Dirtdiggler's 16.49.3

dirtdiggler

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O.k.... time to start one of these threads.

As per the title our panda is a 16.49.3. I haven't taken any macro pics of her yet, will have to add them in later.
It's a 2013 touring model, clean as a whistle, hardly used and pretty much in as new condition. Didn't come with any factory optional extras. It's big stock standard.

For now, I'll just show some of my mods in this thread...

The first thing I did was to replace the strange false drawer thing in the galley with an actual drawer. Anyhoo, this is what comes from the factory:
20160906_195856.jpg


Really? what are you supposed to put in there??? It's like that because the sink would foul on a full width drawer. A drawer only 10mm narrower than the others however....

So, an extra bit of plywood went in here:
20160906_195928.jpg


...and I knocked up a drawer to go in here:
20160911_180549.jpg

Just like a bought one! In these vans storage is really limited. Having that extra drawer in the kitchen is sooo much better:).
 
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dirtdiggler

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I want to put a storage box on the draw bar; but first one has to relocate the spare wheel.

I've seen many people locate the spare on a dropdown on a rear bar.... two reasons why I didn't want to do that (1) I want to put bikes on the back, (2) I wanted to eliminate 'handling' of the spare wheel every time setting up/packing down since it's something you so rarely need. I've also see a few slung under the rear - I like the idea, but my panda is a touring version and doesn't have a great departure angle; an underslung spare would hang down too low at the back. The solution:

20161211_160213.jpg

20161211_155419.jpg

It sits in between the two water tanks and bolts into the cross members. Only hangs just below the axle and it IS the lowest part of the undercarriage, but given the location between the two wheels, I don't think this will cause any clearance issues.

A couple of pics in place. The winder fits the handle for the drop down jacks, but the angle is such that it needs a universal joint and is pretty difficult to wind. A 19mm socket and a ratchet with a short extension works well though, just means I have to crawl under there to do it (would be a pain if needed on the side of the road, but se la vie):
20161211_160200.jpg
20161211_160230.jpg
 

Bellbirdweb

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Jan 24, 2014
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I want to put a storage box on the draw bar; but first one has to relocate the spare wheel.

I've seen many people locate the spare on a dropdown on a rear bar.... two reasons why I didn't want to do that (1) I want to put bikes on the back, (2) I wanted to eliminate 'handling' of the spare wheel every time setting up/packing down since it's something you so rarely need. I've also see a few slung under the rear - I like the idea, but my panda is a touring version and doesn't have a great departure angle; an underslung spare would hang down too low at the back. The solution:

View attachment 46801
View attachment 46802
It sits in between the two water tanks and bolts into the cross members. Only hangs just below the axle and it IS the lowest part of the undercarriage, but given the location between the two wheels, I don't think this will cause any clearance issues.

A couple of pics in place. The winder fits the handle for the drop down jacks, but the angle is such that it needs a universal joint and is pretty difficult to wind. A 19mm socket and a ratchet with a short extension works well though, just means I have to crawl under there to do it (would be a pain if needed on the side of the road, but se la vie):
View attachment 46803 View attachment 46804

Whilst it is a little low, that's certainly the best place for the spare as far as weight goes.

Interesting go to hear how it goes over time as far a clearance is concerned
 

dirtdiggler

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Looks like a home made bracket and a Toyota wind down unit
I have the same under my van (but different design, not as flash as this one)
Motor wreckers have the wind downs and you should be able to pick one up for next to nothing
That's right. The wheel winch (the gold coloured bit) i got from eBay for about $70, the frame i welded up from 100x6 flat bar, and added a fixed winder extension.

The eBay winch is not very good- it jams a lot. I'd try one from a wreckers next time - probably better quality than an eBay one.
 
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Vere

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Oct 5, 2014
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I want to put a storage box on the draw bar; but first one has to relocate the spare wheel.

I've seen many people locate the spare on a dropdown on a rear bar.... two reasons why I didn't want to do that (1) I want to put bikes on the back, (2) I wanted to eliminate 'handling' of the spare wheel every time setting up/packing down since it's something you so rarely need. I've also see a few slung under the rear - I like the idea, but my panda is a touring version and doesn't have a great departure angle; an underslung spare would hang down too low at the back. The solution:

View attachment 46801
View attachment 46802
It sits in between the two water tanks and bolts into the cross members. Only hangs just below the axle and it IS the lowest part of the undercarriage, but given the location between the two wheels, I don't think this will cause any clearance issues.

A couple of pics in place. The winder fits the handle for the drop down jacks, but the angle is such that it needs a universal joint and is pretty difficult to wind. A 19mm socket and a ratchet with a short extension works well though, just means I have to crawl under there to do it (would be a pain if needed on the side of the road, but se la vie):
View attachment 46803 View attachment 46804

I suspect there are a few other people like myself with the touring version who are looking at pic of spare and smiling. After finishing this project is there anything you would do different if you were doing it again or would change if you could?
 
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dirtdiggler

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Yeah there is:
1.) Don't use a cheap eBay wheel winch. It jams and is difficult to wind up. I'd use a Toyota one.
2.) I would weld a uni joint into the winder extension so that it points downward a little bit. The crank handle for the van stabilisers would work a lot better and you wouldn't need to crawl under the van to wind it. At present it fouls on the van's chassis.
 

dirtdiggler

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Made the trip down to Albany yesterday. Here's our van all set up
20161228_142714.jpg

the weather is atrocious for summer (we're experiencing the remnants of a cyclone that came from up north). Cold, windy, and raining for the whole week!
 
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dagree

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Glad we missed the rain in Perth but the wind has been a pain. Hope the weather doesn't spoil your trip too much @dirtdiggler !
But then again I can't remember a trip to Albany that didn't rain at least for one day but that's the fun of camping.... Enjoy your time away from the rat race!
 

dirtdiggler

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Back to the mods.. some essential wiring ones in fact (this was the first thing i did to our van).
1.) Install some heavy gauge wiring from battery to anderson plug on the hitch, with 40A auto reset circuit breakers close to each battery. The size of the earth used in the jayco 12 pin is pathetic. I also made a 12 pin to 7 pin adapter to suit what was already on the back of my trusty donkey (the patrol). I also reckon this is a much more 'universal' set up if needing to tow other trailers.
20161227_155113.jpg


2.) Run some twin core from battery directly to the fridge (via a fuse of course). Again, the size of wiring in the 12 pin plug is a joke, and you can run the fridge on 12v when not connected to the tug. Things to note here:
a.) I'm running dual batteries in the tug with a VSR isolator and the fridge is connected to the tug and van batteries in parallel (230Ah worth of juice). The fridge pulls about 13A so i can park up for quite a few hours without worrying about the fridge getting warm and it won't drain my cranking battery in the tug.
b.) A facility to disconnect the fridge/battery connection when not in transit is a good idea, as the main battery switch is bypassed via backfeed from the fridge. I wired in an Anderson plug for this. I use to disconnect or to insert an in-line power meter.
c.) I also installed a low voltage cut out on the battery/ fridge connection in case i forget to switch it off 12v for an extended period. This will save my batteries from deep discharges.
20161228_105543.jpg
.
 
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dirtdiggler

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Now the rear bumper bike carrier:
20161227_155026.jpg

Being a touring model our van came with the thin wall round tube bar. A couple of short lengths of gal 50x3 shs, one long bit of gal 100x50x3 rhs and some welding rods soon fixed that. Now i have a solid bumper to mount something to.

If i was doing it again I'd opt for 75x50 rhs. The 100x50 is over kill... didn't seem so big at the shop o_O.

For the bike carrier, i fabbed up a bolt on hitch receiver out of a short length of 2 1/2" x 1/4" shs ( thumbs up to Di Lena Metals in Osborne Park for stocking that stuff :thumb:) and some flat bar:
20161227_155054.jpg

Any old bike rack that fits a hayman reece hitch will fit it. I use the bike rack and tow hitch that I already had for the tug to mount the bikes.

I considered making a swing out one, but that would add more weight to it - decided in the end that an off the shelf drop down bike rack would be a better way to go. I'll buy one down the track.
 
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nihonjin

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Jun 19, 2016
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I also have a touring model and would love to see some more photos of your rear bumper bar. Especially on how and where you attached it to. If you could include some more photos of the underneath it would be greatly appreciated.
 

dirtdiggler

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It just bolts straight into the same mounts as the old one.
20161229_093644.jpg


It passes a 'lard arse test' (when one stands on it and jumps up and down a little bit). I weigh 98kgs, bikes etc are less than 30kgs so i call it good. Note: i do also strap the bikes to the grab handles on the side of the van to prevent any bouncing. Being able to see that tiny bit of strap still on the handle in the rear view mirror is reassuring to know the bikes haven't fallen off!
 
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nihonjin

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Very nice. Thanks for photos. Would you mind posting the lengths you used or if you have a plan you used I would love a copy as this is what I need to do with my van. Thanks.