Rotorburn equivalent for utes? - Haakon vs The World

fatboyonabike

Captain oblivious
Another thing to keep in mind is the flip open latch locks they use on some boxes there is only a very limited amount of keys they use. So some random guy next to you with the same sort of locks there is a chance his keys may open yours. So some crook might only need a bunch of keys and he’s got entry.
hence the advice on the ones that you can lock the latch down to be double locked with a padlock.
I had one of the normal Tbar latches on one of my box setups , and the grubs simply slipped a long ring spanner over the handle and twisted, the latch busted at the shaft and simply fell to pieces inside the box
 

mark22

Likes Dirt
Funny thread this, if you need or want a Dual cab more power to you just don't drive it like a dick.
I would say most owners are not Tradies if that matters, it's pretty easy to tell with the lack of tools and such onboard.
 

puffmoike

Likes Dirt
OP here. Thanks to those people trying to get the thread back on track ;)

Given there has been unprecedented interest in this thread, and not a single suggestion for an alternate forum, I'm going to provide a bit more detail and hope it encourages a couple more posts like the last few.

Mate currently has a ~10yo Navara space cab with a Fleet Trades setup – dual 3/4 length twin latch, aluminium checkerplate boxes (with a gap down the middle) and a fairly serious roof rack on a tray with drop down sides, and the sliding drawer underneath. Looks vaguely like this (from the Fleet Trades website), …
Tray Lockers

… except it's a space cab so the boxes are 3/4 length with a bit of space at the back, and the full-length side trays are still on. He's DIYed it so that the setup is alarmed and hooked up to his central locking.

It's served him well as a predominantly work vehicle that and he can also use with his family (wife and two young teenagers) pretty well. He even DIYed a 5-bike shuttle rack that hangs off the back of the roof rack.

He's just bought a Isuzu D-Max dual cab – kids need more leg room, and he reckons battery operated tools and slightly different sort of jobs he's now doing means he can get away with reduced tray area. He's bought the LS-U because he wants a bit of luxury, so it comes with a tub that will need to be removed.

(To quickly address some of the tangentially related stuff that has come up in this thread in my opinion a dual cab ute is the right choice for his circumstances. He had a van in the distant past, he works in the inner suburbs so a trailer isn't practical, it has to be able to transport filthy crap at times, and it needs to serve double duty as a family car.)

Stuff I was hoping to read more about / get advice on include:
  1. General configuration alternatives.
    1. Tray and boxes versus service bodies.
    2. Separate roll bars (for roof rack mounting) versus integrated rack mounts on boxes.
    3. Practicality of lift off canopies (are they too much effort, are there other drawbacks?)
    4. Handles (as addressed already above). It drives me nuts watching him have to undo four separate latches (two on the tray, two on the door, spaced far enough apart that he has to step between them to reach them) to get to his tools.
    5. Security suggestions generally
    6. (there's no doubt other things I haven't even thought of…)
  2. Isuzu D-Max specific considerations, eg
    1. I saw a Norweld Facebook post in which they felt it necessary in the comments to refute suggestions that it wasn't possible to keep all the electronic safety aids in a conversion
    2. A Cars Guide review of the sibling Mazda in which they reported the driver aids stopped working one it was loaded with 750kg of sandbags
    3. I note in the specs that the base model SX dual cab comes as cab chassis and has "Heavy duty rear leaf suspension" versus "Standard rear leaf suspension" on all the other dual cab variants
  3. Manufacturer/fitter recommendations.
    1. He's in Melbourne.
    2. I don't think his budget stretches to Norweld, Boss Aluminium, etc.
 
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Fred Nurk

No custom title here
Yes, its a lot more effective to order the ute with a Norweld et al, rather than retrofitting and disposing of the tub. There are likely quite a few smaller organisations that can do them cheaper, although the extent of engineering involved may not be as rigorous. Should be a few in his location.
 

foxpuppet

Eats Squid
Point 4. Lift off canopies. My last hilux had a canopy and I had the idea we would take it off occasionally. Reality was it was way too much hassle.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

HamboCairns

Thanks for all the bananas
Yes, its a lot more effective to order the ute with a Norweld et al, rather than retrofitting and disposing of the tub. There are likely quite a few smaller organisations that can do them cheaper, although the extent of engineering involved may not be as rigorous. Should be a few in his location.
I visited the Norweld stand at the Cairns Expo this weekend, absolutely bombproof workmanship - pricey but good.
 

Haakon

Keeps on digging
What about boxes below the tray slung in all that dead space? In an effort to keep the COG a little less shit....
 

Plankosaurus

Spongeplank Dalepantski
What about boxes below the tray slung in all that dead space? In an effort to keep the COG a little less shit....
I like to keep all the heavy stuff up as high as possible to scare the piss out of little european car drivers ;)


the dead space is sometimes usable, sometimes not. you can get toolboxes for the sides behind the wheel, but some dual cab trays wont fit the off the shelf ones. similar thing for under tray drawers or boxes, there is frequently pesky things like subframes or spare tyres in the way that'll prevent you getting something useful in there. its a good idea for sure, but not always practicable.

my 2c for the OP - i always found a tray to be a lot more versitile than a tub. can mount a variety of canopies, boxes and racks to it, and you're usually nowhere near as precious about scratching it or getting icky things all over it. i've had a steel one and an alloy one. i liked the steel for the ability to weld something straight to it, and dropping in big chunks of firewood that i had no business lifting wouldn't dent it. aluminium is half the weight though, and most steel ones are a bit narrower so limit your space.
 

HamboCairns

Thanks for all the bananas
Has anyone here installed a 12V system with a deep cycle battery? I'm looking at a Redarc system but not sure if they're just the 12V equivalent of Hope components.
 

PINT of Stella. mate!

Many, many Scotches
How'd I miss this shit fight!? It's been a hoot!
Couple of points:


Each to their own. I'm just making the point that if a whole continent of tradies don't really use utes, we can hardly make the claim that our conditions are so different we can't use anything but. Or maybe all Europeans are stupid and haven't been enlightened to the ways of the ute yet ;)
My Stepfather has been driving Toyota Hiluxes (Hiluxi? ) back in the UK for about 15 years now. He's not alone. The dual-cab market is huge in Europe in spite of the fact you can't park the buggers anywhere


Utes don't even exist in any great numbers in most other countries. Europe, vans are the thing.
The Ford F-150 has been regularly proclaimed as the 'best-selling vehicle in the world' for over a decade now. The criteria might be shifty but it can't disguise the fact that they and their non-union Asian equivalents are popular.

*For the record I'm a man with a van but I can see the appeal of the ute. They're just not great for sleeping in.


Anyway, as you were...
 

moorey

call me Mia
The Ford F-150 has been regularly proclaimed as the 'best-selling vehicle in the world' for over a decade now. The criteria might be shifty but it can't disguise the fact that they and their non-union Asian equivalents are popular.
How'd I miss this shit fight!? It's been a hoot!
Couple of points:




My Stepfather has been driving Toyota Hiluxes (Hiluxi? ) back in the UK for about 15 years now. He's not alone. The dual-cab market is huge in Europe in spite of the fact you can't park the buggers anywhere




The Ford F-150 has been regularly proclaimed as the 'best-selling vehicle in the world' for over a decade now. The criteria might be shifty but it can't disguise the fact that they and their non-union Asian equivalents are popular.

*For the record I'm a man with a van but I can see the appeal of the ute. They're just not great for sleeping in.


Anyway, as you were...
  1. Mine is a standard dual cab with standard 1800 tray. It's a bees dick longer than a standard car park even in Aus.
  2. Largest selling in the US for 40+ years straight. I'm pretty sure I read it outsells numbers 2-5 combined.
 
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