Dirtdiggler's 16.49.3

[dirtdiggler]

LED strip lighting is awesome (it's a fact); especially the latest 5630 ones.

I ordered a 5m roll of warm white 5630 LEDs on eBay, soldered on a water proof connector and 12v lead, and stuck 'em to my awning. Job done.

....well sort of, our panda doesn't have an external 12v outlet so i need to install one. Anyone know the best place to tap into 12v supply? I'm currently running them off a home made lithium ion battery pack.

The lights are super bright - turns night into day. With the lights on the van plus the awning means there's no shadows.

 

[Vere]

LED strip lighting is awesome (it's a fact); especially the latest 5630 ones.

I ordered a 5m roll of warm white 5630 LEDs on eBay, soldered on a water proof connector and 12v lead, and stuck 'em to my awning. Job done. View attachment 47095
....well sort of, our panda doesn't have an external 12v outlet so i need to install one. Anyone know the best place to tap into 12v supply? I'm currently running them off a home made lithium ion battery pack.

The lights are super bright - turns night into day. With the lights on the van plus the awning means there's no shadows. View attachment 47097

I fitted mine to the van just below the pop top. I notched the exhaust fan vent ran wires inside and picked up the 12v from exhaust fan. I used a remote control which was very cheap from ebay to control and also dim, worked really well.

I can not remember the seller I used but this is the same unit
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Wireless...144907?hash=item211c070d0b:g:A-YAAOSwnHZYR-mq

 

[dirtdiggler]

Main reason i put it on the awning drum was to eliminate shadows. Sitting around the table eating dinner one night we noticed people with their back to the light couldn't see what they were eating with just the standard light. Now we've got light from both directions.

 

[achjimmy]

Quality mods @dirtdiggler . awesome username too , great movie

 

[dirtdiggler]

Lol. I started using that handle on 4x4 forums where it had more relevance. It's always good when someone gets the joke .

 

[dirtdiggler]

I snapped a picture of my tow rig on the way home from Albany the other day:

facing the reality of work tomorrow. Booooooo.

 

[bigcol]

got to like a Gold coloured Patrol

makes a change from the white

how do you find the ATZ's?
I have the MTZ's and are happy, but they wear a bit quicker than I would like

 

[dirtdiggler]

The ATZs were put on by the previous owner. I've always ran mud tyres on previous trucks. My initial thought was i couldn't wait for them to wear out so i could get some mudders! ... but now the reality is i don't do much off roading these days and the ATZs are probably a better choice for me.

I've done 40 thousand kms on them, and they weren't new when i bought the vehicle, so i guess they've worn ok. That's with 5 tyres regularly rotated.

She's due for a new set of boots soon. I can't decide between BFGs or Mickey Ts and ATs or MTs.

How much noise do your MTZs make at 110kmh @bigcol ?

 

[bigcol]

although easily achievable, I rarely sit on 110 anymore nowadays @dirtdiggler
the TD42 drinks like a wino over 105

the noise is on a par with the BFG muddies - meaning not that bad actually - although I am going deaf, so that helps as well
@dagree drove it recently to Busso and back - he has hearing, and may throw some light on them for you
got him thinking about a Patrol to replace his Playdoh, so he must have been impressed

they were also on mine when I brought it, couldn't get BFG KM2's so put another set of the MTZ's on in 2013
I'm up to 75k on mine, and they are nearly (next 6 months) due for replacement

I have always had the BFG KO's and have had the KO2's once, but in the AT version
so I will also be going down the route of availability V's cost - again

 

[dagree]

@dagree drove it recently to Busso and back - he has hearing, and may throw some light on them for you

Pardon? Did you say something? Hearing hasn't been too good for a few weeks for some reason
Actually @dirtdiggler I was surprised by the road noise from the muddies..... Or should I say lack of noise. I have driven some 4x4's with AT's that were noisier than @bigcol 's Mickey's!

got him thinking about a Patrol to replace his Playdoh, so he must have been impressed

Only because I was overwhelmed by the sheer power of the 4.2 towing a 16'er compared to the 4.0 towing the 17'er ... The thought is slowly wearing off

 

[dirtdiggler]

75k and you're complaining they wear too fast? You're a hard man to please!

Thanks for the advice fellas. Food for though.

 

[dagree]

75k and you're complaining they wear too fast

One thing with the MT's is the wear factor.... I had a set of ATZ's on my last landcruiser and they had done over 80K's on them when I sold it and I would guess they had at least another 20K's left on them.
If only they weren't so pricey
No complaints on the BFG AT KO2's currently fitted to the Prado though!

 

[bigcol]

75k and you're complaining they wear too fast? You're a hard man to please!

well...................

original MTZ's on this car- were unknown kms, but I did about 65K - and a mate with a bobcat took them for himself
105K out of my last set of KO's
unknown out of set before on car when brought- I did 85K before they were due for replacement
25km out of Cooper ST (got almost home and they (in my opinion) were crap got them to put the Pirelli on instead) - was a mates tyre business
85+K out of Pirelli Scorpion MTR
70+K out of Dueler 604V (car sold before tyres wore out - but were close)
50+K out of Yokohama Geolanders ATS(car sold before tyres wore out - but were close)

 

[bigcol]

Only because I was overwhelmed by the sheer power of the 4.8 towing a 16'er compared to the 4.0 towing the 17'er ... The thought is slowly wearing off

makes it even better, as mine is a 4.2L diesel, not a 4.8L petrol...............

 

[dagree]

makes it even better, as mine is a 4.2L diesel, not a 4.8L petrol...............

My mistake....... Edited!
Was looking at a friends 4.8 Petrol this afternoon and got mixed up!

 

[bigcol]

My mistake....... Edited!
Was looking at a friends 4.8 Petrol this afternoon and got mixed up!

thats cheating

naughty naughty


the 4.8 is an awesome piece of kit, around the same fuel consumption as the 4.7 cruiser V8 - but more Kw or Nm I think- and its an inline 6

enough grunt to pull the "Bismark" out of the ocean

 

[dirtdiggler]

So I had a spare afternoon the other day and finally did a couple of jobs on the ol' home away from home.....

First this:

I installed a dual outdoor 12v socket. Seeing as its a dual socket, I decided not to piggyback off an existing circuit and ran new wiring back to a spare fused output on the setec unit. I ran the wires inside the van (not under the floor like some others have done). I just followed the factory wiring route - behind the fridge, through the rear boot, behind the shower recess, through the closet and into the setec unit under the dinette. Getting a wire behind the shower recess was the tricky bit, but is doable with a bit o' jigglin'.

Next i installed this:

I got sick of the pulsations in flow from the bathroom sink when running on low flow. Much better with the accumulator. I got it on eBay for about 35 bucks. Needed a few extra JG fittings to make it fit though which cost more than the accumulator.

Happpy days!

 

[1DayIll]

I notice early on you put the spare underneath the van. How has this worked? Is it too low?

 

[dirtdiggler]

Nope. No problems with clearance of the spare wheel.

The van is a touring version. Doubt it'll ever drive on roads with rocks big enough to whack it. High kerbs aren't an issue because it sits immediately next to the axle. All fine and dandy. ....though i still haven't got around to doing the box on the front yet (waiting till funds are available!).

 

[dirtdiggler]

Next mod was this:

Stainless clothesline. I bought a ready made kit while i was at the caravan shop buying jg fittings for the accumulator. I have to say, I'm questioning my wisdom in using ss cable now. Some 4 or 6mm spectra or dyneema might have been easier to pack away and store. I can see the ss cable getting kinked or just being a pain in the r's floating around in the tunnel boot, where as dyneema would pack down to nothing. We'll see how it goes. Sure it will be better and easier than tying a bit of stretchy cord up there like I've done in the past.