Build Thread @ninetubes - overlanding build - western australia

[ninetubes]

Rear Storage / Drawers:
Off Road Systems were one of the first people that i heard had access to a Grenadier and would sell drawers, so being the impatient man i am, i bought them. They shipped them to me and i assembled and fitted them myself.
I went for a drawer fridge as i still wanted space on top of the drawers, plus it's easier for my lady to see into.

In the side/wing pockets of the drawers i was able to fit:

ARB twin compressor on the jack side, with room to get the jack past the compressor, just. plus switch and hose connection on the face just inside the small door. there is still room in that wing space for a little bag that's home to my hoses and inflators etc.

2000W invertor (240V) for coffee machine and an induction cooktop - this means no gas, so basically unlimited cooking power for longer trips

50A anderson accessory point. this is basically spare so i can run 12V to whatever i want. Eg a second fridge etc

Battery monitor for the Aux lithium, along with a solar input and a couple of USBs for phones etc.

Lastly i made a shelf for up the top of the cargo space, which you can read about in this post here: https://www.theineosforum.com/threads/diy-rear-cargo-shelf.12414074/

This whole fit out works a treat for us 9/10

 

[ninetubes]

Suspension Lift:
I had the eibach 40mm lift springs on order since they announced it. there are two kits available and i went with the one that suits a front winch as thats the plan.
When they gave me the option to pay to airfreight to get them sooner i did. Install wasn't the easiest and took about 4 hours. Front was harder than the back and both needed to use spring compressors to get the last bit.
Looks great. about 35-40mm higher. Only 15mm rake now due to the higher rate front springs. Drives much the same bit with a little more body roll as you'd expect. 8.5/10

 

[ninetubes]

Roofrack:
I have been waiting for ages for the roofrack (the ineos rhino full rack). With a decent trip coming up it got to the point that i made the decision to sell my brand new roof tent, and buy a camper trailer. This had never been the plan when i started the build, but here we were. A week after our camper (Patriot X1H) arrived, I got a call from Ineos to say my roof rack had arrived. bitter sweet.

Not wanting to wait for the dealer to book in the install, i took it home and assembled it that night. I installed it myself much to my wifes dismay when she caught me with it hanging off the balcony above the driveway at 11pm.

I then slapped on a 270deg freestanding awning i had, along with a shower/change room and some maxtrax mounts

 

[ninetubes]

Lightbar:
Full length roof racks have light bars on the front, big ones. Thats just how the world works.
I went with 50" ST-X bar from stedi, attached to the rack with their LED mounts

i wired it to the RHS front roof outlet, but wasn't happy having it on the overhead switch. So i found the relay that runs the ext2 circuit (pictured) then cut the trigger wire to it so i could attach a new one (so the overhead switch no longer works). I took a power feed off the front spotlights on the grille and ran the wire through the firewall and along the sill to get it under the back seat. Then I joined it to the relay where I had cut the old trigger wire off.
Now the overhead light switches on and off at the same time the front ones do. win!

 

[ninetubes]

Rock sliders / Side steps:
I had the car delivered with factory sliders in the hope they could be used for side steps too. They can’t.
So I cut them off the mounts and moved them. They went up and out about 50mm, and rotated downward a bit too. They now roughly line up with the tyres when viewed from above. This is better for getting in and out of the car, plus now they sit outside the bodywork they’ll protect it from being doored in car parks etc.
I now need to pull them off and re-powdercoat them.

 

[Tazzieman]

"if ya can't wade it yaself..."

 

[TheDocAUS]

Roofrack:
I have been waiting for ages for the roofrack (the ineos rhino full rack). With a decent trip coming up it got to the point that i made the decision to sell my brand new roof tent, and buy a camper trailer. This had never been the plan when i started the build, but here we were. A week after our camper (Patriot X1H) arrived, I got a call from Ineos to say my roof rack had arrived. bitter sweet.

Not wanting to wait for the dealer to book in the install, i took it home and assembled it that night. I installed it myself much to my wifes dismay when she caught me with it hanging off the balcony above the driveway at 11pm.

I then slapped on a 270deg freestanding awning i had, along with a shower/change room and some maxtrax mounts

I do like the last image at 11pm at night. A typical bloke solution!

Thanks for the posts, as my build is not far off. Once the ship gets out of quarantine and the car arrives.

 

[Tazzieman]

Cracking pace and no mucking aroud! I like it!
Meanwhile , ASPW spends 6-9 months getting somebody else to build and pay for his dream tourers...

 

[ninetubes]

Cracking pace and no mucking aroud! I like it!
Meanwhile , ASPW spends 6-9 months getting somebody else to build and pay for his dream tourers...

Thank you! I've been under pressure to go on holiday but haven't had a suitable vehicle. So it was all on to get it squared away before a 2 week trip over xmas

 

[TheDocAUS]

Electric trailer brakes:
Most trailers have electric brakes these days, including the little car trailer i tow my race car with. So I installed a Redarc Towpro Elite. At the time there was no vehicle specific wiring harness, so i used a universal one.
From stripping the centre console i knew there was just enough room to put the controller next to the gear selector. I wanted it in a really easy spot where i could find it with out looking if i needed to (eg when dealing with a swaying trailer, or when owing offroad). I found the dash too much of a reach, even though it was easier access to install. The roof panel is do-able but i wasnt convinced my had would easily find it without looking up at it and taking m eyes off the road.
From there, the main module went under the back seat, and i connected into the trailer wiring inside the car. in the RHS cargo area near the nato albright relay.
I ran the service brake power to pin 9 of the Euro 13 round on the car, then crossed the wires over in my adaptor (as my trailers run 7 pin flat)

FYI for others, the INEOS Installation Guide for the RedArc TowPro can be viewed here.

 

[Logsplitter]

Suspension Lift:
I had the eibach 40mm lift springs on order since they announced it. there are two kits available and i went with the one that suits a front winch as thats the plan.
When they gave me the option to pay to airfreight to get them sooner i did. Install wasn't the easiest and took about 4 hours. Front was harder than the back and both needed to use spring compressors to get the last bit.
Looks great. about 35-40mm higher. Only 15mm rake now due to the higher rate front springs. Drives much the same bit with a little more body roll as you'd expect.

I aim to do this as well as I’m sitting a bit low when fully loaded for travel. But I’d like to explore the option of adding airbags in the rear springs if available for the Grenadier.

 

[Logsplitter]

A good 80L available for the petrol by my estimation as the adblue tanks in mine take up a lot of room, plus there is more room above this tanks that I can’t use.

Sounds good to me if I can get another 80L plus under there. Will save carrying extra fuel in Jerry cans. I’ve just had confirmed by a friend in the know that this will not affect the MOT in the U.K. as long as the sound of the exhaust isn’t noticeable louder.

 

[lagartoboy]

From memory ineos state 800mm wading depth.
i wouldn’t like to ever find myself in a position where “floating depth” became a thing

I’m now caught up on your build postings. I’ve gotta admit, I don’t have the mechanical/electrical ability/confidence to do one single thing you’ve done. But I am enjoying the journey you are taking me on!

 

[Sela Green]

Love the lithium setup. I think you just did my R&D. thx

I may have to rethink this as the winch may overcurrent the aux if a lithium battery, or does it pull from the start battery.

 

[ninetubes]

I may have to rethink this as the winch may overcurrent the aux if a lithium battery, or does it pull from the start battery.

I moved it over to the start battery. Which works great for using the nato to charge the camper, and for my future winch.
I figured this would be ok, as some non dual battery cars have factory winches fitted.

 

[ninetubes]

I’m now caught up on your build postings. I’ve gotta admit, I don’t have the mechanical/electrical ability/confidence to do one single thing you’ve done. But I am enjoying the journey you are taking me on!

Thank you and I’m really pleased to hear it’s interesting/helpful to others.
If it’s of interest, choose something small and start having a go. So much info and support here, plus you get to buy lots of cool tools with all the money you are saving!
Having only done some basic electrical before, I learnt so much. I joke that I just did the ineos auto electrical apprenticeship!

 

[DaBull]

Thank you and I’m really pleased to hear it’s interesting/helpful to others.
If it’s of interest, choose something small and start having a go. So much info and support here, plus you get to buy lots of cool tools with all the money you are saving!
Having only done some basic electrical before, I learnt so much. I joke that I just did the ineos auto electrical apprenticeship!

Oh to be young again with so much energy, keep on trucking mate.
The name ninetubes...are you a surfer?
DaBull

 

[ninetubes]

Oh to be young again with so much energy, keep on trucking mate.
The name ninetubes...are you a surfer?
DaBull

Thanks man, 45 years young.
Amongst other things, a keen cyclist - takes nine tubes to fabricate a bike frame.

Dan

 

[DaBull]

Thanks man, 45 years young.
Amongst other things, a keen cyclist - takes 9 tubes to fabricate a bike frame.
Dan

That will keep you young.
I'm back out surfing at 71 and going for 9+ more tubes.
DaBull

 

[Karearea]

Planning:
After cutting the grille I felt like the "plastic was off". At the time i couldn't find any info with regard to how and where to run electrical wires for UHF ratio and electric trailer brakes, compressor placement etc, so i set to stripping the car to have a good look around and start planning.
i stripped the back door trims and the cargo areas, removed the battery covers from the rear seat, removed the front seats and carpet under them. Then took the dash apart, removed the centre console and roof switch panel. wheel inner guards came out along with the wheel arch flares and the external trims around the back door. Learnt plenty and didn't break much.
I found all the spare aux wiring - what an easter egg hunt that was!
Then set to testing a bunch of things to see how they worked and what voltage things ran at.
Also sketched out the aux switch panel as people kept asking me what was what up there - ref the photos below

Love that karmann ghia! Please look after the roof