The Doc needs Starlink for The Kimberley trip in 2026 – many bookings can only be made online and with poor mobile coverage, so Starlink will be his only option. How things have changed since his last trip there.
The Doc bought the Smart Touring Systems Starlink MIni Mount bracket (key lockable) here. It was an easy install, less than 5 minutes. It was mounted onto the Rhino Pioneer Platform using four M8 bolts with Nord-Lock washers, torqued to 16Nm.
The Doc is waiting for some narrow split tubing so he can protect the Starlink cable and it will be plugged into a rooftop outlet (front passenger side outlet).
The Doc will also have the option to run a power cable from my 125Ah Lithium Battery Box if the power drain is too much when camping. He can also plug it into the Vista RV van. Viva Cristo Rey:\.
In preparation for the Kimberley trip (hopefully) later this year.
Working from the right side of the GrenX Rail, The Doc a GME UHF Mic holder on the angle side. He can move the UHF hand-piece across from the passenger side holder, when offroad.
The Doc dissembled the GME Mic Holder (Model MB207), drilled a hole in the back plate, inserted a stainless steel 1/4 inch 20 UNC bolt through the hole, reassembled the Mic holder. He put double sided tape on the back and then screwed the ¼ inch 20UNC bolt into the GrenX Rail. The allen key was inserted through the opening in the GME Mic Holder. The idea was from Rohan at @GrenX. The Doc did buy 1/2 20UNC bolts but they did not fit into the Mic Mount. The 1/4 bolts fitted perfectly.
Next is the Garmin GPS Tracker.
Far left is the holder for the caravan reversing camera screen, not currently mounted. This reversing camera and the Garmin use RAM Mounts.
Pictures below show the Mic piece moved from the passenger side holder to driver’s side holder.
add rear airbags for towing the van (Poly Air, the ones also used on the van); and
a bolt on a sealed snorkel. It is a bolt on job, no cutting. GrenX’s final development of the diesel airbox is now complete. Rohan confirmed to me last Friday at the 4WD and Adventure Show.
The Doc has some DIY things to do, but GrenX will do the final work. The Doc needs to book the trip to Melbourne. The Doc organized the final work with GrenX at the Sydney 4WD and Adventure show.
Watching the Grenadiers do water crossings up at Cape York in the Canny Outdoor video was the final prompt.
The Doc’s new hybrid offroad caravan is nearly ready – just a shelf to be made and installed. Photos were supplied today of the van.
Electrics controlled by a REDARC TVMS with the REDARC Rogue added on for more circuits. 645W of solar panels, 400Ah of Lithium batteries and a 3000W REDARC Black Alpha inverter. It has the air suspension option as well. Tyres match the Grenadier, BF Goodridge KO2’s. Plus red go fast stickers. External kitchen with a small internal kitchen. Fridge can be used internally and externally (it is on draw).
The model name XLE signifies external fridge, verse XLI for internal fridge.
The Doc will install his JOOCLA Shower into the van.
The carpet grabber pouches/pockets have arrived from CrazyDog Canvas. With Velcro hooks on the back, the pouches just stick to the new carpeted bracket.
Easy to reconfigure if needed.
The Doc’s Jetboil is in one pocket, the middle pocket has a lantern and USB cables (or whatever) and the other has spare gas for the Jetboil. The fourth pocket was attached to The Doc’s Bushman fridge cover to give some storage area on the back of the fridge.
XSPEC Molle panels with diesel fuel tanks installed today. One on each side. XHQ also solved the electrical problem, fixed it and found a new wiring issue with the recent 20 inch LED lightbar install (glad The Doc asked them to look the lightbar over). It was a quick fix.
The electrical problem was caused when the dashcam was installed by my installer. It did not affect the dashcam but a fuse for the Power ON switch on the roof panel. Now all fixed. That explains why the all aux power circuits where down, the ON switch was not working, due to the blown fuse.
Everything now working as it should. Final niggles gone.
You can also see the JOOCLA Ensuite mounted on the driver’s side of the car, above the diesel tank.
20-inch Lighftforce Viper LED lightbar installed today. Images below, the pictures were taken after the lightbar was attached, but it was not wired up and the blue protective film was still over the lens. A detailed install guide will be posted.
The Doc has been working on a little project for a few weeks now. He finds out tomorrow whether it will work.
He was going to install a 10-inch low profile LED Lightbar under the top loop of the Roo Bar (in NSW it is illegal to mount then above the Roo Bar – even though people do it).
After some research his is now trying to mount a 20-inch lightbar there instead– it will either just fit or not fit. It is so close we need to do an actual test fit.
He needed low profile mounting brackets, which he now has and has done a test bracket fitting. The Doc had worked out 3 ways to mount the 20-inch lightbar to the bracket, but after the test fitting 2 of those ways will not work. All 3 should work with a 10-inch lightbar. Power will come from the 10 amp bonnet circuit, with some other wiring.
The Doc did not want my mounting brackets or lightbar to be an additional pedestrian risk, so everything must be behind or inline with the Roo Bar. When mounted, the Roo Bar slopes backwards from the bumper.
When he visits ORS tomorrow, we will try and fit the 20-inch lightbar, the worst-case scenario is we fit the 10-inch lightbar instead.
The Doc could not find many 15-inch lightbars with the right profile – he found one with a hefty price tag (over twice the price of the one he is buying). The Doc wants to reduce any interference with air flow to the radiator, so options are limited to single row, low profile lightbars.
The Doc could probably mount the 20 inch lightbar down of the bumper, but with a winch installed, he does not want to drill holes or have bolts in the bumper anywhere near the winch.
1. The Doc and his brother installed the rear roof shelf over the weekend and The Doc has been experimenting how to pack the shelf. At present, he is using it to store the Solar Screens, air compressor equipment, Nakatanenga rear Door Air Vents and the Blacksmith Camping firewood carrier. Minimal loss of rear vision due to the shelf.
Here is a photo – the Travel Buddy Oven will be installed on the left side under the shelf after The Doc fits the Anderson plug to the oven.
2. The bed extension is removed while ORS makes some refinements to the design. It did allow me to easily fit the BLE Battery Monitor to the main battery today.
3. The Bushman Fridge arrived for the Grenadier and The Doc gave the courier a guided tour of the car. 🙂
4. The Doc installed the rear Firestryker extinguisher next to the air compressor cylinder. Brian from ORS suggested the location; and I thought it was a good suggestion, so I used it. You can see the air compressor bracket created a little space between it and the window that I can use for storage. Still working out what to put there. In the image there is a red Drifta Power Towel Dispenser and the other canvas bag has a 240 volt extension cable. When camping I can hang the Drifta towel dispenser from the roof shelf. That worked out nicely! Finally, the tie down rings will be re-installed where you see the bolt and washer on the bracket, so I can use the raised tie down points on both sides of the car.
TRAVEL BUDDY OVEN Tasks today: 1. Wired the 50-amp Anderson plug to the Travel Buddy Oven. Fitted the KAON insulated door to the oven. 2. Fitted the KAON Travel Buddy mounting brackets to the rear roof shelf. The backing plates had been wrapped in black fabric tape to stop any rattles and let the backing plates blend into the shelf. 3. Fitted the Travel Buddy oven to the KAON brackets. 4. Plugged in and tested the oven – all working! The oven can be plugged into the rear power outlet shown below. 5. Placed spit tubing over the power cable to protect it, then tidied up the run of the power cable to the power outlet. When not in use, the Anderson plug is velcroed to the roof shelf. 6. After fitting the Travel Buddy, the driver loses some rear vision, but it is limited to part of the small rear door on the passenger’s side (RHD).
POWER TO THE CAR TRACKER 7. Used my rear power outlet to recharge the car tracker battery, which normally lasts around 6 months. Worked out how to lay permanent power to the tracker, if needed.
REAR JACK 8. Removed the jack and stowed it in the rear drawer. The jack keeps working loose.
The build is coming together nicely now.
TRAVEL BUDDY NOT PART OF THE ORIGINAL BUILD The Travel Buddy was never part of the build, until The Doc fitted the rear roof shelf and thought of this upgrade. It offers some great options when driving around for better meals. When driving long stints The Doc tends to eat take away, now he can cook his own food.
TO DO Building the fridge slide is the next to do. After that a visit to Expedition HQ for the final work and then off the remote Channel Country in South West Queensland and the dinosaurs in June.
MAYBES Rocks sliders/steps (now done) and maybe a small front LED lightbar on the Roo bar (now done). Still thinking about a Redarc EGT and Boost gauge as well. EDIT: rock sliders and a 20 inch Viper lightbar were installed, see separate posts.
UPDATE The Doc just did a short trip with an empty oven on. The Doc will place some insulation over the top of the oven, between the oven and the roof shelf. He wants to minimize heat transfer to the shelf. He is glad he did this test before using the oven in anger for 2-3 hours, there was more heat and heat transfer than he was expecting.
The Doc thinks over time the heat transfer to the shelf needs to be monitored. Reminded once again why The Doc does a shake down test after an install. A few tweaks and she will be good to go.
UPDATE 2 The shelf insulation worked. On the Eromanga trip the pie oven was used a few times. No problems with heat transfer to the shelf.
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