10 minute read
Camera truck build
Does my bum look big with these wheels on the back?
RANGER gone Wild PART 1
By Chris Morton
We went looking for a multi-purpose vehicle that would be just as comfortable driving around town as it would be travelling along a dirt road beyond the black stump. Something that would get us on location and home again with ease. Here is the story of our camera truck build.
Last November, just after the Perth 4WD and Adventure Show, we were asked to escort Michael Ellem on a photo and video shoot around Kalgoorlie. We took him to a cousin’s 500,000 acre cattle station just south of the town and wooed him with some amazing locations. It was on this trip after observing how well he worked out of the back of his 79 series that we decided that we needed to invest in a dedicated 'camera truck' to support the growth of the magazine. We set out some basic criteria to assist with the selection process. • The vehicle needed to be a dual cab. • It must be comfortable to drive without major modifications. • It must have adaptive or radar cruise control. As you can see, our requirements were quite simple and allowed us to consider a wide range of options. The requirement for radar cruise was a direct result of my car accident and loss of ankle motion which made it non-negotiable. This of course immediately discounted the 79 series and the current model Isuzu D-MAX. Ultimately it came down to two vehicles, the 2.8 litre Toyota HiLux or the 3.2 litre Ford Ranger. Both vehicles had their pros and cons but ultimately it was the combination of the larger engine and more comfortable interior that resulted in us choosing the Ranger. Being supporters of Western 4W Driver, Dealer Principal, Derek and his team at NuFord Wangara were great to deal with and made the purchase process extremely easy. For the build we chose to partner with ARB to supply and fit the bulk of the accessories. • ARB Summit Bull Bar with side steps and rails • Replaced the standard suspension with Old Man Emu BP51s and 600kg rear springs. This also included a 2” lift and a
GVM upgraded to 3500kg. • Upgraded to a 140 litre ARB Frontier
Long Range Fuel Tank • Installed ARB Under Vehicle Protection and an ARB front recovery point • Complemented the standard rear
E-Locker with an ARB front air locker • City Discount Tyres in Joondalup replaced the standard tyres with Falken
Wildpeak AT3s and increased the size from the standard 265/60R18 to a 285/60R18 • Safari ARMAX Snorkel • Bushranger 4x4 9” Night Hawk VLI driving lights • Bushranger 4x4 REVO 10,000 lbs winch with 10mm synthetic rope • Complemented the factory fitted rear
E-Locker with an ARB airlocker up front • Directions Plus catch can and secondary fuel filter from Diesel Distributors.
The guys from ARB hard at work fitting the bullbar.
Wanting to ensure that the Ranger would provide us with a multi-use platform we opted to have the tub replaced with a steel, drop side tray and removeable ¾ aluminium canopy. This would ensure that it could be used as a traditional ute as well as providing an easy-to-work-from setup when conducting photo and video shoots, regardless of location. There is a wide range of companies that can fabricate these for you and after meeting Luke and Nerissa from On Track Fabrication we decided that we had found 'our people'. On Track Fabrication’s specialty is cutting 200 series LandCruisers and it is something that they are exceptionally good at. The husband and wife team cut their teeth on custom trays, canopies and bar work in the early days and have built up a reputation for providing exceptionally well-built and finished vehicles. Mapping out our requirements for the Ranger, we were able to call upon Luke’s industry knowledge and experience to ensure that we ended up with a first-class result. Initially my preference was to use an aluminium tray however I was quickly dissuaded when it was explained that the thickness of the aluminium required for the tray would result in a similar overall weight. The added benefit of using a steel tray meant that in the unlikely event there was ever an issue when travelling remote it is far easier to weld steel than aluminium.
Fitting the canopy to the tray.
The naked tray.
Attaching the drop sides to the tray.
Fitting out the inside of the canopy.
We also opted for an 85-litre water tank under the tray and underside toolboxes on each side. The passenger side toolbox was made smaller while still retaining the same size door which facilitated the placement of both the fuel and water fillers, allowing them to remain secured. The canopy posed several challenges when thinking about the internal fit out and ensuring that we made use of the space we had. Opting for a ¾ length meant that we would be able to have dual spares mounted to the rear, still supported by the tray. This meant that there was not going to be an extra 60kg-plus hanging over the rear of the vehicle and stressing the chassis. The passenger side toolbox contains an ARB twin air compressor, with an optional air tank being fitted underneath the tray. The compressor supplies air to the air locker when required as well as enabling us to quickly pump up tyres. The canopy was split in two with the driver’s side being designated as 'mission specific' cargo and the passenger side being dedicated to living out of. I’ll discuss the passenger side first. Unlike a 79 or 200 series build where you have a high roof, the Ranger meant that the roof profile was going to be quite low. When first looking at fridge selections the choice was going to be a 69-litre chest style mounted to a drop slide. This combination weighed more than 70kg (empty) and consumed most of the canopy's useable space. An Engel 57-litre upright fridge proved to be our saviour. Weighing less than 20kg (empty) and fitting perfectly into the vertical space available, the fridge still allows plenty of cargo space around it. A set of fixed shelves provides ample storage for cooking equipment, food and other necessities for working in the field. When designing the shelf placement, we were also mindful of ensuring that our Travel Buddy oven could be easily mounted within. The driver’s side consists of two large storage pockets (over 900mm deep and at least 450mm wide), a battery storage compartment all sitting beneath a fulllength storage area (900mm deep by 1450mm long). The battery compartment is fitted with a dual battery slide which allows for easy access to both batteries if required.
Fitting the snorkel at ARB Mandurah.
Battery slide provides easy access to batteries.
The canopy's electrical system has been designed to provide ample power when working remotely, allowing us to keep cameras, drones and laptops operating for extended periods. Simon and his team from Midland 4WD Centre have been instrumental in turning our basic vision of how we can work out of the canopy and turning it into reality with a well-designed and executed 12 volt electrical system. We opted for: • Two 100Ah Revolution Power lithium
Orange Top batteries. These batteries have a 1C rating meaning that they can charge and discharge at a rate of 100Ah for 1 hour. This is extremely important when coupling them to high draw equipment that has a high discharge rate. • REDARC Battery Management System 30. This unit takes power from multiple sources, in this case car alternator, solar inputs and mains power to provide a controlled charging system to the lithium batteries. • REDARC RedVision. This is an amazing piece of equipment. It functions as the brains behind the charging system, replacing the need for individual switches and fuse blocks. Its touchscreen controller and integrated mobile phone app allows us to control the entire canopy's electrical system from anywhere. The RedVision also reports back on battery and system health as well as receiving data from water tank sensors, providing you a complete
picture of your auxiliary systems in the palm of your hand. • REDARC 2000W inverter. Although most cameras and drones come with 12-volt charging options they can also be substantially slower than their 240-volt counterparts. Ensuring that we can deliver enough power to multiple devices at once was critical for our needs. • REDARC 150W fixed solar blanket and 115W solar blanket. The fixed panel ensures that we always have power going back into the batteries and the blanket provides us with extra capacity when stopped for an extended period. On the 'kitchen' side of the Ranger, we opted for several 12v sockets as well as USB outlets. We also installed two Anderson plugs to provide additional capacity if required. On the driver’s side we chose to install a single Anderson plug on one of the RedVision’s 30A circuits. This allows us to utilise custom power boxes that we constructed for a previous project, positioning the power outlets where they are required when the vehicle is loaded.
The almost-finished kitchen side of the canopy.
The Ranger's first taste of mud.
Photo by LensNation.
Good lighting was achieved with the installation of two Bushranger 4x4 5.5” light bars to the rear of the canopy, connected via their VLI dimmer switch. Inside the canopy we installed a 900mm LED strip light into each gull wing door and one inside the main cargo area. A smaller LED strip was used in the kitchen section. All are individually switched with the option of selecting an orange light so as not to attract bugs. They are all on the same circuit, allowing for all the lights to be switched off via our mobile phone.
But how much does the vehicle weigh I can hear you asking? With 140-litres of diesel and 85-litres of water, steel tray and aluminium canopy fitted (including the electrical system) we still have over 600kg of payload available. Our Ford Ranger Wildtrak will be on display at the Perth 4WD and Adventure Show from 5 - 8 November. Special thanks need to be given to NU Ford Wangara for getting us into the Wildtrak, the ARB stores at Wangara, Canning Vale and Mandurah for their assistance in fitting us into their extremely busy schedules, Luke and Nerissa from On Track Fabrications for designing and building the tray and canopy and Simon and Matt from Midland 4WD Centre for the long hours working on the canopy electrical systems and making sure it was just right.
Stay tuned for the next edition of Western 4W Driver where we go into detail on the other goodies that we have installed into the Ranger and how she performs as our new camera truck.
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