Hilux 2020 soft overland build

[leeloo]

I don't see many Hilux here though they are pretty popular outside US, so I was thinking it might be interesting present one.
It replaces a 2009 Landcruiser prado 120 ( Lexus GX 470 ) , who had many many miles and started to have a lot of issues, and I prefer to spend my time traveling, not repairing stuff and be worried all the time..
It is the EU version, a 2.4 diesel automatic, the only engine available in EU due to the strict emission regulations... it is pretty weak compared with US models, but it has very good huge toque down low, 400 NM or 295 foot/pound, so it performs well off road and can take up to 1t of payload.
I just saw it at the dealer , I will take delivery on Tuesday, they need to mount a few things and register it.

First thing I will do will be to mount an aluminum canopy made by a producer from South Africa, specially designed for the conditions there and a very good build quality, called Bushtech . This will happen at the end of next week. It was a choice between this and Alucab.
After I have seen both live, Bushtech is build much better, with more atention to detail, better dust and water insulation, and more solid. I have seen it test where they put on top of the canopy a Landcruiser 79 :) . Price is close between them, the bustech is a bit more expensive, but the accesories are cheaper, so they are more or less on par regarding overall cost.
I need to move fast to be ready for a trip in Morocco ( Anti Atlas and Sahara region ) in the beginning of April.
At the same shop, I will add a fridge slide, engine skid plate from Front Runner, and roof bars for the RTT.
When I will pick it up and start the build, more details and pictures will follow.

 

[leeloo]

Received delivery of the Hilux yesterday afternoon.
Today I went to the shop to install the canopy and roof bars.

The fridge slide is in

The canopy is made of aluminum, and the attention to detail, finish and insulation is amazing. Tomorrow, when I will have better natural light, I will make some pictures with some of the details that impressed me. Too bad this company is not very well known, at least in Europe, most who want an aluminium canopy go straight to Alucab, they don't look at anything else.

It is not perfect, but very good and well build. One issue is the fact that it has 2 locks for each panel. I understand why, you can't seal the panels properly well if you have only 1 "anchor" point , but still.. it is a bit of work to lock/unlock by key , a total of 6 locks if you want to open it on all sides.
The fridge slide, like the fridge, is on the cheap side, not great action, takes a bit of force to slide, but it seems to work ok and solid enough.
This week-end I plan to install and test the brackets for the awning.
Next week-end challange will be the installation of the Auxiliary battery, that will be painful .
I am still waiting for some slings I ordered, I plan to use a chain hoist to mount the RTT. If that will not work I am screwed, it is too heavy even for 2 people to install.

 

[Joey83]

It's great to see a Hilux here and not just Tacomas.. :)

 

[leeloo]

Thank you.
I started with the preparation for the wiring of the auxiliary battery.



red zip ties so I know what to cut if need it.
Many say you can get it the back of the bed via the Stop lights.. bullshit.. you still need to drill


1 h later the wire is in :)

Redarc installed, not wired yet

Now I need to start making the cnnections, to wire the auxiliary battery to the BCDC, wire in the fridge, battery sensor (found a bluetooth one , like 10 euro, has an app, called battery guard ), lights for the canopy.
Item no1 -- to find a good earth/negative connection.

 

[leeloo]

Found a good earth :)

Redarc connected


I have light in the canopy :)


The only connection left to do is for the solar, but that one is easy, all of it is crimped already, just to put in place.
After that I plan to use some velcro cable ties to give the semblance of neat, than hide everything with a neoprene cable cable tube, it is flexible and offers some protection .. I would still like to be able to use that area, mostly for items I rarely use.
I measured the difference in reading from the small battery guard BT sensor and my Multimeter, it is 0.03 so this thing is spot on, I am very happy that now I can monitor the system without needing to stop and take a look :) . best 10 euro I spent this month :)
The redarc is charging really fast, I could not belive it, and exactly at 14.4 V like in the book..

 

[Chris Ludwig]

Good choice. I have the Tacoma because the US market prefers big trucks over the mid size. [edit: for the life of me, I do not understand why Toyota would build two nearly identical but different trucks in the exact same class. Kind of like they never read "The Toyota Way" before.] I included a pic below of my current rig for inspiration. Message if you have questions.

I drove the Hilux when I lived in Azerbaijan and Angola. It was a good truck, especially the older one. We couldn't break it even though we sure tried. it also had a full body roll cage / exoskeleton. That one was a beast. Cars give you plenty of room the instant they see they'd lose if they rub up against you.

 

[JCWages]

Very nice!

I was in New Zealand and saw a lot of Hilux while driving about. I saw more Rangers than any other model. It was weird to see so many different models of midsize truck at every intersection. During the entire week in Rotorua I only saw 1 full size truck.

 

[leeloo]

Good choice. I have the Tacoma because the US market prefers big trucks over the mid size. [edit: for the life of me, I do not understand why Toyota would build two nearly identical but different trucks in the exact same class. Kind of like they never read "The Toyota Way" before.] I included a pic below of my current rig for inspiration. Message if you have questions.

I drove the Hilux when I lived in Azerbaijan and Angola. It was a good truck, especially the older one. We couldn't break it even though we sure tried. it also had a full body roll cage / exoskeleton. That one was a beast. Cars give you plenty of room the instant they see they'd lose if they rub up against you.

Thank you.
Tacoma is very nice as well. There are some US imports arround, not that many tough. I wish we had a petrol option for Hilux as well, we don't even get the 2.8 diesel that is available in Austraila along with the 4.0 v6..
The main difference between the mid size trucks in US and Europe beside the engine options is the paylod. The Hilux single cab can take even more than 1t, my dual cab about 920 kg/ 2020 lbs.. Otherwise they are pretty similar..
You guys in the US have the nice engines, we have the payload.. :) so less need for GVM upgrades. I was tempted to get the tacoma just for the nice V6. In most parts in Europe, a pick-up is considered a commercial vehicle with a very small tax, no matter the engine. Not in Germany where I live at the moment. The annual road tax for a Tacoma would be something like 1500 euro/year...
In Belgium my neighbour had RAM1500 with the 5.7l hemi.. paid less tax than my small city hybrid that I use to comute to work.. ... :)

 

[Dana Ramos]

Nice truck! Like @Chris Ludwig above. I have the North American version of the Hilux. Canopy and tent are both from a South African Mfgr and I've been very pleased with them. Wish the truck had a diesel though. Or at least a V8. My last rig was a Jeep with the 5.7 Hemi and I've definitely missed having that kind of power/acceleration.

 

[leeloo]

Very nice.. enjoy it :)
In the mean time the neoprene tubes I ordered arrived.
Before :)



After :)


I still need to connect the solar, I will probably work on it over the week-end.
This neoprene tubes are a very good solution, good protection but it is also very easy to have access to fix or add things, since they close with Velcro.

 

[leeloo]

I ordered some rock sliders from Rival, not sure why they are so expensive for Hilux, Front Runner use to make them as well, more reasonable priced but I spoke with a guy there, they had complaints about the fitting, it was complicated and they stop selling them , they are working on a redesign.

Hopefully I will get them next week.
Best use of my Hilux during the quarantine
Home made sausages :)
This just came the mail, to be installed on the back of the driver seat.

It is smaller than I imagined, but it looks like you can store a lot of things .

 

[leeloo]

Over the last week-end I started to install the rocks liders. What a PITA that was to fit, and with no elevator.
On the driver side the fuel tank goes in the way of the middle bracket. it is s impossible to do with no elevator and at minimum taking our the fuel tank shield and maybe the fuel tank. So for now it sits on only 2 brackets, I hope it will hold until I get a chance to go to a shop.
Even with only 2 brackets it is more solid than a normal sidesteps, it should not be a big issue. The right side took 3h the left side about 2 h...
The instructions were rubbish.. to quote from them - point 13 use M10x30 or M12 x 40 bolts.. :) and this is just a small example..
The part with the tank was written in very small fine print at the end of it...
Anyway.. they look solid, not to wide to become an issue but still usable to climb..

Not much choice for rock-sliders for Hilux in Europe, it is the second most sold pickup in Europe but only 2 manufacturers make them.. Anything else you find easy and you have many options..

 

[Joey83]

The rocksliders look good

 

[leeloo]

I was looking at a new set of tires to replace the stock ones, they are not that bad, they are AT but they are Bridgestone dueler AT, not the most aggressive thread...
So I decided to get full wheels, and the stock set to be used outside overloading season.
Initially, as rims I wanted to get some steel or maybe some cheap alloys, so I won't cry when they scratch, but I stumbled on this wheels.. evo corse dakar.
They are made by an Italian company, like half of the dakar rally teams use them, very resilient, one guy had a flat 10 km before the finish line and he managed to finish, the rim had only a small crack, but survived in those conditions..
Had a good deal on them but still for 5 of them i paid about 600 euro more than some cheap ones, luckily the wife was preoccupied with something else.. :) .


The crazy thing is that I got them in 17 inch white.. I think they will look good on my white truck . Triple powdered coat so they should not chip so easy,

A very vane thing to do but I could not help myself... :) .
Delta 4x4 Dakar are also very good wheels, but they don't come in the proper size for a Hilux, would have been good quality and reasonably priced..
I can't wait for them to arrive, and as soon as they arrive I will get a set of Falken Wildpeak AT .

 

[Greyn80]

I was looking at a new set of tires to replace the stock ones, they are not that bad, they are AT but they are Bridgestone dueler AT, not the most aggressive thread...
So I decided to get full wheels, and the stock set to be used outside overloading season.
Initially, as rims I wanted to get some steel or maybe some cheap alloys, so I won't cry when they scratch, but I stumbled on this wheels.. evo corse dakar.
They are made by an Italian company, like half of the dakar rally teams use them, very resilient, one guy had a flat 10 km before the finish line and he managed to finish, the rim had only a small crack, but survived in those conditions..
Had a good deal on them but still for 5 of them i paid about 600 euro more than some cheap ones, luckily the wife was preoccupied with something else.. :) .

View attachment 157919
The crazy thing is that I got them in 17 inch white.. I think they will look good on my white truck . Triple powdered coat so they should not chip so easy,
View attachment 157920
A very vane thing to do but I could not help myself... :) .
Delta 4x4 Dakar are also very good wheels, but they don't come in the proper size for a Hilux, would have been good quality and reasonably priced..
I can't wait for them to arrive, and as soon as they arrive I will get a set of Falken Wildpeak AT .

I have those same wheels, They look amazing on my hilux. NZ and Australian hilux owners are so lucky to have so many amazing aftermarket accesories. Meanwhile in Latin America everything is either too expensive or just bad quality. If you'd like some pictures of the wheels let me know.

 

[leeloo]

I made a long trip in the Hilux, a bit of off road, not much, no camping, it is too cold for that.
The car performed very well, I am happy with it.
I would still prefer a land cruiser, but with the taxes in Europe...
Had some issues with the auxiliary battery box, one of the wires was moving arround and it snaped, it was exactly the power to the fridge, so it was annoying. I had all need it with me, and easy 10 min fix.. but still..
Instead of building something custom, I finally decided to go for a National Luna battery box


It has all the wiring done inside, well protected . A bit expensive, but in Europe there is not much choice . Like usual with Overlanding stuff , Australia has many other options for pre wired boxes, and better prices.
My current 100 Ah AGM should fit, but it will be tight. I hope I don't have to change it. It is 3 years old but still holding very well.

Also I got a very nice deal on an Engel fridge, and MT45-FS, it is like the classic engel 45 but it has a digital temperature display.
Now all I need is to wait for some nice wheater and this bloody COVID thing to get better, hopefully people will accept the vaccine so things get better quicker..

 

[leeloo]

The battery box arrived today.
This is why I need it

It looks worse than it is, when the aux battery is in, it is bit cleaner, I have fuses everywhere and it is safe.. but still...
My 100 Ah AGM deep cycle is a snug fit, which is fine, I don't want it to move around..

The front of the box. After installation I should have an in, an anderson plug and an out for the fridge, that is it. Much cleaner than what I have now.

Enough possibilities for plugs for me, I will have some free ports for the future if need it.


In the week-end I will start the installation of it.
I need to find a way to keep the box in place with some straps, I don't want to bolt it down in the bed, I want it to be easily removable. So I need to find a solution to fit some tie down points. I want to place it in the same spot as the old one, in the back of the bed top left corner.
Any suggestions are welcomed.

Got an email saying that the ENGEL MT45-FS that I ordered is out of stock and it will take another 7 days to be delivered. It is fine for me, I am just glad they did no try to pull a fast one on me and tell me they are out and can't get it at the very good price I found it . Before COVID in Europe it was not available for less than 890 Euro , this one I found for 670 . ... a very good deal.

 

[leeloo]

In preparation to transition to a new vehicle, a 4x4 that will have less space than my pick -up, I bought a 50 Amp Green Cell Lifepo4 battery, It is half of the volume and 6 kg instead of the 27 kg that my 100 AH AGM has. In theory, you can discharge an AGM for a number of time up to 50% , so the 50 amp Lithium that can be discharged completely should give me the same capacity. Time will tell.
I did a small test indoors, it was not fully charged, and I hooked it to one of my fridges, it was full of stuff and set to -10 Celsius( I keep it around 4 degrees normally ) . Even after more than 24h of continuous running it still had about 20 % left. I think with the 100W solar I have it will do fine.
Cost. The AGM originally was 170 euro bought about 3 years ago.
The new 50 Amp I paid 340 euro, just to find it next day at 299 :(
This price was unconceivable a few years ago. It is starting to be feasible even for small use cases like mine, specially for people with space/payload issues.

Next week-end, in a few days I will make a short 2 nights trip, I will not move camp at all, if it lasts 2 days with solar I am happy.