The BushSkinz SWB Paj

[Pearcie]

Hi Guys,
A number of you guys have been interested in our vehicle and the mods etc, which we have done. Now that the list of things still to come is getting a lot shorter I thought I would post up some pics and list the accessories fitted to the vehicle. There is more gear going on over the coming couple of months so I will add pics and update as things get installed.

Okay so hear goes it the list of mods to make our little 2007 NS Pajero SWB 'X' in to a real adventurer:

2 inch lifted suspension (soon to be replaced with either Bilstein/Lovell's or Koni adjustable/Lovell's)

32.5" Maxxis Bighorn Muddies on the OEM 18" rims

Uniden CB hidden with only mic neatly located on the dash, with 2.1m GME Antenna for the outback trips and a t shirt duck tapped to the top as a flag when required

Dual Batteries with redarc isolator, remote over ride under dash, All rounder maintenance free 80amp battery, TJM battery tray, 70amp cabling to the 3 HD power outlets in the rear.

TJM Airtech Snorkel, Still needs a little silicon to make it completely water tight before the cape trip.

Pioneer 7" double din DVD head unit, Pioneer 6.5" splits, Pioneer 6x9 rears, ipod connection, 3.5mm aux input and various other inputs.

Sound Deadening house insulation between outer panels and the chassis in the rear.

Annoying seat belt reminder unplugged

ARB Deluxe Steel winch bar, with custom panel trimming to improve clearance to the front wheels.

ARB high output compressor mounted under passenger seat.

300w Inverter mounted under passenger seat.

Mio GPS system

Thule Sports roof bars.

Thule luggage box.

Rhino alloy luggage tray.

Ironman Awning passenger side.

Billet Race Craft Front and Rear Diff Breathers, Transmission and Transfer Breathers.

Custom Bed/Storage unit with cooking bench and fridge slide for the Waeco.

Spider Diesel Performance Unit

ARB Camp Light and LED camp light for the kitchen

Mitsu gear - Factory Rear Locker, tint, tow bar, chrome door handle protector and mirror protectors etc.

And of course our BushSkinz 4x4 Intercooler, Sump and Transmission Guards along with our new BushSkinz 4x4 Rock Sliders!!!

Still to come in coming months:
Rear Awning and custom corner piece to connect the awnings
Custom Stainless steel water tank in storage unit
Ironman 9500lb Electric Winch
Aux Fuel Tank
New Spotties

The best thing about this setup is that it takes about 60 seconds to be setup ready to sleep for those quick sleeps on the side of the road, and 5 minutes to be setup with awning out, bed made, table and chairs out and a drink in the hand. But by far the best thing is that it takes about 5 minutes to pack up and be on the road again.

Below are a few pics that show most of the accessories, I will add more as the remaining few pieces get installed.

[Pearcie]

More Pics!!!

[Pearcie]

And a couple more!!!

[Pickle]

Great looking shorty that one Pearcie! Good work.
Dave

[Pearcie]

Thanks Dave, I must say that once a vehicle is set up well for camping it makes life very easy, rather then having to spend that last part of sunset setting up tents and tarps etc. You can pull a chair out and enjoy it because even in the dark it setting up is so easy.

Could be just me but I always find that we seem to pull in to the nicest places when the sun is going down.

Also the easiest way to keep the Mrs happy is to make her life easier in the kitchen. So if things are easily accessible and easy to operate you can spend more time sitting rather then having to help find everything

Cheers,
Kieron

[apsilon]

Nice work Kieron

[Wiseowl]

Thats one awsome Shorty well done.

[Pearcie]

Thanks guys,
Picked up an ARB rear awning yesterday (Ironman at this stage don't have a rear awning) price was reasonable at $230 however I have had to make the mounting brackets to attach it to the rack as the mounts are optional. I believe they are optional on the Ironman awning as well however they were included in the awning they sent me for some reason. Once the brackets finish drying I will mount it up to the car and post up a pick. Unfortunately I have left it to late to have the corner piece made before the Easter long weekend which is a bit of a pain seen as it is raining so much.

Both the Ironman and the ARB awnings are identical in build aside from one has a black cover and the other is gray.

On other news I have decided that I am not happy with only having an additional 65L for the aux tank. Simply because I only want a maximum of 2 jerry cans on the roof and for the canning trip we want about 200-210L on board. So we are going to do a custom tank probably out of Stainless Steel, and cut the shallow well out of the back, rough estimate is that I should get about 90-100L based off of the measurements I have done. This will be a big job so with everything else it won't get done till after the cape trip in June.

Cheers,
Kieron

[Pearcie]

Ok guys so hear is the pic of the ARB rear awning. There are a couple of very minor differences between the ARB and Ironman in the legs but essentially do the same thing and the rest of the build is the same. For my money which ever you can get at the best price and the size you want is the one to go with. neither are better then the other in terms of quality.

Cheers,
Kieron

[marquis]

So product testing is going well?

[Pearcie]

You bring up a good point Marquis, what to do when I can't find any more products to put on the vehicle for product testing.......... I suppose I will have to keep driving it on all the great tracks to give all the products a real long term and proper test. Hmmmm if only there was 48 hrs in a day rather then only 24 I may actually have time to get more traveling done.......

Cheers,
Kieron

[THT]

Awsome setup there Pearcie, I can't believe how much stuff you've packed into your SWB.

[Pearcie]

Thanks mate, I think the trick is to not take as many clothes. I dunno about you guys but we always find that you get lazy when on the road camping so you pack a heap of the necessities and you can always where jeans etc for a few days, when your out in the sticks your clothes outer clothing is usually dirty once you put it on anyway. For the 2 of us we have about 0.25m cubed to fit what ever clothes we plan on taking.

The other trick I have found is don't try and store all of your food in a storage unit or boxes/eskies etc as you can usually leave them in the shopping bags and find nooks and crannies to fill.

I now have the 9500lb Ironman winch all mounted up to the front now, just doing the wiring today and will take some pics.... It looks very very neat I'm very happy with the outcome.

Cheers,
Kieron

[Pearcie]

Pics of the winch, Looks pretty neat and tidy if I don't say so myself. All wired up now and running nicely.

Cheers,
Kieron

[Pearcie]

Ok time for another update. In the effort to improve fuel economy I decided the other day to have the exhaust done (also ready for the aux tank) anyway in a word I was stunned at the difference. With the second spare on the roof and the 2 awnings my fuel economy was well very average only getting about 410-420km before the redlight would com on. Right now I have done about 410km and have now hit 3/4 of a tank which means that I am getting about an extra 50km to a tank, which is about what I was getting before putting the spare wheel and things on the roof.

The standard exhaust drops down from a 2.5" to either a 2.25" or 2.125" after the DPF and then goes through to the very restrictive large muffler. The exhaust is now 2.5" from the DPF back with a very short offset muffler straight after the DPF before it goes past the rear wheel and is plumbed very tight and neatly out the other side. giving me heaps of room to fabricate a decent size aux tank. Best of all the exhaust note is alot nicer under acceleration but I can't here it from inside the car well atleast not with muddies on anyway. Performance wise it is definitely a little better as it doesn't get as strangled up high in the revs. One thing that I have noticed is that it now down shifts a lot smoother in sports mode. I believe this is due to the fact it doesn't get as strangled up high in the Revs. Anyway for the sake of $300 bucks at its current rate it will pay for itself in about 20,000km which for me will happen very quickly with the cape trip in 6 weeks. Attached are a few pics, only thing I need to do now is give the welds a bit of a spray to protect them a little.

Cheers,
Kieron