Builds Ozzi, 2000 HZJ78 in Canada - travel/maintenance/build (2 Viewers)

[janyyc]

Of course I've compressed the story for clarity - let's just say, thank goodness for Amazon Prime. I ordered multiple busbars and connectors and other pieces and returned the ones I didn't need. The end result from the main battery is four cables off of the post:
- starter
- winch
- second battery
- connection to busbar

Here's the end result:

All-in-all, I am quite happy with the final result, and most importantly, I am completely aware of what is what and where it should be. As I alluded to previously, the negative terminal has been left untouched because I would have to recrimp the main engine block ground (it's a combination terminal/cable) or remove the ground from the block - despite PB blasting, torching, and a lot of swearing, it did not budge. But by removing all the other wires from the ground terminal, it is now seated securely - problem solved.

The next tech-related work was a belt change, in which I was helped by @JDM Journeys - thank you for the hand-holding.

The accessory/A/C belts were not perfect, however the timing belt must have been replaced because it was in great shape - however, at about 90K km and more importantly, 23 years, and not having any documentation of a change, I really wanted to reset the clock.

Old belt:

New belt on:

 

[janyyc]

We decided not to replace the water pump, given the state of everything else being ideal. Of course the idler was replaced, and a full coolant flush was performed, and radiator hoses replaced.

Ol'Betsy looking - and driving - great.

Original timing belt change sticker applied:

Then, on a particularly warm day, armed with the garden hose, I jumped on the creeper and under the car to hose down the areas that I didn't get to at the car wash.

On the 2000-2007 Troopy, there are a few areas of concern:

- the rear fenders above the wheel arches: they are beautifully bent inwards, a little gutter which serves as a perfect collection point for mud
- the rear hangers for the sub-tank, where stones seem to collect on our gravel roads, and quickly block the drain holes

This collection is only from the rear hangers:

After the deep clean of the Troopy it was time to repaint the wheel arches with POR-15 rubberized undercoating.

 

[janyyc]

Before:

After:

Next - big upgrade for the camping setup. With the electrical figured out and sorted, a fridge was in the cards...

I splurged for the Dometic hardwire kit, for a very nice connector to plug the fridge into.

 

[janyyc]

Then I decided to install some flares... Generally speaking I'm against flares (I like the aesthetics of de-flared Land Cruisers), but driving on gravel roads really damaged the fenders.

See the paint chips touched up with primer:

Flares are EZ-Flares, adhesive only, they are unobtrusive yet I believe they will serve the purpose:

 

[janyyc]

Of course we had to go on a trip to test out my "mods", so we went camping nearby for only one night.

Dinner:

Breakfast:

 

[janyyc]

Back to some tech - the only "damage" from our Yukon trip was a crack in one of the Hella spotties we had mounted in the front. I had a love/hate relationship to begin with with these lights - they looked good on the front of the Troopy. But they weren't especially bright, and they were large and blocking the radiator. Additionally, in three years of traveling I have never actually used them.

So I started by ordering new Baja Designs SAE fog lights, thinking to mount them in the spot the Hella's were. I didn't even take a picture of them mounted there, it looked terrible. Luckily, bullbars are quite modular, and I could correct the mounting to the proper position for fogs - in the corners. But first, cleaning up some awful, awful wiring.

Bonus - found some more ambulance wiring - this is wired to the radiator, with a non-OEM sensor placed in the top driver-side corner of the rad.

 

[janyyc]

Of course, to celebrate, we went camping, this time to Waterton National Park, taking along the bikes and kayaks.

We had an epic stay, between seeing Oppenheimer at the old town cinema, and the next day our "triathlon": 2 km kayak across the lake, hike ~17km round-trip to Crypt Lake, kayak back, break in town for pizza, then bike ~34km round-trip to Cameron Lake. Yes, we were sore afterwards!

Driving back home through what I call the "Canadian steppe":

 

[janyyc]

I had only one day left between getting back from camping and leaving again for work abroad, so I set about installing the other LED's I had ordered and had arrived in the meantime - Rigid 360 pods with amber backlighting.

Then, as I mentioned in my other thread my uncle visited from Europe, and together with my dad, they went on quite a few camping trips. I'll just share some of the best pictures, starting with this one which showcases both LED lights I installed and also how much I cleaned up the wiring to be invisible (previously, there was a big bundle going through one of the radiator vents).

Evening camp setup - the red light is as bright as we get camping at night, no point having anything brighter.

"Fully laden" for a Waterton excursion, and with Ali the HZJ76 in the background!

 

[janyyc]

A view of downtown Calgary in the pre-dawn hours through the paramedic door:

Camping alongside the Icefields Parkway:

Once again in Southern Alberta at the beginning of October, first coat of powder already on the mountains (or as @coldtaco & Alaskans call it, termination dust):

Kitchen

 

[mt72]

Looks like someone had a great summer camping

 

[janyyc]

I was home over Christmas and New Years for the first time since 2014. The weather was unusually mild right up until I left again (at which point it hit record-breaking lows: good timing for an exit!).

Of course, I did some work. Replaced the glow plugs - unknown age. They tested and looked fine, but the replacement had a significant impact on cold-start performances.

Inspecting the intake:

Completed the most important upgrade ever! (actually this photo is from the HZJ76, but both vehicles got the rubber insert treatment).

Went for a drive to test out the "upgrades" (and the lights).

 

[janyyc]

I also worked on setting up (programming) my VHF radio for logging roads, which was fun. A product designed with a serial interface and with a Windows-only application requiring complicated drivers found on Russian-language websites... Fun. Then of course I wired it up, cleaning up some other wiring while I was at it.

Then I set about (re)designing the interior to prepare for some major upcoming changes (hint, hint!).

 

[Felde]

I also worked on setting up (programming) my VHF radio for logging roads,

Just curious. What exactly does that feature do?
Cheers Ralf

 

[janyyc]

Just curious. What exactly does that feature do?
Cheers Ralf

Lots of roads in Canada are radio-controlled, where you call kilometres so you don’t encounter loaded logging trucks head-on. The channels are VHF but the frequencies are assigned and they have to be loaded into the radio.

 

[Felde]

Ah. Learned something interesting.
Thank you

 

[Rigster]

Lots of roads in Canada are radio-controlled, where you call kilometres so you don’t encounter loaded logging trucks head-on. The channels are VHF but the frequencies are assigned and they have to be loaded into the radio.

Indeed. All my radios are programmed exactly the same with the logging roads in them, and obviously the emergency SAR channels and PEP (provincial emergency program) channels for my involvement with SAR.

Very handy to have indeed, especially for anyone spending any significant amount of time on forestry roads. It also increases your chances of being heard if you run into trouble and need help. It wouldn't be the first time a trucker called into the police from radio chatter of people in distress.

 

[janyyc]

I will now more-or-less paste what I sent to our family friend who will be making the cabinets for us. Comments are definitely welcome, nothing is set in stone. At least I hope for some planning their interiors this will be helpful in terms of ideas or dimensions. Drawings were made by me using LibreCAD, obviously accounting for various things we want to put away and where we want them to be located as well as the fact we have the additional "paramedic" door.

Layers for the upcoming drawings:

0 is the base drawing of the available space, and the wheel wells (which obviously jut up into the available space).
1Frame - the cabinet frame.
2Sleeping/solid - outward panels which are not openable.
3Doors - the fronts of the access doors.
4Drawer - the fronts of the drawers.
5Blocks - blocks which will run the length of the cabinets (front to back of the interior) and support the “sleeping top” which spans the aisle.
6Countertop - countertop on the right-hand-side cabinets.
7L-Track - depicts the airline-rail attachments which will also run the length of the cabinets. (L-Track System | L-Track Tie Downs | Airline Track & Straps | USCC - https://www.uscargocontrol.com/collections/airline-straps-hardware)

Misc:
Door opening - working layer, depicting the upper limit of the opening of the third door for later purposes.
Fridge - an illustration of where the fridge will stand, which will later form part of the sleeping structure.

Interior of the Troopy looking from the top, left side is barn doors, right side is the seats.

2Sleeping forms the top of the cabinets. The shaded area is cannot be opened and provides structure.
2Sleeping - two hinged sections which allow access to the drawer below (left side) and open storage cavity (right side), two sections hinged to the wall for access to table (centre) and heavy recovery/emergency gear (right).
3Doors - doors covering the storage cavities, secured by magnets.
4Drawer - front of the drawer, which will extend up to the centre support of the sleeping area.

Cabinets looking in from the back (open barn doors).

2Sleeping/solid - the sheet that is illustrated vertically between the pink block and the grey l-track is perfectly measured to fit between and span the left- and right-hand sides of the cabinets to extend the sleeping space over the “aisle”. This would be held in place by countersunk magnets to the structure of the cabinets. There would be two pieces, each 1m long.
3Doors - front of the storage compartment doors as explained above
4Drawer - front of the drawer as explained above.
5Blocks - I have assumed a 1” x 1” block will be enough to support the weight. The section of the sleeping top which is closer to the drivers’ seats would sit partially on the Fridge. The Blocks should stop running before reaching the Fridge since the fridge will support the sleeping weight and is at exactly the same height as the preceding blocks.
7L-track - profile of the L-track

Drivers' side cabinets (right hand side, since RHD vehicle).

0 - the line represents the wheel well, which will have to be accounted for in the structure.
3Doors (hinged) - the two smaller doors should be hinged on the left, and the large rectangular door hinged downwards
3Doors (magnet) - same procedure as above, the doors will sit behind the L-track.
4Drawers - two large drawers using the available space here
6Countertop - We would like the countertop to follow the contours of the available space, the only curved feature on this build.
7L-track - for reference, the size and location of the L-track.
Of further note is the angled section (depicted with a dotted green line), which will also be accessible from the outside when the door is opened.

Materials:

We would like to use baltic birch plywood. While I know generally cabinets are constructed from 3/4” plywood, weight is an important consideration for the vehicle and for these purposes 1/2” (general use) and 5/8” (particularly the sleeping platform) plywood work fine from overall knowledge & experience.
For the countertop, we would like to use some solid, warm wood, tbd but likely oak.

Hardware:

Hinges:
For the sleeping platform: Concealed Lid Hinges - Lee Valley Tools - https://www.leevalley.com/en-ca/shop/hardware/hinges/40647-concealed-lid-hinges?item=00H5401
For the hinged cabinet doors: Four-Way 175° Hinges - Lee Valley Tools - https://www.leevalley.com/en-ca/shop/hardware/hinges/cabinet-door/40980-four-way-175-hinges?item=00H6301

Latches:
For the drawers and cabinet doors: Push-to-Close Latch, Small Size, No Restriction, 1 - 21mm (.04 - .83 in) Door thickness, 23mm (.91 in) Grip, 316 Stainless Steel, Electropolished - https://southco.com/en_any_int/m1-15-61-8
For the sleeping area: Push-to-Close Latch, Large Size, No Restriction, 12 - 22mm (.475 - . 875in) Door thickness, 20mm (.75 in) Grip, 316 Stainless Steel, Electropolished - https://southco.com/en_any_int/m1-25-62-18

Slides:
For the largest drawer (located under the sleeping platform) we would like to use a heavy-duty lockable slide, something along the lines of the below, which would also mean no latches are required.
Double-Locking Extra-Heavy-Duty Slides - Lee Valley Tools - https://www.leevalley.com/en-ca/shop/hardware/slides/side-mount/58870-double-locking-extra-heavy-duty-slides?item=02K4718
36 inch Black Locking Drawer Slides, Heavy Duty, Full Extension, S1760L-36-BK - https://www.ovisonline.com/36-Locking-Heavy-Duty-Drawer-Slides-Black-P2742.aspx
https://www.accuride.com/en-ca/products/drawer-slides/heavy-duty-slides?filter=|length-782
For the other two drawers (in the right-hand-side cabinet), hold-out slides would be required, such as: 100 lb Hold-Out Slides (Full Extension) - Lee Valley Tools - https://www.leevalley.com/en-ca/shop/hardware/slides/side-mount/52491-100-lb-hold-out-slides-full-extension?item=02K4414

Mounting

The vehicle has a vinyl coin floor glued onto a plywood sheet, providing a possibility for securement to the floor. The walls (“door cards") of the vehicle are aluminum sheet and can be screwed into as well. For mounting of the sleeping area onto the wall, a block similar to the one used for spanning the aisle can be used.