Some of you might remember Murray Brooks’ super-neat, cherry-red extra-cab GU Patrol we featured a few years back. It’s one of the best and most well set-up old-school Patrols in recent memory.

With a booming business designing and fabricating trays and canopies at Trig Point, and a growing family, the old GU just wasn’t going to service Murray’s future needs. 

“I was looking for a car with similar capability as the Patrol, yet more seats and space,” Murray told us. “I considered building a dual cab version of the Patrol, yet time was tight and tidy 4,8 patrols were getting harder to find. We considered a 79 dual cab, yet as a business display vehicle they are very common and can be a lot of work to set up as a comfortable tourer. I also looked at everything from ute converted 200 series to American trucks.”

Casting his engineer’s eye over all the available options, Murray eventually settled on the then-new Ineos Quartermaster.

“It is large enough for family touring, yet small enough to still fit comfortably down High Country tracks,” said Murray. “I also really admired Ineos’ goals of bringing back some of the capability and durability which has been lost from some modern 4x4s.”

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Why the Quartermaster Trialmaster was chosen

Murray chose his Quartermaster in Trialmaster specification, as it comes with much of the off-road hardware he wanted in a family 4×4.

“Live axles, factory diff locks, snorkel and coil springs all round. They (Ineos) have partnered with great manufacturers from BMW to Recaro and Magna Steyr to put together a unique vehicle,” Murray says.

He chose the diesel option of the BMW inline six-cylinder engine, which is vastly different to the 4.8-litre inline six in his old Patrol. Backed by an automatic transmission and dual-range transfer case, the driveline didn’t require any modifications for the style of off-road touring that Murray enjoys.

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Bespoke canopy

Of course, the Quartermaster was going to serve as Trig Point’s development mule for its products and, while Murray was at work designing on the computer, the ute got by with a cut-down Toyota tray on the back.

“With such a unique shape to the vehicle, we had to develop a new canopy size to suit it,” recalled Murray. “Ineos has a unique way of doing everything from tray mounts to lights.”

This made it a significant job and investment for Trig Point, especially when you consider the size of the Ineos market compared to other utes on sale. The size and shape of the vehicle also required extra attention, with a larger-than-usual design.

“We settled on a 1790 tray base, which is longer than our standard 1700 dual-cab size, and a much more upright stance to match the Ineos cabin,” Murray told us. “We went with a 1550mm tray-mounted canopy on this.”

MORE Living with the Ineos Grenadier Trialmaster: Long-term review
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Inside the canopy is a showcase of Trig Point’s clever workmanship. There’s a trig Point fold-out kitchen with wash basin, Travel Buddy oven, fold down table and extra storage space.

The Trialmaster runs a dual-battery system as standard, but Murray has added a third battery in the canopy to power the inverter and accessories. This is a 200Ah Invicta Xero lithium unit charged via a 50A Redarc DC-DC charger and feeding a Redarc 2000W inverter.

While the passenger’s side of the canopy is taken up by the Bushman fridge and kitchen setup, the driver’s side is left with more space for carrying additional gear when needed.

Underslung toolboxes house the ARB air compressor and hoses, while a trundle drawer at the rear provides additional secure storage. As you’d expect from the owner of Trig Point’s personal four-wheel drive, the canopy is a well thought-out and comprehensive setup. A pair of jerrycan holders are mounted to the rear of the canopy alongside a spare wheel and tyre, while a 50-litre water tank is mounted underneath and fed to the tap via an electric pump.

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The rest of the build

The canopy for the Ineos was second nature to Murray and the team at Trig Point, but there’s plenty more involved in creating a competent off-road family tourer.

While Ineos delivers a solid base to build on, and the standard locking differentials and dual-battery system help, there’s always more to be done. A set of 35×10.5 Kenda mud-terrain tyres were fitted to the stock Ineos steel wheels, giving the vehicle that tall-and-skinny look. Underneath, Murray opted for a set of 50mm taller Dobinsons coils and Fox Racing 2.0 shocks.

There are very limited choices for bullbars and protection equipment available for Ineos vehicles, so protecting Murray’s Quartermaster came after working with local suppliers and designing and making his own. The bull bar is a Toro bar from local manufacturer Offroad Animal but it was modified to accommodate the Warn 8274 high-mount winch. 

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“The factory winch option on the Ineos only has 10m of usable rope, which really isn’t enough,” said Murray. “With the high-mount winch I get 45m-plus of usable rope and a nice fast line speed.”

More custom fabrication was needed when looking for side steps and sliders for the vehicle, and this was done in-house at Trig Point.

“We haven’t done side steps before, so we developed these simply because we couldn’t get anything we liked. They ended up being a great combination of steel and alloy – as strong as a rock slider, yet as light as a protection step.”

Build summary

There’s more custom fabrication from Trig Point up on top of the vehicle. 

With the bullbar modified to accommodate the high-mount winch, it limited the space available for mounting driving lights, so Murray went to the roof where he designed and fabricated a housing for nine Stedi Evo Mini driving lights. Stedi Micro-Touch work lights are used down the sides, and they are all wired in using the pre-wiring included in the Ineos and the switches in the roof console.

The challenges of building a relatively new vehicle, and the limited products available for it, were partly overcome by having a world-class manufacturing team to assist with the build. Murray’s forethought and expertise have allowed him to create a vehicle that ticks all the boxes for family adventures while also showcasing the excellent work done at Trig Point.

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All accessories and modifications

  • Toro bull bar from Offroad Animal, modified to accommodate a Warn 8274 high-mount winch
  • Warn 8274 high-mount winch
  • Roof-mounted driving light housing (Trig Point custom fabrication)
  • 9× Stedi Evo Mini driving lights (roof-mounted)
  • Stedi Micro-Touch work lights (side-mounted)
  • Trig Point custom side steps (steel and alloy construction)
  • Trig Point custom tray-mounted canopy
  • 1790mm tray base (custom development)
  • 1550mm tray-mounted canopy
  • Fold-out canopy kitchen system (wash basin, Travel Buddy oven, fold-down table, extra storage)
  • Bushman fridge
  • Underslung toolboxes (including ARB air compressor and hoses)
  • Rear trundle drawer (canopy storage)
  • Rear-mounted jerry can holders
  • Rear-mounted spare wheel and tyre
  • 50-litre underslung water tank with electric pump system
  • 35×10.5 Kenda mud-terrain tyres
  • Dobinsons coil springs (+50mm lift)
  • Fox Racing 2.0 shock absorbers
  • Third auxiliary battery (200Ah Invicta Xero lithium)
  • 50A Redarc DC-DC charger
  • Redarc 2000W inverter
  • Custom electrical integration using factory pre-wiring and roof console switching system
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