Member Since: 11 Jan 2006
Location: Goulburn, NSW
Posts: 161
Feedback on Rijidij Spare Wheel Carrier and Long Range Tank
I am considering the Rijidij spare wheel carrier for the D3 as I am going for a short outback trip but plan more. Also considering the Long Range tank to reduce the need to carry diesel in containers.
Any feedback on either in terms of installation and quality would be appreciated. My handman skills are limited.Disco 3 TDV6 HSE, Auto, White, Rear Diff Lock. ARB BB, Traxide DBS, GME TX3540S, Safari Snorkel, IIDTool-BT, Doran TPMS, Rijidij Spare Wheel Carrier, Two side by side Drifta drawers, cargo barrier and drop down fridge slide, ARB 47l Fridge, Yokohama A/Ts and out of date 17" Cooper STTs.
19th Jul 2015 11:12 pm
rsp
Member Since: 11 Jan 2006
Location: Goulburn, NSW
Posts: 161
Spares List
The spares list says assorted bolts. Some guidance on what bolts would be appreciated.
I would like to add to the list 2 x 16mm bolts to block off a broken heater hose, plus two suitable hose clamps.Disco 3 TDV6 HSE, Auto, White, Rear Diff Lock. ARB BB, Traxide DBS, GME TX3540S, Safari Snorkel, IIDTool-BT, Doran TPMS, Rijidij Spare Wheel Carrier, Two side by side Drifta drawers, cargo barrier and drop down fridge slide, ARB 47l Fridge, Yokohama A/Ts and out of date 17" Cooper STTs.
22nd Jul 2015 2:23 am
rsp
Member Since: 11 Jan 2006
Location: Goulburn, NSW
Posts: 161
Rijidij Spare Wheel Carrier
Looks like this is a thread just for me in case I forget what I have been up to!
Now have the Rijidij spare wheel carrier fitted and I have removed the spare wheel winder, that will soon be up for sale.
On the positive side, it looks good; I can fit an auxiliary tank if needed, currently on hold; and the spare is easier to get at. On the negative side, access to the back of the car is a bit more involved and had to switch off the distance indicators. Looking at how to make unlocking the carrier a bit easier for SWMBO. Have decided that a locking nut would be a good idea, now that the wheel is more accessible than before.
Disco 3 TDV6 HSE, Auto, White, Rear Diff Lock. ARB BB, Traxide DBS, GME TX3540S, Safari Snorkel, IIDTool-BT, Doran TPMS, Rijidij Spare Wheel Carrier, Two side by side Drifta drawers, cargo barrier and drop down fridge slide, ARB 47l Fridge, Yokohama A/Ts and out of date 17" Cooper STTs.
20th Aug 2015 10:39 pm
WayneD
Member Since: 11 Sep 2007
Location: Sydney Darwin ,Singapore, USA, UK and now country NSW
Posts: 531
Hi RSP
I have had my spare wheel carrier for about 7 years and it is only just giving me problems and I think they are more from people that borrow the car and are too lazy to look and see how theses things work. I think the last people who borrowed it forgot to close the latch and drove off and naturally the wheel flew open. So now I have to get it fixed. Problem is I am in America and the car is in Townsville and I won't be back there until Christmas.
If you are going to carry a lot of gear and go off roading they are great. Re auxiliary tank, I have done a fair bit of driving in the outback and Vic High country and have not needed an additional tank for the TDV6. Just carry a jerry can and that has been sufficient.
The latch mechanism on your RWC looks different to mine so it may self latch. I have had to replace the gas strut twice, but that is another story.Take the road less traveled. Dual battery system.ORS drawers,LR cargo Barrier.ARB Bull bar,side protection bars,Mickey Thompson ATR's 17" rims, Rear wheel carrier, radiator guard TPMS Mitchell Bros Tow Hitch LR RAI Steel Rims , GME UHF, Off Road GPS, Llams (yet to be fitted)
21st Aug 2015 8:30 pm
rsp
Member Since: 11 Jan 2006
Location: Goulburn, NSW
Posts: 161
Spare Wheel Carrier et al
Hi WayneD. It sounds like you have got some return from the carrier as well a some abuse. It also looks like you are pretty well kitted out. I am going to get some drawers, a fridge slide and cargo barrier fitted next week before we head off for the Oodnadatta track, Uluru, Kings Canyon et al and then back via Coober Pedy. My plan is to tie one for more jerry cans to the cargo barrier, or, use the roof rack.
Having pulled off the spare wheel winder, I realise that I need to make a blank to cover the hole.
The latch is manual and not self-locking, as that would be handy.Disco 3 TDV6 HSE, Auto, White, Rear Diff Lock. ARB BB, Traxide DBS, GME TX3540S, Safari Snorkel, IIDTool-BT, Doran TPMS, Rijidij Spare Wheel Carrier, Two side by side Drifta drawers, cargo barrier and drop down fridge slide, ARB 47l Fridge, Yokohama A/Ts and out of date 17" Cooper STTs.
21st Aug 2015 10:32 pm
rsp
Member Since: 11 Jan 2006
Location: Goulburn, NSW
Posts: 161
Spare Wheel Carrier
Hi WayneD, the Rijidij spare wheel carrier is completely mechanical so would avoided your gas strut problem. Once the clamp is undone you swing it open and it locks automatically. To close it you release the lock and return it to the closed position, hook on and close the clamp. I have had it open and closed a few times this weekend and it works quite smoothly.Disco 3 TDV6 HSE, Auto, White, Rear Diff Lock. ARB BB, Traxide DBS, GME TX3540S, Safari Snorkel, IIDTool-BT, Doran TPMS, Rijidij Spare Wheel Carrier, Two side by side Drifta drawers, cargo barrier and drop down fridge slide, ARB 47l Fridge, Yokohama A/Ts and out of date 17" Cooper STTs.
23rd Aug 2015 7:50 am
besser
Member Since: 12 May 2015
Location: Melbourne
Posts: 8
in transit
Hey RSP, just doing something similar myself at the moment. Heading south from Cape York atm. Just before I left I did some mods to my3 was going to fit the spare swing arm but thought the utility of açess to the rear was compromised. Removed the spare and fitted a 77lt lpg gas donut tank as a long range, it worked grouse. Even on the telegraph track it not only held on but added steel rear sliding capability. The rear carry area I converted to storage with a CD Design draw kit, it's magic. Finally I fitted a modded Toyota roof rack with underslung tubes. The spare went on the roof and never came off till it went back onto the camper when I hit the tarmac again. So keep access to the rear, the swing arm is just another issue
4th Sep 2015 9:50 am
rsp
Member Since: 11 Jan 2006
Location: Goulburn, NSW
Posts: 161
Spare Wheel Carrier
Hi Besser, thanks for that information and it sounds like a great trip that is certainly on my list. Just back from the Oodnadatta and Strezkecki tracks, plus a detour to Dalhousie Springs.Other than a trip some years back to the Flinders Ranges on normal roads, this was our first true Outback trip and a great experience. No problems to speak of other than I omitted to work out how long the auxiliary battery would last running the battery but found at Dalhousie Springs and the answer was - not very long so I need to sort out a solar input. The truck went really well over some pretty badly corrugated tracks and the performance chip took the hard work out of overtaking. I only had to tighten a nut on the auxiliary battery switch and one on the spare wheel carrier.
As well as the spare wheel carrier I got drawers, a fridge slide and a cargo barrier fitted. I then decided that I did not need a long range tank for this trip and have postponed it in favour of 10ltr jerry cans. One upside of that decision is that I can carry a second spare, if needed, where the spare usually is carried.i found that the recovery gear, gas stove gas cylinder, compressor, which is large, plus first aid kit and tool box fitted on top of the drawers and were secured by a strap to the cargo barrier. The tent, spare tyre, two diesel Kerry's and MaxTraks were on the roof.
We found some excellent campsites including the one just outside Innamincka on the Cooper Creek. Dalhousie Springs was good but spoilt by some yobs who partied until 2am, possibly celebrating their crossing if the Simpson. There were also good camps at Farina just north of Lyndhurst on the Oodnadatta Track and one at the Mulga Creek hotel just outside Bourke on the road to Dubbo.
You are right that the spare wheel carrier is a bit of a pain as it does make it harder to get into the back, but I am used to it now and the the locking clasp has freed up quite a bit and is easier to operate. Unfortunately the drop down fridge slide was installed hard up against the 12v something I had to sort out the next day, since we were leaving after that. Since getting home I have pulled everything out excepting the spare wheel carrier and replace the two second row seats I pulled out before we left.
The only residual problem that remains to be resolved is the non-functioning rear PDC.
Happy outback travelling.Disco 3 TDV6 HSE, Auto, White, Rear Diff Lock. ARB BB, Traxide DBS, GME TX3540S, Safari Snorkel, IIDTool-BT, Doran TPMS, Rijidij Spare Wheel Carrier, Two side by side Drifta drawers, cargo barrier and drop down fridge slide, ARB 47l Fridge, Yokohama A/Ts and out of date 17" Cooper STTs.
22nd Sep 2015 8:21 am
WayneD
Member Since: 11 Sep 2007
Location: Sydney Darwin ,Singapore, USA, UK and now country NSW
Posts: 531
Boy I miss those outback trips. 8 lanes of highway and 80mph is what we do here, unless of course you have your RV and car behind and camp in a parking lot.
Back in the D3 at Christmas time for 2 weeks and looking forward to it, just not the 39 hours it took me to get from DC to Townsville last time. Take the road less traveled. Dual battery system.ORS drawers,LR cargo Barrier.ARB Bull bar,side protection bars,Mickey Thompson ATR's 17" rims, Rear wheel carrier, radiator guard TPMS Mitchell Bros Tow Hitch LR RAI Steel Rims , GME UHF, Off Road GPS, Llams (yet to be fitted)
26th Sep 2015 1:38 am
rsp
Member Since: 11 Jan 2006
Location: Goulburn, NSW
Posts: 161
Outback of Somewhere
Hi WayneD. That sounds like a plea to be released back into the wild!
One thing I did not mention last time was that it was wall to wall Toyotas whereever we went. On the second day at Dalhousie, some 35 trucks turned up in the afternoon through to early evening, returning from the annual Birdsvilke races. That made about 40 trucks at the campsite. I did a bit of a wander around and reckon there were some 30 Toyotas of various types, two Patrols, a couple of Mazda Bravos, other odds and sides including our D3. Excluding D3/4s towing caravans spotted in caravan parks, in total we saw about 2 D3/4s and three Defenders on outback tracks.
If you had been on the Simpson Desert that day, there would gave been a good chance of being run down rather than perishing after a breakdown.Disco 3 TDV6 HSE, Auto, White, Rear Diff Lock. ARB BB, Traxide DBS, GME TX3540S, Safari Snorkel, IIDTool-BT, Doran TPMS, Rijidij Spare Wheel Carrier, Two side by side Drifta drawers, cargo barrier and drop down fridge slide, ARB 47l Fridge, Yokohama A/Ts and out of date 17" Cooper STTs.
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