Canopy fitouts

[Thinpins]

I am in the process of fitting out my canopy and although I've had several versions over the years and am pretty sure this is the set up that works best for me, I would love to see what others have done.

Please post up any little tricks or nifty set ups that work for you. My is set up for everyday carpentry but I have three little kids and get away whenever we can so it needs to suit both purposes.

I still need to wire the:

interior lights
switches
little freebie waeco inverter

[gold member]

That's s great set up mate, way more going on in there than my basic set up, I presume the power tools are easily removed for them weekends away with the family hey?


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[Thinpins]

Thanks man, I unload/load the tools most weekends and most weekdays so it does have to be easy and tidy. I would like to have a simple set up but it's usually fully loaded and organisation is critical.

[Andy87]

Great setup mate. I have pretty much same canopy on mine, but mines lift off as I can't stand loading the tools in and out when we go away. I'm a fridgy and never considered setting it up like that with dividers and the like, cheers for the inspiration. Mate what size fridge is that. I have my 40lt Engel in mine and it's to bulky. That one looks a bit smaller, or is it just the photo.

[vincentvega]

I reckon there is more volume in my styleside, but gees you get awesome access with those gullwing doors. I struggle to get gear in and out of the side windows of my glass canopy.

[Thinpins]

the fridge is only a cfx-35 but they are all bulky by the time you fit them. The cfx is quite a squat design compared to the engel. When we went to Fraser last year we had the 35 as a freezer and borrowed a mates engel 45 as the fridge. I did a new fitout for that trip similar to this one but The extra height on the engel made the top shelf very short and not very usable.

It's a challenge to get a balance between shelving and versatility. I think the key is to have the least amount of shelving possible so you can still access most things without having to restack things all the time but still be able to get the odd big item in. It's choccas most of the time.

The fitout weight adds up quickly though.

[Unluckyalf]

Just out of interest, is the canopy something you have built yourself or did you have it made?

Im curious as to how much something like this would cost as I'm toying with the idea of buying the D4D i have been supplied by the company i work for when they replace it with the newer Hilux

[Thinpins]

The canopy itself was an off the shelf model from MW toolboxes. They are reasonable quality for the price but they crank out heaps of them and it seems to be more about volume than top quality. having said that, my last on was from MW and it stood the test of time/use. I built all of the internals myself except for the fridge slide. There are some big variances out there in canopy quality so it's depends on your needs. They range in price from about $2k upwards. I've had some cheap alloy canopies in the past and they just don't stand up to solid everyday use. Each time I go for something more durable/expensive.

[aandy]

The canopy itself was an off the shelf model from MW toolboxes.

Any chance you can tell me the dimensions of your canopy, or just the height? Cheers

[Thinpins]

I think it's 860H to the top of box and then the racks. 1840w x 1800 L. I had ordered it for my old ute but while it was on order I decided to upgrade the ute. I should have reordered the canopy as the new one is 1900w but it does give me a nice little ledge to stand on when loading the racks. If you would like exact measurements I can get them for you. There isn't much clearance between the racks and the cabin, maybe 30-40mm. It's probably just enough clearance although I can't wrap a roll of grey tape around it.

[Merkin]

hey thinpins,
looks great. any idea what weight you're carrying now, fully loaded?
only reason i ask, i had an 09 with an alloy canopy, and with gear, full bar work, 140l fuel tank and steel tray i was over the GVM, so had to get a lovells gvm upgrade put in.
cheers.

[Thinpins]

With me, fuel and average tools onboard I'm usually around 2900. I'd guess when going away with the wife and three kids I'd be around the 3200-3300 mark. My Lovells kit takes me to 3500 so plenty to work with still.