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Stretched Single Cab 79

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Looking for a 4WD that can carry the earth on it’s back and pull the arse out of the sun at the same time? We may just have the answer for you. This is one single cab 79 with a difference! 300mm difference to be exact and the mother of all payloads! So just how much can this ute carry and how did we achieve it? Read on to find out.

When it comes to choosing a new 4WD to suit your exact touring and towing needs, more often than not the standard offerings from all of our manufacturers these days don’t really fit the bill. It really comes down to the tried and tested durability and  servicing/parts network of a LandCruiser with modifications or venturing into the relatively unknown realm (in this country at least) of american pick-up trucks. This was the decision faced by our customer Ian with the plan being to travel with a heavy slide-on camper – maximum payload was required with maximum reliability desired for traveling the remote regions of Aus.

The good news is we can retain that legendary LandCruiser reliability and dependability that so many people have backed over the years in this country, but with a payload and towing capacity that can match and exceed many of the big yank tanks.

The key player to achieving this lies in the chassis which has been modified and lengthened by 300mm. The chassis section is manufactured by our good mates at Jmacx Off-road Solutions and replaces the whole rear section of the standard Toyota chassis with stronger, longer rails, cross members and all the infrastructure to convert the leaf spring suspension arrangement to coil springs in the rear.

At the time of this build a single cab Jmacx chassis extension/ coil conversion hadn’t been done before, so the whole vehicle was put on a truck and sent up to the guys at Jmacx so they could do all the R&D they needed to get the chassis fine tuned to suit the single cab body.

We got the rolling chassis back and went to town on fitting the Kings remote res shocks, coils, airbags and all the other components that come with the kit like radius arms, adjustable panard rods and control arms. The coils have improved ride refinement, axle articulation and down travel, and the airbags assist with load carrying when the 79 is loaded up.

The second part to maximising the payload on this vehicle, was to minimise the weight when fitting accessories. The first step was to fit a lightweight alloy tray that was strong enough for the tasks being asked of it. The tray was custom built by Peninsula Plasma Cutters on the Central Coast and comes in at over 2.5m long and has trundle draw and tapered under body tool boxes. It was built with weight reduction and strength in mind.

An ECB Big Tube alloy winch bar was fitted to the front for protection, again with weight reduction in mind. It houses a TJM Torq 12,000lbs winch with synthetic rope to take care of any recovery duties. The Jmacx chassis also incorporates a rear winch cradle as well, but in the interest of saving weight, no rear winch was fitted.

The extra mods and weight to be carried would also require extra power so with the addition of a Patrol Docta stainless steel air box, HPD ungraded intercooler, Safari Armax snorkel, the big girl was then sent up to Streamline Automotive where they waived their magic wands over it in the form of a Dyno tune. Throttle response was also greatly improved by fitting an iDrive throttle controller in combination with the tune. The engine receives extra protection using a Diesel Care secondary fuel filter and HPD billet catch can.

There is, of course, much more to making a single cab 70 Series LandCruiser into a comfortable tourer, even in the top-spec GXL form. The entertainment system that’s standard in the 79 series is fairly basic so an upgraded unit by Alpine was fitted by the guys at House of Soundz and features upgraded speakers and door pods. The interior was stripped out and sound deadened using Dynomat and mirrors upgraded to full power-fold towing mirrors by Clearview.

A set of Black Duck seat covers were fitted to fit protect the seat fabric and a molded dash mat by No Bull Accessories was fitted to protect the dash from the harsh Aussie sun. A GME XRS 370 and AE4705 antenna pack to take care of communications.

Suspension airbag pressure is controlled inside the cab using the Airbag Man wireless inflation system and the TJM Heavy Duty Vehicle Mount Compressor. The compressor is mounted in one of the under body tool boxes and there’s provisions to run an air hose for tyre inflation as well.

The whole package is rolling on a set of ROH Maverick wheels that are 17 x 8″ in size and wrapped in a set of Mickey Thompson Baja ATZ P3 that mesure in at 285/70R17. So now the figures you’ve all been waiting for. We’ve been able to obtain a 4490kg GVM thanks to the Jmacx chassis extension and coil conversion and the vehicle tared in with all the upgrades, bar work, tray, a full tank of fuel and spare wheels at 2627kg. That leaves a massive 1863kg payload. The towing capacity is upgraded to 4000kg although GCM (Gross Combined Mass) is capped at 7990kg which means that loaded to full GVM (over 1800kg on the back) you can still legally tow 3.5t. No matter what way you look at it, you’ll never get the same figures out of an american full-sized pick-up. Is this the perfect solution for a tow/touring vehicle? Well if it isn’t, it’s pretty much the closest thing we’ve seen to it!

Keep an eye out for Ian’s big rig touring the country. It’s the first Jmacx stretched single cab LC79 in the country, but we’re sure it won’t be the last!

 

Redi to Rumble

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Doing the big builds are what we’re all about here at Redi Cruisers and more often than not, it’s not just about what we do here but a collective effort by a number of companies working together to achieve the same end result for a customer. We’re all about collaborating with some of the best names in the business to piece together the right products and the right solutions to suit your requirements. The results always speak for themselves and this dual cab 79 is up there with the best of them!

Our customer Terry approached us with some unique requirements and a very particular criteria that he was expecting from his new 79. Firstly, it needed to have plenty of canopy space with the versatility of being able to move things around to suit his needs. Coming from a Patrol, Terry was used to the comfort and refinement of coils springs so for touring, a coil spring conversion was definitely on his list. After doing some research, there was also one last big-ticket item on Terry’s list that was a must have – an automatic transmission conversion.

We knew we had the coil conversion covered has we’ve been doing the Jmacx coil conversions for a few years now. Jmacx have designed and refined their conversion kits to perfection over the years and now, although it’s still quite an extensive process, our working relationship with these guys sees a flawless process in place that makes getting your coil conversion done an easier process than buying a new pair of shoes for the end customer!

This kit includes a GVM upgrade certification to 3900kg and is running 3″ of lift on the Kings 2.5 remote res shocks and air bags to assist in load carrying. We shoe-horned in a Brown Davis 180L long range fuel tank which has been designed by Brown Davis to suit the coil conversions. Exhaust is by Torqit which is a 3.5″ stainless steel, mandrel bent, DPF back system, custom made by Torqit to suit the unique routing requirements of the coil conversion. Torqit are another locally based company here in Newcastle that make awesome performance products.

Mits Alloy had us covered when it came time to putting together an alloy tray and canopy package that met Terry’s requirements for touring and, as always, the local Newcastle -based manufacturer came up trumps on this build with this amazing looking graphite lift-off design. It incorporates an under tray trundle draw, 35l poly water tank on the headboard, tapered tool boxes and built-in kitchen bench table.

The inside of the canopy is fitted with an Enerdrive DC and AC charging system using a 125A/h lithium battery which powers the Dometic CRX110 upright fridge and all the lighting throughout the canopy. There’s also an under-bonnet dual battery system running a Redarc BCDC charger on a custom bracket by Perth Performance Diesel powered by a Centruy Dual Force AGM battery which feeds power to the canopy system off the alternator and also works as a back-up to run canopy accessories. Hidden in one of the tapered tool boxes is a TJM HD air compressor to control airbag inflation and tyre inflation as well.

We enlisted the help of our good mates at All Four x 4 Spares for the auto conversion and after the coil kit was completed, we shipped the vehicle off to the boys over at Kotara for them to install the 6-speed Wholesale Automatics kit. The transmission is the same box used in the LC200 but using an upgraded torque converter, valve body and transmission cooler so the box is even stronger and more reliable than the standard item and is adapted to suit all the standard 70 series components and transfer case.

The difference in the way the big beast drives now is like chalk and cheese. Imagine the ride-refinement of coil springs and an auto cog swapper combined with the rugged build and durability of a bulletproof 79 dual cab ute. This is definitely the best of both worlds!

There is, of course, a lot more to this build as well. TJM bar work is the order of the day with the T13 Outback bull bar, TJM side steps and brush rails to suit. The bar work has all been colour coded Graphite and houses the TJM 12,000lbs winch with synthetic rope and there are a set of Stedi Type-X Pro LED driving lights for day-making.

There’s a Safari Armax snorkel feeding clean air into a Patrol Doctor stainless steel air box and there’s a HPD high-flow, top-mount intercooler helps keep air-flow nice and cool.

Further engine protection is helped with the fitment of a Diesel Care pre-filter on a custom-made bracket by Perth Performance Diesel which also houses the diff breather filters.

The interior was completely gutted and sound deadened using Dynomat before any mods were made.  Front and centre of the interior is an Alpine in-dash head unit with Hema maps installed, front and rear speaker pods, all fitted by House of Soundz at Broadmeadow. A Cruiser Consoles over-head console houses the GME UHF and extra storage. The centre console was fitted by the guys at All Four x 4 as part of the auto conversion and houses the display panel for transmission readings.

There’s a set of Clearview power-fold, electric towing mirrors for seeing around the canopy and a Rhino Pioneer platform up-top for extra storage. The big grey beast is rolling on a set of Pro Comp Series 74 Trilogy alloy wheels that measure in at 17 x 8” and a set of BF Goodrich KO2 All Terrain tyres that are a 285/70/17.

Building a 79 like this is like conducting a symphony of an awesome team of fitters, suppliers and accessory manufacturers to achieve the end result. Here at Redi Cruisers we are all about the customer being able to come to the one place to build their dream Cruiser. Terry is over the moon with his new 79 that is that perfect mix of refinement vs durability. Keep an eye out for his awesome rig out an about on the tracks.