Will this be the Ultimate Prospecting Vehicle?

[Dihusky]

Part of the removal of the original Tow Truck back was the plan for future utilisation of the space behind the cab. As part of the Tow Truck conversion something like 250mm had been removed from the chassis and the original back frame rejoined so to all appearances the back was original. This also meant that the original spare wheel mounting had gone, so a new mounting system for the spare/s had to be created.

Also there was a 10,000lb winch sitting between the chassis rails just behind the cabin, this had to be relocated and the back was the the only feasible location. The advantage was that now we had a big section of open chassis, clear of the rear fed winch cable. Hmmm.. Tanks??

Warm up the arc welder, mig hates gal and the chassis is heavy gal... and the 24v Warn winch had a new home.

Next to see if there were some tanks that might fit without going custom made, the gods were shining on the build...

Hard to believe but Enmach in Bundaberg had two off the shelf tanks that fitted perfectly, a 120l diesel and a 70l water. Enough room for a thin rubber separation and now the diesel capacity is virtually double the standard tanks. Plus there was enough room for the transfer pump for the diesel, it's routed to the return line to the tank under the drivers seat.

Now the left hand tank becomes a 62l reserve tank which gives somewhere between 4-500 klm range on reserve. Plenty of scope for getting lost!!

 

[RM Outback]

So what's the total fuel volume combined, 62 litres in 2 wheel drive would get you around the 4 to 5 hundred mark but in 4 or 6 I think you'd be better to check the economy for safety sake. You've certainly done some great work on the rebuild :Y: I'd need a few years to get through all those mods.

 

[Dihusky]

So what's the total fuel volume combined, 62 litres in 2 wheel drive would get you around the 4 to 5 hundred mark but in 4 or 6 I think you'd be better to check the economy for safety sake. You've certainly done some great work on the rebuild :Y: I'd need a few years to get through all those mods.

Total fuel in tanks is 244l, also have 6 jerry can mounts on the back, but will get to them later on in the story.

Fuel economy is up in the air right now as I'm having a new diff ratio fitted, plus the new turbo, final weight etc, yeah thinking about it, might be a bit high, probably 350klm would be closer on a 62l tank

 

[Wally69]

Awesome build Hu :Y:

You are powering through with some great enhancements, have added your thread to my follow list in anticipation of the next update.

Almost purchased one a couple of years ago to do the same thing but he Mrs refused to have another toy occupying the front lawn. 8.(

Thanks for turning my dream into reality

 

[Dihusky]

Awesome build Hu :Y:

You are powering through with some great enhancements, have added your thread to my follow list in anticipation of the next update.

Almost purchased one a couple of years ago to do the same thing but he Mrs refused to have another toy occupying the front lawn. 8.(

Thanks for turning my dream into reality

Funny about the "Cheese & Kisses", have the power and controlling rights! Fortunately Dinah loves the vehicle, she can see the big picture which helps significantly as she is the domestic finance controller 100%, I just spend then she belts me! :brokenh:

 

[user 7268]

Your attention to detail Di H is a credit .................. always nice to see a build done properly :Y:
ps If your chasing a wireless remote for the Warn let me know will put you onto the mob in US I got mine from ................. half the price of that in Oz

 

[Dihusky]

Your attention to detail Di H is a credit .................. always nice to see a build done properly :Y:
ps If your chasing a wireless remote for the Warn let me know will put you onto the mob in US I got mine from ................. half the price of that in Oz

Got one thanks mate

 

[Dihusky]

One thing I like to do is see at night, sure I would rather set up camp in daylight and be enjoying a beer or glass of red by the fire as soon a dusk dims the lights, but in the event of having to drive at night I like to see where I am going, plus spot the roos and warn oncomers to shift over, so today the new night vision system got installed.

130w LED headlights with built in side lights and indicators. These have only just hit the market and are available from 'nuggetstuff', so if you have a Landy Nugget has them.

Finished off with the rear vision video camera so I can watch the tailgaters, and woe-betide a tailgater that thinks this beasts stops slowly, 6 wheel disks.. stops on a dime!

 

[user 7268]

Di H watched a few of these yesterday, quite a few actually going up the road in an army convoy and was thinking ................. I only want one
Lack of light is always a pain camped or moving. The beauty of the LED stuff available now is such low current draw compared to the old style lighting. We are being spoilt with the options now available. Have a reverse cam set up also that I can switch on whilst travelling, makes it easy to check on load along the way. Re headlights will they just an insert that will replace the normal 7" sealed beam or H4 type light ?

 

[Dihusky]

Di H watched a few of these yesterday, quite a few actually going up the road in an army convoy and was thinking ................. I only want one
Lack of light is always a pain camped or moving. The beauty of the LED stuff available now is such low current draw compared to the old style lighting. We are being spoilt with the options now available. Have a reverse cam set up also that I can switch on whilst travelling, makes it easy to check on load along the way. Re headlights will they just an insert that will replace the normal 7" sealed beam or H4 type light ?

The headlights fitted straight into the 7" module, I took the whole unit out (4 screws) and installed the new one, easier on the work bench as there are little angle adjusters etc in the mounting so everything has to be in the right place. Job was very straight forward.

 

[Philthy]

Loving the build.

In my previous job, I had put 1000's of hours driving and fixing these things.

 

[Wally69]

Any must do modifications come to mind Philthy ?

 

[7.62marksman]

http://trucksurfhotel.com/gallery/

 

[user 7268]

http://trucksurfhotel.com/gallery/

People often say if you won multi millions in lotto you wouldn't know what to do with it I'd have a bloody huge toy box that's a certain :Y:

 

[Dihusky]

http://trucksurfhotel.com/gallery/

That's insane, don't think I have the budget for a 4wd version though

 

[Wishfull]

http://trucksurfhotel.com/gallery/

People often say if you won multi millions in lotto you wouldn't know what to do with it I'd have a bloody huge toy box that's a certain :Y:

I'd like the chance to prove them right !

 

[Philthy]

I quite rate the 6x6 vehicles.

There are no real immediate mods that I can think of. All ours were unmodified of course.

Our biggest issue was the rear axle seals and hub gaskets. They were always letting go, so I would carry a couple of spares of each.
That way if they do let go, your not waiting in some small town for days while they get them in.

Other than that, they are pretty reliable.

We flogged ours pretty hard and they were usually towing a 1 tonne load in the trailer.

 

[Philthy]

Dihusky,

It looks like it has the FFR pack too (Fitted For Radio). The distribution box is behind the passenger seat. Does it also have the 100 amp alternator under the hood?

If so, all your bush power needs will be well taken care of. We also used to use a 1.3kw 12/24 volt DC generator to charge them if we were parked up for a long time.

 

[texta]

should end up looking like this one maybe .

 

[Dihusky]

Dihusky,

It looks like it has the FFR pack too (Fitted For Radio). The distribution box is behind the passenger seat. Does it also have the 100 amp alternator under the hood?

If so, all your bush power needs will be well taken care of. We also used to use a 1.3kw 12/24 volt DC generator to charge them if we were parked up for a long time.

Yep it's all there, wanted to hang on to is and will probably mod the Disi box as all the gene needs to do is feed the batteries, much of the gear will run out of the main board in the new chests. Once she comes home from the diff upgrades I need to check out the charge rate to see if it's sufficient for the Lead Crystal batteries. The other reason is there is a 24v Warn M1000 hanging off the back. Think there's a pic earlier in the thread.

I can also run the 3 fridge freezers more economically, one Waeco 40 and two Evakool drawer units, one freezer, one food and one for refreshments... of course!

Haven't settled on generators yet. Not a high priority at this stage as the batteries will have solar backup.