The Perfect Prado

When you think of hardcore 4WDing the Prado 150 isn’t always the first vehicle that springs to mind. To date, the subtle appearance and comfort features that the Prado offers has won the hearts of many a family guy and grey nomad – but don’t be mistaken, this is one Prado that is built to do the hard yards off road and it’s combined styling and off-road capability (while a little left field) are certainly going to turn some heads out on the tracks.

Our customer Aaron fitted all the components himself and with a pre-order in on the newly released TJM T13 Outback bull bar to suit the latest facelifted Prado, he couldn’t wait to get the bar fitted up and ready to play. A set of TJM brush bars and side steps was also added for the ultimate in frontal protection. TJM has upgraded the tubing on all the bar work for the newest 150 Prado form 50mm up to 63mm tubing giving the front end even more protection than ever before. Matching TJM under-body protection was also fitted offering three millimetres of heavy duty steel construction to protect the Prado’s underbody vitals.

The bar also houses the TJM Torq 9,500lbs winch with synthetic rope and wireless remote features to take care of recovery duties and is also a mounting platform for the TJM Narva 215 LED driving lights. These lights are acing all the light shootouts at the moment and the TJM/ Narva  partnership branding now gives you that TJM signature look with proven Narva reliability and performance.

The rear end of the Prado is well protected by a Kaymar steel rear bar which also incorporates a tow bar. Aaron has also fitted a TJM recovery hitch as a rear recovery option and the bumper replacement bar saves costly rear OEM replacement parts when you’re skull dragging the rear end of your 4WD through creek beds and over rock shelves. A Darche Eclipse 2×2.5m roll-out awning provides some much needed shelter from the elements whilst out on the tracks and it’s mounted to an alloy flat rack.

Clean, dry air is fed to the intake is through a TJM Airtec snorkel and the Airtec is designed for the Prado to keep a low profile and to hug the body lines of the car, keeping it out of harm’s way whilst improving airflow by catching the wind draft off the front windscreen.

Aaron went about fitting a dual battery system for those long touring stints using the TJM 25A 3 stage BCDC battery charger. This powers a 105A/hr deep cycle battery and is capable of solar charge input as well, so there’s plenty of juice available for those extended camping trips. Communications are taken care of by a Uniden 9060 UHF radio and a Uniden AT890W 6.6dbI antenna.

Suspension is courtesy of Kings and Aaron has gone for the 2.5 Racing Shocks with remote reservoir, Cal Offroad upper control arms and Cal Offroad rear springs. Ride height is now sitting at 3″ with increased ride control from compression and rebound adjustability, and increased axle articulation.  The Prado is rolling on 17x 8″ Kings D-Locker rims with a zero offset, wrapped in a set of BF Goodrich KM2 mud terrain tyres which measure in at 305/65 x 17 inches, for the ultimate in traction when the going gets tough.

This Prado is rocking a whole host of other great off-road features including a torque converter lock-up kit installed by Richards Auto Electrics for lower transmission temps and better fuel economy which compliments the A-trac intelligent off-road traction control system and factory rear diff lock for extra traction when needed.

Aaron tells us there’s plenty more touring mods yet to come for the Prado including some rear draws, performance mods and camp lighting. Keep your eye out for this unique looking Prado on the tracks. Aaron’s built it do the hard yards and don’t be surprised if you see it pop up on some of the most iconic tracks an the country.