1995 Mitsubishi canter 4x4

Engine - 4D34 naturally aspirated
Transmission - 5sp dual range
Suspension - stock leaf-over-axle
Tyres - 37 x 13.5 x 17r
Equipped For - remote beach cleaning

Hey Roland. This is definitely not your stock standard 4wd… what made you buy this beauty?

This is actually the second one I've had, they are such sick machines! Being a metre higher up off the road gives you so much more visibility and a really different touring experience, plus they're just a bit more exciting than your average 4x4 work ute. My last one was super reliable and comfortably handled everything I threw at it, from the Old Tele track in Cape York to corrugated roads in the NT desert.

Then this one popped up about a year ago with only 20000kms on the clock and in immaculate condition, with a full RFS service record, and from the same bloke who sold me the last one. I couldn't resist! Canters are really simple to maintain and modify. The original firefighting equipment that it came with (still working) has gone to some mates in the Blue Mountains, so far I've replaced the stock duallies with 17" super singles and some bigger rubber, and also played with the fuel system to get away from diesel.

We understand this runs on used cooking oil… can you tell us about the conversion & how this is better for the environment?

Yep, she runs on used cooking oil that I collect from a few of my local shops that sell fried food. I clean/filter it in my garage before running it through an auxiliary fuel system that I've installed to complement the stock diesel system. So it still starts and stops on diesel, but switches over to oil as soon as the engine warms up. The oil has to be clean and hot before it reaches the injectors, so I use a heat exchanger that passively heats the oil using the existing heat of the coolant circuit.

And then a valve to swap the supply from the original diesel tank to the new vege tank when she's up to temp. Without the diesel it would still work - if you have an old direct- or multipoint- injection diesel motor you could theoretically throw vege oil in it without modifying anything and it would work fine - but the oil thickens up a lot when it gets cold, so everything needs to be flushed with diesel before she shuts down for the day.

My background is in hospitality, so I know that vegetable oil is a waste product of every venue with a deep fryer, and expensive/messy/tedious to dispose of otherwise. It is a renewable plant resource that would otherwise typically end up in landfill (or in some horrible cases down the drain) and is a completely free alternative that has radically diminished my consumption of fossil fuel. The comparative environmental intensity of diesel production and consumption goes without saying, and it also costs $2.50/L nowadays which is financially brutal for anyone looking to clock up serious joyride kms!!!

Tell us about your plans for the truck & how you are going to use it to make our beaches cleaner?

My original vision for Trish was to build the most environmentally offensive-looking vehicle imaginable, that's actually the greenest set of wheels on the road. The plan is to use it as a mobile ecocafe to supply exquisite coffee and refreshments to people down at the beach who help me pick up rubbish. So the next step is an alloy canopy, housing the extensive lithium needed to run a legit commercial espresso setup, which will all be powered and recharged with used cooking oil cranking the alternator.

Plastic in the ocean and the rest of our climate problems aren't just going to go away, but caring for the planet doesn't have to be the prohibitive lifestyle commitment that most people assume. I want to use the truck to show that thinking about the environment can actually be a gateway to fun and adventure. In that way it's pretty much 3D clickbait, to push the conversation about climate change, and find extra hands to clean up Australia with the smallest footprint possible.

No-one likes being wantonly ear-bashed about the environment, but this stuff needs to be addressed. So as someone deeply anxious about our planet's future, nothing beats a person who you'd never expect to even be interested in a conversation about the environment, inadvertently starting that conversation themselves. All because of Trish! Stoked.

Check out Roland’s adventures here

Photos by Sunday Garage