Well hello there fellow campers, lovers of the outdoors, and 4×4 enthusiasts. Figured I’d share the story of our 4×4 build, and how we got ready to do full time camping. At least for a couple of months.
First a little back story, both myself and hubby went abroad for a few years. You know, to do what everyone dreams of doing. Go overseas, (we were there for 4 years) work there for a few years, and come back with massive money in the bank. (However it’s really nowhere near what anyone thinks, as making more money abroad is true, living costs is also substantially higher)
But I digress…
Covid hit, we got home sick, and after weeks of back and forth over whether we wanted to stay in the scorching heat that is the Middle East, or whether we wanted to return to our beloved beautiful country, decisions were made. Planning started immediately, we packed the most needed items, sold everything else and took our toddler like, 4 year old English Bulldog Winston and boarded our flights. All while we have decided to build up our Toyota Hilux Legend 45 to be our new home. We have also decided to call the Hilux “Wally” because all the cool kids on the 4×4 community tends to do so. And we wanted to be a part of the cool kids gang. (The name Wally however is a story for a different day)
Returning to South Africa was amazing. We saw green for the first time in years! (Something I’ve noticed most people take for granted might I add) We were in awe of the nature surrounding us once again. And then the excitement hit, we can finally follow our life-long dream, build a monster of a 4×4 and live on the road, go where few people have gone, avoid highways like the plague, only do dusty dirt roads as far and as long as possible, and we get to document all the scenery as we travel through this amazing country that is South Africa. But first… The Build…
We had to start somewhere, and for us, that somewhere was in a storage unit somewhere deep in the heart of Pretoria. Wally’s been standing for a number of years, and neither me, nor hubby had any idea what was waiting for us once that storage door got opened. We could only imagine. Are there going to be rusty spots everywhere? Are the pipes going to be disintegrated? Will the fluids need to be flushed out? We had so many questions, but to our surprise under all the dust and bird poop and multiples of spider webs, stood our beloved Wally. In perfect condition. It even started on the first try. (Little reminder to always disconnect the battery when a vehicle needs to stand for a long period of time, I got quite a few brownie points from hubby at this time as it was my duty to make sure that Wally got put into storage safe and sound)
After a few giggles and a “well done” tap on the back from hubby, we loaded Wally up on a trailer, and started the long, slow drive back to Middelburg, Mpumalanga where Wally went in for a major service, a good clean and some well deserved TLC, and two days later we picked Wally up, and started making our lists. What we needed, where we could source it, differences between the various brands of products available etc.
For us, it started with the brakes, doing a full upgrade of the callipers and rotors. We drove through, got the parts, and the next morning I was pumping the brake pedal till my legs hurt, sweating profusely, while hubby was under Wally bleeding the brakes like somehow all of life depended off that weird looking liquid draining from the pipes. It felt like life threatening surgery, and we were in to deep to give up now, but boy oh boy were we impressed after we tested the brake system. It was well worth every aching muscle and oil streak across the face.
We also added a new off-road bumper, and being the crazy can-do couple we are, we decided to install it DIY style. Three days later, with many a colourful word escaping from time to time, the bumper was installed, only to be taken off again, because we wanted to change the colour. Needless to say, removing it is a much easier task then installing it.
With the bumper, a few extras got added to Wally, rock sliders, suspension upgrades, under belly protection, snorkel, extra fuel tank, water tanks, a warn winch (just in case we get royally bogged) some additional recovery gear, double spare wheel carrier, you name it, Wally has it. I’d like to add that most of these upgrades were also done DIY style, but we did have the assistance of a wonderful company in some of the tasks, because after the bumper fiasco, how difficult could it be to do some more DIY right? And besides, should anything ever go wrong (knock on wood) we would know how to fix it. One also gets a sense of pride in doing things yourself, and we had a blast doing it.
Next came the power system, and the Victron brand was the product of choice for us. And no matter how wide or far we searched, sourcing these item felt like a next to impossible task. The few people that were willing to listen to our vision, and my many, many demands as a female, told us that we were insane, that no normal couple needs that much power to go “camping” but no one seemed to understand, we are not merely going camping, No no, We are building our home. We are going into the wild, off the beaten track, and gear needs to be charged, hairdryers need to dry, YouTube uploads need to be made, and laptops need to run. But, never the less, we endured the search, sourced the products with a little help from the afore mentioned company and started the install, DIY style again. And low and behold, nearly two months later of driving far and wide to collect the parts, we have a fully functional, state of the art, No nonsense power system that made all our wildest expectations, a reality. (And yes ladies, it works great when using a hairdryer or curling iron, no more sticking your head out the window to get those long locks dry)
We also wanted a roof mounted shower, complete with a gas geyser, (because let’s be honest, some showers in some camp sites are just plain… well you know…) and after extensive research we have noticed that 99.9% of the time, these wonderful contraptions go hand in hand with a roof rack. Something we could not have, because we don’t have the space, or weight allowance for it, and when looking for some advice from the professionals, we were constantly told, “That’s just the way it needs to be installed” regardless, I have a very determined husband and with a few scribbled pictures later, bending of a plate here and there and me being ready with a paint brush and can of paint, we can now have wonderful hot showers in the middle of nowhere, without the “must be there” roof rack.
There is also an awning installed. A nifty 270 degree awning, that is so user friendly that even I alone can open and close, no assistance needed. It provides shade on sunny days and is available whenever, wherever one might need it. We would highly recommend. It’s the easiest Set up and Break down awning we could have asked for, and that little bit of extra coverage is great when I’m cooking out of the back of Wally.
Speaking of cooking. A drawer system needed to be added, just to hold the fridge/freezer, build in gas stove, and a few ammo boxes to hold the food. So once again hubby started to scribble down some ideas on a discarded piece of paper. And yes, we know that one of those handy dandy slider systems can be bought and installed within a day or three, But we wanted ours to really meet our needs, and it had to be light weight, something most of the “ off the rack” drawer systems are not. So with an idea in mind, hubby holding a grinder, and me trying to learn how a drill works, we set off building our drawer system. And it works, it works great. It’s perfect and wonderful and everything we need.
Adding to the kitchen, as I would call it, we built 2 compartments on the inside of the canopies side doors. One lined out with a sponge like foam, (Another fun DIY project we did) to hold all the pots, pans, and other various kitchen-ware, like mugs, plates, knives and forks. The other side however is used as a nifty storage for the extra bits and bobs.
Storage for the additional items inside Wally was still a slight issue, and we have not yet worked on a comfortable and safe seat for Winston to sit. So one day while having a good cuddle with the fluff-ball on the back seat I had an idea. A true eureka moment, light bulbs flashing above my head and with that I started following in hubby’s footsteps and started drawing a less than good picture, but my scribbles got understood by my father who was willing to help my stick figure picture come to life.
With a plan in mind, a few spanners in my back pocket and more determination because I had my first “almost-solo” project, I started removing the back seat. With the seat out of the way, and more space available I started (with the assistance of my father) building a frame, one that can hold 4 ammo boxes. This nifty little frame also prevents the boxes from sliding around and keeps it nice and secure, and it gives a wonderful solid base to add a wooden board on top. This wooden board got covered in a nice dense foam, and I upholstered it to the best of my abilities in a black rip stop canvas. Easy to take in and out and super easy to clean with just the wipe of a damp cloth. And what do you know, we now have extra storage and a huge bed for Winston to sleep on safe and sound.
Once we completed our list of must-do’s and have’s, we put the rooftop tent on our off-road trailer, threw in the add a room, packed our clothes, loaded in our fur-child Winston and set off to our first camp site. It’s now been 8 weeks of us officially living on the road for a few months. And no words can put into perspective the beauty, tranquility, and ever loving peace one finds on the road. It’s our happy place, it’s ever changing and it’s everything we could have asked for.
Have any of you readers done any DIY upgrade to your 4×4 camper? Do you have any tips or guidance for any 4×4 off-road newbies? Let us know in the comments section below.
