Part two of our three part series on setting your 4WD up for whatever you want to point it at.

STORAGE

IF YOU’RE BUILDING YOURSELF A TOURER, DO YOURSELF A FAVOUR AND FACTOR IN THE COST OF A STORAGE SYSTEM

BASIC

A simple drawer set-up can be picked up relatively cheaply or even knocked together at home providing you know your way around a jigsaw. This set-up provides everything the owner needs, including a roller bearing fridge slide, a full-length roller drawer and door-mounted fold-down table. Perfect for quick and easy meal preparation!

INTERMEDIATE

This professionally built system has an extra drawer for extra space, a fridge slide and higher quality roller bearings and fittings to make it virtually rattle free and an absolute breeze to use. This is one of the most effective uses of space you can get, and suits couple and small families to a tee

ULTIMATE

In terms of pure outback practicality, there’s nothing that’s more appreciated when you’re out in the middle of nowhere than a well thought out storage system inside your 4WD. Y’know that old saying “a place for everything and everything in its place”? If you apply it to your cooking stuff, recovery gear, camping products, tools, spares, clothes and everything else you take bush with you, it makes your off-road experience that much nicer. Having everything within easy reach is not only hassle-free, but it can make a big difference in safety too. In an off-road recovery situation, getting to the straps, shackles and winching gear within seconds, instead of digging around in the back for minutes on end can literally make the difference between being back on your way in a few minutes or still being stuck several hours later.

If you’re building yourself a tourer, do yourself a favour and factor in the cost of a good storage system.

	BASIC:	INTERMEDIATE:	ULTIMATE:
COST	$1000 (give or take)	$1000-$3000	$2500+
WHAT IT GETS YOU	Single drawer, fridge slide, drop down kitchen table	Twin drawers, fridge slide, drop down kitchen, higher quality fittings with space maximised	Multiple drawers, fridge slides, pullout kitchens, 12V panels, integrated water tanks, custom fittings
DIY?	Can be done at home, although the finish will generally not be as nice as a professional product	Same goes here. Can be done, but by the time you factor in the cost of materials and the time involved, you’re often not that much further ahead	While it can be done, unless you’re a carpenter or cabinet maker we’d sit down with the pros and detail what we want and leave them to it. Don’t underestimate the amount of time wrapped up in an ultimate storage set-up!
YOU WANT THIS IF…	…you’re looking to keep your interior neat and tidy and the loose, fiddly bits of gear packed away. A basic set-up can always be added to later as well	…you know exactly what’s needed to be stowed and where, and one drawer won’t cut it. You’re also not willing to put up with rattles over long distances and are prepared to pay a little more for quality locking latches	…you’ve got your camping set-up down to a fine art and are looking to secure your gear in easy to reach locations. You know what you’re taking, where it’s going and how to get it out once you arrive at camp – you need a custom tailored storage system

SUSPENSION

MASSIVE GAINS IN FLEX AND HANDLING, AND DRIVEABILITY CAN EVEN BE IMPROVED IF DONE RIGHT

BASIC

A quality 50mm lift will improve your vehicle’s off-road abilities over stock by a huge amount and will allow a moderate increase in tyre size. This is the most popular suspension set-up for long distance touring rigs as driveability is essentially unchanged

INTERMEDIATE/ ULTIMATE

Stepping up to a 3-4in lift gives you more options for tyre fitment and an increase in wheel travel also. However it does require things like camber and castor correction which only increases both the complexity and cost. However if you’re building a rig that’s ready for absolutely anything, then this is the sort of lift you should be considering

This is one of the most important aspects to building a tourer. The key is to factor in the weight of any accessories that are fitted now as well as those going on in the future, including trailers. Barwork, winches, racks, rooftop tents, drawers and fridges will all affect how your vehicle drives out on the tracks, so discuss all additions to your fourby with your suspension retailer so you can get the right combination of springs and shocks to work for you.

How much lift to go for is really dependent on the tyres you want to run. In general, keeping it as low as possible, while still getting adequate clearance, is the way to go. Too high and your truck becomes unstable in off-camber sections of track, too low and you’ll be scrubbing tyres everywhere. For our money, the best all-round suspension is still a 2in lift combined with 33in tyres – you’ll do 95% of tracks in the country and still maintain close to factory handling and driveability.

EXPERT INPUT – Brad Greene

When lifting an IFS truck the main problem you encounter when going taller than 50mm or so is the angle of the CVs, they become too great to still operate properly and will either bind up or just destroy themselves. That’s why most big lift kits include a bracket that drops the differential down lower, keeping it in line with the hubs and leaving the CV angle as stock. You lose any gained diff clearance, but it’s no different with a solid axle truck – the diff clearance comes from fitting bigger tyres.

EXPERT INPUT – RAW

There are a lot of ways to correct castor. On lifts of up to 3in or so, castor bushes are probably the most common. On bigger lifts you start getting into plates, drop boxes and complete replacement arms. While these do bring a higher price, they also get the geometry back to factory levels and make driving a lifted truck not much different to stock

	BASIC: 2in over stock	INTERMEDIATE: 3-4in over stock	ULTIMATE: Full custom
COST	$800 – $2500 Depending on brand and rate of springs, as well as extras like airbags for towing, upgraded swaybars etc.	$2000-$4000 While more wheel travel is achieved, there’s a lot more complexity to the kits with things like castor, CV angles and pinion angle all having to be factored in. If not done properly handling will suffer drastically	$2500 – $20,000+ Full custom suspension is really only needed if you’re going to be tackling extreme tracks. We’re talking things like solid-axle swaps, custom link configurations, leaf-to-coil conversions and ultra long travel springs and shocks
OFF-ROAD CAPABILITY	The suspension of choice for many long-distance tourers. Factory handling and driveability with hugely improved performance in the tough stuff over stock	Large gains in wheel travel are commonly seen, however it costs more as geometry must be corrected. Greater sill clearance over the more difficult tracks and better wheel travel gives the best chance at maintaining traction in the hardcore stuff	Out of sight! Massive improvements in flex and handling, and driveability can be maintained and even improved if done right, but it’s hard (read: expensive) to get bang on
DIY?	A relatively straightforward affair providing you’ve got access to tools and a means of getting your wheels off the ground. If you’re mechanically confident, go for it!	Installation is a bit more involved with bigger lifts. Unless you’re familiar with how castor correction, diff-drop kits and replacement suspension arms are fitted, you’re better off letting a 4WD workshop worry about it	Unless you’re a professional mechanical engineer or a top-gun fabricator this one belongs firmly in the “better left to the pros” category
YOU WANT THIS IF…	…you regularly do trips ranging from beach weekenders to desert crossings. You’re happy to drive the harder tracks but don’t mind taking the easy lines rather than risk your vehicle	…you want to step up in tough track capability. You still do the big trips, but aren’t content with the easy lines and are willing to put up with slightly reduced high-speed handling to take on the harder stuff	…you’ve done the rest, now you want the best! This is for those people who live to tackle Suzuki-sized boulders and ruts deeper than the Dalai Llama. The blokes who reckon that if you can’t ramp a 40-gal. drum you’re not trying, and are prepared to pay for the privilege

TYRES

HAVING A DECENT TREAD PATTERN AND WAY STRONGER SIDEWALLS WILL GET YOU FURTHER THAN JUST ABOUT ANYTHING ELSE

BASIC

While not giving much increase in sidewall height or diff clearance, having close to stock sized tyres will also save on driveline wear and tear and will not affect acceleration, gearing or fuel consumtion like bigger rubber will. A favourite on long distance tourers due to the minimal mods needed to fit them

INTERMEDIATE

33in rubber is probably the most popular for most full-size 4WDs and for good reason. It gives a useable increase in diff clearance and is a much better prospect for serious off-road use, both in hardcore and touring situations. A 2in lift coupled with a set of 33s is still our favourite set-up for all-round 4WDing

ULTIMATE

35in tyres are just about the ultimate in tyres we reckon. Small enough to comfortably tour on while big enough to tackle anything short of a hardcore competition track. Fitting them is the easy part however, you may need to sort your gearing and lack of acceleration to get the most out of them. Once sorted, the extra off-road prowess is definitely worth the extra outlay

Tyres potentially have the biggest impact on your 4WD’s off-road performance. It doesn’t matter if you’ve got lift, lockers, barwork, drawers and more electrical gear than an F-14, as soon as you hit that mud puddle with your highway terrains, you’ve probably got as far as you’re getting. Having a decent tread pattern and way stronger sidewalls will get you further than just about anything else when the going gets tough.

There are more tread patterns, sizes and brands on the market these days than ever before, but for any vehicle short of a competition 4WD almost all of us will go for an AT or muddy for touring duties.

	BASIC: 31in or 265/75R16	INTERMEDIATE: 33in or 285/75R16	ULTIMATE: 35in or 315/75R16
COST (5 tyres)	$1100 – $1700	$1200-$2000	$1500 – $2600
CONSIDERATIONS	These will be safe to run on just about any 4WD, although will not offer a significant advantage on anything bigger than a Suzuki Jimny	While 33in rubber is probably the best all-rounder size for most 4WDs, it is about the upper limit for some drivetrains and gearing options. There are a fair few extra things to think about before stepping up to 35s, so 33s are an excellent compromise	Your overall gearing will be taller, so you’ll lose out on low-range capability, plus your acceleration will be reduced, as will braking performance. There’s also higher stress placed on your driveline. Even so, they’re still worth it
LIFT NEEDED (For most 4WD Wagons)	nil	2in	3-4in
YOU WANT THESE IF…	…you’re not looking to stray too far off the main tracks and are happy bombing up the beach instead of hitting the rock gardens, and don’t want to bump up the damage and fuel bills needlessly	…you’re looking to do some harder tracks without placing undue stress on the driveline. You’re chasing a useable increase in diff clearance but don’t want the increased headaches that go with bigger rubber.	…you live for the hard lines and don’t mind spending a bit more coin to have a crack at them. You see lower gearing and lockers as mandatory purchases anyway, so why not run the rubber that’s going to get the most advantage out of them?