Geoff's Xtra Cab. Prep for WA trip

[Bushbound]

Below is link to my trip report on the Gary Highway (track)
viewtopic.php?t=19414
The Gary is a great drive on one of the most isolated and the lonliest roads in Australia - we didn't pass or see any cars on it.
Geoff

[Bushbound]

After crossing the Simpson and driving the GCR, Heather, Gunbarrel and Gary Highways I was fed up with my bull bar continually coming loose and needing to be tightened up every day before we set off from camp and contacted TJM, their agent from Darwin, Dean was really good and had some plates made up to my design to replace the 'Washer Plates' that were supplied with the bar. The 'washer plates' are made from 2.5 or 3mm plate with 13mm holes for the 10mm bolts and had deformed and were completely useless



The new plates were an engineered solution and made from 5mm plate with 10.5mm holes drilled to suit the bolts and much stronger



I also upgraded the bolts from Class 8 to Class 10 and turned the original mounting from this --



to this, the whole mounting sandwitched between the 5mm plates with lock nuts on the bolts.



This has fixed the bar from coming loose and I had no more trouble from the mounting.

About 1/2 way along the Gary Junction Rd I noticed the spotlights were all on the piss and thought they'd come loose but turned out they were pulling out of the bar and had stretched the top deck of the bumper bar and had to be removed





I struggled through the rest of my trip without driving lights and the bar was replaced when I got home.
I've since discovered the side rails and steps that were bought to stop the bull bar shaking so violently on corrugated roads have also broken where they join at the front of the step. TJM have replaced these as well but because of poor design they will fail too -- they use a pissy little tab welded onto the inside of the rail to bolt them together and this causes stress cracks up the rail, eventually breaking a piece out of the rail. I'm about to have the gearbox rebuilt and will weld the steps and rails together when we put them back on after the rebuild.
More photos of the steps / rails then.
Geoff

[mad_industries]

After crossing the Simpson and driving the GCR, Heather, Gunbarrel and Gary Highways I was fed up with my bull bar continually coming loose and needing to be tightened up every day before we set off from camp and contacted TJM, their agent from Darwin, Dean was really good and had some plates made up to my design to replace the 'Washer Plates' that were supplied with the bar. The 'washer plates' are made from 2.5 or 3mm plate with 13mm holes for the 10mm bolts and had deformed and were completely useless



The new plates were an engineered solution and made from 5mm plate with 10.5mm holes drilled to suit the bolts and much stronger



I also upgraded the bolts from Class 8 to Class 10 and turned the original mounting from this --



to this, the whole mounting sandwitched between the 5mm plates with lock nuts on the bolts.



This has fixed the bar from coming loose and I had no more trouble from the mounting.

About 1/2 way along the Gary Junction Rd I noticed the spotlights were all on the piss and thought they'd come loose but turned out they were pulling out of the bar and had stretched the top deck of the bumper bar and had to be removed





I struggled through the rest of my trip without driving lights and the bar was replaced when I got home.
I've since discovered the side rails and steps that were bought to stop the bull bar shaking so violently on corrugated roads have also broken where they join at the front of the step. TJM have replaced these as well but because of poor design they will fail too -- they use a pissy little tab welded onto the inside of the rail to bolt them together and this causes stress cracks up the rail, eventually breaking a piece out of the rail. I'm about to have the gearbox rebuilt and will weld the steps and rails together when we put them back on after the rebuild.
More photos of the steps / rails then.
Geoff

May I ask why you continue to use the tjm bars as they keep failing?
It's obvious that their bar isn't upto standard especially for your case.

[Bushbound]

May I ask why you continue to use the tjm bars as they keep failing?
It's obvious that their bar isn't upto standard especially for your case.

Mainly because I have them and TJM have never offered to refund my $$, + nobody wants to buy a rooted bull bar so its a big expense to change brands. I believe TJM, ARB, Ironman and the other common bars will all perform pretty much the same or worse so I'm thinking about biting the bullet and fitting a Tuff Bar.Lots of good reports about them from people in the outback who are actually using them
http://www.tuffbullbars.com.au/index.ph ... t_id=17596
Geoff

[jakelux]

Geoooof! No more TJM bars please..
Each to there own but i rekon those Tuff bars are pretty heinous looking and must way a tonne!

What about the buds bar with triple hoops?... Lighter, cheaper, better approach angle, Australian made and Bud can customise it to your requirements. Ticks all the boxes IMO



You got any big trips planned soon?

[huggies]

That is one awesome xtra cab.
love the build thread and very impressed with the camping setup.
well done bloke keep up the good work.

[Bushbound]

You got any big trips planned soon?

Jake, planning to another lash at the Simpson in May, will do Inside Birdsville Track, Warburton Track, K1 and WAA Line this time, then a lap back to see Lake Eyre again.
I think I've just about fixed all the bull bar problems but will have to ditch it and try another brand if it fails again.
Geoff

[Bushbound]

That is one awesome xtra cab.
love the build thread and very impressed with the camping setup.
well done bloke keep up the good work.

Thanks, it works really well, quick and easy to set up and take down, even in really rough weather.
While sitting round the camp fire on our last night on the Canning, my mate and I couldn't think of any mods that would improve the setup -- and we're both 'ideas men'.

Geoff

[packeteer]

I'm certainly impressed with the Bud's bar. It handled my 3 months through the top end with no issues.

[packeteer]

btw Bushbound, I've just re-read your thread from the beginning and saw the post about using metal mesh to fill gaps in the bullbar.

I've used plastic mesh + zip ties to fill my gaps, but I like the look of yours better. Might investigate that. Thanks

[Bushbound]

btw Bushbound, I've just re-read your thread from the beginning and saw the post about using metal mesh to fill gaps in the bullbar.

I've used plastic mesh + zip ties to fill my gaps, but I like the look of yours better. Might investigate that. Thanks

I made a frame from 20 x 6 steel bar that fitted over the pressed edge of the cutouts and welded steel mesh on the back side, 2 x 6mm bolts with nylok nuts to hold them on.
The pressed edges of the cutout are 6mm so the mesh sits snugly against it.
They work well at keeping bugs, rocks and other debris out. I also cut the middle out of the winch cover plate and welded some mesh some mesh on the inside - mainly because I could.
Geoff

[Bushbound]

I've just written up a seperate thread about how I mounted 2 40 litre Engels in my cab.
viewtopic.php?f=13&t=21252
Geoff

[Bushbound]

In preperation for a east - west - east crossings of the Simpson Desert, I had the gearbox and transfer case overhauled, replaced lots of expensive bits



but at least it changes from 2nd to 3rd now. This caused me lots of problems on the Canning last year when I was having difficulty changing into 3rd for the run onto the big sand dunes.
I replaced the rear brake drums, shoes and cylinders as they were in fairly ordinary condition, I needed to replace 1 disc that was damaged when I ran out of pads on the Canning so replaced them with DBA slotted rotors and premium pads, this has improved the braking considerably and I'll try a couple of the premium 4x4 pads to see which work best to improve the lousey brakes and apreciate any recomendations.
I had been wondering how many corrugations the shocks and strutts can cross before they're worn out and my question was answered when both back shocks started to weep oil after 70,000km of the roughest, toughest roads and deserts in the country. CalOffroad was great and gave me a keen price on their new silver (cadnium plated) Bilsteins which immediately tidied up the handling.
Found right rear wheel bearing had spun on the axle, so replaced the bearing and axle. I did this in my shed at home but only with the tools I carry, just to prove I can do it on the side of the road. I would need a solid tree stump or big flat rock but its doable. I had to add a big drift to hammer the bearing onto the axle but had the rest of the tools in my standard kit.
I needed 4 tyres, so took the opportunity to change from 245 70 16 to 265 70 16 - metric 31" - and happy with the choice. The wheel align teck came and spoke to me about my front end, wondering why it had never been adjusted since I put the lifted suspension in and did I have time for him to do a major alignment. He was able to free up the adjusters and get the whole front end within spec and the car drives a lot nicer than before and after a trip to the Simpson the tyres dont have the wear I'd expect, so I'll keep track of this guy for future alignments.
I'm home from a trip acrossthe Simpson on the Warburton Track, K1, Knolls Track, WAA and out to Mt Dare for fuel, I probably had enough onboard as I carry 205 litres to turn around at Dalhousie and back east across the French Line but chose to have a pie and fuel up at Mt Dare, checked Bloods Creek and Federal Ruins and headed back to Birdsville on the French Line. Great trip and all my prep paid off as the Survey Wagon performed perfectly again in all conditions, from sand in the desert to deep, friendly clay on the Strzelecki Track after 50mm of rain. I'll post up the trip story when I have time.
Geoff

[Alby]

Gee you have had a spend Geoff on maintenance , how many K have you done? I know there are a lot of hard k's on your trips

[Bushbound]

Alby,
I bought the vehicle, a cab chassis with 50000km, ex Ipswitch council in Qld, dunno what they did with it but was nice and tidy but has had a hard life, probably carried a heavy load - water tanker of cherry picker maybe. I've done another 100,000 that include the Canning and 3 x Simpson + a lot of the outback roads and tracks, so its had a hard life and I could never sell it as 'never been off road', I have a company car to buzz about in so the Hilux only come out of the shed for work and hasn't had the camper off it for over 18 months.
Its now due for 150k service so I'm up for timing belt and will probably replace the water pump at the same time. I spoke to my transmission man today for a price to overhaul both diffs and tighten up the rear LSD.
Desert travel is hard on the car.
Geoff

[packeteer]

this is the recommendation I got re pads:

QFM HPX pads, these are like an equivalent to a Bendix Ultimate in terms of performance as they are both rated to 550 degrees, but the QFM's don't come with any of the downsides of the Bendix like high dust and rotor wear

[packeteer]

also, I wouldn't bother with the crappy Toyota LSD. I reckon you'd be better of with either a TrueTrac (mechanical LSD) or Yukon Grizzly (auto locker)

[Bushbound]

this is the recommendation I got re pads:

QFM HPX pads, these are like an equivalent to a Bendix Ultimate in terms of performance as they are both rated to 550 degrees, but the QFM's don't come with any of the downsides of the Bendix like high dust and rotor wear

Thanks mate, they were on the list to try, just cant find anyone who sells them in Hobart, will have to buy them online.
Geoff

[Bushbound]

also, I wouldn't bother with the crappy Toyota LSD. I reckon you'd be better of with either a TrueTrac (mechanical LSD) or Yukon Grizzly (auto locker)

Still waiting for Greg to give me a rough price to overhaul both diffs, surposed to be max 10C on Sunday so will get on the net and try to get some prices on various options. Have to do some research on front diff drop kits and order one as I need to reduce the angle on my CV's while I have the diff out.
Geoff

[packeteer]

yeah, that pad reccomendation came from brakesdirect

for diff drop I'd go with the Monster Rides kit, one of the only good ones. just dont buy the useless spacer kits that are everywhere