Member Since: 24 Aug 2007
Location: Kent
Posts: 10564
Looking good and a lot of good workMY17 D5 1st Edition Namib Orange
MY15 D4 HSE Kaikoura Stone
MY12 D4 HSE Nara Bronze Sold and gone
MY11 D4 HSE Stornaway Grey Sold and gone
D3 S spec Silver Sold and gone
Tow bar, full length roof bars, side steps, tow bar storage unit, surround camers.
D4 camera club
7th Apr 2017 10:30 pm
Russell
Member Since: 24 Aug 2007
Location: Kent
Posts: 10564
Looking good and a lot of good workMY17 D5 1st Edition Namib Orange
MY15 D4 HSE Kaikoura Stone
MY12 D4 HSE Nara Bronze Sold and gone
MY11 D4 HSE Stornaway Grey Sold and gone
D3 S spec Silver Sold and gone
Tow bar, full length roof bars, side steps, tow bar storage unit, surround camers.
D4 camera club
Well, came across this http://disco3.co.uk/forum/topic144625.html thread of VVS210 (probably inspired by Chris200100 and B16 KJR) and I'm never worried about trying things out someone else went before me .. why re-inventing the wheel, right?
Anyway, went on fleebay searching for some Ford C-Max sunglass holders and went with one first. I was so pleased with the result, that I went for a second one.
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So on both sides, I have the sunglass holders. Sunglasses neatly stowed away and in reach.
Seeing the Mantec Upper Load Lugga, I believed this to be a nice and handy piece of kit.
Enquirying them learned that, well, you need to have the 3rd row handles.
These are not present on the 5 seater models (which makes sense 8) )
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But I was not going to leave it there ..
Cried for help on the measurements, in order to understand whether I had the mounting points present behind the roof liner or not. No-one replied
But, big to ebygum32 who helped me out taking pictures of his Upper Load lugga. He even dismounted it, to take better pictures with several measurements.
Thanks again
This really helped me push forward to take a look behind the roof liner, but now I exactly knew where to look.
I eventually noticed mounting points, but not the ones I was expecting. Besides the handles themselves, a crucial piece was missing. You have to mount those handles somewhere ...
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After some searches on the internet (since the forum wouldn't be able to help me out), I came across the partnumbers I needed.
Crosschecked this with the dealer and order them.
I also ordered two handles as well, although I might have tried recovering the ones I replaced in the first row due to the sunglasses mod.
Anyway, the parts arrived and I could start adding the mountings.
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Then the hardest part was drilling the holes in the roof liner. Not the drilling itself, but the location where I needed to cut holes.
That's where the measurments of ebygum32 came in handy, again
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I'm glad missus never really realised what I was doing ..
Anyway, as with all things, the second time goes smoother than the first ..
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Weird, it looks like I didn't have applied the sunglasses mod yet after all .. Ah well, the delivery of the Upper Load Lugga probably was after the sunglasses mod, hence the change in order.
Nevermind ...
This came in one day
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It obviously took less time to mount the lugga itself
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But I honestly am very pleased with the result and the extra storage capacity
It's well worth the work.
And really, I believe I must be one of the few 5 seater owners with an Upper Load Lugga
Impressed with Wiggs' solution http://disco3.co.uk/forum/topic142231.html, I imagined this was something I could use as well.
After harassing Wiggs a couple of times, he send me out the stl he created to create this piece.
I had to mirror it and changed it quite a bit to fit my needs (at that moment). I'm thinking of adding another slice to be able to put a card (whether it be ID or VISA) in there.
Either way, thanks again Wiggs/Adrian
At the rear of the central console, the 2nd row has a wee tray to drop stuff in there.
One does find stuff in there 5 years later
I decided to do something about that .. why not adding some LEDs that provide some clarity in what's stuck in there ?
I wired two LEDs up to the 12V outlet in the central console so they'll go on together with the mood lighting.
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The LEDs are watching you
In hindsight, I could have gone with cool white .. maybe one day.
Either way, the kids now do find their tiny stuff in there .. and I'm assures I won't face surprises in a couple of years .. some kind of micro-biotope 8)
It was then finally time to get the ladder and the roofrack mounted.
Went for Frontrunner parts again
First installed the ladder and I'm not really convinced, I'll have a chat with Frontrunner, I might have done something wrong .. but it fits.
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I then dismounted the full length roof rails and did something extra that was not described in the manual of the Frontrunner Roofrack.
It did state to alter the roof gutter seals, but since mine were shortened because of the rails, I ordered new gutter seals and installed those first.
The advantage is that I didn't have to cut anything and that the gutters are, well, sealed
Without the seals, you'd have the gutters open, and I didn't those to pile up dirt ..
The gutter seals came in a wee box ...
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Oh, and they both had their own container .. so that were two of those wee boxes.
The dealer was amused when I picked them up, "I hope you're not with the Mini'
Here's the roofrack installed and the seal nicely covering the gutter ..
I also wanted a flood light on the side at the rear, and got a Frontrunner one (again, I know - then again, their items do fit nicely with the rack of course ..)
Quite an easy fit, especially since I had the necessary wires running already.
Switched from inside in the boot at the RHS.
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The other switch is the one that disconnects all 'clients' from the auxiliary battery (by disconnecting the PT60, covered before), so USB chargers, additional 12V outlets, roofrack lights, driving lights in front, flood light and air compressor
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This is the flood light mounted
The light also has 2 Hella plugs.
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The sealed connector at the outside fixed to the roofrack
I actually was hesitating to add the Inka front seat covers.
They ware not available at the moment and I read someone praising the Escape Gear covers.
I decided to go for the more quality ones. Don't get me wrong, I had Inka's on the D3 and was happy with them. I have them on the 2nd row seats of the D4 and the children are happy with those.
But I'm pretty sure the Escape Gear's will last longer and will provide more comfort in the long run, compared to the Inka's. Agreed, they are way more expensive, but hey, it's my bum ..
before
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after
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I'm really pleased with them, but they were a pita to install
Time to make a christmas tree
Started to add the cradles on the roofrack. To make sure they'd fit, I installed the Frontrunner ones. They come in pairs, so that made 2 of them.
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The lights I mounted are Vision-X 3" Optimus Halo
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Those were the ones that would fit, were LED and looked nice.
The LED was an important spec. Although I was running adequate wirings, I wanted to have the consumption low. It's less than 10W for the four of them.
Searched for lights that had the halo ring integrated, since I'd done a similar mod on the D3, both on the lights on the roofrack and the fog lights. That consumption is even lower.
In the picture, you can see I also added roofrack beads. I installed those on top, all around, and on the bottom both in front and at the rear of the rack.
They do reduce the wind-noise when driving and will keep the roofrack frame in good shape as well. They'll also protect the frame whenever carrying something on the rack.
I then added some protective caps on the bolts and the threads that are 'in the open air'.
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I used the wiring from the lights to their extend and added a sealed 3 pin way connector to them. Earth, driving lights and DRL.
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And this a funny nice touch ..
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Those are the protective covers for the lights. They are clear, but the Vision-X logo is printed on it .. with fluorescent paint
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to ebygum32 who helped me out taking pictures of his Upper Load lugga. He even dismounted it, to take better pictures with several measurements.
Ah well, the delivery of the Upper Load Lugga probably was after the sunglasses mod, hence the change in order.
