Utemad replied:

Ok Rosco,

GME 4400 UHF - no probs
Garmin Etrex - No probs except the plastic bit that holds the wrist strap broke
ARB canopy - Rear door almost fell off after Fraser trip but otherwise excellent (warranty job)
BFG KO tyres - wearing quite well although have had a lot of chipping and cuts 60k.
OME shocks - no probs
Nokia handsfree - no probs
ARB winch bar - no probs
Ox winch - no probs
Homemade dual battery setup - no probs
Nitestalker spotties - no probs

Probably missing stuff but that'll do me.

NEXT

rolande replied:

Rosco,
Do you really NEED all that stuff to go off-road?? Only kidding,

Redarc dual battery - good
Bond Battery - good
GME AM (2nd hand) - good
antennas - good
Terra Trac Tyres - good but will see this weekend :)
Original shocks - bad, need new ones
Alpine Stereo - EXCELLENT
Fog lights - O.K. should replace with better brand
Rola roof racks - excellent

Rolande

Rosco - Bris. replied:

OK OK .. so far so good ... on the bits that can be claimed under warranty provisions. But what about the lassies???

So far no response ... or is it they're out of warranty??

AndrewX replied:

I think you've picked an interesting subject, Rosco. Apart from tyre upgrades I prefer to buy vehicles that don't need aftermarket add ons to make them useful off roaders. Reason being that from my observations, failures are frequently found in the aftermarket gear. Most manufacturers have sorted out all the issues that lead to failure though one notable one is still roving around with inherent problems like electrical, fuel, sealing to keep fluids in and dust out etc etc .... But if your vehicle needs it, just be careful with any aftermarket gear and try to find out the level of R&D that has been put into it before you throw your money at it.

Pilbara Wayne replied:

AndrewX has a point.. however--

My 4.2TD GU Nissan has quite a lot of accessories... so far no problems with them at all ie

GME TX4400
Alpine CD Stacker
Bullbar
Hella Ralleye 2000's (now 7 years old and being replaced due to discolouration of mirror - water?)
Rear Drawers
Codan 9323 and 9350 Autotune.
Glind Shower
Rotronics Dual Batt Isolater (was there when I got it and it still works well - even the local battery agent was surprised at how well it worked as he sees heaps of these that apparently "fail" - maybe he wanted me to buy one of his??)

etc, etc, etc

Now for the Nissan bits :-

1. Suspension - replaced because it sagged when the dog got in the back.
2. Plastic surrounds for left hand rear light and light unit - fell out on the Goldfields Highway (that's right a bitumen road) - cost $350+ YES it was under warranty. Nissans response - they dont fall out on highways, only when you go 4WDing.
3. Rear left hand flares - fell off when the clips broke - replacement cost over $1000. (I glued mine back together and fixed it back on with the 10 or so clips - still $40 for plastic clips mind you!)
4. Rear sway bar disconnected because the nut fell off on a gravel road.
5. Passenger side plastic strip falling off.
6. Left hand bearings in front axle almost collapsed from use on gravel roads.
7. Leaking left hand swivel hub.
8. Steering "clunk' that wont go away.
9. Body mount clunk from front left (same as the ol' GQ)
10. Steering wheel sits on an angle - fixed slightly with change of tyres.
11. Original Bridgestones - managed at least one flat per trip until I replaced them with BFG's - now only one per two trips :-)

Should never have sold the ol' GQ. Too much plastic held on with flimsy attachment points in the GU.

So my point is, in my opinion the big companies don't really do their homework about the fittings on their vehicles. As long as its cheap and suits the majority of people and not the environments where it will be used necessarily, the company is happy. Less outlay, more income.

But at least its more comfortable than the FJ40 from 15 years ago!

Cheers

Rob replied:

Good question...
40,000KM trip around Oz in 11 Months. Diesel '80 series.

Barratt 950 - electronics great, 2 antenna mounts loosened up - Barratt were great in replacing them and admitted a bad batch. Final mount was fine. Good service.
GME UHF + GME antenna - fine.
Cheap & nasty 'Tradesman' roofrack - performed flawlessly over Cape York, Gunbarrel and Canning - great!
ECB bullbar - great. Carried the weight of the autotune on the antenna lug no problem.
ARB snatch strap & shackles - great.
OME shocks & springs & damper - replaced 2 out of 4 shocks under warranty at 30,000KM after oil leaks. (Don't you just love ARB's 'that is normal, sir' line)!
Great Outdoors Wyndham canvas tent - great - but mesh doors eventually split. They paid for local seamstress to fix - so good service.
Pirelli Scorpion AT tyres - 20,000 KM and they were worn out - shocking!
BFG ATs - Better off road, but too many punctures!
White plastic water carriers - finally became brittle and cracked from sunlight when being carried empty on the roofrack.
Engel 40L - great.
Garmin GPS - great.
Fujitsu laptop - great.
Coleman Stove - great
Primus gas-mantle lamp - great (and relatively quiet)
Primus 12 flouro lamp - gave up after 6 months - but local distributor replaced - good service.
Dick Smith 300W inverter - gave up ater 9 months - but replaced under warranty - "just how _did_ you get so much dust in it sir" - good service.
Cardboard cartons of "Swan" + "Melbourne Bitter" - hopeless - would give up producing cans after the first 24 - every time too. Corrugations perhaps?

Eric from Cape York Connections replied:

Rosco good post.
Interesting to see what lasts.

All the best
Eric
http://www.capeyorkconnections.com.

Member - Brian (Gold Coast) replied:

Rosco.... very interesting post mate...
Our story;

We've had the GQ for about 35K's now... lotsa day trips, a few camping weekends and a couple of "week-aways" and a rollover

ARB commercial winchbar= No probs
Ziel driving lights = No probs
Safari snorkel = replaced by the beaters after being destroyed in the rollover
Cheap electronic rust prevention = Anodes fell off after two Fraser trips
Duel batteries and isolator solenoid = worn out original second battery, replaced it with a deep cycle
GME Tx3200 = No probs, broke original aerial in rollover
Nokia handsfree = No probs
Custom fridge slide and cargo drawer = survived the rollover with a loaded Trailblaza attached
70L Trailblaza = Survived being upside down whilst running, has been running since then at home without missing a beat!
Pro Comp Muds = wearing well after 30 odd thousand K's, considering the bashing they've had!
Cargo Barrier = left an imprint in the roof lining where it stopped more of the roof heading towards the floor!!!
Nissan GQ = Big, strong truck saved my SWMBO's life when she put it on it's roof and she walked away without a scratch or even a bruise!!!!!!!! (For which I am eternally grateful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Nissan GQ =

Wayne (NSW) replied:

Rosco,
I have fitted a lot of accessories to not only to my vehicle but to a few others. Good quality add-ons fitted right don't usally have problems. The only failure that I have had recently was the CellX9 shocks.TJM did a recall on them.
If you are going to do a trip that requires driving on corrugations take the driving light off before you leave home. I have seen so many driving lights either break the mounting brackets and then the light faces any where but straight ahead or fall off altogether.

Wayne