What am I Missing ?

Allyn Thanks for the reply.
The BFG Allterrains that I have have been excellent and no problems insurance or otherwise.

Thanks Chris thats very interesting info.
My initial thought was that ARB may deal but I will certainly consider the 4wd shows I think we have the Melbourne one coming in October.

I dont disagree with you Bob but I don't realy have the time to spend running all over the place for each item. Just get it done is how I am.
Thanks for the reply

Hi Chopper
What do you know about Toyota factory lockers, any info you have would be appreciated, Info on them seems few and far between.
The new one is ordered and I could still add factory lockers if i make a decision real quick.
ARB stuff has a good reputation or so I thought, It seems some of the replys I am getting are making the opposite point.
I have had a couple of petrol troopys, my business uses them, this is the first diesel as the troopy is no longer avaliable in petrol, so I will be interested in comparing the two.

My prior troopys have not been set up as I am intending to set up this one, as I said I have caught the bug.
Thanks for the reply.

John, are you on Troopyoz on Yahoo groups, i have Lock rights (which I have no complaints about and believe to be just as good as air lockers, Locked is locked.) I know a few blokes on there have factory lockers.

troopyoz

Chopper what an idiot I am I did not even give a thought to Troopyoz
Will list the questions now.
Many Thanks.

John.

If you are looking for good gear, then go for a turbo, preferably an inter-cooled turbo. Costly, but the best investment that I have made so far. With an inter-cooled turbo over the Dyno I get a 42% increase in power at the max torque range

A winch? I will possibly get howelled down hear but here goes anyway.

They are heavy and costly, they are not water proof and need servicing ASAP after immersion. I took a tip from a SES volunteer who told me the most of THEIR use for a winch is during practice. I have been in a 4WD club for 14 years and have only had a need of a winch on 3 occasions and that was with club events when we drove into and through areas that only appear in your night mares. There is always a club member dying to use his/her winch to help you. Most places you can get snatched out of.

I would definitely go for the twin lockers. ARB. The factory ones I am told (again buy that same SES volunteer....12 years experience) are slow to engage and at times when most needed they hang up.

hope this helps.

Regards

Hi Janset
I did say this was a great site, the feed back and discussion on my original questions have been very helpful.

I have ordered the RV Model Troopy only comes in a Turbo model.
If you don't want turbo,(why I don't Know) you would have to order the base model. No CD player carpets electric windows etc.
Check out Toyota web site for the model comparison.
Good comments on the winch.
Interesting about the factory lockers.

Regards
John

Hi John.

You can see I am a bit behind the times as far as models are concerned. I still run and will do, a '92 turbo troopie until the day that I die. I have put all the whistle and bell on that I think that I may need, and that is it. It has only 135,000 K's on the clock and lives in a garage when not used, so no rust.

You may want to think about a long range fuel tank if you have the room. I have a 140 litre after the rear axle. My last long trip with fuel experience was from Yalara to Kalgoorlie without refueling, and when I did a rough calculation I could possible just have made it to Coolgardie.

Regards

Hi Janset
Troopie's are now fitted with two 90 litre tanks. (180 L total)
Most seem to think that that would cover most trips, I will also carry a couple of jerrys if on a particularly long trip.

Mate if your 92 turbo is doing the job and your happy then why change.

Regards
John

Hi John.

My model was the one that had only one tank up front and the spare was where my L/R fuel tank is now.

As for meeting my needs, I think I would trade my wife before I traded my troopie.

I had better post this quick before she sees it. :-)))

Regards

Diamond What do you suggest in regards to suspension ?
4wd shows it is.

gday john.
when it comes to suspention your going to open a big can of worms.
my self i use pedders coils.
50mm lift front and rear.heavy duty front and heavy duty rear with 50% increase.that means it will take a lot more load on the rear before they start to sag .
i use plain old monroe gas magnum shocks front and rear and they have never let me down 2yrs old and done a fair bit of off road.
most of my off road is just weekends away .
new job coming so no fraser this time:-((

BJ any info on the factory lockers would be appreciated.
Thanks.

Sorry John don't have any info , mate ordered them when ordering car from Japan . He recons factory lockers the best.Regards Bob
Where to next

Thanks Russell I will look into that.
Regards
John

with ARB at least you have compressor too.
I have Lockrites and no problems but air lockers would certainly be on my wish list if in your situationso many places, so little time !!!

John,
I have diff locks front and rear in my GQ, when the going gets tough you would how you ever got by without them. I do find that I take on more challenging terrain now I have air lockers and sometimes get myself into places where I wouldn't normally look at, and as luck would have it I usually get out. When I've been on my own and got into some sticky situations getting out has been a lot easier I believe.
Interesting in sand, the good thing about air lockers I find is that there are sometimes when you don't want everything locked like when trying to turn a corner, you can unlock the diff. As mentioned elsewhere you also get the air compressor, a handy tool. Keep the shiny side up

Hi Martyn
Thanks for the comments, as I am normally traveling on my own is the main reason for setting the vehicle up as described to allow me to be largely independant and hopefully get out of any situations via my own steam.
Can you explain your comments in regards to sand ?
Many thanks.
John

Hi John.

I wrote an article a short while back relating to the disadvantages of an auto diff locker in loose sand and mud. I had a Detroit fitted to the front.

In a nut shell, in beach sand with as locked diff when you turn both wheels travel at the same speed, result, one wheel turns the other acts like a bull dozer blade pushing sand until the sand mound gets that big that it stalls the vehicle. Also, as in most circumstances, when leaving a beach, half way up the exit track there is always a left or right turn. With the diff locked up, you go straight on instead of turning.

If you ease off on the throttle so that the diff can dis-engage, the vehicle looses momentum and stops. If you stop in loose beach sand and then try to take off, instead of the wheels walking their way out, they both dig in usually resulting in getting bogged.

In mud, steerage is next to nil.

This is why I removed the auto locker from the front diff.

I now have an LSD in the front and an air locker in the rear. The ideal way to go is to have an air locker in both.

You may ask why I have the LSD in the front, reason,I managed to get a good deal fro Detroit for a change over when I told them of my problem. Too good to pass it up and I could not afford to go into an air locker at the time, which came to the rear wheels later on in time.

Regards

John,
When on the beach going in a straight line it's great when you come to turn the turning circle is huge in comparison to what it is normally is. If you have either vacuum or pressure activated lockers you can disengage the locker and this will allow you to turn normally, with both rear wheels driving and locked the front wheels act as a sand / snow plough tryin to push the sand forward, this is the main reason I didn't go for one of these constant locked diffs, like the Detroit locker, when you try to turn they will remain locked, depending on where the water is in relationship to your position the whole event can get a bit frightening.
If you don't do a lot of sand work it's not worth worrying about, if you do it's something to be aware of. The sales people usually forget to mention this or play it down. As usual this is only my opinion, others will vary. Keep the shiny side up

Hi Leigh
Thanks for the info i will ask the dealer to quote on what i want and see how they shape up will let you all know.