Blakey's 150 VX beginners build-up

[Spblake Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Spblake]

Right, so after Lurking around on PP for the past 3 months, and finally picking up my 150 VX about 3 weeks ago, I thought it was time to kick off the rig build. I'm new to owning a 4WD and have some limited experience driving them so this is definitely a learning process. I'll put in where I got the stuff from as I go along. Thank god for Pradopoint. My wheels double as the tractor for the missus' horse float, so anything I get has to be compatible with the nags and their mode of transport. Oh, and I'm not handy, so don't expect anything fancy unless Mr Man has done it.

Dream list as follows:

- ARB Deluxe combo bar (booking it in soon)
- Tow bar (Toyota genuine - DONE)
- Cargo mat (Toyota genuine - DONE)
- Brake controller (Tekonsha P3 - DONE)
- Dashmat (Sunland - DONE)
- Lambskin seat covers up front, wet seat covers in back
- Cooper A/T tyres (still figuring this one out)
- Roof rack (some sort of tray)
- Compressor (probably going for the el dodgo $100 ebay special - I'll let you know how it goes)
- 2 inch OME lift (down the track)
- Warn winch
- Recovery kit
- Awning (probably go Foxwing if I can sell my kidneys)

Cheers,

Blakey

[Dusty74 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Dusty74]

Welcome mate, good lineup of mods there. Probably the only down side to being new to 4wding is you'll have nothing to compare to the 150 and consequently not realise how good they off road, but I'm sure you'll enjoy finding out!

Cheers,
Dusty

[Spblake Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Spblake]

Dash mat

Picked up a Sunland dash mat on Fleabay for $48 delivered.

It's OK. Fits perfectly to the dash and comes with some velcro bits to stick it on properly however I drove round without them for about 3 days without it moving.

Has cut out circles for the security light and the light sensor, so no annoying do-it-yourself holes to make. It's a bit short on the left side by about 3cm for some bizarre reason. Fits perfectly on the right. Maybe I should have opted for black vice charcoal to match the seats and stuff but I'm getting used to it.

[Spblake Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Spblake]

Probably the only down side to being new to 4wding is you'll have nothing to compare to the 150 and consequently not realise how good they off road, but I'm sure you'll enjoy finding out!

Oh, its already been offroad and bogged, up to the axles in sand. Love it.

[Spblake Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Spblake]

Toyota genuine cargo mat

Best $150 spent in a long time. Do yourself a favour. They are also on eBay.

[Spblake Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Spblake]

Brake controller - Tekonsha P3

Right. I have a horse float with electric brakes. After having a run-of-the-mill Hayman Reece controller for the last 12 months fitted to my trusty Calais I did some sniffing around for something better. I can honestly say that this thing is great for me. Picked up the unit for $130 and had Mr Man install it.

There's plenty of discussion on the airbag issue. Now I still can't find the definitive answer however I erred on the side of caution and had Mr Man install the controller on the right hand side, just down from the fuel cap lever.



So far we haven't had any knocked knees or issues with it here at all. Obviously the fuel lever works fine and its well clear of the airbag. It's also fully portable anyway so if we get annoyed we could always unplug it but so far so good.

The install is anything if not thorough. The guys ran the blue wire all the way from the tow plug to the unit and direct power off the battery. Now it's probably over the top and I didn't ask for it however it looks the business and works really well. Definitely won't have any issues with voltage/current draw etc. It did take them all day and cost a few hundred bucks for the privilege. Can't fault the service though.

[SOL Find all posts View Profile Close SOL]

Spblake, Mate your photo links are not working.

SOL.

[Spblake Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Spblake]

Spblake, Mate your photo links are not working.

SOL.

Hopefully a bit of re-uploading should have cured it.

Blakey

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

Good looking list. May I ask why all you guys use dash mats?? I never see people using them here in South America and wonder what the use of it is??

Cheers,

Luis

[Spblake Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Spblake]

Good looking list. May I ask why all you guys use dash mats?? I never see people using them here in South America and wonder what the use of it is??

Cheers,

Luis

Luis,

The sun here in Australia turns cars into furnaces. Temperatures on a hot day can max out around 70 degrees celsius inside a car. Even while driving around, the dashboard gets pretty hot. While they are built to take it for a little while, after a couple of years they start to fade or even crack.

Dashmats add a bit of protection. I find they can even lower the temperature of the car inside.

Hope you're getting into Carnaval!

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

I agree with Spblake.

Plus I just like the look, reckon it just finishes it off.