The touring body enclosed or not

[NTFJ45]

I have seen that these body styles are becoming more popular in Australia now, great to keep out the dust and muck. I love my canvas sides ( shown) and the tray is definatley more versatile for loads but the security of this style is a plus.

I am interested on what is the most prefered if you had the choice.

What are your thoughts yay or nay ( canvas with tray or enclosed canopy )

For those die hards who would just love a HZJ70 sorry for the tease

 

[alkarich]

My vote would be for the hard sides and a roof top tent.

 

[NTFJ45]

Roof top camper , man.....it seems this colour is popular too !

 

[Clint79]

For those die hards who would just love a HZJ70 sorry for the tease

i presume you mean the utes budi the first one is the rv which means turbo so she's a hdj79 and the 3rd and 4th are vdj79s when toyota advertise "the allnew 70 series" the dont mean the new v8 ute is now called a 70 they mean "the all new 76,78,79"

i think those hard side one look neater because of the colour code i guess and security but for me if i was going to go rear canopy id go the rag sides like yours mate and i like yours how it has the hrad top stil for a roof rack or so , some rag ones just have a rag roof to

 

[roscoFJ73]

The canvass canopy is great except for security and they rip going under the spiky dead trees in the outback regions.
If your travelling in remote or city areas it wont be long before someone swipes your fridge ,genny and camping gear.

The alloy backs are good but most of them bolt directly to the chassis and if they make one that sits on the tray,they want more for it
But with double locks on each door and small windows they are fairly secure ,at least to the oppotunist thief.

NTFJ45,I saw that VDJ79 at a camping show and spoke to the owner briefly. He is the editor in chief of Western 4WD. Its pretty cool up close but the wheel storage system used up too much space.

A couple I have looked made especially for the 75/79 series

 

[roscoFJ73]

And a couple more

 

[JAC83]

Those are some awesome rigs.

 

[NTFJ45]

Yep I just meant the ute, its so confusing now with the new model.....

Wow I really like the camper that you can leave behind, that way you could leave the camp set up and go exploring, fishing , whatever and come back at the end of the day.

I do like my hard top, with canvas sides too, I suppose it all comes back to personel likes and dsilikes, it is very interesting to see how everyone has such a varied view

 

[roscoFJ73]

Yep I just meant the ute, its so confusing now with the new model.....

Wow I really like the camper that you can leave behind, that way you could leave the camp set up and go exploring, fishing , whatever and come back at the end of the day.

I do like my hard top, with canvas sides too, I suppose it all comes back to personel likes and dsilikes, it is very interesting to see how everyone has such a varied view

One of the things I liked about the old canvass canopy I had was rolling the sides up when camping or fishing and you could grab what you want.
Ive seen some with mozzie net sewn over the openings,great for throwing a mattress in the back and sleeping in the tropics
I also slept in there one night in a storm with thunder and heavy down pours,stayed dry mainly

There is at least 5-6 companies making the stand alone canopies and boxes for the 6'x8' tray.

I like the Trakdata the best. One of the pics the owner sent me fixed to a Hilux

 

[moregrunt]

hey guys thought id throw up a photo of my canvas canopy. I got zippers halfway down the side so i can open up only half for the dogs or whateva, and i got fly screen in the front half as well as the back. There is canvas flaps that zip over the fly screen so it is water tight in bad weather. If i was to build one again i would probaly go hard top checkerplate roof so u could throw stuff up there. But i do like the look of some of tjose slide on units very neat

 

[Clint79]

After seeing rosco's pics i think id choose the steel or ali one but then after seeing the price im sure id go back to the canvs one what are steels worth?, but then again how much is all the gear you keep in the back worth is it worth the steel for the security ,old mans ute up north with swags in the back the swags went walking
im not a fan of the spare behind the cab like on the 4th pic down looks like if you hit a bump the front wheels would lift of the ground

 

[roscoFJ73]

hey guys thought id throw up a photo of my canvas canopy. I got zippers halfway down the side so i can open up only half for the dogs or whateva, and i got fly screen in the front half as well as the back. There is canvas flaps that zip over the fly screen so it is water tight in bad weather. If i was to build one again i would probaly go hard top checkerplate roof so u could throw stuff up there. But i do like the look of some of tjose slide on units very neat

That was the type I was talking about Nice unit
You could add some security by adding a frame of alloy mesh like they make security screen doors out of.
You could also have a roof rack up there by having a canvas fabricator cut some holes for supports for the RR.
Rain wouldnt get in because of the sheltering effect of the RR.

 

[roscoFJ73]

After seeing rosco's pics i think id choose the steel or ali one but then after seeing the price im sure id go back to the canvs one what are steels worth?, but then again how much is all the gear you keep in the back worth is it worth the steel for the security ,old mans ute up north with swags in the back the swags went walking
im not a fan of the spare behind the cab like on the 4th pic down looks like if you hit a bump the front wheels would lift of the ground

You can pick up the alloy type used in the Quokka occasionally.

I was thinking you could make a poor mans version out of some full length alloy tool boxes(the type that slope in at the top) down each side and then join them with a roof and rear door.
That would give you 1 metre in the middle for a swag

 

[NTFJ45]

I like the fly mesh idea on the windows, it can get so humd in Darwin and the midges will eat you alive , the hard roof is a bonus especialy with low tree barnches and the darwin wet weather. In some of those tropical storms you can get so much rain in a few minutes it can swamp and stretch canvas....I have seen some utes parked in the street with a swimming pool in the back

Some up here also have alloy or steel mesh behind the canvas as a security measure.

Some great pictures and ideas guys.
I will have to eventually replace my canvas as its getting a bit worn and the zips are getting bad. I like the silver canvas that more grunt has, mine is a PVC style, any thoughts on which type of canvas is better ?

 

[roscoFJ73]

I like the fly mesh idea on the windows, it can get so humd in Darwin and the midges will eat you alive , the hard roof is a bonus especialy with low tree barnches and the darwin wet weather. In some of those tropical storms you can get so much rain in a few minutes it can swamp and stretch canvas....I have seen some utes parked in the street with a swimming pool in the back

Some up here also have alloy or steel mesh behind the canvas as a security measure.

Some great pictures and ideas guys.
I will have to eventually replace my canvas as its getting a bit worn and the zips are getting bad. I like the silver canvas that more grunt has, mine is a PVC style, any thoughts on which type of canvas is better ?

I think 14oz canvas is as heavy aand best as it gets. The canvas guy that did work for me said he could get the same stuff the army use in camo if I wanted

 

[Clint79]

Does anyone know of what sort of AU prices the hardtop enclosed alloy or steel canpoys sell for like the one on the first pic of the silver rv 79 series

 

[4XLT]

Fxxx me. What do houses cost in Australia?

 

[roscoFJ73]

Does anyone know of what sort of AU prices the hardtop enclosed alloy or steel canpoys sell for like the one on the first pic of the silver rv 79 series

You mean like Roscos Trademate? They were about $8-9k depending on the extras
Some of them are glued together in places to reduce welding(there was a severe shortage of experienced alloy welders when sales of canopies were booming in 07 08 )
They also use different hinges and metal thickness ,so prices can vary and you need to do your homework

TUFF Aluminium Canopies indicated that they are more willing to work with recreational users .
The biggies like Roscos,Bostron and Bull are only interested in commercial sales and if you didnt want their design,tough s***.
At the time I enquired, they all had a 2-4 month backlog but I suspect that has disappeared.

 

[Clint79]

thanks mate just getting an idea for a mate who is tossing up wether to sell his hdj80 work car for a new vdj79 he's a lekky so was thinking about the more room and security in a solid canopy than the 80

 

[roscoFJ73]

thanks mate just getting an idea for a mate who is tossing up wether to sell his hdj80 work car for a new vdj79 he's a lekky so was thinking about the more room and security in a solid canopy than the 80

Well if he does decide on the canopy ,tell him he wont need the tray as the canopies bolt directly to the chassis.
The tray costs about $3k and the toyota one is over $4k.So the saving will nearly pay for half the canopy