WA4WD
Our 4WD setup
HOME Frank Hann Mudmaps 4WD Page Travellers Page Images Shitting In The Bush Lonely Graves My Nissan Contact Us
I always like to hear and see how others have their vehicles set up. So I thought I would show what we have done to mine.
Why pick a Nissan……I love ‘em. My last travelled over 500,000km and is still going (though it has suffered).That Nissan has been stuck on logs, bogged so badly that it had to be rescued, driven in some very remote areas, hit numerous kangaroos, done the Nullarbor nearly 150 times, had radiator damage on the edge of the Great Sandy Desert, and clocked up huge distances. It has helped re-open some extremely overgrown tracks and carried me and the camper trailer through all of it. What it achieved has surprised other 4WDrivers. It was a great vehicle and a joy to drive. The money spent buying that car was well worth it. The car has always got me home, even with a serious head problem I still managed to drive 400km to Perth and then return 800km to Norseman.
Navigation.
I use OziExplorer for navigation. I have tried a few options with laptops, and found all the new ones have screens that are far too big. We tried a small 8in LCD, but whilst it was good, it failed. We had a lot of leads running around and it was difficult to set up.
We used an ASUS EEE PC and this worked very well. It runs from 12V, which means no inverters, and now the leads are much simplified. The screen is just the right size at 7in and the whole lot is easy to use and move between passenger and driver. However, there was still the issue of mounting it.
We
have just installed an AVNC 3000 2 DIN combined stereo and GPS
navigator in the dash. We have removed the in built memory map and put
in OziExplorer CE. And this is just right. So far we are still learning
but it is great...it even has a course up feature.
I learnt to read maps in the Army Reserve. Oziexplorer is absolutely brilliant, but if all the technology fails make sure you can get yourself out of the shit manually. Either carry the paper maps or ensure you can retrace your own route.
Communications
 | The CB is a GME with a remote head mounted on the over head console. The transceiver is mounted behind the driver's kick panel. I have made an extension lead for the microphone to allow it to be mounted on the dash. There are a couple of Uniden handheld radios for when walking away from the vehicle. |
 | I have a Barrett 530 12 channel HF radio with the RFDS and VKS737 channels installed. The main transciever unit is mounted on the back of the cargo barrier, the head is mounted on the floor console behind the gear selector. I made a bracket for the spare wheel carrier to hold the autotune antenna, this has the added advantage of giving a bit more space between the spare wheel and the car door so that small stones don't get stuck. |
 | I have drawers fitted where the rear seats were. They contain nearly all the stuff I need to take everywhere. In one drawer are the tools and recovery equipment, including: two snatch straps, winch extension straps, a selection of shackles, socket set, spanners, miscellaneous tools, tyre repair kit, compressor, bead breaker, tyre levers, outback first aid kit, wheel chocks, rope, 12V fluoro lamp. The other drawer has human needs like a kettle and pots and other cooking gear, as well as head lights (for human heads at night), matches and of course a reasonable first aid kit (not some junky one from Kmart) The rear area has a shelf made over the drawers to help with stacking other gear for a trip such as food and clothng. Next to this is an Engel fridge. There is a half sized roof rack fitted with a kangaroo jack and shovel along with the extra spare wheel. I chose the smaller rack to ensure that overloading does not occur. |
 | A non branded winch has been installed in the bull bar. The car was ordered with a winch compatible bar. The winch was easy enough to install, but I had to rotate the gear box so the lever could be accessed (Undo all the screws and simply rotate to the right spot and rescrew). The control box mounting meant the control cable would be difficult to insert, so I made up a short tail using a trailer socket and wired that to the bull bar. The end of the control cable was modified accordingly. |
Spotlights
I use standard round IPF 100W spotlights. I have used them for nearly 20 years and find them excellent. I only ever use the 100W elements because I have found anything more powerful usually overheats and burns out pretty quickly. These may not be the absolute best light, but I believe they are the best bang for the buck. And I think the adjustment/mounting method is better than any Hella I have used or seen.Dual Battery System
 | We have a have a dual battery system fitted by the dealer. This allows the spare
battery to charge after the starting battery. There is a switch to
allow the spare battery to be put in parallel across the main battery
if needed. All accessories are wired to the auxiliary battery. The
problem with this design is that it is still possible to flatten the
start battery (main), by leaving on a light (especially the interior
lights) or even running the stereo too long. Put simply both batteries
could easily end up flat. However, wiring to the main battery is an
issue in some cars as the in built immobiliser may sense a draining of
the battery and register it as an attempt at theft and immobilise the
vehicle. Unless you know how to re-activate the vehicle you could be in
trouble (some need to have the key turned to on for 20minutes before
and attempt can be made to start, or there may be a sequence of things
you can do, but that knowledge is usually not printed anywhere for
obvious reasons). I just make real sure before I go to sleep that all systems are off (including the fridge) and I start the car early in the morning to make sure all is go. This is the only way I know of to buy peace of mind. |
 | Power is distributed from the auxiliary battery via a fuse block and an 80A thermal circuit breaker. The fuse block feeds the GPS and CB radio. The circuit breaker feeds the rear fuse block via 18mm cable. |
 | Power in the rear is distributed via the 80A thermal circuit breaker supplying power to a rear fuse block. Another circuit breaker feeds power to a heavy duty solenoid. The solenoid is used to switch power to the input of a 600W invertor. The solenoid can be controlled from the cab so that the invertor will not drain the power when it is not required. |
 | At each side of the drawers I have made a power unit. The left side has a switch for the fixed compressor. It also has a cigarette light socket and a merrit socket. The cigarette socket is controlled by another switch. Above the power unit can be seen a white extra low voltage power plug. The right hand unit has a switch to control the fridge as well as a voltmeter to show the condition of the auxiliary battery. Cigarette sockets are usually poor quality and do not provide a good connection for anything requiring a decent amount of current., this is why I use the extra low voltage plugs and merrit sockets. But this means that all accessories need to have their power cables modified to suit. |  |
