The Cattle Truck

[helicoptercow]

bahahaha... you all got in trouble

^^that could be taken the wrong way too

Anyway, moving along. I'll update my build when i get around to taking some photos of the work and as brendan described, sort out my 'rant' from the weekends events.

in the mean time... i have to sort out why my two front tyres keep deflating hopefully just the valves are stuffed, not in the market for new tyres atm

[ag9111]

Soapy water Cow is your best friend

[ultimate]

in the mean time... i have to sort out why my two front tyres keep deflating hopefully just the valves are stuffed, not in the market for new tyres atm

After seeing the photos of the mud pits. I'm putting $10 on it being Mud in the beads allowing a slow leak.

[helicoptercow]

in the mean time... i have to sort out why my two front tyres keep deflating hopefully just the valves are stuffed, not in the market for new tyres atm

After seeing the photos of the mud pits. I'm putting $10 on it being Mud in the beads allowing a slow leak.

i was testing for air leaks at this point



But your probably right, my guess is that there is either mud in the bead or i've torn the glue at the base of the valve stem... went for a walk at lunch time down to the local tyre shop and asked his opinion and his money ($16 a tyre ) is on the stem glue. Reckons its the common cause of slow leaks in 4wd that air down when offroad. Be happy if i get away with a $30 solution

[helicoptercow]

So there have been a few changes in the last month, and a number of stories to go with it But in all, i'm pleased by the outcome

After pressuring the mrs's over christmas and 3 sizable trips penciled in before July, i had the required ammo to spend my yearly slush fund allowance in the space of 3 weeks...

This was to be the last time the old girl was to look half standard.


First up was the bullbar. And with that came some seat spacers for the coils and some braided lines for Ultimate Suspension. Having seen them 12 months ago for the suspension kit and DBA rotors, I was surprised how much of a difference the braided lines made. I can't say the rotor upgrade made a massive difference in daily driving, but the absence of nose dive and now the instant pressure on the brake pedal from the lines means the triton pulls up at lights like a lancer

braided lines


So after Ultimate i drove round the Engadine where i was meant to be collecting a canopy. I sat there for 3hrs waiting for some knob to answer his phone, trying to call every 20min. With a bullbar in the trailer, the rain tumbling down, and Al Coholic waiting for me to arrive to help install the bullbar. In the end, i did a bit of internet stalking and found another number to contact the bloke (his voicemail gave away his business) which turned out to be his home number and his wife informed me he sold it the night before to 'a more committed buyer'... to say i was pi$$ed off is an understatement. What burnt the most was the guy calling me the day before confirming that i was still coming to collect it because he had another guy (the buyer) interested in picking it up that night if i wasn't.

Anyway, after moving on from there, i trundled up the mountain to Al's place, arriving about 6pm it took us bout 6 casual hours to install the ARB Deluxe bar. The install was fairly straight forward from my perspective... i let him do all the hard work Cutting the bumper was where we probably lost a bit of time in between chatting, the dreaded '20mm from where?' came up again. In the end, we took ground height measurments from the sides to use for the centre of the bumper which worked out great. The 2 long holes that had to be drilled were a pain in the ar$e, Al started with one drill bit and barely scratched the surface, so resorted to a cement bit that meant a slow process, but eventually we had the 2 holes. Other then that, wasn't to bad, and the rewarding feeling at the end was worth it Sorry about the late night though And Har05l was the lucky recipient of the doner nudge bar... no surprise there

after the bullbar install - no pics of the install itself, it was a shitty day thanks to some knob and i'd had enough when i got to Al's




The weekend after, i had found another canopy, this time in Scone. So i trundled off to pick it up and visit the inlaws, happy days got there and was met by some 16 yr old druggo looking kid. The 'like new' canopy i could have sworn had been stolen off the back of a truck, the clamps were missing, one of the side windows was broken, the marks were endless. but what sucked the most was after asking the specific question, 'is it for an ML or MN' to which he assured it was an ML, it turned out the be an MN So i high tailed it out of there before the kid had a chance to call his boss.

Third time lucky, i found one, locally, this time i was going to be the prick. I called the guy straight away and said, i have $XXXX and i'll be there this afternoon to take it! Wasn't the right colour but thats ok, i had already had a quote to respray and it was still an acceptable price. So i went off, picked it up, and was told the keys would be dropped off (father was selling it for his son, and he understood his son had the keys). Got a phone call later, 'sorry, i don't have the keys, i never got them when i bought the car' After visiting a lock smith, who couldn't match the key, they called mitsubishi who said you had to buy the entire assembly, $189...

But nonetheless, i had a canopy, that was the starting point... It's a genuine factory canopy, but so far so good, and with all this rain, its only leaked a little bit where the rubber is missing, so that shouldn't be a problem







Now that i had the canopy, was time for a fridge and some power to the tub. I decided on the Ctek D250S and an SSB AGM battery. I ran the cable through behind the fuel cap as a lot of others have also done, it provided a nice neat entry, but must say it was a PITA to do by yourself. Unsure where exactly to put the battery box perminently, i put an anderson plug in line and then stuck the charger and fuse block to the battery box until i decide how best to use the space.

battery box - need a better photo


From the battery, i then added a small junction box... to small really... and squished in 2 light switches and a merrit plug. The switches operate the two LED light strips i've attached to the canopy door. Strategically placed, when i use to have then on the hard lid the mrs didn't like it cause it was 'in her eye's' when she was cooking on the tailgate. I also but in a ciggy plug, i have to say the ciggy plug has a firmer and better connection then the merrit, so probably going to end up using it for the fridge while travelling

light switches and plugs - still need to tidy up the wires


LED lights - these are brilliant! I have 2m more i can string up anywhere on a 3m lead.


For the fridge, i decided on the Evakool fridgeMate. I wasn't a big fan of the compressor hanging off the side, so this new 60L model has it looking like every other fridge on the market. Its a little more bulky, but i knew that from the start. I also opted to upgrade the manual dial to the digital display I didn't realise at the time that this meant i lost the economy switch, not sure how much this will affect battery lift because i can't compare it to anything



To tidy up under the bonnet, i installed a couple of HD bus bars to connect everything up.



and to make things more comfy on the trips, some of Did3.2's seat spacers... what a difference




Unfortunately that is it for this year unless i can sneak a few little thing in under the wifes radar

[borngeek]

All looks excellent well done Helicow!

What a mission re the canopy.

[Kegsy]

Nice job. Ready for the next trip ay. Plenty of cold beers whilst we get stuck ha ha

[daryn]

Love the straw hat dave...

Looking really good, you have done well

[helicoptercow]

Love the straw hat dave...

adds character

[JamoGLXR]

looking good Cow

[al coholic]

Geez that is a good looking bullbar Dave Probably the most professional and neatest install i have seen on this site I actually really enjoyed the install

I cant believe HOW MUCH incidental crap you have to bolt on to an ARB bar That is actually what took the time with the install (not that we were in a hurry initially........given that you rolled out of the shed at 5 min past midnight we should of probably moved a bit quicker)
I hope to never see a bloody cage nut again in my life


Truck is looking sweet mate And don't worry about old mate in Engadine with the first canopy.......a$$holes like that always get whats coming to them

[trouble]

geting there Cow, nice!

[ultimate]

Great work Dave. It looks heaps good with the bar

[ag9111]

Glad you finally retired that Toyota straw hat Dave

Looking good mate. If thats 1 years worth of play money, then your doing alright.

Well worth all the effort and looking good

[andyj]

Dave I had the same problem with the keys for the canopy if it is a factory canopy then I replaced the lock assembly with 2 keys for about $90 it was cheaper than buying 1 key..

[helicoptercow]

Well driving home last night i could hear a sqeal from the rear drums. When i got home i could notice a smell and the rear passenger drum was radiating a lot of heat. So this morning i called the local mechanic, not wanting to drive far, i figured the pad must have shifted or something. Well i cant get in till monday so decided to pop it off and have a look myself tonight.

Opened it up and out falls these 2 pieces, along with a lot of brake dust... So much for new pads, didnt even see 5000kms. Just hoping you can buy a replacement spring and the other jigger... Both are broken, hopfully the rest of the assembly is ok

uploadfromtaptalk1332401882204.jpg

uploadfromtaptalk1332401899731.jpg

[fridgie]

Will have a look and see if i still have spares at home, if you cant buy them I'll happily send down to you.

[helicoptercow]

Will let you know how i go. See how good the parts department is with my vague descriptions

[fridgie]

Had a good look and it would appear they are no longer in my possession...must have gone with all the other stuff last cleanout Sorry mate.

[chaser]

wow that looks a lot different from the last time i seen it Dave. Who done the brakes? i dont remember doing them lol... That spring that is broken is the Adjuster stopper spring. Thats what that little bit of tin is, stops the adjuster from backing off by its self.