Wombat's "mine truck to camping/touring weapon" build

[wombat81]

Evening all. Thought I better get started on this or it will never happen. My build is going to be reasonably slow. I've got a bunch of stuff to get done straight away and then some more stuff over the next 3 years.

Background
I'm coming from an 80 series that I love(d) dearly. It's a standard HZJ80 and is pretty unstoppable off-road even though it's not that built-up. But even a pretty stock 80 with a 2.5" lift under it will go a lot of places most 4x4s won't. So moving to a Hilux will see a big drop in capability. But the 80 is over 20 years old now, and I've had to do some pretty major work on it recently to keep it on the road, so it's time to move it on. I'm thankful that it's provided me with plenty of driving and technical knowledge from simple maintenance to wiring including aux battery to timing belts to rebuilding hubs to replacing shocks to replacing water pumps and radiators and even a transfer case replacement. I love my 80, but it's time to let her go.

The New Truck

It's a 2010 SR Dual Cab/Chassis. Used to be owned by UGL (mine contractor) and was originally based in Mackay and then Townsville. Full service history and very clean compared to the hundreds of other mine vehicles I looked at before buying this one. The biggest down side is that the underbody was absolutely covered in black mud that had dried as hard as bitumen...

It took a number of sessions with the pressure blaster getting it all off. I also had to remove the various guards and clean the mud out from above them. As you can see in the photo the fuel line heat sink was just a block of mud. While I had the front bash plates off I panel beated them back into a reasonable shape. They weren't too knocked around but the factory plates are very thin, so it doesn't take much. I also hit them with some rust converter and a new coat of paint.

So apart from that it's got a set of ARB spotties, an internal roll bar and a very heavy duty steel tray. Inside there is a GME TX3600 UHF which seems to be a very good, programmable unit. I took it to my local dealer to have it reflashed to support 80 channels. There was also an enormous Motorola VHF plus-a-million-other-features radio mounted in the passenger foot well. I pulled it out and sold it on ebay for $350 bucks, which was nice. There are also some nice mine additions such as a Redarc low coolant monitoring system, a Redarc low voltage alarm and a LED brake/indicator/reversing light high-mount bar with a work light and beacon on the tray headboard. Naturally, I removed the beacon pretty quickly. There's also an ECB steel bull bar and a big-ass tool box that I'll off-load soon, too.

The Build Up
So I have a long list of additions I need/want to make but I'm starting with:
- Installing the aux battery in the engine bay with an ARB tray and Redarc isolator.
- The aux battery will power the internal components (USB charging ports, cig port, tablet setup) as well as similar components in the canopy and some LED lighting. It will also power the anderson plug to the trailer.
- New tyres. I'm just going with BFG AT KO2 225/75/16s. Nothing super special. But the suspension upgrade is probably two years down the track, so I'll think harder about tyres then.
- A custom aluminium canopy. Again, pretty basic. Just a gull-wing style with roof racks. I'm getting the internal frame strengthened so the roof will carry 300kg. I just got notified today that it is finished. Hopefully it will get here by Friday or early next week (got it built in Brisbane, local places couldn't compete).
- The canopy will restrict the rear view so I'm putting in a reversing camera system that will run through a range of Android devices. I'll have a 7" Nexus 7 tablet semi-permanently installed, but I'll also be able to view the camera through my phone. I've got all the components for that and it all works well. I'm yet to install it, though.
- The canopy needs to be fitted out with shelves etc. The boss wants a dedicated fridge AND a dedicated freezer. Both 50L Waecos. So I've had to add a 100ah AGM battery to the canopy that will exclusively power the fridge and freezer. I'll be charging it with a Ctek D250S DC-DC charger that also has the capability of regulating a solar feed if we think that would be a useful avenue. I have no idea how this power setup will last with the 2 fridges. It's a wait and see and I'll rethink it if need be. I may need to go for bigger/more AGM batteries and/or some major solar wattage. But we'll see.
- The tray has some surface rust so I'm seriously thinking about getting it gal hot dipped rather than painted. Will look more into that in coming weeks.

The under bonnet aux battery is in and I've wired in the internal components including the jump start switch with in-built LED monitoring.


Long Term
There are a heap of other things I want to do in the longer term including:
- Secondary fuel filter
- Tradesman roof rack
- Snorkel (genuine Denso one, I reckon)
- Suspension upgrade (lift + heavy duty)
- Under tray water tank
- Hot water shower system
- Winch bar and winch
- Long range tank
- The solar panels I was talking about earlier

Anyway, I've gotta stop and get some work done. Thanks for reading and I'll post more when I can.

[Tufflux0835]

Sounds good buddy can't wait to see it all pan out and come together buddy going to be a good ute!

[martynvella]

Tough ask for a system to keep 2 fridges running, especially if one is a deep freeze, 48 plus AH every day. interesting to see how you get on, you might need a trailer for the solar panels lol. Many people have written off the old faithful 3 way fridge but sometimes they need to be included in a set up especially for long term freezers. There is a lot of energy stored in a 20 pound gas bottle. But that is another can of worms completely.

[wombat81]

Tough ask for a system to keep 2 fridges running, especially if one is a deep freeze, 48 plus AH every day. interesting to see how you get on, you might need a trailer for the solar panels lol. Many people have written off the old faithful 3 way fridge but sometimes they need to be included in a set up especially for long term freezers. There is a lot of energy stored in a 20 pound gas bottle. But that is another can of worms completely.

Yeah, you're right on the energy needs. We don't tend to stay in the one place more than a few days, so we'll see how it goes. If I can get a few hundred watts of panels into the system that might keep it going for a few days at least.

Yeah, including a gas system adds a whole extra level of complexity, but it might be worth looking at. I'm also going to look at insulation for the canopy to keep it as cool as possible.

[martynvella]

You have got lots of sums to do to work it out.

If you are going to look at driving being your main charging I would suggest at least 2 agm batteries not so much for capacity, which wouldn't be a bad thing, but together they will manage to capture more amp hours if only a short amount of driving is done.
Also id be planning on a 40 amp redarc bcdc, (and this is something I almost never recommend) upgrading to a 130 amp alternator and associated wiring do run the redarc. Even if you go for a gas freezer the larger alternator would be recommended. The manufacturers order their alternators to cope with the standard equipment, a 90 amp alternator does not have a spare 40 amps worth of capacity for an aux system.
Like I said, you have a lot of things to consider when the time comes if you want to get it right the first time but I think you already know that.

[wombat81]

You have got lots of sums to do to work it out.

If you are going to look at driving being your main charging I would suggest at least 2 agm batteries not so much for capacity, which wouldn't be a bad thing, but together they will manage to capture more amp hours if only a short amount of driving is done.
Also id be planning on a 40 amp redarc bcdc, (and this is something I almost never recommend) upgrading to a 130 amp alternator and associated wiring do run the redarc. Even if you go for a gas freezer the larger alternator would be recommended. The manufacturers order their alternators to cope with the standard equipment, a 90 amp alternator does not have a spare 40 amps worth of capacity for an aux system.
Like I said, you have a lot of things to consider when the time comes if you want to get it right the first time but I think you already know that.

Thanks for the info. Yes, it's going to be a work-in-progress for a while until I work out exactly what I need and want. It's not really costing me anything initially. I already had the AGM battery and I bought the Ctek charger for $150 which I'm sure I'll be able to offload again for that price in the future if it doesn't end up being suitable. Similar with the freezer. I'm sure I'll be able to offload that for minimal loss of $ if we need to go 3-way instead.

So I'm starting off basic and will see how it goes.

The other thing I'm considering is that I could run the fridge from the 100ah lead acid battery under the bonnet and use the AGM as a dedicated freezer battery. That might maximise my battery power, at least initially. At the very least, I'll make sure I have the option of switching power sources for both fridges.

[martynvella]

I'm sure you will work it out when the time comes.
That last idea needs work, run anything off your starting battery will eventually leave you with 2 flat batteries.

[wombat81]

I'm sure you will work it out when the time comes.
That last idea needs work, run anything off your starting battery will eventually leave you with 2 flat batteries.

No, no. I've got a 100ah hybrid Aux battery under the bonnet, too. It runs everything except the fridges.

[martynvella]

That makes more sense.

You have 3 problems to address,

One is producing the power to charge the batteries, remember if you demand more than 60% of the rated output power of an alternator for an extended period on a hot day you run a very high risk of destroying it.

Two is capturing the power in the time it is available, AGM batteries do this the best regardless if they are starting, hybrid or deep cycle.

Three is efficient distribution of the power and making sure you economize your demands.

Get the 3 of them right and you wont have any dramas.

[wombat81]

That makes more sense.

You have 3 problems to address,

One is producing the power to charge the batteries, remember if you demand more than 60% of the rated output power of an alternator for an extended period on a hot day you run a very high risk of destroying it.

Two is capturing the power in the time it is available, AGM batteries do this the best regardless if they are starting, hybrid or deep cycle.

Three is efficient distribution of the power and making sure you economize your demands.

Get the 3 of them right and you wont have any dramas.

Thanks again. Very useful info. Yes, that's more or less where I'm at with my thinking. So, the alternator thing. Are there measures in place in the vehicles system to prevent damage like this occurring to the alternator? Does the ECU, or similar, monitor the state of the alternator, and reduce it's output if necessary?

[martynvella]

As far as I know the alternator is de rated if it gets hot and yes the ecm has a finger in the pie as well, but ultimately the only thing that can be controlled is the output voltage by a small amount, even at this lower voltage if the demands are high enough it will still produce enough power to get hot.

So to answer your question, yes it has. Is it enough? that question I can not answer, if someone else can please do so.

When it does this it wont affect the bcdc unit, it will draw whatever it needs to produce what its load demands, and as the voltage gets lower it will draw more current to do so until it gets to its minimum input voltage.

[joshyboy]

Nice one Wombat. I'm doing a similar build to you. Purchased an ex mining contractor's 2011 model from an auction, everyone i'd talked to had different opinions on buying a mining vehicle, lots of blokes reckon steer clear, but i worked with a bloke who got a really good patrol from a mine and it's never missed a beat, just checked it over quite thoroughly and had my brother with me in case I missed anything. (there were so many shitty looking, bashed up vehicles there and there was a bit of a bidding war on the one I ended up getting, but it was by far the cleanest and best looking vehicle of the lot.) Keep your progress posted, and I'm going to do a write up of mine soon... (can't seem to upload photos as they are too big!)

[wombat81]

Nice one Wombat. I'm doing a similar build to you. Purchased an ex mining contractor's 2011 model from an auction, everyone i'd talked to had different opinions on buying a mining vehicle, lots of blokes reckon steer clear, but i worked with a bloke who got a really good patrol from a mine and it's never missed a beat, just checked it over quite thoroughly and had my brother with me in case I missed anything. (there were so many shitty looking, bashed up vehicles there and there was a bit of a bidding war on the one I ended up getting, but it was by far the cleanest and best looking vehicle of the lot.) Keep your progress posted, and I'm going to do a write up of mine soon... (can't seem to upload photos as they are too big!)

Thanks Josh. Yeah, we were very picky and looked at many hilux miners before we bought this one. Basically if there were any signs of rust, what so ever, we passed. If the engine didn't sound 100% normal, we passed. Minor dents weren't a big concern. Interior cleanliness wasn't a huge deal, all mine vehicles get very dusty, but the condition of the interior was a factor.

People told us to steer clear, but we found out, from some very reliable sources, that many of the 2nd hand hiluxes at car yards are ex miners that have had a good clean up and the obvious mine accessories removed. And they're $10 to $15k more than buying one at auction. So you could try to avoid mine vehicles and end up with one anyway.

Edit: I forgot to mention that imgur is a good site for uploading photos and posting them on forums like these. You can pick what size you want and it automatically generates the bb code.

[hilux_bondy_007]

Awesome write up. Sounds like you have some major plans. If don't mind asking where did you get your canopy made? I am looking at buying one soon

[wombat81]

Awesome write up. Sounds like you have some major plans. If don't mind asking where did you get your canopy made? I am looking at buying one soon

G'day. Yeah did quite a bit of research on the canopy. I'm in townsville and started with quotes from all the local fab places. They all looked good but at $6K+ they were out of my price range. Did some more looking around and seriously considered the Chinese imports for a while. But then I have myself an uppercut and had a chat to a bloke at MW Toolboxes in Brisbane. I rang them because they have a shop here in townsville so I thought I'd be able to check the quality out. Anyway, he gave me a reasonable quote, it was fully custom built in Brisbane. He could get it completed in a few weeks. I checked the shop out and the quality seemed quite good while perhaps not as heavy duty as some of the local fabricators. Interestingly the local shop wasn't able to match the price of been quoted from Brisbane. The other big positive is that freight was only a few hundred dollars. Many places wanted to charge around $1000 for fright. So I ended up getting it sttengthened so that the roof racks are rated to 300kg. Should make it more heavy duty too. It's also taller than the pre fab canopies to fit my head board better.

It was completed last week, so it should arrive layer this week, hopefully. I'll chuck some pics up when it's here.

[wombat81]

I cut the angled supports off the tray today in anticipation of the canopy arriving later in the week. I'll throw a Pc up in the morning. I'll look at getting the tray gal hot dipped at some stage, rather than painted. But I want to make to sure I've done all the drilling etc that needs to be done, first.

[wombat81]

Still twiddling my thumbs waiting for the canopy to arrive. It was meant to be here today...

Anyway, in the mean time I've installed my reversing camera system, since I won't be able to see diddly squat behind me once the canopy is on. I'm a bit of nerd and I didn't want the clutter of an extra screen on my dash that was only for the reversing camera, so I decided to look into using a 7" Android tablet as the reversing camera screen. I use my tablet with OziExplorer for topo mapping in the hilux. It's also handy to have a device for turn-by-turn nav there if/when I need it without having to muck around with my phone too much. I can also be used for vehicle diagnostics with a bluetooth OBD dongle.

It is possible to use an Android tablet to replace the entire stereo with various extra bits of hardware. From an FM tuner to unrestrcited USB storage for music, movies etc (even live TV) to the ability to utilise the steering wheel buttons. It's all possible, but it gets very complex. So I've decided I'm going to keep the stock head unit for now and I'll just use the tablet for the reversing cam, topo mapping, nav, and to stream music to the head unit via bluetooth.

So I've installed:
- Any old ebay reversing camera. I'm using this one because it's pretty cheap (not a huge deal if it gets flogged) but also has half-decent night vision http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/301762911935
- A 12v to 5v step down power supply (basically a phone charger for the car) that can be hard wired in and has multiple USB charging ports and hard wired output. I'm using this one, but only because I couldn't find something of better quality with the same features http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/321530483883 This thing is pretty important because you need decent current to keep the tablet charged when the screen is being used constantly. It also powers the EasyCap (below). A normal old 1A/2.1A charger wouldn't be able to keep charge up to the tablet while it's in use.
- An EasyCap USB video capture dongle. This thing just encodes the video from the camera into a format the tablet can understand. Make sure you get one with a UTV007 chip. Other chips can be problematic, apparently. I got this one. It works. http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/151348617068 You need the "EasyCap Viewer" app from the Google Play store to view the video feed. I costs a couple of bucks.
- A USB OTG host y-cable. This is a cable that plugs into the micro USB port on the tablet and has two jobs. It charges the tablet (from the above-mentioned power supply) and also connects the USB devices via USB OTG. I bought this one http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/251620434151 I'm only connecting one USB device so far (the EasyCap) but you could wire in a USB hub to the power supply and add as many USB devices at you want (USB thumb drives, FM tuners, TV tuners etc)

I've wired the camera into the rear parking lights at the moment which basically means when I switch the parkers or headlights on, the camera is running. This is just for test purposes at the moment. I'll eventually switch the power source to the reversing lights or maybe a dedicated switch on the dash. The step down power supply is powered from Acc power at the moment. I toyed with the idea of wiring it directly to the aux battery so that the tablet could charge 24/7 but I think that's dangerous. The power supply and the EasyCap are sitting behind the dash.

It's all working but I need to tidy up the wire to the tablet. It needs to be longer to get it to the clock area of the dash where I want to mount the tablet, and I need to work out how to get it through the dash neatly so I don't have wires hanging everywhere. I'm thinking I'll drill a hole just big enough for the micro USB plug to fit through near the clock somewhere, and use a small rubber grommet to keep it looking tidy.

Anyway, I'm happy that it's all working. It wasn't too painful to install. The research on how to make it work, and the necessary components took far longer. I'm in the process of re-flashing and configuring my old 2012 Nexus 7 to make it exactly how I want it, but that isn't necessary.

I'll post up some pics when it's 100% finished, but fire away if there are any questions.

[Dylanmorelli]

How'd you go with the canopy mate

[wombat81]

Sorry all. I've been flat out with work. The canopy arrived. I'm not 100% happy with the build quality, but it's quite good and it certainly does the job. Since my last update I've done the following:
- Suspension upgrade - Ironman 50mm job, but because the existing suspension was so saggy it's come up far more than 2 inches. I've got the 400kg constant springs in the back.
- New tyres - BFG A/T KO2's just in the stock size.
- I stripped back and repainted the stock steel wheels with charcocal hammertone epoxy. They turned out really well. They have worn well so far. Only very minor scratches and chips. I figure I'll touch them up every year or so.


Canopy:

Electrical - I've put a Ctek D250S dual 12v-12v charger in the canopy to charge the two 100ah deep cycle gel batteries I've got in there. Those batteries run a fridge and a freezer. Both Waeco CF-50s. It works well. I get a few days out of the batteries. I'll get some solar panels on there eventually, and once that happens it should be pretty much self sufficient.

Build: So I've building a shelving/box to house the two batteries, the charger and the electrical stuff. It had to be compact to fit everything else in that we want, but I've achieved it. Then there's the two fridge slides. I've also built a kitchen cabinet which houses essential kitchen items, enough to make breakfast, lunch or a simple dinner. It also has a door that doubles as a fold down prep bench. We still need shelving in the other side of the canopy for clothing, linen etc, but I'm waiting for the boss to finally decide how she wants to pack all of that before I get cracking on it. I also bought a roll of very expensive insulation from Bunnings, and cut panels to fit the doors, roof and walls of the canopy. It got extremely hot in there in 36 degree North QLD sun and the fridges would have struggled big time. The insulation keeps it at ambient or a bit below. Money well spent. Makes the battery power last a lot longer, too.

That's where I'm at at the moment. My wife had a minor bingle in it this week so I've spent the weekend straightening out the bullbar and fixing up a dented spotty. It also sounds like my alternator is on the way out as it started making the telltale whirring sound of a failing rectifier. Dunno if charging 4 batteries is what killed it, but around 150k kms is a decent life. I'll get an upgraded unit from bansheebuzz and see how it goes.

Pics.... I'll get onto that right now....

[wombat81]

Ok.

1. With canopy on, before suspension and tyres were done.


2. We went to the snow recently. I forgot to mention that I stripped back and repainted the stock wheels with hammertone charcoal. I'm very happy with the result. You can also see the relocated rear light bar with spot light, here.


3. Dual battery install. ARB tray with a Redarc SBI12 mounted beside it. Makes the oil filter a b*tch to change...


4. I like this pic. Doesn't show anything specific.


5. My wheels as mentioned above. I stripped them back with paint stripper. Put 3 coats of etch primer on them. Then sprayed them with charcoal hammertone epoyy enamel. Not the best pic, because they are pretty dirty.


6. OK the canopy. Here is the passenger side. I haven't done anything with the drivers side yet. The battery/electrical box is at the front. Then 2x fridge slides. The kitchen box is at the back.


7. Open.


8. Battery box. You can see the edge of the Ctek and the two batteries.


9. Random snow shot.


10. Tablet install.


11. Bracket.