Foxclan's 2003 GXL V6

[foxclan Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close foxclan]

Re: Foxclan's 2003 GXL V6 (UHF antenna roof mount)

Fitted a Rhino heavy duty rack antenna bracket, to the front right bar.

To this I mounted an Axis antenna systems 3db gain whip onto a SO-239 type base.

The whip is nice and flexy and gives a good reception through the scrubby and hilly tracks.
Out in the open country I think it outperforms the 4.5db GME mounted on the bullbar.
The coaxial cable was routed via the gutter - under the windscreen moulding, under the wiper arm plastic grill, this then follows the wiper motor wire through the same grommet into the engine bay, then through the fire wall grommet into the cabin. The connector sits adjacent to the radio and can be easily interchanged between either antenna.

[xlr8_87 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close xlr8_87]

Re: Foxclan's 2003 GXL V6

You've been busy!
Rack looks great, bet it's a heap lighter being alloy as well.

How does the ARB awning perform in the wind? I've got one on order at the moment

[luked Member Find all posts View Profile Close luked]

Re: Foxclan's 2003 GXL V6

Hey Rob,

Does that mean the custom awning thread is dead? I've been seeing a few of them arb awnings probably mostly on here, they look pretty trick, whats the rough retail on one???

and alloy racks are a treat.. was throwing mine around on my own cause it was so light... I reckon it's a fraction of the weight compared to the milford cargo barrier man was i surprised how heavy that was!

[foxclan Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close foxclan]

Re: Foxclan's 2003 GXL V6

You've been busy!
Rack looks great, bet it's a heap lighter being alloy as well.

How does the ARB awning perform in the wind? I've got one on order at the moment

Hi xlr8
Yes mate the lights in the shed and carport have been blazing lately.
As for the 1800x 1010mm Rhino tray it weights in at 18 kg as per the 2010 catalogue.
The tray loses a bit of cargo area via the Eye Bolt tie of points that connect it to the cross bars.
These eye bolts are the recommended tie down points not the side or end rails of the tray.

So far the awning has been good in moderate winds, but we have always used the pole pegs and guy ropes.
Just makes it a two person setup instead of a one when its blowing.
A mate made the mistake of not using the pegs or guys, and he said the wind got under it flapped it up and waked it down only to break the nylon pivot of the spreader bars. I told him he was lucky not to have damaged his vehicle with a stray pole.

[xlr8_87 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close xlr8_87]

Re: Foxclan's 2003 GXL V6

luked - yeh the custom awning idea is gone for now... mostly because I have a ridiculous amount of stuff to do, but also because I got a good deal on the awning through a mate that knows an ARB guy.

foxclan - cheers for that, I guess I'll be using guy ropes in any winds then, don't want it flying off on me!

[foxclan Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close foxclan]

Re: Foxclan's 2003 GXL V6

well Rob at a minimum I would strongly advise using pegs at the base of the awning poles.
Cheers Troy

[foxclan Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close foxclan]

Re: Foxclan's 2003 GXL V6

Added the Mighty Hilux windscreen washer upgrade to the list of Mods completed.
For such a simple change over (Thanks to the cable tie method) it has dramatically improved the performance of the wiper blades when clearing the crud.

[foxclan Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close foxclan]

Re: Foxclan's 2003 GXL V6 Safari Snorkel SS186HF Install

Well with the Assistance of Jase - Alias "Switched" and an Engel stocked with Coopers Pale Ale, I was anxious about installing the snorkel.
Jase was good enough to offer his time on his day off, so this was much appreciated.

It all started at the Toyota spare parts counter picking up a dozen grommets (P/N T90189-06065) that fasten the guard lining to the fender.
The Safari was sourced from ARB Regency Park, Good Guys to deal with if you are willing to haggle.
I started to remove the grommets from the liner with a mini pry bar just to see if I had the patience to salvage any of the things.
With a bag of replacements sitting on the table I found a quicker solution.


Removed Pre Spinner assembly and air intake duct.


Showing the lugs that require removal from the pre spinner assembly.


The kit used to remove lugs.

Easy dose it


Template leaves a bit to be desired for accuracy when aligned with snorkel studs.
Marked holes on panel then masked over these with 3M tape and marked again to prevent drill run off .

Aligning the snorkel body with marked holes.

Pilot holes drilled for all holes.

Marked the A Pillar, This is a bit of a pain.

Clear the prop! Look at the size of that bloody hole saw.

White knuckle action.

Its Bleeding! The cutting fluid helps with the drilling but does tend to fly around a fair bit.
I would suggest using an old sheet or towel to cover the open engine bay and to simplify the clean up process.
Also run some tape at the point that the flair meets the bodywork to stop swarf and cutting fluid getting down there.

[foxclan Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close foxclan]

Re: Foxclan's 2003 GXL V6 Safari Snorkel SS186HF Install

Drilling the stud holes to the recommended 16mm diameter is not required. I went to 12mm on most and 14mm on the balance to get final alignment.
We deburred all the holes with a round file, cleaned the panel with mineral turps and brushed on some "Zinc it" paint to protect the raw metal edges. I then tapped in the four body clips that hold the top bracket of the snorkel body.
Clean up and fit up time.
No this is not Jase doing his Yoga routine.
This is Jase fitting the top two studs with the washers and nuts, in five seconds flat! Well my knuckles where still white from Swiss cheesing the panel and nearly lost one of the Nyloc nuts from my failed attempts.

And these are the bloody trouble makers from under the guard.

Not much clearance on that bracket! Which is the top stud on the snorkel body.
All studs fitted and tightened top bracket fitted and tightened.
Inner duct fitted with hose to snorkel body.

Inner duct through inner guard to engine bay.

[foxclan Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close foxclan]

Re: Foxclan's 2003 GXL V6 Safari snorkel SS186HF Install

Inner duct connecting to pre spinner assembly through inner guard.

All completed along with a few Pale Ales.

Could not get suction on instruction booklet when held onto Air Ram head, so removed it and put papers on main snorkel body inlet.
The Toyota flex able hose that leads form intake to engine filter, was vacuuming hard and I have no doubt that it would have completely flattened from the intake suction.

Thanks to Jase for his help and the use of his drills and cutting fluid.
Cheers Troy

[Madkore Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Madkore]

Re: Foxclan's 2003 GXL V6

I love it when a plan comes together!

Top stuff guys!

[AJ120 Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close AJ120]

Re: Foxclan's 2003 GXL V6

Nice job on the snorkel Troy, should come in handy in a month or so. have your hands stopped shaking after all the excitment with that hole saw

What else have you left to do before your trip :?:

Cheers Andrew

[foxclan Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close foxclan]

Hi All
I recently added a 1 kg fire extinguisher to the right hand third row / cargo area cup holder.

Cut the lower half of the bracket off and utilised the cup holder to locate the bottom of cylinder.

Only one screw hole in the trim.

Could be mirrored on the left hand side cup holder also.
Easily accessed from back door (side door)

[matt150 Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close matt150]

This is a top looking truck Troy. I have been watching the build up for a while, nice to see a real engine in a Prado

The latest pic of the extinguisher is a great place to mount it...

Keep up the good work.

[foxclan Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close foxclan]

Cheers Matt
Just had her detailed mid week, looks real pretty!
Slack I know but the interior hadn't really had a thorough clean out of all that Cape York Red from last August.
The beige seats came up a treat and will be getting a set of Brown canvas covers fitted next week.