[Tejas@perioimpl]

Here's a wonderful pic of the vehicle in it's element during the last camping trip drive.



Finally collected all pics from that experience. Shall start a thread soon.

Pic Clicked by: Carmen Nayar

[Tejas@perioimpl]

Picked up PIAA bulbs from my recent Bangkok trip.

Stock halogens in the Pajero are inadequate for highway driving.

These give atleast 30-40% improvement over stock halogen bulbs.

Headlight alignment up next.

[Tejas@perioimpl]

Picked up a hood bug deflector during my recent trip to the UK.

Nicely packed for transport:



Installation is simple using clamps that fit over the edge of the bonnet and the bolts tighten to the underside.



In the garage (tight fit!):



The customary snap at the parking:

[Tejas@perioimpl]

Had gone camping with friends over the weekend.

Still need to find time to sort the rear storage solution.

A few snaps from the trip:

While waiting for the folks to catch up:



Enroute:



At the camp site in the morning, packing up:







Pic Courtesy: Carmen Nayar

The LED light inside the awning which i had installed earlier (http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/4x4-ve...ml#post4068781). The iPhone clicks bad pics at night.The actual amount of light is seen on the table and surroundings. The LED strip appears brighter by a great margin in the snap.



One good thing was that there was no battery drain. The lights were on for nearly 6 hours and she cranked the next morning as usual at 10°C without fuss.

[Tejas@perioimpl]

tAfter a long delay and procrastination from my side, finally got the much needed ICE upgrade in the Pajero.

NOTE: i'm not an audioholic like some friends of mine. A good set of speakers would do for me.

If you remember from the earlier post (http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/4x4-ve...ml#post4053474), i had removed the original Kenwood system and fitted my friend Amol's old Pioneer double din system.

My i10's music system went kaput and i needed to replace that so i decided to shift this system there and get a new one here. Additionally it gave me the option to shift to a single din one and thus, i could use the lower empty slot of fit a CB radio in the future.

So i went to my trusted shop at Opera House - Shreyas Motors. I've been buying all my audio stuff from Hiten since donkey's years and trust his advice.

He suggested focal speakers. Did a bit of on the spot googling and found the reviews good so gave the go ahead.

For the music system i wanted Pioneer only so that it could work with a steering remote which i find really convenient.

Picked up the 6890 BT which had BT phone calling and audio streaming as well. Thus, the Scosche Bluetooth (http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/4x4-ve...ml#post4053442) that i had installed earlier became redundant and was removed and kept as a back up in case the BT in any other car fails.

Till i finalised on the CB radio (currently using a handheld CB from President CB), i bought a single din tray from Aliexpress - acts as a cup holder plus a small tray to hold knickknacks. There was an option for two trays for knickknacks which would be perfect for the Pajero given the lack of storage space and also cup holders are present in the Pajero, but i bought this because as soon as i get the CB radio i would transfer this to the Octavia which as a single bad cup holder.

Here's the tray attached to the mounting bracket and the music system (placed upside down on the table):



Link to buy:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Hot-...608.0.0.jDs8b1

The boxes of the ICE:



The front original speaker were housed under the dash (4") and place was given to mount 6" speakers in the doors. Wiring need to be done though.



The tweeters are mounted on the inside of plastic panel supporting the ORVM on the doors. Will add pic later.

Here's the pic of it fitted:



With the cup holder open:



With the tray open:

[Tejas@perioimpl]

Had a bit of spare time over the weekend and put that to good use.

I had installed a gang of rocker/carling switches in October last year.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/4x4-ve...ml#post4072058

Finally got some time to start sorting out the wiring for it.

I was going to follow this scheme:



Going by this scheme, as soon as i put the starter in ACC mode, all the large LEDs in the light would be on, irrespective of day or night. The small bottom led comes on only when the switch is on ON position.

Thus, i separated the wiring and will connect the Large LED window to the dash light source separately.

Here's the panel:



Things you will need:

Wire and spade connectors. I had wire lying with me (16AWG).

Female Spade connectors bought from Aliexpress:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/6-3m...608.0.0.HwtJ8X

Approx $2.55 shipped for 100 pairs (connector and insulation)

Even this is a useful tool to have to safely remove the switch tops:



https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1-Pc...608.0.0.PWgcWz

$1.48 shipped.


Here's the rear wiring all done:



Bench testing in the garage using a 12V battery eliminator:



Here's a pic of the focal tweeter that i was to upload with my previous post:

[Tejas@perioimpl]

Started stickering the rear most windows.

One side all the products i'm using and the other side clubs / forums / associations I'm supporting or affiliated with.

[joybird]

Great thread. I own 2009 black SFX clocking 65k. Did trips to Leh, Goa, Spiti valley on it. Now not using too much since I've started biking. The service too isn't from an authorized station as they hardly fix any issues. Liked few of the mods and really want to try some as well like the front bumper and roof rack. Switching to LEDs has also been on my mind but here in Chandigarh don't have many options.

[Road4X4Traveler]

Hi Tejas,
You were planning for a roof rack installation but the same is still awaited. Have you gone thru any options. Please update.

Can you please inform how much the bull bar has costed?Was any bargaining done for the actual cost?

[Tejas@perioimpl]

Originally Posted by Road4X4Traveler

Hi Tejas,
You were planning for a roof rack installation but the same is still awaited. Have you gone thru any options. Please update.

Can you please inform how much the bull bar has costed?Was any bargaining done for the actual cost?

Your question couldn't have come at a better time.

Tomorrow I try out the rhinorack.

Just going through 26 pages of instructions



Please contact Tushar from Amin Sons directly for current cost. It's approx 32k

[Tejas@perioimpl]

Finally got the roof rack fitted after a long wait and deliberation.



Why did i need a roof rack?

1. To permanently mount the awning. From previous pics, the awning was mounted using a DIY bar system which looked extremely shabby and thus, the need for a permanent solution. Yes, i could buy a better set of roof bars and mount it permanently but the other reasons for the need of a roof rack made it necessary to purchase one.

2. To mount recovery equipment. Things like the Maxtrax takes up space inside the car. Yes, it could be laid out flat in the boot but to access it and put it back, one needs to remove everything from above it. Additionally, you do not want to put in dirty recovery equipment back.

3. For longer expedition drives, things like a fuel filled jerry can is better placed in the roof rack than inside the cab and being chocked on fuel vapour.

4. Easy to mount shovels, hi lift jacks, roof lights, rear facing lights, etc

5. Once i get time to fit the rear modular storage system, i might need space for luggage on the roof rack.

Thus, the search for a roof rack.

Options:

1. Regular roof rack sold in the market.

Brands like Ajanta have luggage carriers available for the taxi market. These are extensively used but honestly they look shabby and i don't think they would take the weight of so much stuff. A friend had a scary experience when the roof rack of a vehicle in from of him detached on the expressway and he had to perform an emergency elk manoeuvre to safe himself. These racks are made of thin aluminium and nowadays i keep safer distance from a vehicle in front of me with such a roof rack.

In fact my vehicle came with one when i bought it and the rails had rusted badly:



The rust:



2. Next option was locally fabricated roof racks.

This was an idea that i explored for a long time since this way i could make a roof rack that would be custom made to my taste. Unfortunately i could not find someone near my city who could fabricate something for me and whom i could trust. There were some highly recommended vendors in Bangalore and Chandigarh but with my OCD i need to keep going and checking the progress. The only person who i would trust blindly was Allan but he had his hands full with the Cartier Show.

3. Next option was to buy ready made imported racks from local dealers.

Here my options were Ironman and ARB.

Ironman didn't have one in stock for the Pajero but could be ordered and shipped on request. ARB was way out of budget for me.

So i deliberated placing an order and also considered option 4.

4. Option 4 is to directly import a roof rack. There are some awesome companies out there in the world that make exemplary roof rack systems. The most notable ones are from Australia and South Africa. These two places have the most number of expedition vehicles and some of the harshest terrain. Roof racks that perform here would really be something to recon with.

So parallel to considering the Ironman order, i started researching the roof racks from abroad.

The company that really stood out was an Australian company called Rhino Rack.

www.rhinorack.com.au

Disclaimer: I have no financial or otherwise deal with them.

Every forum, every review only spoke good things about them.

Their new range of roof racks is called the Pioneer system which is like a modular system and you can keep attaching various mounts to it via their patented slot system. Additionally its an all aluminium alloy that is extremely strong and light weight.

Thus, decided that Rhino Rack would suit my needs the best.

Now the biggest problem here was shipping. Due to the volumetric weight costs, the shipping was getting prohibitively expensive.

A few other friends showed interest in their roof rack and the foxwing awning and a group buy was cutting the cost of shipping down.

Finally we managed to secure the order and ship it by sea.

[Tejas@perioimpl]

Once the stuff arrived and the shipping agent cleared customs, i promptly wiped my appointment schedule clean and we headed out to fix the roof racks.

The instructions made it seem to be very easy but unfortunately it wasn't the case.

It's not as easy as it sounds and if you have good DIY skills you can do it yourself but it took us nearly 11 hours for three vehicles to be kitted.

The happy rhino rackers with the goodies:



Allan let us use his vast garage space for installing these. Here he is reading the instructions:



Starting to assemble the roof rack:



Checking it on the endy:



Allan does a weight check as well - no flex!:



Finally the pajero is ready by nightfall:





Customary pic of the Pajero at it's parking spot:



Top view. Will move the rack in front by approximately 6-9"



View from the awning side:



I still have to mount the other add on accessories. Will take out time over the weekend to do that.

[Tejas@perioimpl]

The following are the accessories ordered (still have to fit them).

Images are from the Rhino Rack Website.

Maxtrax Flat mount:





Spot light brackets for front and back:







Hi Lift and shovel holder:



The railing that you see on my rack also comes as an accessory. If you plan to use a roof top tent, then you need not get the railing or you can remove it.

May order a few more accessories as well later.

[Jaggu]

Originally Posted by Tejas@perioimpl

Top view. Will move the rack in front by approximately 6-9"

By moving it to the front you are making it more difficult to access stuff, assuming loading would be predominantly from the sides and rear. I think it is just fine.

[Tejas@perioimpl]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

By moving it to the front you are making it more difficult to access stuff, assuming loading would be predominantly from the sides and rear. I think it is just fine.

Absolutely true.

Only reason for this is that once i fit the light bracket and light, it will jut out by 6 inches. It would then interfere with the opening my Foxwing awning that i have also purchased.

Pic of the awning from the rhino rack website:



Will fix the bracket and light first and then open the awning and then figure out if it needs to be moved and by how much.