1993 Bushman camper trailer refit

[LONEWOLF]

Hi Nucopia,

If you haven't mounted your tool box yet a good idea is to mount it on the draw bar with enough room behind it fit two jerry cans. Makes it very easy to hold them in place because the tool box is in front & the camper body is behind. just have to stop them slipping out the sides. Also the tool box protects the jerry cans so you can use plastic ones. This is what I have done.
Hope this helps.

Rob.

Just let you know that storing Jerry cans for Fuel on the front drawbar is illegal in some states... I know some manufactures have them, and they will tell you they are for 'water'.... Hate to see you come across a cranky cop who makes you remove them.... Just a thought...
I have also heard of a cranky cop telling a fellow to cut the wires running to his roof mounted Light bar....Also illegal in some states...

LW....

 

[ken2m]

Hi Nucopia,

If you haven't mounted your tool box yet a good idea is to mount it on the draw bar with enough room behind it fit two jerry cans. Makes it very easy to hold them in place because the tool box is in front & the camper body is behind. just have to stop them slipping out the sides. Also the tool box protects the jerry cans so you can use plastic ones. This is what I have done.
Hope this helps.

Rob.

Just let you know that storing Jerry cans for Fuel on the front drawbar is illegal in some states... I know some manufactures have them, and they will tell you they are for 'water'.... Hate to see you come across a cranky cop who makes you remove them.... Just a thought...
I have also heard of a cranky cop telling a fellow to cut the wires running to his roof mounted Light bar....Also illegal in some states...

LW....

Under the ADR lights must be less than 1.2 metres fron the ground. So actually illegal in all states, but only actively prosecuted in some. Ken.

 

[nucopia]

Thanks guys, that a good thing to know before I make any additions to the trailer and prado ..

I removed the bull bar from the donor prado and the plastic bumper bar from mine. Some of the bolt holes match up but it looks like I need to drill a few holes into the chassis rails to accommodate the other extra bolts to secure it. Also have to either do with out the two tow points on the front of the chassis rail or if I want to keep them, work out a modification that allows me to bolt them on and still keep every thing aligned properly..

This is the modified drivers side chassis rail from the donor prado. You can see the square outline around the bolt hole where a thick metal spacer was used and the bolted on through the rail. They also welded an additional pice on the fron of the chassis rail as well....

This my driver side chassis rail. You can see the towing hook is still bolted on. I need to devise a mod to keep them and still bolt on the brackets from the donor.See Picture 3

This is a pic of the brackets that came off the donor rails..they bolt on underneath the chassis rail were the towing hooks are bolted..

This is the back of the bull bar showing the bolt holes

I need a welding machine and a heavy duty drill and drill bits to get the bull bar fitted right..also need to clean the rust and apply rust prevention and a good coating of black paint by the look of it...
Just another hassle , but I hope well worth it in the long run..

 

[LONEWOLF]

Yes Ken2m, I have read somewhere that WA allow light bars on the roof.. But this could have changed.... About time we got Uniform Laws regarding things like this...

Your Vehicle Must comply with the State Regs that you drive in, no matter which State it is Registered in... I learnt the hard way with my V8 Capri...

LW....

 

[LONEWOLF]

Looks like the Hook in pic 2 is a rated recovery hook, if not you can get rated ones from 4X4 Shops ... So, you could put another one on the other side as well.... Or do they interfere with the fitting of the Bar you are trying to mount ? and use High Tensile Bolts on Everything... :Y:

LW...

 

[nucopia]

Looks like the Hook in pic 2 is a rated recovery hook, if not you can get rated ones from 4X4 Shops ... So, you could put another one on the other side as well.... Or do they interfere with the fitting of the Bar you are trying to mount ? and use High Tensile Bolts on Everything... :Y:

LW...

Gday LoneWolf , I have/ recovery hooks on both sides and my aim would be to keep them and make sure the bull bar fits as neatly under the front of the side guards and across the front where the lights and grill meet the top of the bull bar and also not lose any structural strength etc .
In the 3rd pic you can see the mounting bracket that replaced the recovery hooks on the donor prado. Im thinking to buy longer high tensile bolts and fit the recover hooks and the bracket in the same place but not sure if the cross bolt will be blocked and hard to install , have to try it and see . other wise work out some other mod to make it work.. I need an extra set of hands and muscle , so I'm just waiting for my son to have some free time to help me with it ..once the bull bar is up in position I will have a better understanding of what will or wont work and or an idea of what I need to make it work.

 

[Occasional_panner]

So is that bracket in pic three needed to fit the bull bar?
Can the bolt head be on the inside of the bracket so the thread faces out towards the wheel? If so you should have enough room to fit the recovery hook and have enough access to do up those bolts. Fingers crossed.
Looking at the pic the horizontal bolt should line up pretty much in the centre of the two vertical bolts, that will depend on where you drill the hole in the rail.

I have never used my recovery hooks, only used the winch twice, it's amazing what you can get yourself out of without help, bit of track building etc you can usually get out.

 

[LONEWOLF]

That sounds like a good idea... it can be a real hassle with only 2 hands.... If I was near you I would help.. Done a bit of this stuff with body lifts ect...

LW...

 

[Occasional_panner]

BTW I can get ex roof mounted solar panels about 5 yrs old 190w for $80 if you are interested. Only problem is the size being around 1800x800 and the output voltage is too high for a pwm controller, so you'll need an Mppt that can take that voltage(44V from memory)
I was thinking of putting 4 on the roof of my van but the weight is something to consider as they are 12kg or so.
The flexible lightweight ones would be the best option, but they are pretty dear. I got two a while ago, think they were $300 for a pair of 100W (200W total) but you can lift them with your little finger. You could sew some tags at the top of your camper roof and hook/cable tie on the lightweight ones up there. They are suited to 12v systems and do fine on a pwm controller. Like these http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/100W-12V...874679?hash=item4d62e85377:g:yowAAOSw-EBZtjAC

 

[Mr Magoo]

http://www.transport.wa.gov.au/mediaFiles/licensing/LBU_VS_IB_132.pdf

Any height as long as it does not impair anyone's vision. It's all way to common for cops to deem something illegal.

 

[LONEWOLF]

https://practicalmotoring.com.au/car-advice/where-can-you-legally-mount-led-lightbars/
In Wa, yes you can mount on the roof Now... not on top of Bulbar tho...

This is where the Confusion begins....but looks like most states are getting their act together and are changing their rules about Light bars now...

I for one don't want to argue with a grumpy cop about what is law and what is not.... O

LW....

 

[Mr Magoo]

I for one don't want to argue with a grumpy cop about what is law and what is not

I probably wouldn't recommend arguing against a grumpy cop either. As you know you won't win. But TBH grumpy cops endlessly send in vehicles that technically do not have problems and the reasons they book you wouldn't last two seconds in a court room,................. generally ] .

The reason for not at the top of the bull bar is obscuring vision, a similar law covers bonnet scoops also or other mountings. A common one people get the s#!ts about are bull bar mounted rod holders, where the holder protrudes over the front of the bar.
The trouble is the continually changing legislation and interpretation of the legislation. The legislation is ridiculous. For example only one of these is a fail, but which one?

A - A missing pwr steering belt on a pwr steered vehicle?
B - A rusted door frame?
C - A cracked door frame?
D - Are badly pitted/rusted brake lines?
E - Inner/outer edge of tyre worn bald, badly?

A bit of a disclaimer - This was all relevant a two or three years ago unless the legislation has changed again.

 

[Tathradj]

E
But I would cane the badly pitted brake line.

No power steering, Arm strong Steering but it works, If you can stop in time.
Rusted door frame, Only bad in a prang, If you cannot stop.
Same as above, Yes, IF you can stop.
Badly pitted brake line, Not good if you want to stop in a rusty beatup car with hardly any steering and want to stop NOW.
Baldy tire, Somewhere, Copper wont get his uniform dirty looking for badly pitted brake lines,
Easy to see so is illegal,
Until you cannot stop. 8) 8)

 

[Mr Magoo]

Thanks for giving this a crack TDJ and taking the time with your thoughts. I have argued each of theses case's with the RTA/RMS. And I concur with the brake lines, at least a bald tyre stops OK in dry weather. B is the correct answer.

The pwr steering fail is a strange one, as you pointed out it still works. But IIRC according to the guide lines the fail is any broken,damaged or missing component but the RTA made us change a fail we issued to a pass.
Rusted door frame, if beyond surfacerust, is a fail.
Cracked door frame, no legislation to fail it out side the area of the hinge (even inside the hinge area I would have to refer, got a bit 'rusty' on this legislation). Which is ridiculous when compared to above.
Rust on brake lines is not classified as structural. I was advised, on a particularly bad example, by the RTA to 'poke a hole in it' and fail it for a leak.
Bald tyre fail's on the 'normal' area of wear, which is the flat area not the edge. Won't go into it because I still don't fully accept it. But I was given that example when I did the vehicle inspectors coarse. Not sure how you get a bald area unless it's the normal area of wear????? But I would still fail someone for it for safety's sake.. Apologies in advance.

But, as I said, it's all open to interpretation. Each one of these are after consultation with the RTA. 8)

 

[Tathradj]

LOL,
I was having a joke in some ways.
You are talking registration inspections then.
Basically the way I seen it is if in any way there was an
issue that in your opinion threatened any ones safety,
Fail it to protect both the public's and your ass because
if some thing went wrong, You would be the one to cop it.
I used to run a Rego Workshop a few years back and OMG
we seen some buetys.
Made use of the Red Tags a few times. ] ]
And had no regrets in using them either.
No Brakes, (One episode made it into a Motoring Magazine)
Doors actually falling off,
Child Seats tied in with baling twine,
V8 in a 4cyl Early Torana, (Weekend Job )
Seats held in with fencing wire,
The list goes on.

 

[madtuna]

you just described half the vehicles around Laverton!

 

[cairnspom]

you just described half the vehicles around Laverton!

Only half? seemed more than that! lol. How ya doing Steve?

 

[nucopia]

When I had the pink slip on the Prado done in April , the mechanic went all over and under the car checking every thing imaginable. They even had it up on his hoist to do a full inspection underneath. The only issue found was a bit of play in the steering and a slight wobble of the front wheels when he pulled on them. Which he concluded meant the steering rack ends needed replacing.

The mate ordered me a set and when they arrived we got to work replacing them.
Only thing was , when we removed the one from the passenger side it was in perfect condition.
We had the car up on stands so we got underneath to see what was really causing the problem, as it was obviously not the rack ends. What we found was that 1 of the 2 bolt on the steering rack was missing .
After we put in the missing bolt, that removed the play in the steering and the wobble from the wheels when we physically pulled on them.
I took it back to the mechanic to inspect it and showed him what we had done by putting in the missing bolt that he had missed seeing and that it had also solved the steering wheel wobble issue.
He again put it up on his hoist and he again said no you have to replace the rack ends because that's the problem not some supposed missing bolt and he would not pass it until they were replaced..
If we had not done the work our selves and seen that missing bolt, I could still be driving a vehicle that had a serious issue and paid an incompetent pig headed lazy mechanic to do work that never solved the real issue nor made the vehicle any safer.
I will never go back to that mechanic again.

 

[LONEWOLF]

Good... Hope you told him that, And Everyone else too. :Y: ... Hope the 'New' Mechanic is Better...

LW...

 

[nucopia]

Lesson learned LoneWolf.
The guy over looked an easily fixed problem that could have got us into serious trouble on the road or out bush.
Suffice to say, I will never take any vehicle there for work and if asked never recommend him to others.