1984 Toyota Land Cruiser HJ47
This Right-hand-drive Tasmanian Devil arrived to our shop a little bushwhacked with cracks, holes, dents, rips and tears. Years of use as a firetruck had taken their tole. The body overall needed many paint touch-ups so we custom mixed the original formulation of paint-to-spray to apply to the body once the repairs were done. Our goal was to preserve as much of the vehicle’s original appearance that drew the owner to this HJ. This Land Cruiser is a retired fire vehicle that spent its former years in the Australian Outback. This classic Toyota diesel 4x4 had its pop top installed in Austrialia, and now the owner wanted us to take it to the next level, turning it into a self sustaining home on the trail.
Brainstorming and engineering an all inclusive support system with style was priority one. Energy, fresh water, a kitchen, a shower, lots of storage, air for tires or emergencies, a place to write and relax, music, CB radio, and many other features needed to be integrated. We also need to find an adaptive and clever way to get quite a few items set up and mounted to be stored on the outside of the vehicle when driving, and ready to unfold and become available when it’s time to camp. The spare tire, double jerry-can holder and propane tank— we designed and built— swings out of the way where the back of the vehicle can be opened. Inside the rear door is where you will find the water heater and a subzero refrigerator and freezer on slide rails. We added a compartment door on the left side of the vehicle where a hidden kitchen counter top comes out (also on a slide-rial system). Inside the butcher block you will find storage for pots and pans, and a sink with water that runs from a on board reservoir.
The Roof-top solar panel charges a series of batters that provide power not only for this diesel-fueled rig and its refrigerator, but there are also numerous lights, outlets, both AC and USB along with fans and heated seats with lumbar support and a stereo inside the center console. Windows were tinted to provide privacy and help keep the vehicle cool. Sound dampening spray insulated liner was also applied inside and out to help keep the passengers cool.
Creature comforts aside, this Land Cruiser has been equipped with items to get it out of any sticky, rugged, backcountry situations. We included a wench, side mounted Maxtrax, and there is a tire compressor inside the tool box with an on-board air tank with pump and tire chuck for inflating flats and a fill-feature CB scanner with police, fire and weather.
We certainly are not an “off-road fab shop” and this vehicle is outside of our date range of what we typically work on, but we chose to take this job on because it was so unique and cool and was truly a custom job that we knew that we could enjoy creating. We are happy to help make our customer’s dream come true and will always live vicariously in his adventures.
