After reading some of the horror storys here about failures in (chassis especially) light duty utes, I thought I might post details of our vehicle that may help others.
I will concede that the BT50 is not as capable as our previous Troopy 75, but I have no hesitation in tackling most of the 'outback' tracks. In fact we have just returned from 2 weeks in the NSW
Corner Country, where all the roads that were accessible due to flooding, were in very poor condition with ruts, corrugations and wash-outs.
Vehicle: Mazda BT50 Freestyle (extracab) 3.0l turbo/intercooled diesel trayback. 2009 model.
Load: Slide-on poptop camper unit- with bed section over vehicle cab. Weighs in at about 600kg (dry).
External
accessories: Steel bullbar,
snorkel, towbar & 60l stainless steel auxilliary fuel tank.
Chassis mod. (in summary): Adding a 400mm braced wheelbase extension. The chassis, in the area of the cut had the extension inserted and welded to overlap the two original sections on each side. The chassis was then boxed and strengthened with a full overhead reinforced stenghthening
bridge from 50x50x3mm square section. A chassis web brace of 130x6mm flat bar was welded to the structure on each side. The exhaust system, rear electric
wiring was extended and a new cardan shaft, centre bearing, brake lines and handbrake lines fitted. The original alloy wheels retained, but the tyres upgraded to 1150kg rating.
New wheelbase now 3350mm
New GVM now 3483kg (up by about 400kg)
Other mods: Heavy duty front torsion bar. Replacement upgraded front dampers. Reset rear leaf package with extra leaf. 9-way adjustable rear dampers (we use positions 4 to 6). Air bags fitted to rear.
All modifications have a full engineers certificate for compliance.
When loaded, we run (on the blacktop) 45/60 in the tyres, and adjust according to road conditions. Airbags- loaded between 30 and 35, just enough to level the load without any compomise on the
suspension performance.
The unit is a very comfortable & reliable and after sorting out the various suspension/tyre setups feels very safe/ predictable in all conditions. We've even used it to survey for a car rally in the mountain forests on the South Coast!!
Looking forward to our annual 8 week trip in July/August in cluding
Great Central Road, Connie Sue & Anne Beadell roads to
Laverton and exploring the areas of Central WA.
Cheers & Happy Trails
J&D