New 4x4 Gear: ARB Prado bullbar, Hema map update, and Ranger battery tray

A neat new bullbar for the facelifted Toyota Prado, and map updates for the Hema HX-1 Navigator highlights this month's rundown of new 4x4 gear.

ARB Summit Bullbar for the Toyota Prado

As soon as Toyota’s facelifted Prado hit the market, ARB had a revised Summit bar available. Due to the revised model’s new front end, the Summit bar had to be totally redesigned by ARB’s engineers to ensure it met the company’s exacting standards and, of course, all ADR and crash safety standards for the vehicle.

The revised bar includes all the usual goodies – ARB’s multi-fold upswept, tapered wing design, tough steel construction, airbag compatibility, split pan design for optimum airflow and strength, etc. – and has provision for mounting of two aerials, OE parking sensors and fog lights, and it also includes twin Hi-Lift jack points. You can fit a heavy-duty winch to the bar, and there is provision for fitment of ARB’s Intensity LED lights or IPF lights. The bar comes in powdercoated black, but can be colour-coded.

RRP: $2298 (Aust. east coast metro)
Website: www.arb.com.au

Hema HX-1 Update

Hema’s popular HX-1 Navigator has received new map content and a new Explorer Map update that offers a raft of improvements to the user interface for off-road use. The latest version includes updated road network mapping, thanks to 22,000km of track data collected from the past year’s Hema Map Patrol expeditions. Also included are park boundary changes, Indigenous Protected and Native Title areas, and new hydrographic and topo data.

On-screen visibility of 4x4 tracks has been improved, current vehicle speed can now be displayed, and there’s a temperature warning to ensure your HX-1 doesn’t overheat. Add in a storage monitor and larger location tracker and waypoint buttons, and you’ve got a significant update.

Website: www.hemamaps.com.au

Australians on the Western Front 1918: Vol 1

David Cameron regales readers with the story of Australian troops on the Western Front during The Great War (WWI). Cameron uses info gleaned from soldiers’ letters and diaries to reveal how these brave men halted – and then pushed back – the German army’s advance during March and April, 1918. Towns forever linked with the Aussie troops – Dernancourt, Villers-Bretonneux and Hazebrouck – saw fierce action as the Diggers threw back the Germans and saved the Channel Ports, which eventually led to the collapse of the offensive.

Cameron further expands the story of the Australian troops’ involvement here, detailing their use as ‘shock troops’, while explaining how these actions affected (at a later date) the broader strategic aim of the Allied troops. Volume 2 (still to be published) continues this story, detailing the huge British offensive of August 1918 and the key role played by Australian soldiers.

RRP: $35
Website: www.penguin.com.au

Ironman 4x4 Battery Tray for the Ford Ranger PX/PXII

With new 4x4 engine bays becoming increasingly crowded with components, it’s not always easy to fit accessories under the bonnet. A second battery is a prime example of a touring accessory that takes up a fair bit of engine-bay real estate. Ironman 4x4 has a solution for owners of Ranger PX and PXII vehicles in regards to fitment of this second power source.

The Ironman 4x4 battery tray is designed to fit under the driver’s side rear passenger seat, inside the cabin. The battery tray is built tough from 2mm powder-coated (black) steel and suits a Fullriver DC40-12 sealed battery. Battery trays are essential for any dual-battery set-up, and this unit’s robust mount arrangement offers assurance that the second battery will stay put and protected.

RRP: $140
Website: www.ironman4x4.com

Clearview Cable Saver

A fridge-freezer is a must-have 4x4 accessory and, fitted to a slide tray, brings easy access and the full convenience of a home kitchen to your vehicle. Well, that is until you slide the fridge out and run the fridge-slide bearing runner over your fridge power cable, jamming it, and risking damage to your cable – or you could sever it completely. Thankfully, the clever folks at Clearview have a solution: the Clearview Cable Saver eliminates any chance of your cable(s) being damaged by the bearing runner, by keeping said cable up and away from the runner.

The Cable Saver simply screws into the rear of your fridge slide’s base and then the power cable is looped over/through it. The cable saver measures 560mm at full height and its ‘tail’ (upper section) can be trimmed to allow for your particular height requirements.

RRP: $50
Website: www.clearviewmirrors.com.au