Alberto's 150 Graphite GXL D4D

[The Alberto Member Find all posts View Profile Close The Alberto]

Hi All,

Been reading all the information on here and saving for a while now. I finally have enough so the mods can start!

Well Picked up the new 150 in October 2012. Stock as a rock. Came from the dealer with:

Headlight and Bonnet Protectors
Carpet Mat Set
Towbar
Rubber Cargo Mat
Dashmat
Window Tint

Unfortunately, this is how she stayed for a month or so, then I fitted:

Thule Wingbar Roof racks
Custom Dual battery set up - consisting of a Redarc BCDC 1240 Charger / Isolator, Offroad Downunder Dual Battery Tray, Exide ED50 Battery and Start Solenoid.
Redarc Brake Controller
Twin 12v power outlet in Cargo Area
Rear Anderson Plug
OzTrail Side Awning (Came off old car)

I have today booked her into TJM Rocky on the 29th Jan for the following:

TJM T3 Colour Coded Bar - DONE
Hella Rallye 4000s - DONE
Airtec Snorkel - DONE
XGS Gold 2" Suspension Lift - DONE
Uniden UH7760NB UHF - DONE
TJM Yulara Rooftop Tent (tent is secondhand, been on a display car for 2 months - never slept in and just put up and down at a few shows - looking at it you wouldn't know it wasn't brand new - so for $700 can't really go wrong) - DONE
275 65 17 BF Goodrich All Terrains - DONE

Here are a few pics (not much to see really) stock. I will take some pics of the dual battery setup etc. and post as well. Can't wait to get her home and dirty after the facelift!



Future plans:

40L Poly Footwell Watertank - DONE
BRAINS TG150 - DONE
Coilrite Rear suspension airbags - DONE
TJM Underbody protection - DONE
Sliders
Chip and Exhaust?
Rear Drawer and fridge slide set up
Diff Breather Extensions
Winch
Diff Locks
Front Wet Seat Seat Covers - DONE
Custom Rear Wet Seat Seat Covers - DONE

So still got a fair bit of saving to do!!

Cheers!

[SOL Find all posts View Profile Close SOL]

Mate nice start. Good luck with it all.

SOL.

[brock05 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close brock05]

Sounds like a nice rig, uncanny how I also picked up my graphite GXL in October live in rocky and also done bcdc1240 etc although my next round of mods will be a little different then yours

Cheers
Brad

[The Alberto Member Find all posts View Profile Close The Alberto]

Sounds like a nice rig, uncanny how I also picked up my graphite GXL in October live in rocky and also done bcdc1240 etc although my next round of mods will be a little different then yours

Cheers
Brad

Hey Brad,

Mate that is uncanny! Did you get your's through Ian Weigh? Who installed your dual Batt?

Graphite must be the colour for around here. I never really noticed how many there were until I bought one!

Good to see a fellow member from around here. I am also looking to put a false floor in the back for drawers and Fridge slide as I really do not want to remove the 3rd row seats either. I would be very interested to see what you come up with as I am not shy in plagiarising a good idea. I have thought about it for a while and I just cannot come up with an idea to secure the false floor down that I am entirely happy with. I have looked at the posts and threads on here and the ideas are great, but I can't really find anywhere that includes photos and a detailed description of how they actually secure it.

If you see me around give us a wave!

[The Alberto Member Find all posts View Profile Close The Alberto]

Awesome, thanks very much for that Simon, I will have a look at those sites in detail.

PS - Hot and sticky, with a few little showers throughout the day just to keep the humidity up. I have a mate in Cairns though and he reckons it is raining cats and dogs up there! Why is it always so much cooler in Gladdo?

Andrew

[The Alberto Member Find all posts View Profile Close The Alberto]

Awesome Mate, I will be keeping an eye out for your set up. I will be really interested to see how it turns out. Thanks again for the info.

[The Alberto Member Find all posts View Profile Close The Alberto]

Dual Battery

I thought I would post up a few pics of the Dual Battery set up I installed.

It's a bit rough and won't suit everyone, but it does the job I wanted better than I expected. The Set Up consists of the Following components:

2 x custom (me) made mounting Brackets - $0 as I already had it!
Redarc BCDC1240 Charger - $393 online
Offroad Downunder Battery Tray - $175 online
Exide ED50 - 70AH Battery - $150
200amp constant Load solenoid (links both batteries via a switch inside to start car if Main Batt is flat) - $90 online
60amp Manual Reset Circuit Breaker - $120 online
Some 25amp circuit breakers, some 6B&S cable to run to Anderson Plug on Rear, some Twin 6mm cable to run to Cargo area for additional 12v plugs, 12v plugs for Cargo area, some battery cable to connect Dual Battery and a switch in the cab for the start link - Approximately $150 - $200
Total = $1,078 - $1,128 approx. I was quoted double this by certain 3 letter 4x4 accessories outlets.

NOTE - DO NOT use Checker Plate for the mounting bracket! I did, as I thought it would be stronger, however mounting the Circuit breakers on an uneven surface was a nightmare. Use a piece of 5 - 6mm flat aluminium.

Bracket and Manual Reset circuit Breaker on Driver Side Behind Airbox



Redarc BCDC1240, Start Solenoid and Circuit Breakers - mounted on Passenger side on top of inner guard.



Dual Battery



Link Switch inside

[The Alberto Member Find all posts View Profile Close The Alberto]

Dual Battery

Anderson Plug - Ran 6B&S to this rather than twin 6mm cable to ensure less voltage drop to Van.



12v outlet in Cargo Area



I did not install a battery monitor as I really do not need it. For camping, I made up a tester out of a VDO Voltmeter, some twin 6 and a cigarette lighter plug. I just plug this into the 12v outlet attached to the Second battery in order to check it a couple of times a day when the fridge is running. I can get enough of an idea from this whether I need to go for a drive or set up the solar panels.



Anyway, like I said - not the best job in the world and not going to suit everyone but for the price it suits me perfectly. The Redarc unit is awesome.

[brock05 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close brock05]

Hey Andrew, I installed my own dual battery setup, just waiting to finish fabricating some brackets for mounting my circuit breakers up as they are temporary installed so far. I have installed a distribution panel in the rear with a couple of flush mount 12v outlets.

I thought I would set up a false floor to mount a fridge slide but after looking at a mates drawer setup on the weekend I think I will go that way as it is just a better solution all round for our needs. Although the pricing I have checked out is a bit scary.

I ordered my ARB deluxe winch bar today only to be told not to expect it before end of April so are now reconsidering the TJM, still need rear airbags as it really sits down with the jayco on the back.

Do you work in Rocky?

Looks like there are a few rocky boys on here, we should organise a day trip at some stage

Cheers
Brad

[The Alberto Member Find all posts View Profile Close The Alberto]

Hey Brad,

Dual battery sounds good, I was looking at flush mounts in the rear too, but just got lazy. I am in the process of altering my set up slightly by way of installing an anderson plug in the Cargo area as well. I have a tuff box that I had in the ute with a 100AH AGM battery wired into it via an anderson plug. If I can fit it in somewhere, it would give me the perfect "removable" alternative for longer trips. I am going the false floor way too - I haven't had a great look yet, but I reckon if I can get the floor to attach where the current tie downs are, then bolt some sort of drawer system to the flase floor with the fridge slide atop the drawers - I will have a practical solution that could be easily and quickly removed. I have been looking at pre-fab drawer systems as well that I might be able to adapt to my needs and yeah, I am not a fan of the pricing either. If I can design and build something that is not too heavy I will probably go that way.

April is a bit ridiculous for a bar. I am really happy with ordering the TJM T3. Time will tell though if it was a wise choice. A mate of mine has a colour coded T13 in Graphite and loves it. I just reckon the TJM bars are better looking than ARB but everyone is different.

Yep live and work in Rocky. I was surprised just how many members are in this area, I reckon a trip would be great. 5 Rocks, Boyndale, Blackdown, Byfield, Cania etc. The places we could go for a trip to are endless!

[brock05 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close brock05]

We are actually heading down to Cania next weekend, might be nice and wet.

Had some luck with my bar today, rang Mackay they had one rang Rocky to cancel my order they asked if they could call me back. Rang back saying they could get me one from Bundaberg and that it was already on its way to the painters. Looks like I must have stirred them into action.

I have been looking into the DIY draw kit from ORS looks promising, will call for some pricing tomorrow. Will let you know what I come up with.

Cheers
Brad

[The Alberto Member Find all posts View Profile Close The Alberto]

OK,

Dropped the old girl off at TJM yesterday morning at 8am for her facelift and new shoes.

Just got the call from TJM to say that she is all done and good to go. About to knock off and pick her up, can't wait to see the transformation!

The young girl on the phone goes - Everything is OK with the car........... BUT. I've thought here we go.

She said, we have not installed the spotlights you wanted because we couldn't get stock (I ordered the Britax X-Ray Vision 220 QH). I thought this to be strange as when I ordered them they advised that they were in stock ready to go. I said OK, what have you put on instead? She said, I think they are "Light something". I responded, if it is not too much trouble, would you mind finding out? She comes back and said No, they have put on Hella Rallye 4000s and that because it was their mistake they would pick up the difference in price. Nothing to complain about there, actually better off I reckon!

I'll post some pics as soon as I can pry myself out of it!!

Installed:

TJM T3 Colour Coded Bar
Airtec Snorkel
Yulara Rooftop Tent
2" XGS Gold Suspension lift
Uniden UH7760NB UHF
Hella Rallye 4000s
BF Goodrich 275 / 65 / 17 All Terrains

[brock05 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close brock05]

Bet you can't get there quick enough to see it. would like to have a closer look at your snorkel sometime as am deciding between that and the safari but only seen the safari installed on a prado. Also a review on the suspension when you have had a bit of time to evaluate it would be nice. Almost ordered some OME stuff for mine today but after going into ARB to enquire about the delivery of my ordered bar just couldn't be bothered asking about it as it would obviously be to much trouble for them.

[The Alberto Member Find all posts View Profile Close The Alberto]

Just picked her up and must say I am very happy with the new look.

I have only driven for about 40k so far but the suspension and tyres seem to work very well and the ride is exactly what I was looking for, not too harsh and still precise - Very Early days obviously, so time will tell.

The quality of the install and the service I received from TJM Rockhampton was excellent.

Now I can't wait to get her dirty, might have to venture up the sandy tracks at 5 rocks this week-end!

Here are the first pics (on my iphone unfortunately):

brock05
Bet you can't get there quick enough to see it. would like to have a closer look at your snorkel sometime as am deciding between that and the safari but only seen the safari installed on a prado. Also a review on the suspension when you have had a bit of time to evaluate it would be nice. Almost ordered some OME stuff for mine today but after going into ARB to enquire about the delivery of my ordered bar just couldn't be bothered asking about it as it would obviously be to much trouble for them.

Mate more than happy for you to drop into work and have a look (I am about 300m up the road from TJM) and we can go for a drive with the suspension. Just send me a PM and I will let you know when I am around.

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

Alberto that looks superb, you have influenced me! Now to check availability.