Mercedes-Benz has revealed an update to its iconic G-Class range – although, as always, it’s a case of spot the difference.

The boxy shape that was born in 1979 hasn’t changed, but some of the details have, including the front bumper. But it’s underneath that the G-Wagen has had its most significant update, with revisions to the suspension to improve its below-average dynamics.

The engines, too, have been upgraded to meet stricter Euro 6 emissions standards and have revisions to their outputs – 180kW/600Nm for the G350d, with its 3.0-litre turbo diesel, and 420kW/760Nm for the G63 AMG, with its 5.5-litre twin turbo V8 petrol.

In the middle is the G500, which now comes with a 4.0-litre twin turbo V8 delivering 310kW and 610Nm. This is the same engine found in the AMG GT sports car, but it has been re-tuned to deliver less power and more torque to better suit the boxy off roader.

Despite the on-road improvements, the G’s appeal is still its immense off-road ability. Three diff locks and a proper transfer case set the scene for its impressive rough-road credentials; although, with prices for the civilian models starting at around $150,000, the only ones you’re likely to see off road are those camo versions being used by the Australian Defence Force.

I was lucky enough to meet Erik Shipp, who, with his wife Inga, designed and manufactured his first Shippshape rooftop tent in 1985.

In the late ’80s and early ’90s, I used them on a number of trips and they were respected for their quality and design. Shippshape sold thousands of tents here and overseas.

Sadly, Eric died in 2011, and while Inga is a lively soul, the company was basically wound up. Luckily for us, Mark Allen – fellow 4X4 Australia contributor and experienced remote-area traveller – has rejuvenated the brand, vowing to stay true to the original design, and keeping it Australian-made with the best of Australian product throughout.

I’ve used a few roof-toppers over the years. Apart from the early model Shippshapes, I used another roof-topper for eight weeks on the Canning Stock Route a few years ago, spent 18 months in one on my Nissan Patrol while trekking around the world, and used a number of brands of fold-in-half rooftop tents during six separate three-to-five week tag-along trips in Africa. And in Oz, I’ve used other brands for a few days, up to a few weeks.

Room with a View I like the full-length rooftop tent much more than today’s common imported fold-in-half rooftop tents. The full-length rooftop tents usually have much more comfortable mattresses, more floor space, more head and shoulder room and more room for bedding storage. Yep, they do take up more room on the roof rack, but once you have your tent and your bedding up top, what else must you fit in your vehicle, apart from clothes, food, a fridge and a stove? Not much really.

There are three models in the new Shippshape rooftop tent range, starting with The Shack, which is the basic tent with a side awning. The Bush Hut adds to The Shack with four separate walls for a fully enclosed room, while an optional floor can also be added to insect-proof the Bush Hut. The Homestead adds a large zip-on room with integrated-PVC floor to the Bush Hut for a more enclosed and covered living or sleeping area. While all the model names are the same, from the Erik Shipp days, there have been a number of minor changes to improve the design.

We had The Bush Hut, but because we were moving nearly every day, we rarely set any of the walls up and, even if we did, it was just one or two side walls; we never worried about the floor or back wall.

The tent is housed in a large box, 2100x1400mm, with an alloy frame and sides, and a waterproof plywood base. The unit can be fitted to basically any roof rack or set of roof bars with the mounting kit supplied. However, if you are using roof bars, at least three bars, equally spaced, are required for optimum support. The box and tent unit in the basic Shack configuration weighs 55kg.

The tent’s canvas section is manufactured from WCT Australia’s Billabong dyna-proofed 10.9oz canvas, which is a light-medium, weight-blended, polyester-cotton fabric. The mesh used in the flyscreens and doors is midgee-proof Fintex, while the zips are top-shelf YKK brand. The unit is guaranteed for 12 months.

The three bows, which support the tent, are of steel tubing, and the bow opening and sliding mechanism has been improved to run smoother and to stop the bows pinching the canvas when in the closed position. Unlike some rooftop tents, none of the bows create problems with small openings at corners – this makes the Shippshape insect-proof, which means it’s a godsend when in mozzie or midgee country.

The ladder is a telescopic alloy one- that is easily stored within the unit, unlike the full-length earlier version that was stored outside of the tent box. You need to be a careful with this telescopic ladder, though, because dust and sand tend to jam it when opening or closing. Use a dry lubricant on it for the best and easiest operation.

Over the top of the alloy box is a water-and-dust-proof zip-on PVC cover with six compression straps (three each side) to help prevent the cover from flapping while driving, regardless of how much (or little) is stored under the cover. The zip-style closure was the only real flaw I found with the whole unit – I much prefer the simpler elastic-type strap found on tonneau covers and the like. The zip proved to be very difficult to do up and after a couple of days of trying, I gave up and used the compression straps alone.

The queen-size mattress is made from 120mm high-density foam, making it comfy and roomy – there is an optional innerspring which, by all accounts, is lighter and more comfy, but I like the foam mattress. A couple of pillows, some sheets, a light blanket and a doona all fit easily under the cover to ensure you have a warm and comfortable night whatever the weather.

After you have undone the PVC cover and folded it forward over the windscreen of the vehicle, the basic tent opens easily. You need to climb the ladder, grab the edges of the tent and walk back down the ladder to bring the tent with you, which opens very quickly. Once the first bow is horizontal, the tent remains open on its own accord – something many other rooftop tents don’t do. It is advisable to put down a peg or two and we put the side awning out with a couple of tent poles to give us a bit more undercover area. Total time to erect the tent was just a few minutes.

The tent is well ventilated and has zippered flyscreens at each end, and a full-length flyscreen on the far side (protected by a canvas verandah held out in place with two metal stays), while the access door also has a zippered screen.

Occasionally, when the wind was blowing or the camps were cramped, we zipped on a wall or two for privacy. These were quick to fit. You’d have to be staying longer than a night or two to worry about more walls and the floor, I reckon, but that could be a personal thing. We had a couple of windy nights and some light rain during our time with this Shippshape and it kept us dry at all times.

Dropping the tent was easy, but packing it away, so the PVC cover would fit easily enough, took a little longer, while the zip, as mentioned earlier, was a darn pain.

A couple of points worth noting about any rooftop tent: First, you need to be aware of the tent and any low-hanging branches in the scrub. Secondly, you can’t have a square box on the roof rack without losing a little fuel economy. It’s a fact of life.

Shippshape – How Does it Rate? I’m bloody glad to see the brand back and even happier the product remains Aussie-made.

With the high standard of material, design and construction of this latest Shippshape, you have to expect to pay a bit more than you would for the imported cheapies, but I can’t think of a better rooftop tent available in Oz.

Our wildlife is really suffering.

In fact, if we are to believe the figures being sprouted around, Australia is on the verge of one of the worst periods of animal extinction ever.

The Action Plan for Australian Mammals, released in the middle of 2014, found that 55 of Australia’s land mammals face a serious threat of extinction.

Now, you can point your finger at a few reasons for this dire situation, but experts agree that the number one factor in this decline in the past few decades or so has been feral cats.

Charles Darwin University’s, Dr John Woinarski, co-author of the Action Plan, said, “For land mammals in particular, predation by feral cats is the principal factor that is contributing to decline”.

In a 2012 report by the Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC), it was estimated that each feral cat kills between five and 30 animals a day. A conservative estimate of the cat population, according to the AWC, is somewhere around 15 million feral cats, which means the minimum number of native animals killed by feral cats each day is about 75 million.

There’s a lot of discussion about those figures, but the lowest population figure I’ve seen still accounts for more than five million feral cats in Australia. And that makes for a lot of wildlife being chewed up each and every night.

After many reports, this feral cat fact sheet for one, the Federal Government recently announced a plan to eliminate two million feral cats in the next five years.

While there has been a couple of million dollars put aside to help that happen, the government will also be asking state and territory ministers to take moves to regulate cat ownership, cat containment, desexing and micro-chipping to reduce the number of domestic cats that go feral.

And that is one of the big issues. Feral cats are no more than your moggie-gone-wild, and when you start talking about culling cats, some people get very upset. In fact, it was reported recently that some Sydney-siders have been relocating stray cats into the wild so that they can ‘live naturally’. That is, to say the least, extremely misguided!

On the other side of the fence are those who want to get rid of all cats, like the person I saw driving a ute in Robe, South Australia, a few months ago. His window sticker, which said, ‘Save Australian Wildlife… Go home and shoot your cat’ – is probably a little bit over the top, but it illustrates how strongly some people feel.

Still, cat owners need to control their pets, and councils should take a tougher stance on the wandering felines. Out in the bush and especially in our national parks and reserves, we have to make a lot more effort to control feral cat numbers to protect our vulnerable wildlife.

Each state government is trying to come up with new ideas; Western Australia is testing a new cat poison, the Victorian Government was thinking about releasing Tassie devils back into Wilsons Promontory National Park, while in the north they are still trying to come to grips with what they’ve lost to the cat plague in the past decade or so.

It also seems as we have grown better at controlling foxes in large parts of Australia (WA in particular), the cat population has exploded (since 2000).

Private conservation groups, such as the AWC and Bush Heritage Australia, have fenced large areas, eradicated the cats inside, and released threatened species into the compounds. The results have been impressive, but the cost of such measures prohibits them from being employed on a larger scale in our national park estates.

In Peterborough a few months back, I got talking to a young hunter who has made it his mission to hunt cats. On one nearby farming property in the past 15 months or so, he has shot more than 500 felines. It’s no surprise that the bird life has since increased along the small creeks in the area. I reckon he’s a conservation warrior and his actions should be applauded. We just gotta do it across the whole nation.

And if we don’t do something soon, there won’t be much of our wonderful wildlife left to conserve – on that most researchers agree!

See more Footloose.

Not that you know from just looking at it, but the 150 Series Prado now has a new and smaller diesel engine and a six-speed automatic gearbox; the 150’s first significant mechanical change since it arrived in ’09.

This updates Prado also comes with a revised petrol V6 and some detailed equipment changes, but the overall model line-up, which includes diesel in four spec levels and petrol in three spec levels, is unchanged. Despite the new engine and gearbox, the tow rating also remains unchanged at 2500kg, a significant 1000kg less than Prado’s nearest competitors: Jeep’s Grand Cherokee and the Land Rover Discovery.

The diesel engine in question – an all-new 2.8-litre four-cylinder that will also power the soon-to-arrive eighth-generation Hilux and its offshoot, the Fortuner wagon – is important for Toyota well beyond its significance in the new Prado. The move to an engine that is 227cc smaller than the outgoing 3.0-litre reflects a global shift towards smaller diesel engines in this general class of vehicle, 4×4 utes included. Indeed, Toyota even calls this new engine the GD, for ‘Global Diesel’.

Despite the capacity drop, there’s a significant 40Nm increase in maximum torque, which is now 450Nm (available from 1600rpm) when mated to the also-new six-speed automatic gearbox. There’s also a marginal 3kW increase.

When mated to the carried-over six-speed manual, the maximum torque is only up 10Nm to 220Nm, but arrives 200rpm earlier at 1400rpm.

As well as being smaller, this new engine runs a significantly lower and ‘softer’ compression ratio than the 3.0-litre. It’s now 15.6:1, down from the 17.9:1, a change that makes for quieter and smoother running.

That a smaller engine with a lower compression ratio can produce significantly higher torque at the same or lower engine speeds is testament to its latest generation high-pressure (2500bar) common-rail fuel injection system and more sophisticated variable-nozzle turbocharger.

The 2.8 is also even more undersquare than the 3.0-litre it replaces as it has a fractionally longer stroke, despite the overall decrease in capacity.

Other significant changes from the 3.0-litre include the adoption of a chain rather than belt to drive the overhead cams, roller rockers for valve actuation, and the use of one, not two rotating counter-balance shafts to quell the vibration that’s inherent with any in-line four-cylinder.

While this engine’s extra torque is most welcome, the fact that the engine is quieter and smoother running is the biggest leap forward from the 3.0-litre. It simply just doesn’t sound or feel as diesel-like, with no diesel ‘rattle’ and much-subdued diesel ‘knock’. You can still tell the 2.8 is an oiler, but it’s certainly a lot quieter and smoother at all engine speeds and under varying loads and throttle applications, and makes for a better all-round driving experience.

While the low-rpm engine’s response has been improved, the outright maximum performance is only marginally better than the modest get-up-and-go of the outgoing 3.0-litre diesel engine.

For its part, Prado’s new six-speed automatic gearbox is also more to do with refinement than extra performance.

Effectively, the six-speed just adds an extra, very tall overdrive ratio, so it has two overdrives rather than one. In fact, fifth gear in the new six-speed is even marginally taller than fifth in the old five-speed, while sixth is a significant 19 per cent taller than the five-speed’s fifth.

Both ’boxes have an identical 1:1 direct-drive fourth and similar lower gears with the first three in the six-speed being all fractionally shorter than the equivalent gear in the five-speed.

Toyota claims to have put much work into the shift protocols controlling the change from fifth to sixth and back again, an issue early on with the 200’s six-speed gearbox, which also has two overdrive gears.

On the road the six-speed is slicker and quicker shifting than the five-speed, but it’s still no ZF eight-speed in terms of overall shift quality.

In general give and take on country roads, it often won’t pick up the extra-tall sixth gear, but at least it doesn’t fuss around excessively between the two overdrive gears. Economy benefits over the old powertrain are marginal with the official ADR ‘combined-cycle’ figure dropping from 8.5 to 8.0L/100km, a change that’s reflected in our on-test average of 9.6L/100km for mainly country driving. Under similar conditions we would expect the 3.0-litre would use around 10.0L/100km.

With first gear, in the six-speed, only being two per cent lower than first in the five-speed, the off-road ‘crawl’ ratio isn’t significantly better, but the low-range shift quality is certainly improved. Where the five-speed was often quite abrupt and lurchy with its low-range shifts, the six-speed is much smoother. The extra torque that the engine has at lower rpm also means the manual works very nicely for low-speed off-road work.

Otherwise the Prado is much the same off-road as its predecessor, which means its very capable straight off the showroom floor. For that you can largely thank the soft and supple long-travel suspension.

The compliant suspension also means a comfortable and quiet ride on all road surfaces and, as ever, the Prado is an effortless mile-eater and a great back-roads tourer, even if the handling isn’t as sharp as it could be. Those after a sharper-handling Prado will need to fork out more for one of the more expensive models with KDSS (See ‘Suspension Twist’ sidebar on page 32).

The Prado is largely unchanged inside, although the volume-selling GXL model gains satellite navigation as standard while the top-spec Kakadu gains rear cross-traffic alert, a particularly handy feature in country towns with nose-to-kerb angle parking.

As ever, the cabin is comfortable and roomy; although, the 150’s third-row seats, which are located under the floor, do eat into the functionality of the luggage space. The 120 Series had a better arrangement; its third-row seats folded up against the rear windows.

All Prado’s have a five-star ANCAP safety rating, despite the fact that the Kakadu has far more safety equipment than the lower-spec models, something that’s not reflected in the flawed ANCAP system.

Sum up

The Prado’s new 2.8-litre diesel/six-speed auto powertrain is a worthwhile and welcome advance over the outgoing 3.0-litre/five-speed, but it is still no Discovery or Grand Cherokee V6/eight-speed in terms of performance or refinement … not that it really needs to be, as the current sales figures show. While the Grand Cherokee did outsell Prado last year, it hasn’t so far in 2015, and Discovery sales have always been a distant third in this contest.

Likewise the Prado’s 2500kg tow rating hasn’t been a sales problem in the past, so there’s no reason why it will be a problem in the future. That said; there’s nothing stopping Toyota re-specifying the Prado to tow more. After all, the same powertrain in the up-coming Hilux is rated to tow 3500kg… As ever, the GXL is the pick of the range even if it doesn’t have KDSS, and the $12K hike to the KDSS-equipped VX seems a big ask.

Toyota will address longstanding safety concerns when it vies for a five-star ANCAP safety rating for its single-cab Land Cruiser 70 Series late next year.

Thought to be facing an uncertain future, the 70 Series should soldier on beyond 2016, with uprated safety and the inclusion of stability control across the range.

The upgrades are expected to mainly benefit fleet buyers from mining and other commercial sectors, with much-needed airbags added only to the single-cab variant while the dual-cab version, more popular with families, misses out.

The sales-leading single-cab variant will now have five airbags – two front-seat side airbags, two curtain-shield airbags, and a driver’s knee airbag.

The driver and front-seat passenger airbags are pre-existing; the two curtain-shield airbags and a driver’s knee airbag are new additions.

This will help address the single-cab’s current score of just 6.8 out of 16 in ANCAP’s frontal offset collisions test and will also help drive up the variant’s overall three-star ANCAP rating to a five-star rating.

Toyota Product Public Relations Manager Stephen Coughlan says Toyota has to prioritise engineering resources and the single-cab is the only variant they can confirm the airbag upgrade for at this time.

“The upgrade is certainly something that our larger fleet customers and business buyers will welcome, but I think there is also strong merit there for private consumers as well,” Coughlan says.

“Toyota has invested significantly and it is appropriately timed at the 30th anniversary to confirm the longevity of the model and to put to bed the rumours that have drifted around over the last couple of years regarding the future of the 70 Series.”

Despite Toyota indicating that airbags could not be incorporated into the 70 Series when it was upgraded in 2007, two driver and front-passenger airbags were made standard across the range in 2009 after pressure from the mining sector to improve safety.

In 2012 anti-skid brakes were also added across the range.

All variants, including single-cab, double-cab and Troop Carrier models, will now have vehicle stability control, brake assist and cruise control.

Toyota could not confirm if the 70 Series engine would be upgraded to meet tougher emission standards due in late 2016.

See 30 years of the Land Cruiser 70 Series.

ANCAP image: Toyota Land Cruiser Cab Chassis (2007-onward) frontal offset test at 64km/h.

Landcruiser 70

Everest, Fortuner, Challenger and Prado might be the new or revised 4×4 wagons getting all the headlines.

But a new vehicle to Australia, Haval, is about to hit our showrooms as well, with a seven-seat, body-on-frame 4×4.

Announcing bold plans to become Australia’s top-selling SUV brand, Haval was due to go on sale in June but has delayed its plans until later in the year while it sures-up its dealer network.

Haval will launch a three-model range including the H9 which it sees as a Prado competitor.

The H9 is built on Haval’s only ladder-chassis platform and comes with a proper dual-range four-wheel drive system and seven seats.

It will be powered by a modest 160kW 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine, but the brand hopes to offer a 3.0-litre turbocharged six-cylinder and a 2.0-litre turbodiesel in Australia down the track.

We expect the H9 to be heavily loaded with features and to be priced around the $50,000 mark when it rolls into showrooms.

Four-wheel driving – it might not be a cure for depression, but it can help, as Mackay local Darren Cook proved on the weekend.

The 48-year-old trained mechanic just got back from a 500km-plus, two-day, 32-car four-wheel drive journey to the pub and back to raise awareness and funds for depression.

He’s a bit weary and worn-out now, but he says he was able to raise about $1700 for Lifeline Australia in just one night, while the awareness raised for depression will be invaluable.

“It was fantastic,” he says. “So much positive has come out of it.”

The Tracks4Life event saw Cook and 68 other adventurers travel on public roads and forestry tracks from Mackay Harbour to Eungella Dam and Mt Barker to set up camp at the Bowen River Hotel on Saturday night.

Cook, who has battled depression and suicidal ideation, now hopes to organise a national drive to Uluru for charity.

“My ultimate goal, what I really want to see, is 1000 four-wheel drives parked at Uluru.”

“I’d love to see a national drive for suicide prevention.”

Cook drove a standard Isuzu D-Max with only a small increase in ride height and a set of all-terrain tyres. He says the drive was fun but not overly challenging and he encourages anyone interested to get involved in future drives.

Sponsors for the drive included AAA Exhaust and Fabrication, Redarc, Hema Maps, Chemtech, TJM Australia, RCS Telecommunications, Ontrak Diesel Repairs, and Comfort Soft Suspension.

For info on upcoming drives visit: www.terra4offroad.com

If you need mental health support, phone Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Headspace on 1800 650.

Know a four-wheel drive club or group that has given back to the community? Email us at [email protected]

Since the demise of Nissan’s venerable 4.2-litre six-cylinder turbo-diesel engine, GU Patrol buyers have had to opt for four-cylinder power in the form of the ageing ZD30 3.0-litre turbo-diesel.

But, weighing more than 2300kg, the GU Patrol is no lightweight and, for most, the ZD30 simply doesn’t cut it. So, other than looking elsewhere, what’s the solution for GU Patrol fans?

How about an AM General 6.5-litre Optimizer V8 diesel engine? Yeah, the one that’s used in the US Military’s HMMWVs and Hummer H1s.

That’s what the owner of this impressive GU Patrol, Adon Nguyen, squeezed under the bonnet of his rig.

With his business partner, Long Hyung, Adon owns Queensland-based company Pacific Installs, which specialises in heavily modified vehicles, from Toyota Hiluxes, Ford Rangers and Jeeps to boats, cars, commercial rigs and mining trucks.

In the past, Adon has had a penchant for luxury cars and has owned a string of Beemers and Lexuses, so when the lads at Pacific Installs got him hooked on four-wheel driving he wanted something a bit special.

Sanh Tran, who looks after Pacific Installs sales and marketing, explains: “Adon wanted an overall capable vehicle. He looked around for a while, but couldn’t find anything that fit the bill, so he had a vehicle built from scratch.”

Pacific Installs enlisted the expertise of Western Australian company Brunswick Diesels to source and build the Patrol. Originally a red, 3.0-litre Patrol ST-L, Brunswick Diesels removed the engine, stripped the car back to bare metal and painted it in their paint shop.

Experts of all things diesel, Brunswick Diesels is a specialist in Optimizer 6500 V8 diesel conversions.

Greg Jones, Brunswick Diesels owner, explains: “We import about 600 engines a year, and we do about 300 Patrols a year. We bring the transmissions in separately. The engine and transmission is the same as the US Military Hummer has. We buy them brand-new from the factory.”

In standard US Military spec, the Optimizer 6500 V8 makes a somewhat conservative 153kW at 3200rpm and 597Nm at 1800rpm, and engine speed is governed to 3200rpm. Brunswick Diesels ensures that the engine makes a hell of a lot more grunt in a Patrol application.

“The power that they get out of them, they’re not getting anywhere near the ability of the engine’s power,” Greg says. “We use a different turbo which produces a lot more torque, and we put a higher output injector pump on it which is basically a 250hp (186kW) pump, and we get maximum performance…”

“The fuel pump is recalibrated by a pump shop not far from us which is set for Australian fuel standards, which are nowhere as good (as the US), and he changes the governor spring to a 4000rpm pack, and changes the fuel setting from 63cc to 78cc.

“We buy our turbos from MTQ (Engine Systems), which are a Garrett turbo, a GT35, and it has a 0.63 exhaust housing. That gets them a lot more boost. A standard engine in the States is boosting about 8lb max. We’ve got them at 16 to 18lb.”

“In relation to power, output is 190kW and 800Nm of torque at 1800rpm,” Greg claims.

So how does it go? “It puts a really big smile on your face,” Pacific Installs’ sales and marketing boss, Sanh Tran, laughs. “That V8, on song, it just sounds absolutely ridiculous. It’s torquey; it’s everything that you’d want in a V8 truck.”

Sanh reckons it isn’t too bad on fuel, either, and that the touring range from this Patrol’s 165-litre diesel capacity is more than adequate for Adon’s needs, which includes camping trips from Pacific Install’s Underwood base to the tracks around the Glasshouse Mountains, as well as weekends on Fraser Island. With a trip to Cape York planned for next year, however, those two jerry cans on the Uneek 4×4 rear bar might see some action, too.

As you’d expect, off-road performance is impressive. “It’s just so easy,” Sanh says. “We’ve taken it on a couple of trips out on the beach; it’s just effortless on the beach, up through dirt and mud; yeah, it just takes everything in its stride. There’s nothing that we’ve put in front of it that it hasn’t been able to go over. It’s still under construction.”

Aiding the ease of off-road driving, the stump-pulling Optimizer 6500 V8 is mated to a four-speed GM auto gearbox with a lock-up torque converter, and the 4.8:1 diffs are equipped with Eaton ELockers, which are electronic, selectable differentials that provide maximum traction on demand.

Ensuring all that grunt does its job properly on slippery terrain are 35-inch Nitto Grapplers fitted to 16 x 8 Sunraysia rims.

The suspension has also been heavily modified with a 2.5-inch lift, aftermarket springs and top-shelf Fox 4.0 remote canister shock absorbers. In addition there are adjustable Panhard rods front and rear as well as a Fox steering damper. “It’s only around a two-inch lift at the moment but it will soon get a four-inch lift,” Sanh says.

The new paint colour on the Patrol is a subtle but attractive Nissan 350Z metallic brown. The ARB Deluxe bull bar and sidesteps have been painted to match, as has the rear bar.

The ARB bull bar houses a Runva 12,000lb electric winch running Dyneema synthetic rope and operated by a wireless remote. The bar also acts as the mounting point for a Baja Designs 22-inch LED light bar. Complementing the lighting output are HID globes in the standard headlights and a 50-inch Baja Designs LED light bar on the roof.

Down the blunt end, the Patrol’s Uneek 4X4 rear bar features a wheel carrier, dual jerry can holders and a work light, while all of the lighting in the rear bar is LED.

The cargo area of the Patrol is equipped with a drawer system that incorporates a cargo barrier and divider, as well as a fridge slide. Adon usually carries recovery gear in the drawers, along with air tools that are powered by the engine-driven Endless Air compressor set-up.

To carry extra gear that won’t fit in the drawer system, Adon has fitted a set of Rhino-Rack roof bars and an aerodynamically designed Thule roofbox that can be opened on either side for easy access to items.

Capping off the exterior package, and ensuring that big V8 diesel gets nothing but clean, dry air, is a Safari snorkel, which will be put to good use when the Patrol tackles Cape York next year.

A dual-battery system with a Redarc BCDC in-vehicle charging system ensures there’s always plenty of power for lighting and accessories, and there are both 12V and 240V outlets fitted in the cargo area of the Patrol.

Up the front of the cabin Adon can keep an eye on how the vehicle is performing thanks to three A-pillar-mounted gauges that include oil pressure, boost pressure and EGT (Exhaust Gas Temperature) gauges. In the sunglasses holder on the roof is a custom LED switch panel.

“The LED switch panel controls all the lighting, all the electrics, the light bars, the lockers,” Sanh says.

Looking after vehicle-to-vehicle communications is a dual UHF transceiver set-up, and a roof-mounted UHF speaker is fitted “to hear the radio over the sound of the V8”, Sanh laughs.

GME stubby antennae look after transmission and reception.

So he always knows where he is, Adon has fitted a Mongoose satnav system and, so he always knows where the Patrol is, when he’s not driving it, there’s a TrackPro security system.

“That’s a live tracking system that’s controlled by an app on your phone,” Sanh explains, “so if someone was to steal it without the keys in it, it would alert you by phone and you can shut it down live via the app. It’s a 24-hour live security tracking system.”

In this Patrol, Adon has shown if you can’t find the perfect vehicle to suit your needs, with a little research, the right budget and the right contacts, you can go out there and build it yourself. And if you’re going to do that, you might as well fit it with a stonking V8 turbo-diesel engine.

You would have to be living under a rock if you haven’t heard that the last Land Rover Defender will be produced in 2015.

Now I know some of you will be thinking, ‘that’s no bloody great loss’, and in moments of sarcasm I’d probably agree. Still, it’s going to be a sad day when the current Defender goes. Here’s a vehicle that, with all its faults and foibles, traces its heritage back to the very first Landy ever built. And while it has progressed and improved since those early days, there is no mistaking its heritage.

As a young tradie in the Australian Army I learnt my electrical-fault-finding prowess on a Series 1 (pretty rare even back in 1965) and the more common Series 2A. The second 4×4 I ever owned was a Series 3 Landy, and it’s no exaggeration to say I had a love-hate relationship with it.

Still, it did take me around the west coast and through the Kimberley in the mid-70s, before its head cracked in Darwin. And after shelling out a veritable packet for parts, freight and repairs, we limped home to Victoria.

Losing the Defender is one thing, but it will be even sadder if the current pictures (artist’s impressions) of its replacement currently doing the rounds are accurate. Land Rover is being tight-lipped about what will be in store, for no other reason than the proposed replacement won’t be available until 2018.

Even so, there have been concept vehicles shown at the great auto shows around the world, and Land Rover spokespeople have uttered outstanding marketing hype such as: “The new Defender will be the most capable ever built”, or words to that effect.

A recent post to my Remote Australia Facebook page on the replacement Landy drew plenty of scorn from followers, even from Land Rover diehards… maybe the bitter comments even came from them.

Back in March the publication, Automobile (www.automobilemag.com), came out with what I reckon was the most hopeful prediction for the future. It stated that there will be five body styles, including SWB and LWB pick-ups and possibly a choice of up to five engines. More importantly, a live axle suspension system will be a feature of some versions. Still, it’s only a guess on their part.

Among the innuendo floating around, another rumour I heard was that the Defender will continue to be produced by Tata, the owners of Jaguar/Land Rover. This is surprisingly feasible since Tata, based in India, is not only a major builder of vehicles, but its market would also lend itself to the utilitarian Defender.

Mind you, with the current Defender ending its days because of the EU’s continual improvement in emission and crash standards, you’d have to think its life as a Tata Defender in Australia would be very short-lived given our preponderance for following the EU in vehicle standards.

So where does that leave us? Well the 70 Series Cruisers and Jeep Wranglers are looking better all the time. I know I won’t be buying any vehicle that looks like an over-grown Mini, as some people have declared the envisaged Defender.

If you love Defenders and want a true off-roader, I’d be putting my name down for the small number of Limited Edition Defenders – the last of the present line and shape – which will come to Australia later in 2015.

So you’ve forked out a wad of cash for Toyota’s hairy-chested 70 Series Land Cruiser.

Proud as punch, you sink the go-pedal to get a bit of noise from the V8 as you rumble away from the salesman. All good so far.

The 70 Series is no doubt one of the few remaining tough-as-nails, fair-dinkum 4x4s left to choose from. So you’re riding high in this Jurassic-era-inspired bucket of bolts with its coil-spring and live-axle front end, manly long-throw gearbox, low-range stick on the floor (where it should be), and a long leaf-spring rear end, complete with a narrow wheel track.

Then your bubble bursts. Everything was just too good to be true. You discover that the front-wheel track is 1515mm while rear-wheel track is 1420mm. What the? That’s a 95mm difference! Then, to rub a shovel full of salt into your wounds, the first time you load your manly Cruiser up, she sags and drags like a pound dog with worms. Oh, the humility of owning a 4×4 that handles terribly on road, fair-to-crap off road (depending on terrain), and can’t handle the weight that your mate’s wheelbarrow takes in its stride.

With the rear wheels following a completely different line to that of the front wheels, Toyota has half-buggered what should be a champion 4×4. Sand driving is twice as hard; ruts, rocks and pretty much all uneven surfaces are harder to drive because of the narrow rear end.

Toyota widened the front track (up from 1435mm in the previous six-cylinder model’s front end) to squeeze a 90-degree V8 diesel under the bonnet. But why didn’t they throw a few extra inches into the rear end while they were at it? It was cheaper not to.. Leaf springs carry heavy loads, right? Unfortunately, the OE leaf springs on the 70 Series need to be replaced with aftermarket units to really tackle the job they were intended for – which is great for the aftermarket mob.

Enter Jmacx Off Road Solutions. Its hands-on owner, Jason McIntosh, is a mechanical engineer, an ex-V8-Supercar builder and a general problem-solving extraordinaire. After seeing his bolt-in, five-link rear-coil suspension kit, complete with replacement diff and axle housing, I was ready to sign on the dotted line within minutes of meeting him and I don’t even own a 70 Series Cruiser!

This kit is worth a look for all 70 Series Cruiser owners who want to correct the Cruiser’s aforementioned shortcomings. It’s impressively designed, and it’s made with the highest-grade materials. It has also been engineer-approved via swerve testing and red-tape ticks.

Yep, the Jmacx kit rectifies the narrow rear-wheel track to match the front track of 1515mm. Plus, it allows drivers to stick to factory or aftermarket leaf springs or to opt for better riding coil springs.

That’s right, you can have a workhorse Cruiser with rear coil springs, complete with a five-link suspension set up – that’s upper and lower control arms and panhard rod; all heavy duty and adjustable. Included in the kit are external chassis-strengthening plates, control-arm mounts, coil retainers, bump stops, pin kit, brake lines and fixing hardware

Now, don’t think for a second that coil springs are a soft option for those who need to carry a load. No, sir, this kit allows a GVM upgrade to 3900kg. Coils can carry any weight – you just need to specify the correct spring rates to deal with the load. Also, with coils it’s easier to ‘build-in’ variable spring rates for a softer ride when the vehicle is empty and a stiffer rate when it carts cement bags, camping gear or heavy caravans. Air bags within the coils, or even a full air-bag replacement kit, are also available.

Another advantage of this kit is that it reduces unsprung weight. A typical pair of Cruiser rear-leaf springs can weigh up to 130kg, compared to a pair of coils, which are about 14kg.

This reduction dramatically improves shock absorber workings, which leads to less shock fade and improved handling on all driving surfaces – the faster and rougher the track is, the more improvement you’ll see. The bolt-in brackets and associated components weigh about 50kg, but it’s not unsprung weight and it’s still lighter than the factory gear you just binned. So, you’ve effectively gained a little payload.

If you have ARB Air Lockers, TJM Pro Lockers, Eaton Lockers or Toyota factory lockers, they can all be slotted into the new diff housing. On Jason’s rig he has custom-fabricated a 6mm, 350-tensile steel housing with DOM six-inch braced axle tubes, and matching front and back wheel track.

The diff pumpkin is a laser-cut, pressed and welded, 350-tensile steel unit, and the new axles are 43/40 billet chrome-moly, heat-treated, long-splined full-floating items, claimed to be 200 per cent stronger than the originals. All standard ancillaries (wheel bearings, diff centres and brake lines) are simply removed from the OE housing and re-placed to the Jmacx unit.

The only item that will need re-routing is the exhaust system to clear the new suspension components. This is also a good time to upgrade to a custom Jmacx three-inch system. Jason’s kit includes either a mild-steel or stainless-steel mandrel-bent, three-inch system from the turbo back, as well as a high-flow cat and muffler.

Regarding the heavy-duty upper and lower adjustable control arms and adjustable panhard rod: they are all factory 80 Series Land Cruiser specifications, so too are the coil spring and shock absorbers (pin uppers and eye lowers). Regardless of whether you walk into a Toyota or Airbag Man aftermarket suspension supplier, all you need to ask for is 80 Series gear.

While on the point of coils and shocks – these are the only components that are not supplied standard in the kit. Jason reckons that, because there are literally hundreds of options to choose from, each customer deserves the right to get exactly what they want. Maybe you want brand A coils or brand B shocks to return a silky-smooth high-speed ride on those relentless outback corrugations. Or maybe you want heavy-duty load-hauling ability to cart your game-fishing boat on the weekend. The choice is yours.

NOT ALL ABOUT FLEX Coils can flex more than leaf springs, but don’t think that coils or this kit are made only for weekend rock-hopping warriors. Nope, this rear-end coil-suspension kit works better on all road surfaces at all speeds. The ride will be more comfortable, safer and the handling will be more predictable on high-speed corrugations, rutted dirt tracks, sand and even long stretches of bitumen.

Of course, your coil-spring rate and shock-absorber combination will largely determine ride quality and weight-carrying ability. Given the availability of a progressively rated coil spring, it is easy to have the best of both worlds, regarding comfort and weight carrying.

For off-road driving, another advantage of the rear-coil spring set-up is that ground clearance is improved. Generally, the lower-weight bearing leaves in the pack and the U-bolts are the lowest point under the vehicle. These can hook up while climbing over objects, but, with the coil replacement, these low points are non-existent and the new lowest parts are the lower control-arm ends.

RRP prices of the kits are: $5000 for the replacement differential and axle housing; $10,500 for the complete diff/axle housing and five-link bolt-in coil kit; and $980 for the three-inch (mild steel) $1200 (stainless-steel) exhaust kit. Prices include shipping and insurance within Australia. See www.jmacx.com.au