The kennel is a Isuzu rodeo 4x4 motorhome.It is a 1993 model with a 2.8 ltr turbo diesel under the bonnet.It only has 37,000 klm on the clock.Im told the Japanese dont drive them much but use them to live in.
front
drivers side
rear end
passanger side
fly wire door
The kennel i brought in Townsville and had it transported down to warm sunny
Melbourne.From the transport yard it was taken to Romsey Auto Care.They replaced all belts,hoses,oil and lubricates and checked the whole thing out for anything that could be a future problem.They also fitted Tough Dog foam cell shocks to it.Yes i kept the old hoses,belts and shocks.Plus they done a RWC for it.Then we went up to
Seymour to have it registered and placed in my name.I dont think Gunny was happy about that he wanted it in his name.From there down to Carrolls Springs to try and get its bum of the ground and hopefully then raise the whole thing.They replaced the front torsion bars(18mm) with heavy duty ones (27mm).They also added 3 leafs per side at the rear and replaced the u bolts.It is far better than what it was but the ground clearance is still only average.In saying that they were friendly and did a great job considering what they had to work with.
rear end ,not my type
low ground clearance
front end
One of the things im debating is whether to take the top storage box off or leave it on.It has reasonable outside storage with out the top box.The top box concerns me how much weight i can put in it without damaging the roof and making it to tall and top heavy.Plus if i took it off i could then replace it with solar panels.Two things, one the solar panels would be great because i wish to mainly
free camp.The second is i can keep a spare tyre and tube up there to give me a back up to my spare. Any advise on that??
Storage around gas bottles
Reasonble size storage box
From Carrolls Springs it went around to One Stop Caravan
Shop in Freight Drive Somerton.Neil and the boys had alot of work to do and done a brilliant job with an owner who kept on thinking of extra things he would like done.And they say only women keep changing there mind.You should have seen me.I will run through some of the things Neil and the guys did.I will explain briefly then put up some pics then explain more.They took out the old 3 way fridge (gas,12v and 110v).Yes you read correct 110v,the Japanese dont use 240v.That was a problem because the old fridge was not earthed so he had to run all new cables to the new one they fitted which is a Waeco 110 ltr, bigger than what was in there.Which sounds easy but they ran there cables before the inside walls were put up.Fitted a 240v-12v battery charger,21 inch TV/DVD,300-600 watt inverter connected to a double power point.Two double 240 volt power points,
TV antenna and booster,removed the gas heater(stuffed) fitted 3 lead lights,checked out all electrical s and tested the gas stove.Not to mention work out how other things operate or where they were that i did not know.
new fridge
electrical set up
To explain the last photo.The lower double power point runs of the inverter,the one above runs 240v.The light switch next to the TV turns the fridge on and off on the 12v side so i can determined when it runs or not.You cant see it but just left of the ariel cable there is a button to turn the TV reception booster on or off.
TV ariel adjustment
Poor photo but just behind the roof light there is a knob that makes the TV ariel fully adjustable from inside.The inside lay out of the kennel is as follows.If you find something that you think your four legged mate would be unhappy with please tell me.
inside
couch goes down for another double
inside
cooking area
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Extra inside storage that Neil managed to gain.
under the couch they cut out storage room
where the gas heater was taken from
The boys did a good job cutting out holes in the timber to create more storage under the couch.The other thing that Neil had to do was work out the range hood which controls alot of things in the kennel and the gas switch.
gas control
range hood controls
Now pics of the 2 guys that will live in this before i explain the rest.
my good self
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Gunny the 4 legged human
The things left to do before the kennel is ready to go.Replace the radio/cd player,the old one is stuffed.Have a
uhf radio and ariel fitted.Have a bull bar fitted and see what can be done regarding a Telstra ariel fitted for the phone and internet.So not much more left to do.
The things i will be taking along with us as spares or required items are.Spare hoses,belts ,shockers.Tool kit,jumper leads,snatch strap,tow rope,Tyre deflater,12v air compressor,
puncture kit,extra fuel(20ltrs),extra water(20ltrs),workshop manuel(that will be a joke),Oil,greece,coolant,brake fluid,crc,aerostart(yes it works on diesels),
first aid kit, and a few other bits and pieces.
Is there anything major i have left out??
I know that this van has limitations on what it can and cant do.I will not be doing anything extreme but it should take us to most
places i wish to visit.Can anyone offer advise on what else i can do to try and make the kennel more practical or user friendly for out back travel.
To all the hard core of road guys and there rigs looking at my van Gunny and i do not bat for the other team.We will be staying in it for extended periods of time so i have tried to come up with something that is practical and liveable.
Any advice,suggestions or comments will be appreciated whether it be good or bad.