What mods are you doing for cape trip ?

[jetcrew]

Thought I would start a thread to see what others are doing to prepare that way we can all read and copy if applicable


I'll go first

Tommorrow I will be changing the Hubs to 5 stud 100 series live axle crusier and putting my new 16x8 toyota rims and 285/75/16 tyres on the Delux Tourer so that they match the car.

Costs were

3 x 16x8 genuine toyota steel rims @ $348 ( thanks to "beachside" for the tip)
2 x 5 stud braked hubs                   @ $160
2x bearings sets                             @ $ 30
3x 2nd hand Goodyear MTR's fitted  @75
10 x 7/16 U&F wheel nuts                @ 25
Total     $ 638

I'll feel much better only having one stud pattern and a little more clearance on the trailer. 

Jetcrew     

[McGirr]

This is what I Recommend from the last Cape Trip.

This is to give future Cape Travellers an idea what a Cape York trip can do to vehicles and Campers.

I myself have decided to change/ modify the following:

Car

Always check wheel nuts on vehicle and Camper.

The home made storage system will come out and be modified to what I would find easy to use such as putting draws in and a cargo barrier.

Carry more spares such as wheel studs and spare nuts, a tyre repair kit (thanks Teabag and Greg), check all jacks and having the car serviced at least a month before hand.


Camper

Thanks to Ketsi who unfortunatly had the wheel come off I will make sure all wheel bearings are top quality, complete set of bearings, grease, pins, lock nuts, spare studs and nuts.

Modify the camper with a larger tool box and more rubber protection for the camper such as bigger mud flaps.

This being my 4th trip the conditions change all the time especially the OTL. It all depends on what route you wish to tackle but will always recommend the OTL as this is what the Cape is all about.

You can take as many spares as you can but at the end of the day being prepared for the unexpected will always help. If you cannot fix the problem there will always be someone who comes along and has the knowledge.

At the end of the day enjoying the adventure is what its all about.

Other members can give you an idea what they would take or do from the last Cape trip.

Mark       
 
 

[McGirr]

Depending on what I can fit in the Cruiser and Camper:

Fishing gear( Rods put in long pvc pole and attached to the roof rack.)
Honda 2 kva Generator
A large container with power leads , power boards and flood lights. WHEN I LIGHT UP STAND BACK.
You will need sunglasses and sunscreen.
Also if you are camping always take advantage of powered sites ( Leave on for me)
Cooking gear for open fires, hotplates, campoven and also pots and pans.
Again this is in one big container.
Folding chairs and table.
Sleeping gear, pillows sleeping bags donas.
Camp stretchers and camp matts.
First aid kit, bush one.
Cutlery and plastic plates , cups , etc
Hats and Sunscreen
Cash as not all remote spots have EFTPOS.
Old shoes for bush walking
Shovel
Chain Saw( I love big fires as it can get cool at night) I hope the ladies are reading this!!!
Old folding chair with toilet seat on it. Most places will have toilets.
Shower and shower tent.

We use large matts outside the camper. These are great as they fold up to nothing and the dirt falls through them. We can fit 4 large 120ltr containers in the camper which carries food in one, all power gear in another, outdoor cooking in one and we have one spare for the odd stuff. When we pull up we just slide out the containers and sit them around the camp.

 
 

[Spender]

My biggest mod will be a new fourbie.  Just tossing up between a patrol TI or Prado Kakadu - then will add the obligatory bull bar, snorkel, lift, dual battery system and a good set of rubber.

[idlegossip]

Well for us we have a number of things to do.

I am in the process of building drawers with a built in water tank for the rear of the Prado. Also going to install a cargo barrier, and a table on the rear door.

Camper will be getting some new AT tyres. Unfortunately I can't match the rims with the vehicle due to the offset of the rims, and having independent suspension to big a job and cost to justify. Prado will also be getting some new shoes early next year.

Replace bed base in camper. Previous owner had cut out a middle section to create a walkway in the middle with 2 single beds. The infill is still there but a nuisance so will change that. Also replace the bed gas struts.

That's for starters ATM and I am sure there will be more.

[GGV8Cruza]

I think i have a few things to do and they are not just for this trip but for all the times we go away

Patrol

- 2 inch suspension lift, after almost 100,000 km they are a little on the worn side. Would like to get the Fox units or maybe save a few dollars and put on some Lovell's
- Rear bar, i really want to get the spare off the door and protect the rear, just a little worried of the weight and cost
- Full dyno tune to suit the recently fitted exhaust
- Some sort of entertainment for the kids on the longer trips
- A small water tank on the patrol for a bit of extra storage, also for when we are away from the trailer doing day trips
- A comprehensive set of spares for the patrol
- I would lie to increase the fuel storage but this is a wish for this trip i think
- Sort out the heater issue, although it may not be needed in the tropics, a warm shower is good, and it is cold down here at the moment
- A new set of steel sliders, the original ones don't cut it.

Tambo

- Mark 2 kitchen to improve on the first which i built
- I have a problem with the draw bar length as the stoneguard hits the spare wheel on the door when on some hard locks. I think this is going to prove a problem in some of the tighter tracks and into creeks. I have already bent the stoneguard in the high country. The solve that i can come up with  is to lengthen the draw bar and give it a little more clearance form the Patrols, or remove the existing stone guard and fit a trapeze style stone guard, just need to weigh up which is best for the trailer and the wallet
- Again a comprehensive spares kit for the trailer, which i have most of, just might add some wheel studs to it.

GG

[gbdid]

My biggest mod will be a new fourbie.  Just tossing up between a patrol TI or Prado Kakadu - then will add the obligatory bull bar, snorkel, lift, dual battery system and a good set of rubber.

Your avatar is appropriate

[McGirr]

- Tambo

- Mark 2 kitchen to improve on the first which i built
- I have a problem with the draw bar length as the stoneguard hits the spare wheel on the door when on some hard locks. I think this is going to prove a problem in some of the tighter tracks and into creeks. I have already bent the stoneguard in the high country. The solve that i can come up with  is to lengthen the draw bar and give it a little more clearance form the Patrols, or remove the existing stone guard and fit a trapeze style stone guard, just need to weigh up which is best for the trailer and the wallet
GG

GG

Mark (long100) has an extended 100 series and was towing a camper. He did have to do a couple of 5 point turns on the tracks.

Mark   

[Karen]

- A new set of steel sliders, the original ones don't cut it.

I would highly recommend this one.  We damaged our passenger side on the trip last year.  It held out for the remainder of the trip and are still on the car today but we have had to do a bit of re-adjusting every now and again.  Some decent sliders are next on my wish list.  I'm just waiting for the day I stand on it and it falls off. 

Having said that it was the only damage done to our stock standard Patrol. 

Karen

[BigJules]

I started reading this thinking "I'm pretty sorted", but now I've got to get back out in the shed  .

Vehicle:
The Cruiser has pretty much everything I want/can afford, except a rear bar and that's unlikely to happen.
I intend fitting a false floor to mount the fridge on a slide, and a cargo barrier if I can find one. I like the idea of a water tank in the vehicle, so I'll keep an eye out for one, though not essential.

Camper:
This depends on where we're at with a camper by trip time. We love our camper and it would make it no problem, but we're also considering a change to a hard floor.

Current camper only requires a new kitchen.

[McGirr]

There is plenty of water at the Cape with most crossings having fresh water but I would boil it, I have 2 x 80 ltr water tanks on the camper but still took bottled water.

I keep my water intake up but it was mixed with beer.

Regarding rock sliders I have standard side steps on the cruiser and had a slight dent that I fixed. It really depends on the lift of the vehicle. Karen having a standard Nissan did catch on a few ruts that a lifted vehicle would not.

[SteveandViv]

I think I would like a new set of slides for our trip as well. Our last factory one eventually got ripped off in the Simpson Desert. The other one made the tip at Birdsville.

[jetcrew]

Well after a few to many beers and a bit of work i have converted the Trackabout to 5 stud crusier ,Feel much better about it all now given the 30mm lift and the fact that all the skates are the same size and pattern. Its now like my Safari was , I can see the that the additional cost at purchase price is minimal given the effort involved at a later date if you dont get it done at point of sale .

But seeing as I bought the trailer 2nd hand its not that expensive to change to have piece of mind .

I also measured up for the additional mud flaps which will go under the existing stone guard.

 

[BigJules]

That looks terrific.

[Wato]

Karen, have a talk to your insurance campany about replacing your side steps with a set of sliders. You just need to convince them that the sliders will mean you will never have to replace side steps again. From memory I think this is how Teabag got his on the Patrol.

Craig

[BigJules]

I replaced mine when having the vehicle repaired. ARB steel steps were actually cheaper than Toyota alloy steps.

[jetcrew]

Right then next Job,

Front and rear diff breathers ,

also I'll check and replace any worn rubber bushes on the under side. Shes got 270k on the clock and seeing as I'm going back to Weipa in October I thought I'll do most of the pre trip stuff for that and then I'll only have a little to do before the Cape.

But as we all know the best laid plans never work out !!!

I'll post some pics of the Diff breathers and costs. I know theres a few kits avalible for the $100 mark but I dont like the plastic tubing prefer the fuel hose method myself and some brass fittings..

Also agree with the insurance thing re side steps and rear bumpers ect on my Patrol I had a bit of an incident with some roos and a big ditch and they replaced side steps and rear bar with ARB steps and Kaymar rear bar .I think I paid about $8.00 which was the difference in price...

Jetcrew

[Karen]

Karen, have a talk to your insurance campany about replacing your side steps with a set of sliders. You just need to convince them that the sliders will mean you will never have to replace side steps again. From memory I think this is how Teabag got his on the Patrol.

Craig

Yeah, we've discussed that option.  Just haven't made it as far as phoning the insurers as we weren't quite sure on what they would say.  Must put it on my to do list, can't hurt to ask.

Thanks Craig,
Karen

PS  We only had our 60 litres of water on the trailer and never had a problem.  Always somewhere to fill up when you need to.

[Malcur]

I am halfway through making some drawers for the Prado. I suspect that I will need new tyres before then (done 50k on the current set and that will be 70-75k in another 15 mths. I will rotate the current tyres to the trailer and get new for the Prado. I am also keen on the stone stompers I have seen on this forum, and would like to consider them. I also need new front shocks, which will happen at the next service.

Mal

[Darcy7]

If you have a leaf sprung trailer, get them checked for quality and condition especially if your camper is an older unit or a cheapy.  Also check the spring mounting points and make sure the welds are strong and there's no rust in them. 

The OTL is hell on springs and if you have any weaknesses, they will manifest here.  We broke 4 springs, 2 hangers and 1 U-bolt between two campers on our trip and we couldn't get replacements until we got to Cairns.

If you really want to be sure, carry spares.  I wish we had...!

[McGirr]

If you have a leaf sprung trailer, get them checked for quality and condition especially if your camper is an older unit or a cheapy.  Also check the spring mounting points and make sure the welds are strong and there's no rust in them. 

The OTL is hell on springs and if you have any weaknesses, they will manifest here.  We broke 4 springs, 2 hangers and 1 U-bolt between two campers on our trip and we couldn't get replacements until we got to Cairns.

If you really want to be sure, carry spares.  I wish we had...!

Darcy

We were lucky that we never had these problems but yes have spare ubolts, bearings etc.
We always double nut the ubolts on the springs.

[Darcy7]

Darcy

We were lucky that we never had these problems but yes have spare ubolts, bearings etc.
We always double nut the ubolts on the springs.

Yeah I'm pretty sure its a quality thing rather than a general issue.  We also did our trip 11 years ago and the OTL was a mess in many places particularly some of the river crossings.  I'm pretty sure this was where we did most of the damage.

I can tell you there is nothing fun about driving 300km on a corrugated road with a max speed of 20kph, at 9.30pm with a crippled trailer in the middle of a bushfire...!

[jetcrew]

Well this weekend I will be wiring up my boat but after that I hope to mount my new steel pole box on the drawbar. The DLX tourer had the PVC ones but I want to fit the shovel and axe in. So i bought a pole box from JT at Trackabout .As Always he was happy to help out.

I'll post some pics up .I need to work out my distances as I want to mount 2xbatts and 2x gerry holder ontop as well as the front box . So It will be down to mm to get it all in.

I need the extra 2 gerrys for our trip as the Crusier likes a drink and 40ltrs of spare fuel is not enough. 80 LTRs is much better gives me about 320 km emergency range.

It will add a bit of drawbar weight but I will only fill them when I get up north so it will limit the weight.
 
Jetcrew

[Spender]

Thinking of leaving the camper at home and going the roof top tent option as there will just be me and my boy - need to look into the $$$$

[McGirr]

Jetcrew

I have a 100 series V8 and only took 2 jerry cans. One for the gennie.

Mark