2003 SR5 Toyota Hilux

Engine - 3.0L Turbo Diesel
Transmission -5-speed manual
Suspension Lift - 3” Dobinson Heavy Duty
Tyres - 32x11.5x15 Micky Thompson’s ATZ
Equipped for - Touring/Daily Driving

So Nick, you've recently taken the Hilux on a trip around Australia, how did the Hilux perform on and off the road?

Yes that’s correct, spent 6 months travelling around the top end of Australia with @yarn.crew, 8 mates, 2 boats and we had a lot of fun. The Hilux didn’t miss a beat and performed really well, had some serious weight on-board towing a boat and 120litres of water and everything worked a treat. Spent a lot of time working out the perfect setup for myself with all the gear I was hauling. I totally under estimated how the lux did off-road until doing the old telegraph track (have a look at the videos @nick.connor) towing the boat through river crossing and climbing up rock shelves it tackled everything.

What mods did you make to the car for the around Australia trip and is there any mods you didn’t make that you wish you did.

I bought the Hilux stock standard about 18months out from the trip and dropped a fair bit of cash into it, as I knew it had to be done. List included:

-Suspension upgrade, 3 inch and 550kg consistent load 

-32inch ATZ tyres 

-120 litre water tank with high-pressure pump

-12v setup with solar, air compressor, water pump and lighting (simple but didn’t miss a beat)

- UHF GME 

-Fox Wing Awning 

-ARB Simpson 3 Roof Top Tent 

-Long range fuel tank 120litre 

-Rear draws 

-50litre Waeco fridge 

Overall, I didn’t wish I had anything more, probably wish I had less things, had heaps of gear in the Boat that didn’t get used and made it painful for those days where you wanted to go fishing and had to dump the gear out of the boat (normally at the local boat ramps). I wish I probably sent more time on dust proofing the canopy, as it was completely filled with dust after a big day on the roads (although the air compressor came in handy for blowing it out).

People said to me before I left that taking a Tinny was a bad idea, but it was 100% worth it - we were fishing every day when we were on the coast and caught some crazy fish. Definitely worth upgrading the tyres on the trailer to match the car and higher clearance. Mods to the Tinny included:

-Savage 380 Seasprite with 25hp Yamaha twin carby 

-80litre fuel tank and 2 Jerry’s 

-12 volt with Lowrance fish finder 

- false floor 

-Heavy duty off-road trailer (Dunbier) 

-32 inch tyres to match the lux

- Heavy duty leafs

Probably would of spent money on proper rollers for the tinny as the trailer rubbed through the boat in some spots from all the Corrugations - nothing a bit of sika can’t fix.

You’re 12V setup looks interesting, what’s your setup like ?

 Simple and didn’t miss a beat - next question... nah. I didn’t want to put all the gear into my 12volt, kept it simple and easy with solar on the roof and a fridge on -8 degrees. Everything was wired up by myself over a couple of days. Had a 125amp battery behind the back seat that kept the fridge set nice and low for the frozen food and icey cold beers on top.

I think you've done a great job tastefully modifying the Hilux, it's definitely a no fuss setup. Do you have any further plans for it in the future?

I love the Hilux, I won’t ever sell it and is prefect for every day life from towing boats and weekends away. I have no big trips away at the moment, still getting over the Australia big lap but definitely will be trying to get back to the west coast for some more fishing and surfing... that’ll be another big trip in itself one day.

Images by Sunday Garage & Nick Connor