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100 BUDGET DIY MODS PART 2 OF 4

November 10, 2017 | By

PART TWO OUR FOUR PART SERIES FOR HOW TO TRANSFORM YOUR 4WD IN A DAY

100 easy and essential DIY mods for under $100!

74 – CANOPY ROOF STORAGE

COST: $50
TIME: 30 minutes
DIFFICULTY 2/5
Canopies offer a massive amount of space but for that extra storage, you can make a cargo net for the roof for next to nothing with some rope, mesh and cam buckles to attach it. It’s ideal for things like sleeping gear as it keeps it all out of the dirt in the back.

73 – TOUGH JERRY CAN BINS

COST: $70
TIME: 1 hour
DIFFICULTY 2/5
If you’ve got an old jerry can lying around that has a hole in it, or the lid has broken, cut the top off it and attach some hinges to one end and some latches to the other for a tough sealed bin, or extra storage.

72 – MOLLE POUCHES

COST: $20 per pouch
TIME: 5 minutes
DIFFICULTY 1/5
Using military style pouches for gear is perfect for 4WDing. Attach them to the back of your seat or to cargo barriers. You can have pouches for separate kits like a survival kit, a first aid kit or a spares kit. They attach to things easily and are tough.

71 – LOW COOLANT ALARM

Protect your engine from being cooked with this cheap and effective must-do mod.

COST $90
DIFFICULTY 2/4
TIME 2 hours
TOOLS Drill, soldering iron, solders
MATERIAL low coolant alarm kit, thread sealant/ RTV

METHOD

Drain your radiator and mark out where you want to place your sensor in the top tank.
Carefully drill a hole for the probe and install it. It’s a smart idea to use a thin smear of sealant on the hole, just make sure it doesn’t leak into the tank.
Flush out your radiator to remove any burs from the hole.
Wire in the alarm and test it with no coolant in the radiator first to make sure it all works, then refill your radiator and go for a drive to make sure everything is working as it should.

WHAT NOT TO DO

Don’t rush when drilling into your top tank and make sure your drill bit doesn’t hit the fins.
Don’t refill the radiator until you’re sure there are no bits in the radiator from drilling.

This install is different for each vehicle depending on your radiator setup. E.g. if you have a radiator with a header tank, you may need to tap into that.

70 – BUDGET SAND FLAG

Got some old bits and bobs lying around and a desert trip coming up? Check out this cracker of a budget sandflag!

COST: FREE!
DIFFICULTY 1/5
TIME 10 minutes
TOOLS drill, sockets, spanners
MATERIAL old fishing rod, orange bunting, scrap metal, leftover bolts

METHOD

Cut out your scrap metal so it has a tang at the top and bottom of the bracket for your fishing rod.
Mount your bracket on an easy surface like the front of your roofrack.
Cable tie the orange bunting to the top of the fishing rod.
Unscrew the two alloy caps on your fishing rod handle and bend one side out on each so they can slide over the bracket. If your rod doesn’t have these, a couple of cable ties can do the job.
Mount your budget sand flag and go test it out!
If you don’t have an old fishing rod, you can still make one out of a piece of long PVC pipe.

Sandflags generally have to be around 3m off the ground, and the orange flag needs to be around 300mm, so you may need to mount it as high as possible depending on how high your old rod is.

100 BUDGET DIY MODS PART 2 OF 4 - image P5240023 on https://news.emgcloud.net/news

69 – UNDER BONNET STORAGECOST: $30
TIME: 10 minutes
DIFFICULTY 1/5
Got left over space under the bonnet and don’t want a battery in there? Making a small box or using an old battery box is perfect for engine specific tools. Keep a rag, some hoses or a portable jump starter in there for easy access.

68 – FRIDGE CAGE

COST: $70
TIME: 2 hours
DIFFICULTY 2/5
If you’ve got some leftover metal lying around, fabbing up a cage for your Adventure Kings Fridge to sit in is ideal. The fridge gets more flow than a sealed fridge box and protects your fridge from all your gear. If you need to buy some metal, it won’t cost more than 50 bucks for everything you need.

COST: FREE!
TIME: 10 minutes
DIFFICULTY 1/5
If you’ve got a set of Titan Rear Drawers in the back of your 4WD with a built in fridge slide, rather than turfing your old unit, attach it to the fridge slide so your fridge comes out twice as far. Just make sure your cable can reach.

66 – SECURE YOUR FRIDGE WIRING

COST: $20
TIME: 20 minutes
DIFFICULTY 2/5
Out of the box most fridges come with a 12V cigarette plug. After long drives off-road they can sometimes wiggle out before you even realise your beer is warm. Changing the plug over to an Anderson plug will mean your fridge won’t turn off randomly.

65 – SPRING FRIDGE CABLE

COST: $20
TIME: 10 minutes
DIFFICULTY 1/5
If you’re tired of catching your fridge cable in the slide when you use it, get yourself a long spring (like a gate spring) from your local hardware store. Attach one end to your fridge and one end to a mounting point up high and presto! No more severed cables.

64 – STORAGE POCKETS FOR REAR OF FRONT SEATS

Grab some of the misso’s old pillow cases and put some elastic around the top and bottom then slide them over the seat, you can then fill them with whatever you need to from food to spare parts (within reason).

63 – DRINK HOLDERS

COST: FREE!
TIME: 5 minutes
DIFFICULTY 1/5
For those of you that don’t have drink holders, you can grab a couple of old stubbie coolers and a couple of cable ties and either hang them off the dash vents or the heater controls. Voilà instant drink holder.

“IT’S IN EVERY RED-BLOODED 4WDERS DNA TO GIVE SOMETHING A GO YOURSELF”

62 – CHEAP DIFF BREATHERS

COST: $20
TIME: 1 hour
DIFFICULTY 2/5
Get some rubber hose to suit the barb on your diffs and pick up some inline fuel filter with the same size out lets. Mount the filters up high in the engine bay with the arrow pointing up then fit a small piece of hose to the top – diff breathers on a budget.

61 – NEXT LEVEL REAR STORAGE

We’ve all heard of the dropdown rear table, but how many of you thought of storage in your door?

COST $100
DIFFICULTY 2/5
TIME 3 hours
TOOLS Drill, drill bits, socket set, measuring tape, circular saw
MATERIAL Wood of your choice (ply or MDF), bolts, tek screws

METHOD

Measure out the space on your rear door for your shelving.
Cut out the outer edges of the storage first, and test them on the door to make sure it suits
Check your clearances with the door shut, so your new storage doesn’t foul on anything in the vehicle.
Figure out what sort of storage shelving you want, and cut out shelves to suit your design
Depending on your design, mount your shelving and screw it to the frame, then mount your shelf to the door.
If you already have a table on your barn door, it can act as a cover for your gear; if not then you will need to secure your gear separately.

WHAT NOT TO DO:
Don’t overload the door with heavy gear.

60 – ROOF MOUNTED FISHING RODS

COST $50
DIFFICULTY 1/5 spanners
TIME 1 hour
TOOLS Drill, sockets, spanners, trim removal tool, screwdriver
MATERIAL rod holder, bolts, alloy flat bar

METHOD

Remove the trim holding the roof lining in place and carefully peel it back.
Mark where you want the rod holders to sit on the steel and drill some pilot holes.
Run the thin steel between two structural points in your roof and then dummy fit your roof lining and mark where the pilot holes are.
Carefully screw in your rod holder, to keep your rods safe and secure on the toughest of tracks.

WHAT NOT TO DO:

Don’t rush pulling the roof lining off as you can crease or damage it.
Be careful when you drill into the roof lining as you can catch it on the screw and damage it.

59- ROOF RACK WATER TANK

COST: $20 (if you already have a PVC tank)
TIME: 20 minutes
DIFFICULTY 1/5
Using a length of 100mm PVC pipe, two caps, a t-piece with cap and a ball valve with a piece of hose, make up the pipe with the T piece in a cap at one end. Then drill and glue the tap in the cap for the other end, glue and fit the cap and secure the pipe to your roofrack with large hose clamps or saddle clamps.

58 – IN-CAB WINCH CONTROLS

COST: $30
TIME: 1 hour
DIFFICULTY 2/5
If you do a lot of winching, using a hard mounted rocker switch will change the way you recover. Simply run a power and ground wire to your Domin8r or Grande winch solenoid and wire the switch in – Easy. Or, keep the wireless controller in your centre console and leave the plug for it on the control box on the winch.

57 – UP FRONT 240V POWER

COST: $20 (if you already have an inverter)
TIME: 1 hour
DIFFICULTY 2/5
If you’re running an Adventure Kings 1500W inverter, run power up to the front of your cab and wire in some 240V plugs like a power board or a wall plate. Then you have 240V power as you drive, how good is that?

56 – LED MAP READING

COST: $10
TIME: 30 minutes
DIFFICULTY 1/5
Illuminator 4 Bar Camp Light Kits are fantastic for putting everywhere around your 4WD. For a bit of extra light in the cab, run some sections on your sun visors and then to a switch. It makes reading things like maps at night a piece of cake.

55 – SLIDING DRAWER INSERTS

COST: $20
TIME: 1 hour
DIFFICULTY 1/5
If you have a lot of little items in your Titan Rear Drawers, use some leftover wood from a previous project to make up a small inserts to sit in the top of your drawer above your gear. If you make their outer dimensions the same size as your drawers’ inner dimensions they can fit nice and snug and be moved up and down the drawer – perfect for things like cutlery.

54 – CAMPER TRAILER SPIRIT LEVEL

COST: $10
TIME: 20 minutes
DIFFICULTY 1/5
Got a camper trailer in tow? Get some of those small spirit level meters from your local hardware store and fix them to your drawbar. It makes it easy as pie to level out your camper trailer when you pull up.
100 BUDGET DIY MODS PART 2 OF 4 - image DSC00243 on https://news.emgcloud.net/news

53 – DRAWER DIVIDERS

COST: $10
TIME: 30 minutes
DIFFICULTY 1/5
Got more gear to store than drawer? Get some 8mm plywood and cut it to the size of your drawer. Fit it in staggered sections to keep your gear separate and organised. If you want to get fancy, cover your dividers in marine carpet for a neat finish.

52 – DRAWER LIGHTING ON A SWITCH

COST: $20
TIME: 40 minutes
DIFFICULTY 1/5
Putting LED lighting in your drawers is fantastic for seeing your gear at night. To take it to the next level, wire in a momentary switch at the back of your drawers so your lights come on automatically when you open your drawer, and turn off when you shut it.

51 – CHASSIS CLEANING

COST: $20
DIFFICULTY 1/5 spanners
TIME: 20 minutes
TOOLS: hands
MATERIAL cable ties, perforated garden hose

METHOD

Get a bunch of perforated garden hose from your local hardware store.
Carefully run the hose through the chassis of your 4WD and cable tie the hose fitting so it just sits out of the chassis.
Connect a garden hose and sit back with a cold one and let your truck clean itself! It won’t be like a pressure washer, but it can soften up the mud enough for it to clear out easier.
If you want to get super budget, drill some holes in an old length of garden hose and use that.