in price and your money will be far better spent on a good quality set of driving lights/light bar that will give you enough forward vision that you will see an animal/hazard well before you get to it and be able to slow/stop the D4 in plenty of time (obviously for day driving you'll be fine). Unless you plan on using the vehicle for some extreme rock climbing rock sliders won't be needed. Be careful with the roof rack, there is an extremely popular Rhino rack that looks cool but is as useful as boobs on a bull! There are some racks out there that once you install them you can legally carry about 25 kg's and that's it and if you overload one and have an issue/accident your insurance company will wipe you as quick as look at you, so just make sure you do plenty of research on racks and their carrying capacity and the vehicle's roof load rating. But I hope you enjoy getting out there with your family, you'll have a ball.

Cheers,

Vinnie

Can recommend the Wetseat full seat covers for front and 2nd row and console cover . Sydney based company , makes them to order with choice of various stitching colours . Perfect fit and very durable .
Also a gadget called a Scrunnel ( threaded plastic funnel ) from a qld company for about $35-40. Makes fueling up from a jerry can easier .
Yellow 20 litre diesel plastic jerry can from Bunnings for about $20 instead of a long range tank .
Kings round Osram driving lights . Paid about $180 for a pair for the 7” diameter . Great value and no issues after 2 years so far and good light output for the price .
Labtronx Stainless UHF aerial bracket ( fits on LH or Rh of bonnet so doesn’t block front vision) was about $66 each from memory .
My 2 c worth

Forgot to add to last post :-
bought a non genuine spare wheel winch for about $80 from a Melbourne based company off e bay about a year ago after wrecking the old one when I tried to wind it up with out any weight hanging off the cable when I had new tyres fitted . Cable became tanged on locked up . Be warned keep tension on the cable or keep a tyre / rim weight on it or the cable will become jammed .
Also tuff ant sell a round bottle jack to chassis adapter . Round disc with a pin / lug which locates in to holes on the chassis . Original oem scissor jack is crap so need to carry / buy a decent bottle jack with a high lift capacity plus a few pieces of 100 x 100 hard wood to rest the jack on . Suggest mark the chassis jacking points with yellow paint .
Tuff ant also sell a wind down winch adapter ( uses a 1/4 inch drive extension bar needs to be bought separately from Repco etc ) . So can use the oem spare wheel winch with out having to unpack the boot .
Can buy both tuff ant products above as a package deal .
Regards Woodsy

x2 for agreeing with Alan and David! [bigsmile1]

Less is generally more, and most of those items would rarely (if ever) get used.
I have a bullbar and snorkel, which mostly give me peace of mind. The snorkel has only been 'used' once (crossing Nolan's Brook on OTT at pretty high levels).
Bull bar has only been used to protect the vehicle from scrapes in the carpark - although I always feel better driving at night with the bull bar.

Also a fan of the Coopers - I have had at least 3 sets of the Zeon LTZ's (19") and love them. The only downside is the expense. So add them back onto your list if you want good tyres.
I'm currently 2/3 of the way through a set of Maxxis AT980's. Have been really impressed with them so far (and ~$100 ea cheaper than the Coopers).
Do a search on threads for tyres - there are so many comments and observations from forum members - it's worth reading up more detail rather than this thread becoming another 'tyre thread'.

As had been pointed out, you actually need very little above the standard discovery fitout, to head into the outback for extended periods.

A Gap IIDTool is a must - I would definitely put this at the top of your list...

As has been said, just get out there and enjoy the journey with the family (and spend less time/effort/$$'s on how the car is setup!)...

I did have a LR tank on 1 of our 3 Defenders (Yes we're truly mad :) ) but haven't with the D4 just put 2 jerries up top and drained fuel out if necessary via hose straight into tank. Only done that once as haven't needed to. I see people at the local servo filling heaps of jerries and wonder why because you can travel a long way here towards remote areas and the fuel price doesn't vary much. Better to keep the weight down I think then fill up before you leave civilisation..... :) Then of course once you're off the beaten track it gets real pricey but if you want it you pay for it.
I do like a snorkel though as dust is the real killer of machinery and if I can keep it away from my engine I will. When I worked in mines we used to change air filters on trucks, dozers etc twice each shift in some areas which were real bad.
I did have one of those oiled filters on a D1 but would never bother again. Filthy job cleaning them and I take a spare filter on every extended trip and bang out excess dust if it needs changing which removes most and will last until you get back somewhere it can be cleaned properly.
Enjoy the travels.
AlanH.

I have rock slides on my D3 and they do help but have got into a few situations were ive had to jump on them to get the doors open as they have bent up. Also my mate does a great hidden winch upgrade for D3 and D4.

Il jump in here with our D4 set up..

All the APT body gear - every bit has earnt its place also, including the sliders, which also double for the kids getting in and out.

Front runner roof rack and ladder.

Long range tank.

LR raised air intake.

TuffAnt 18" wheels - now alloy, but were steel.

Engle fridge with the 20l extender.

Traxide dual batt.

Redarc tow something (can't remember which one, was literally the first thing done to the car).

Mitch Hitch.

Darch awning.

iCom CB with the previously mentioned stainless steel mount on the RH side of bonnet next to the RAI.

The rest of the car is basically standard. Really haven't found a need to add anything else and other than the want for a winch in a hidden mount, the car does what we need it to do.

Each mod/accessory added has a function that has helped us complete a trip or even helps in day to day stuff. The Front Runner rack is fantastic, especially with all the different mounts and storage options available. The best mount for us is the under rack table mount. Means we can take a table anywhere and get it out easily without straps or taking up space in the car. The ladder is one of the most used items on the car!

The long range tank was initially fitted in the lead up to our Canning trip, but has actually been useful since. Normal commuting sees me fill up every three weeks to a month, or if fuel is cheaper, take advantage.

The RAI has been great. I haven't had to swap a air filter on a trip yet, even though I carry a spare just in case. I deliberately don't go out of my way to drive through deep water, but the deep stuff that we have done hasn't caused an issue.

The TuffAnts have been more of a piece of mind than a necessity for me. Namely because a 18" tyre is easier to get than a 20" in most parts of the NT when we were there. Saying that, I have only had an issue with a 20" once and that was my fault. Something to keep in mind also, like others have mentioned, is the overall weight of the car. The TuffAnt steel rim weighs as much as their alloy rim with a tyre on it, so this could be a bit of a saver. I have noticed a change in acceleration and fuel economy since changing. I picked up 1.5L/100 in the first tank after the change. Not much, but it adds up.

The draws have the general spares and tools that you would need - nothing special - but we do carry a sat phone and Nanocom just in case.

The current set up can be quickly packed for tenting or vanning without messing around. I have a series of Front Runner Wolfpacks that get thrown on the roof and in the back of the car. So other than food or clothes, everything is good to go.

Speaking of weight, our D4 is pretty heavy. It's something I am very aware of and do my best to manage. Our Canning trip saw the car right on the limits if not over it (measured on weighbridge in Katherine before we left). Two adults, two kids in car seats, a full Engle, 184lt of fuel +2x Jerry cans, 120lt of fresh water - plus sleeping gear, tent, clothes, the Wolfpacks mentioned above, solar panel on the roof and chairs. The steel rims were on at this point, but I did save some weight in removing the middle seat from the 2nd row and removed the 3rd row seats completely. Removing the middle seat enabled us to put the water there and move some of the weight to the front. But this is the extreme for us. Normally we tow a Jayco Dove OB and have less stuff in the car, but I guess the weight saved in stuff is now back in the form of towball weight.

I saved some weight by opting to not fit a bullbar, which after some pondering and talking to people with them, was a good choice. I avoid driving at night, so don't have a need for spotties and the bracket on the bonnet was sufficient for a CB antenna. Also living where we were in the NT, if we hit anything, it was big enough to write the car off - with or without a bar - at the speeds on the highways.

The whole configuration is going to change soon due to two littles ones on their way, so there will likely be more vanning than tenting coming up. That's not to say though more adventurous trips are 100% out of the question. The Simpson is still high on the cards.

I will add something to close out. I know an old fella who does all his off road touring in one of those Mitsubishi express/L300 (or something IDK) vans. Great little set up and very capable. But in the 20 odd years that he has had it and used it, it's configuration and the stuff he takes/packs has constantly changed and evolved as he has figured out what works, what doesn't, what's needed, what isn't, etc, when he goes away. And while he has now got it sorted, there are times where he is lacking something or is dragging something he doesn't need. What I am trying to say here is that, find a set up that works for you and your family. It won't happen overnight, but you will work it out. While it's great to listen to and read about other people's set ups/mod lists to get you started, we all have different needs and requirements. Don't be afraid to do something different and see if it works.

Good luck and have fun!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by WabiSabi

2 Adults and 3 kids.

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So .... re the kids, it depends on their ages but if they're out of child seats or boosters you'll want to have one in the third row to avoid elbow wars. Were you counting on carrying stuff in the back? I've seen kids sitting next to large car fridges which really isn't a good idea. If three in the second row then add a cargo barrier to the list. If one or two in the third row, add a trailer ...

I appreciate all the responses here so far and I’m taking plenty of notes!

Because we have the X1 Camper Trailer that will take a lot of our weight. Tow bar weight is 120kg. I’m going to see if I can repair the spare wheel holder but it’s a real pain to get it out if the rear is loaded.

Ideally we’d use the third row for one of the kids so they have a bit of space. Previously we had a Delica which was terrific for the amount of space and the captains chairs but horrible to work on.

Ok I’m going to pull together these ideas and update here as I purchase and fit everything over the next couple of weeks. Loving the suggestions for specific items as it’s often the small things like UHF aerial mount that can be a pain to track down.

Thanks again everyone for the replies.