[soenke]

Hello, I allready introduced myself and our Toyo in the J80 forum because most of the technic is HDJ 80, but I think this forum fits better....so I will move it here and start a new thread:


We have been travelling by LandCruiser for years now, first with a BJ45, than with modified HZJ78 with pop-up-sleeping roof. But this set up was build for Afrika and not perfect for the North because of the canvas walls of the roof and the hight of the car with the roof and the Michelin XZL 255/100, we were often afraid of tipping over







Therefore here some pictures of our new home, we decided to use mainly 80 technic, but did not like the idea of living in the 80- body. We used as far as possible original Toyota parts. Exception ist the Vintage A/C (I already regret) and a volume sport air filter because there was no space for the original under the bonnet left.



it is a 1993 HDJ 80 with manual gearbox, changed to 12V alternator and starter from the HDJ 100, australian clutch (like the one from the later 24v 80), copper radiator from HZJ75, 4.5:1 Diffs from PZJ75, HT rallye Suspension, 325/80 R16 Cooper on Alcoa 8" rims, reinforced front axle, 2x about 200l diesel in alu tanks underfloor and 2x about 60l water in V4A tanks underneath the seats. Bonnet and doors are build of f/g with some kevlar layers, two 90ah AGM batterys are in underfloor stoarage boxes and 2 Solarpannels with 170W wait to be installed, 12V Kompressor wih tank for refilling tires.....
In the back is a small cabine with hydraulic elevatible top, and in the front we adapted the J4 body from a 1979 HJ47. The J4 body ist stretched about 8cm, so I can sit comfortably. The cabine and most of the technics was build by Marcus www.offroad-schmiede.com
Inside we build our home (two people) for all seasons and conditions...Heating is provided for the engine and drivers cabine by a Webasto, in the back we have a Eberspächer air heater for us and the wardrobe for drying the jackets etc. Origo cooker for inside cooking, Engel fridgebox, 4.5bar waterpump with Katadyn-waterfilter, small sink, outside shower.....



here a few pictures from our digitalised friends from Iceland this summer
first picture is the same piste along the beach as shown above with the HZJ78. It was lot more comfortable with the wider track and less hight of the truck

[Farmer_Fred]

what a stunning camper. Keep on rollin'!

[fernandol]

awesome!!!

[joshoisasleep]

wow I love the hard pop-top that's really clever!

[ERG80]

Wow! Welcome to mud. Those are some great looking rigs.

[liljlandon]

Thats sweet! Maybe i could do that with my mini... hmm..!!!

[Gallo Pinto]

Holy sh*t!! Great pictures.
Those are some sweet trucks.

[rideglobally]

that is awesome!!!! whatt kind of material is the shell made off. is that composite or aluminum?...thanks for sharing

[soenke]

Thanks for the welcome and compliments...

the camper is build with a welded aluminium frame and glued in (Sikkaflex kind of PU glue) f/g sandwich plates.

here you can see the frame (of another car) Marcus is building erverything in that methode



yes, our hard pop-top did well, first time we could sleep while it was stormy...

[gilghana]

Soenke,
your 'BJ80' looks absolutely fantastic!!! I would be really grateful if you could tell me how you got on with the 255/100 Michelins on your HZJ78:
- fitted okay ?
- looks like you ran them tubeless ?
- where did you get them?

Thinking of a set for my hzj78 but they are very pricey.
Gil

[soenke]

Hey Gil

the 255/100 is expensive here too, about 300€ is a good price! You will get it at any truck-tire-shop. And yes, we always travel tubeless.
It´s a perfect touring tire with wordwide availability and very good performence on piste, lava, rocks etc and even on road. But it is not very good in sand and dunes and the HZJ78 will be quite high and tippy..The spare tire has to go in the car or on the roof, even a kaymar will not last with the weight on piste...
And the whole set up will not be heavy duty!!
The gearbox form 78 and 79 likes to brake.

We fitted 4.88 Diffs, in the front a spacer ring is needed, further OME Heavy Duty and the front fenders need some "remodeling" (not for the use of old 9.00XS, than a hammer will do)
To get it street legal we had to limit maximum speed to 110km/h (speed index K and no M&S signature)
With carefull driving we had no problems, but we decided to start all over with J80 technic and 325/80 (in case of emergency a 255/100 spare will be just 1 cm smaler)

A friend of mine solved the gearbox problem of his 79 with the stronger 5 speed box from a J80, it fits nicely to 35" with original Diffs..

[Volunteer]

That rig is awesome. Thanks for sharing

[johnkappus]

WOW!

This has got to be one of the most impressive overland crusiers I've ever seen.

Amazing cruiser!!!

Thanks for sharing

[soenke]

thanks, that sounds good!
we had some times during the process of building, where we thought we are realy crazy, spending so much money, time, nervs and tears for that thing It took threetimes longer than figured....

[Volunteer]

Can we see some inside shots of the camper layout?

[Beowulf]

And some under bonnet shots?
-B-

[soenke]

will take a while, car is standing at another place ....

[Hangtowncruzr]

Beautiful! We need someone in the States building these for around 5k Just drop off your fj40 and pick it up converted like this one in 6 weeks with basic sleeping system inside.

[Beowulf]

Originally Posted by Hangtowncruzr

Just drop off your fj40 and pick it up converted like this one

That thing is not an FJ40. If I am reading him correctly, it is a diesel 80-Series with a customized FJ40 body that has been extended 8cm to give more seat room.

That is one trick vehicle and we sure could use some more specs and pics! Thanks for posting soenke.

-B-

[Josie'sLandCruiser]

Hi All:

Very cool rig! Both in looks and in components!

But, for an expedition truck I think a more stock platform would be a better choice, i.e. for an improved chance of finding spare parts.

Irregardless, an excellent rig! Thanks for sharing with us!

Regards,

Alan

[soenke]

You are right Alan, the more original and the more simple you keep the car, the easier will be maintenance on tour. But the off-road ability wouldn´t be so good...
For that reason our old BJ45 with wich we toured Afrika for 9 months was almost untouched.

But now we are travelling for shorter periods of time, just the holidays about 4-5 weeks and Northafrika is not the aim anymore because of political instability.

Still you have a point, and that was the reason for us to leave the technic of the HDJ 80 original, excluding only radiator and Diffs, but these are all Toyota parts. The starter, alternator and powerstearing is HDJ and HZJ 80/100 third world specifikation.
The Diesel 1HD-T (12V) is less resistend to bad fuel then the 1HZ, but it has a lot more power and better fuel economy and so we get a better range out of our fuelreservoir. And it is still less complicated then the 1HD-FT (up from 1994 with 24V and more electronic).

The only thing, wich is not third world proven is the hydaulic system and the 325/80. And the electic is not bullet prove installed yet...(the thing will be under construction for quite some more time)
On a long travell we might put 255/100 on again, otherwise the Michelin is just 1 cm smaller and will do as a emergancy spare in any case....

[soenke]

@ Hangtowncruzr, -B-,

its true, the wheelbase of a J40/42 would be much to short for a cabine. Even with the J80 we have been thinking about extending the frame for ~20cm. Didn´t do it though because the negativ aspects overweighted for us...
The body is from a 1979 HJ47 pick up, looks like a FJ45 but was with the old 6zyl. Diesel

[Bogo]

Originally Posted by liljlandon

Thats sweet! Maybe i could do that with my mini... hmm..!!!

I had been thinking of similar for my '94 mini truck. I've been debating shell options and decided not to do a hard shell popup like theirs. Wanting to open up the cab to the back effectively killed the style they are using. Instead I'm making my sides so they open up fully. From just above the wheel wells to near the top the whole side will open up like a gull wing door. The opening that the side doors will mate to will be the bars of the roll cage. I may still make the roof so it pops up, but it will be soft sided and the interior would be cramped but still livable with it down. To get it really livable you still need to be able to sit up on a bed. That pushes the roof over a foot over cab height. Preferably to 1.5' above the cab top. To high. I'm thinking of only going 9" to 12". I'd be able to sit up on a case, but not on the bed platform. To stand up inside is insane without doing a popup.

The other thing I decided is I won't have any built in furniture or storage inside. It will all be latched or tied down modules/cases. There will be some outside accessible storage in front and behind the wheel wells and the under body space will be used for house batteries, etc.. Water will be via jerry cans. Extra gas storage will be via jerry cans stored outside. With some cleverness it may be possible to put two jerry cans each side between the cab and rear wheels in compartments that open to the outside. That also gets their weight low. Not having fixed furniture inside will allow me to use it for farm use when I'm not camping. The fully opening sides will also help allot with that.

[gilghana]

Soenke,
thanks for the feedback on the 255/100 Mich tyres. A bit too much hassle and cost... Yeah I do know what you mean about the R151 gearbox. We had a year old hzj79 work truck with a broken snap ring this week, although to be fair the vehicle has been taking some pretty serious abuse. I really cannot figure out why a weaker gearbox was used on non-turbo 79 & 78s. Interesting that you go for aluminium wheels on what is an expedition vehicle?
Gil

[soenke]

yes, they are ALCOAS, forged alloys.
A wheel now weights about the same as a 7.5 on original devisible rim (sorry don´t know the right word),
the Alu is wrought, when the rim is hit, it will hopefully not break but bend and it will be repaireble...

[Beowulf]

Originally Posted by soenke

... on original devisible rim (sorry don´t know the right word)

Split rims.

-B-

[soenke]

thanks

[HJ47]

On the contrary, I reckon Soenke has it spot-on. By having the entire running gear from a newer rig and the body of an older rig: he gets the best of both worlds. In many Third World locals, obtaining new drivetrain parts is not hard, just expensive. Obtaining old parts is cheaper, but they are often a bit more 'used.' So Soenke can get most body parts if he needs them (granted, his have been altered- but labour is cheap in third world countries- and he can certainly drive back to DE with a banged-up door or bonnet) but more-importantly, he can get mechanical parts at any Toyota dealer.

I have a new Chevy Vortec/5 speed in my troopy, and I love it. Having new running gear in an old truck makes it almost new. I have the added benefit of being able to get parts in any parts store on the planet-which is definately not the case with a 2H.

I am in awe of your rig Soenke. Well done!

Cheers,

Josh

[1tontoy]

Soenke,

Thank you for sharing with us here on IH8MUD. You will see that people here live, eat, drink, and shiza Landcruisers! Welcome!

WHAT AN AWESOME SETUP!!!!

GERMAN ENGINEERING. THE FINEST IN THE WORLD!

So, when will you be in USA?

Now, more pics.... :-)

[joebarbarian1]

My dream off-road vehicle, what a perfect set-up. CONGRATS!... enjoy, and I appreciate the info on your new set-up.

Joeb.