I am making this post to share my experiences and hope that I can help other people avoid the same pitfalls. But first a little history to put this in context.
Over the last ten years I have driven over a quarter of a million miles exploring the USA, Canada, Mexico and Australia. I started with this Northstar camper on a Chevy Silverado. However the rig was just not up to the job. I suspected that the transfer case had a problem before the warranty expired but Chevrolet refused to honour the warranty, possibly because they had already paid out for several broken parts and several hundred dollars to have me towed out of the wilderness when the motor stalled and wouldn't restart. The truck chassis bent causing the drive shaft to rub on the chassis and almost cut through and the front bumper brackets disintegrated causing the bumper to fall off. When the third transfer case failed it was time to bail out.
The camper was no better, built with inadequate wiring which could have had the entire rig on fire. The pop up roof failed under warranty but I had to pay for the repair which only lasted a matter of weeks. Finally the base of the camper started pulling away from the sides. After just five years from new, I walked away with just $4000 in my pocket for the entire rig.
Now I could have accepted that I was expecting too much had I not owned this Troopy in Australia. The truck was 17 years old when I bought it and five years later it sold for a good proportion of what I had paid for it within an hour of advertising it. Yes, it did require some repairs along the way but it survived far worse roads than any I have so far encountered in North America.
So the logical way forward was to find a Troopy in USA. After much searching and considering the import of my own vehicle from Europe, In August 2013 I found what appeared to be a suitable vehicle, a 1988 BJ75 already brought in by a JDM LandCruiser importer from Spain. It was said to be a clean but well used stock vehicle with frame, wheel wells and underbody clean and rust free although with some previous body and paintwork.
After registering the truck in New Mexico I drove to a recommended Toyota 4wd Specialist to make the vehicle expedition ready. Amongst the upgrades were a bull bar and winch, tire carrier for the rear door, snorkel, replacement for the original 25 year old radiator and turbo for the 3BII diesel motor.
My first trip was to Copper Canyon, Mexico. With hindsight I don't know how the vehicle survived as only hours back in the USA, there was a loud bang and a cloud of smoke and the engine temperature shot up. I stopped straight away and after clouds of steam had cleared from the engine bay I spotted a massive split in one of the cooling hoses. My request to replace the hoses when the radiator was replaced had been ignored but it has also been suggested that the 'new' radiator was minimal at best, small core, and should have been a four core unit.
The radiator had been swollen considerably in the centre both up and out from the build up of pressure and there was concern that the major pressure build might have cracked the head.
Further investigation revealed what 'seemed' to be a bad crack in #3 prechamber and out to the side of the head but with a normal test it showed no leak. There is also heat scorching of the head and the head is 7 thou from true which I am told is a lot! The pistons have minor damage.
Had I been planning on using the truck for weekend wheeling adventures with friends I would have kept the motor but I took the view that as I plan to travel alone to remote areas in Central and South America, I would get a newer engine. It had also been suggested that the turbo I had installed was too small for my application, great for the bush but suck on the highway.
I now have a 1HZ rebuilt using all factory parts mated to a new H55F transmission and a mapped turbo with 1800 - 3000 rpm performance specs.
Whilst I was waiting for a temporary fix to the cooling system I decided to rotate the wheels and noticed that the new tire carrier had actually cracked the rear door and I found that only thin strips of metal had been used to strengthen the door. The cracking is more apparent now I have removed the tire carrier and the rust has started to show through.
Subsequently I sourced a door with factory strengthening and whilst I managed to secure a refund of the labour charged by the Toyota 4wd Specialist, I was left to get the door painted and the glass and hardware switched over.
The issues with the radiator, turbo and tire carrier suggested that I should look at the other work done by the Toyota 4wd Specialist. I had been charged US$347 to switch the stock bumper for a new ARB bull bar on the basis that the 25 year old chassis might have twisted and a lot of banging and heating may have been required to fit the bull bar. I can now see that unlike a 40 series, the chassis only protrudes around four inches beyond the front cross member so it is very unlikely to have shifted.
Over the last ten years I have driven over a quarter of a million miles exploring the USA, Canada, Mexico and Australia. I started with this Northstar camper on a Chevy Silverado. However the rig was just not up to the job. I suspected that the transfer case had a problem before the warranty expired but Chevrolet refused to honour the warranty, possibly because they had already paid out for several broken parts and several hundred dollars to have me towed out of the wilderness when the motor stalled and wouldn't restart. The truck chassis bent causing the drive shaft to rub on the chassis and almost cut through and the front bumper brackets disintegrated causing the bumper to fall off. When the third transfer case failed it was time to bail out.
The camper was no better, built with inadequate wiring which could have had the entire rig on fire. The pop up roof failed under warranty but I had to pay for the repair which only lasted a matter of weeks. Finally the base of the camper started pulling away from the sides. After just five years from new, I walked away with just $4000 in my pocket for the entire rig.
Now I could have accepted that I was expecting too much had I not owned this Troopy in Australia. The truck was 17 years old when I bought it and five years later it sold for a good proportion of what I had paid for it within an hour of advertising it. Yes, it did require some repairs along the way but it survived far worse roads than any I have so far encountered in North America.
So the logical way forward was to find a Troopy in USA. After much searching and considering the import of my own vehicle from Europe, In August 2013 I found what appeared to be a suitable vehicle, a 1988 BJ75 already brought in by a JDM LandCruiser importer from Spain. It was said to be a clean but well used stock vehicle with frame, wheel wells and underbody clean and rust free although with some previous body and paintwork.
After registering the truck in New Mexico I drove to a recommended Toyota 4wd Specialist to make the vehicle expedition ready. Amongst the upgrades were a bull bar and winch, tire carrier for the rear door, snorkel, replacement for the original 25 year old radiator and turbo for the 3BII diesel motor.
My first trip was to Copper Canyon, Mexico. With hindsight I don't know how the vehicle survived as only hours back in the USA, there was a loud bang and a cloud of smoke and the engine temperature shot up. I stopped straight away and after clouds of steam had cleared from the engine bay I spotted a massive split in one of the cooling hoses. My request to replace the hoses when the radiator was replaced had been ignored but it has also been suggested that the 'new' radiator was minimal at best, small core, and should have been a four core unit.
The radiator had been swollen considerably in the centre both up and out from the build up of pressure and there was concern that the major pressure build might have cracked the head.
Further investigation revealed what 'seemed' to be a bad crack in #3 prechamber and out to the side of the head but with a normal test it showed no leak. There is also heat scorching of the head and the head is 7 thou from true which I am told is a lot! The pistons have minor damage.
Had I been planning on using the truck for weekend wheeling adventures with friends I would have kept the motor but I took the view that as I plan to travel alone to remote areas in Central and South America, I would get a newer engine. It had also been suggested that the turbo I had installed was too small for my application, great for the bush but suck on the highway.
I now have a 1HZ rebuilt using all factory parts mated to a new H55F transmission and a mapped turbo with 1800 - 3000 rpm performance specs.
Whilst I was waiting for a temporary fix to the cooling system I decided to rotate the wheels and noticed that the new tire carrier had actually cracked the rear door and I found that only thin strips of metal had been used to strengthen the door. The cracking is more apparent now I have removed the tire carrier and the rust has started to show through.
Subsequently I sourced a door with factory strengthening and whilst I managed to secure a refund of the labour charged by the Toyota 4wd Specialist, I was left to get the door painted and the glass and hardware switched over.
The issues with the radiator, turbo and tire carrier suggested that I should look at the other work done by the Toyota 4wd Specialist. I had been charged US$347 to switch the stock bumper for a new ARB bull bar on the basis that the 25 year old chassis might have twisted and a lot of banging and heating may have been required to fit the bull bar. I can now see that unlike a 40 series, the chassis only protrudes around four inches beyond the front cross member so it is very unlikely to have shifted.
