Work Vehicle Upgrades

[mitchwyatt00]

G'day Team

I've spent almost the whole day reading through various topics and trying to get my head around stuff and my head is about to explode!

I know this all might seem a little elementary however I am looking to make some upgrades to my Hilux and would like some good advice on what is important, what's not and what's best bang for buck.

Basically I do oodles of kilometres for work (spray contracting) and spend a LOT of time offroad and a LOT of time onroad... When I'm offroad I'm generally moving through massively varying terrain and rarely sticking to any sort of trails. I've recently bitten the bullet and replaced my 99 LN167r with a brand new KUN16r (single cab-chassis).

I regularly got stuck in the mud and ditches in my old Hilux and want to set up my new beast a little better.

Keeping in mind that everytime I get bogged it costs me $500 - $1000 in lost work and recovery, and I was getting bogged approximately fortnightly in my old lux, what upgrades are suitable/warranted?

Lift? Bearing in mind I constantly carry 400 - 900 kgs in the tray but also need to be comfortable on road.

Difflockers? Front? Rear? Both?

Winch? How big?

Tyre upgrade? Don't want different rims but the current tyres are useless compared to my old lux

Compressor? Large storage tank? I run high pressure on road due to the weight carried and like to drop it when going off the tar and back up high (massive kilometres onroad and want the good fuel economy), but need to get them back up to 320kpa fairly quickly (remember time is money for me).

Anything else?

I don't have an open chequebook but I don't want to do a half-arsed job either, what are the rough costs of these upgrades?

I'll keep reading whilst awaiting your responses!

[Chrinks]

I also carry alot of weight in the tray and am looking at going back to factory spring rate and getting air bags, this will mean you will def need good compressor so may as well get lockers too. Hahaha. Got about 80000ks from my last set of bfg at's and I drive alot as well. Hope this helps a bit chris

[VMN]

Mitchy,

OK so it costs you between $13,000-$26,000 a year in lost time due to getting stuck.

I reckon I would put a Detroit locker in the rear as it is a full time locker so you never need to turn it on. Adding any locker in the rear gives up the LSD and you won't want that in your situation.

I think I would also add a front locker either an ARB or the new Eaton e-Locker. If I put in the ARB one, I would put in the small compressor dedicated to the locker as leaks in a large tank are hard to pin down. The ARB one suffers from blown seals if not installed correctly so maybe the untried Eaton may be more reliable.

For airing up, I would get a 9 or even better a 15 litre air tank combined with a Twin Tongue compressor from Opposite Lock. This is the big brother to the Blue Tongue compressor I have and has a head at each end of the motor. These are fully rebuildable and last for years. I think if you get any other compressor, you will experience downtime/failure. With air tanks, make sure the first 600 mm of line from compressor is braided pipe as other pipes can melt from generated heat. Ideally this line should go straight to the air tank otherwise extend it using truck brake hose. Make sure you add a pressure relief gauge and a drain c**k. If you get onto Boss Air Suspension they'll have all that you need including the pressure switch. Their tanks are rated to 180 psi so get a 110 psi on/135 psi off or even better maybe a 120 on, 150 off pressure switch. There is plenty of pics of a remote air tank in my Rod's Rig Buildup thread. You want as much air at a high pressure as you can get. 9 litres only inflates 1 tyre before it empties the tank, If you can squeeze in, 30 litres of air would be better.

You are going to be carrying a fair load and these truck are low particularly after adding a bar and winch. I would look at after market suspension as compulsory. I would not go overboard but make sure you size the rear leaves to suit your load. Maybe 600 kg constant load. I would not go overboard, Maybe Tough Dog/EFS/Lovells etc.

You need bash Plates so go with Buds Customs/Brown and Davis or TJM.

Now on the subject of tyres. If you have the standard SR tyres, these are very limiting on tyre selection due to narrow width. You would would probably be better off with some aftermarket steel rims at $100 each maybe 16x7 +20mm offset. This will let you fit greater range of tyres. I run 265/75 R16's (32") This'll cost you a bit of fuel so you might like to stick to a 31" tyre. I think you probably should use Mud Terrain tyres. These won't have as longer life as All Terrains and will be a lot noiser on the road but if they save you one recovery a year, you'll pay for the difference.

For winches, you'll need a bull bar and ARB is probably the only way to go but TJM may also have a good option. Stick to the Warn winches as they are lot faster than the rest. If you can mount it, go a High Mount winch in the front (faster) but you'll probably need a custom bull bar. If you have room and can handle the weight, consider a second winch in the rear. Maybe also consider cab mounted winch switches so you can operate them without wasting time plugging in the controllers. Synthetic rope will save you time as it is much easier to spool out etc.

Finally if you want to finish of this project, maybe regear to Prado diffs in 3.9 or 4.1 ratios to match your 32" tyres depending on whether you have auto or manual tranny as per the Drivetrain gearing bible sticky thread. Do this in favour of installing a chip you want a vehicle as close to stock for maximum reliability and the gearing will be better for the conditions you face.

[VMN]

I also carry alot of weight in the tray and am looking at going back to factory spring rate and getting air bags, this will mean you will def need good compressor so may as well get lockers too. Hahaha. Got about 80000ks from my last set of bfg at's and I drive alot as well. Hope this helps a bit chris

I don't think I would recommend airbags in this situation due to constant load. Airbags change the chassis load points and can (and have) led to chassis failure.

[KTM525EXC]

I would be going front bar with a 12,000 pound winch, some under body protection, a good suspension setup because of the weight you carry, (speak to brendon from ultimate) I'd go a mt tyre on some steel rims around the 31, 32 dia. if you can afford it a regear as rod said because it will take alot of load of your drive train with the bigger rubber and heavy loads you carry and finally I'd lock the rear, if you only get one get the rear first because of the loads you carry.

Hope this helps, good luck

[Alby]

Agree with Troy and Rods comments, get a decent set of springs then if you find it necessary (every chance you won't need to) look at fine adjustment with airbags. Highly recommend talking with Ultimate suspension. if you get the right setup you will not be disappointed with ride quality on road, they actually ride better than standard.

Go rear over a front locker if you have to choose in your situation.

[Chrinks]

How do we achieve ride quality eg no kidney belt when weight is taken off for offroading without airbags, very interested as I'm about to look at bags?? Chris

[Chrinks]

Btw I've got an extra leaf added to cope with weight

[Alby]

How do we achieve ride quality eg no kidney belt when weight is taken off for offroading without airbags, very interested as I'm about to look at bags?? Chris

As a daily driver I am an empty tray but are at max GVM when touring. I used to have OEM reset springs with additional leaf added but changed over to Ultimates comfort pack and find that they handle both situations quite well...a good compromise.
I think airbags put too much strain on your chassis if carrying a load off road

[Chrinks]

How do we achieve ride quality eg no kidney belt when weight is taken off for offroading without airbags, very interested as I'm about to look at bags?? Chris

As a daily driver I am an empty tray but are at max GVM when touring. I used to have OEM reset springs with additional leaf added but changed over to Ultimates comfort pack and find that they handle both situations quite well...a good compromise.
I think airbags put too much strain on your chassis if carrying a load off road

I basically tow a camper for camping then offroad empty, only have the weight on constant for work days would the set up u suggest work?

[Alby]

You are the reverse situation to me, softer springs will give you better articulation off road and airbags would be ok on the blacktop with a load so you could go that way if you wanted to. I am no expert on the subject only relaying my experience to date, suggest you have a chat to Brendan at Ultimate, I think he does airbags as well so would probably give you a good appraisal of which would work better for you.

[Chrinks]

The drawing board it is!!!

[mitchwyatt00]

Ok I've decided that I definately want lockers, the majority of my work is environmentally based so the clients love me having a much lower impact (less spinning, ruts, etc). But... like Rod said I don't want to lose the LSD, but am also worried about the Detroit locker having heard that it can compromise on-road driving, also will the Detroit locker contribute to tearing up the ground when turning off the road and/or wear tyres a little faster? Not sure on all this...

If 9 litres fills one tyre from 12-49 PSI than I clearly want at least a 36 litre tank! Just jokin but yeh will definately be looking at a 30 litre job... there's tonnes of room under the tray to fit something that big.

Already lining up the 600kg constant rear springs but am still thinking about the front... how much lift at the front from stock can I reasonably get without compromising reliability? What would you recommend?

Winches... I should have mentioned that I have the stock Winch Bar... very much less than ideal, I know, but that's what it is so that's what it is. I think I'll be getting something around 12000lbs, synthetic line, front only for now.

Now for tyres... You will really need to forgive my ignorance on this issue... Getting 31 inchers will automatically lift me up an inch right? Will it still run alright, ie, no rubbing at full lock? not too much extra fuel consumption? how much will the speedo be out? will it void any warranties? Will I need flares?

Cheers

[mitchwyatt00]

OkiePokie I have decided to not go with the Detroit lockers due to the way it changes the on-road characteristics, I just spent a couple of hours researching it and it's not worth it considering the number of kays I do on the tarmac.

Therefore if I go for rear air-lockers (lose the LSD), how much difference do you think it will make to me? Will I notice the lack of LSD quite acutely and always be flicking the locker on and off or what?

[VMN]

Couple of locker threads for you
Detroit or ARB viewtopic.php?f=12&t=3986
Front v's rear locker viewtopic.php?f=12&t=2911

I don't think that the open diff will bother you. When I was on the 4WD Action trip around Coffs Harbour, I just left the rear locker engaged all day which was the advice fro the locals.

For air tanks poke around a truck wrecker and you should find decent size. You will need to look at compressor duty cycles but I think the twin tongue will be up to it. I know a guy with a 30 litre tank on a Patrol with the single head Blue Tongue and it would cycle off as it got too hot before the tank was filled. That won't worry you too much as you will fill it at the beginning of the day and if the thermal cutout cuts in, it'll fill when it cools down. I have found if you turn the compressor off before it fills, the thermal cutout cuts in and it wont start again until it cools down. Use thread seal paste not white teflon tape!

31x10.5's on the Stock SR5 15" rims work fine with stock suspension without clearance issues. THis worked for me. I found you needed flares and grabbed some Utemart ones after my first outing. See my buildup early in the piece. Speedo will be almost spot on. Actually about 2-3% under. With 32's the speedo is about 2-3% over.

You can lift the front about 2.5-3" without any dramas which is why I suggested a basic kit. For reference, with a dual battery fitted, a steel bar and winch pulled my front down by 15mm on stock suspension and I gave the bash plate a real hiding until I got a lift kit.

With Winches and value for money, You probably can't go past the Avenger 12,000 lb synthetic winch which is available on my store.
http://www.vehiclemods.net.au/shop/winc ... etic-cable

I also have a full range of Dynamica ropes and accessories but have not got them on my web site.

[mitchwyatt00]

ok i'm sold... front and rear lockers it is... ARB air lockers with their own dedicated compressor

[VMN]

ok i'm sold... front and rear lockers it is... ARB air lockers with their own dedicated compressor

I think that is a good way to go. Here's a thought. If you do add a big airtank, get a cheap $20 regulator and some spare ARB airline and joiner so that if the locker compressor dies, you have backup. In reality, the little compressor does very little work so should be very reliable. Maybe screw the reg on to a Nitto fitting and only plug it in when you need it (and add a Nitto socket to it as well so you can use it to run air tools etc). In our 4WD club all the locker faults I have seen have been wiring related so pack a spare relay and some fuses. Some say to fit the compressor in the cab for maximum reliability but mine is under the hood.

The reason you need a reg is the setup I suggested for tyre inflation will be way above the ARB locker operating specs of 85-110 psi.

[mitchwyatt00]

OK.... I've cracked the shits, got stuck again today...

I want lift front and rear within the next couple of weeks and don't have time to do the research so would love some frank and fearless advice, what should I get? I want maximum reliability, don't want it to sag too much over time and I want to retain the best on road handling I can... Keep in mind I have a genuine winch bar, dual battery and will have a winch soon.

Now for some photos:

[KTM525EXC]

You weren't kidding defiantly a set of mud Tyres, winch and a lift are high priorities

[SNAFU]

it's all about traction, mud tyres would be at the top of my lift to improve traction, then lift/lockers and yeh if you're out on your own a winch is good insurance