Building up a Hilux for Kenya - help needed

[bfgjohno]

Good evening!

It's my first post on the forum having had a look through the various entries. The seems to be a huge amount of enthusiasm and expertise here which I would really like to tap into.

We have the great good fortune to be moving from Europe to Kenya to live for 3- 5 years and the added good fortune that we can ship a vehicle from here to there at the company's expense!

We've bought ourselves a new 2010 Toyota Hilux Invincible Doublecab 3.0 D4D Manual (UK spec, similar I think to the Raider but neither Toyota South Africa or UK were able to tell me the differences between UK and SA spec) on the premise that Toyota is reliable, widely used and known about in east africa, the space is ideal for 2 adults and 2 kids and the Landcruisers are either too fancy, too expensive or both!

We will be using the vehicle for daily transport, trips up to nairobi and also, at every opportunity, bush camping, exploring and longer multi-week forays to neighboring countries.

So we have a blank, shiny canvas and are prepared to spend a few bob creating a vehicle that will survive, serve us well and give us alot of fun (and keep us safe!)

We will be limited to accessories available in Europe - tough that does not limit things too much as alot of SA and Ozzie kit comes here. We have decided to stick a hardtop on the back - probably and ARB unit with lift up windows and internal supports so that, should the notion take us, a roofrack can be added above it.

Pype/the Crazy Dutchman's vehicle looks like what we may be aiming for -but i don't know.

thanks for any help you can give - a list of useful accessories (inc brand if experience supports one over another) is my plan. I won't attach my current shopping list as I'd rather get unsullied input from the experts first!

All the best and thanks in anticipation,

John and Fee

[OOOOMS]

Hi John, and welcome

What I would to first
1) Tyres, change em from km 1, you can get a decent refund of about R800.00 - R1000.00 per tyre, and pay in the difference on the new either All terrain or Mud terrain's.

2) Canopy, either a fibre glass, canvas (like Pype's) or alu canopy like mine. I would obviously opt for the Alu canopy, starting from around R10K - R12k

3) Front intergrated bumper - There are a host of suppliers, Iron Man, ARB, ONCA, AND AND AND.

4) Winch, Warn, T-Max, Ramsey, Tabor

5) Recovery Points - Fromt and back very imortant

6) High lift jack

7) Recovery equipment / snarch rope and pull strap / shackles

8) Long range tank

9) Fridge and duel battery system / battery

10) Roof rack - front runner / outback

11) Chairs / table

12) Gas kooker - Cadac

14) Tyre repair kit

15) Camping lights / battery charger

16) Awning

17) GPS - Garmin
And so on, is this the type of info you are looking for?

[ToyX4]

Welcome John.
The very first thing on your list should be to fit an extra dieselfilter. The 3.0 D4D's are very sensitive to dirty diesel. This will give you peace of mind, and increase the reliability of your vehicle. I think you should put in a 0.5 micron filter after the standard filter.

[ToyX4]

John, there's a few D4D's running in SA with new injectors due to failure becauseof dirty, poorquality diesel.

A few guys fitted this filter - http://www.udfiltration.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
with great results. Uys, also a member here, might just pop up sometime to give you his story of this filter. His username is Uys, so you can search his posts if you want.

[OOOOMS]

John, yes Riaan has a very valid point. The diesel in Africa is not of the same standard as Europe. This poor diesel affects the injectors and they are pretty pricy to replace.(Around R4k each) Either replace the diesel filter every 5000 - 7500km or have a Racor or UDF filter fitted. For peace of mnd.

[_AJ_]

John

I also have a blank canvas that I am building up for Kenya, it is a 2010 DC 3.0 D4D imported direct from Thailand c/w VSC, TRAC, 17” rims and the new larger brakes. However In my case I live in Kenya (arrived in Jan), so I am limited to items available locally.

You can get good kit here, in some cases it is pricey, in others not so much. I have been talking to three places here in Nairobi:

o:- High Ratio / Ndovu Suspension Ltd
http://highratioltd.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; They are on Baricho road in the industrial area.
The main man is Ashe you can email him at highratio[at]iconnect.co.ke
Products/brands: (what I have seen, there may be more)
Ironman 4X4 from Aus http://www.ironman4x4.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
In addition items sourced from elsewhere including batteries, winches, spot lights, sand ladders, recovery equipment, etc

o:- Fast Eddies
Out in the industrial area close to the airport (JKIA)
The main man in Eddie fasteddies[at]wananchi.com
Products/brands: (what I have seen, there may be more)
In house branded Bull Bars (made in Thailand, the style is similar to ARB)
In house branded winches (made in China)
In house custom fabricated bar work (side bars/steps etc)
Safari Snorkels from Aus
Front Runner from SA
African Outback from SA (atleast their rootop tents, I assume other items as well)
Camil Suspension from SA
ARB (prices are high as ARB handles Africa via SA, so too many hands)
Also it looks like he will be importing SMM Steel canopies from Thailand
http://www.sr-sammitr.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
These are sold under different names around the world
Razorback in Aus
Beekman in SA
Proppa in the UK
etc

o:- Robs Magic
In the industrial area http://www.robsmagic.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; looks like they have just updated their website
Products/brands:
TJM from Aus
African Outback from SA
Bilstein, Koni and King suspension parts
etc

There is another company, however I have not been in contact with them:
http://www.orielkenya.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Products/brands:
Monroe shocks
King springs
RSA 4x4 Accessories http://www.rsaafrica.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

As with many things the prices and response times vary. Based on the UK and Europe being expensive, you may find that prices here are not too bad.
From what I can tell products from Aus or SA are about 15-25% more than the would be in their country of origin. If the product comes from Thailand or made locally then it is likely to be cheaper than Aus or the UK.

Just my 2c

_AJ_

[Traveler]

Hi John. Run both filters inline, either Racor or UDF, being in Kenya, fit the filter that you can get a replacement for, or take along 5-10 extra cartridges.

Then very importantly, go for 15" rims as 16" tyres are not always available in Kenya.

You will need to upgrade the suspension after you've added all that weight, if you can add it only after the other extras, because you do not want the vehicle sagging on the new suspension as you start to add the weight.

Another type of canopy to consider is an all steel one that can carry weight.

Being in Kenya, you will not believe how "hidden" an elephant seems when standing in the dark and not moving. You do not want to park your Hilux under the elephant. Fit a set of HID Lightforce lights (do not waste your money on anything else).

Then some other nice extras, rocksliders, improved underbody protection plates and additional spare wheel carriers.

ps: All ARB products are made in Thailand anyway

Welcome _AJ_

[_AJ_]

Traveller,

I think that the 2010 Hilux Invincible in the UK comes std with 17" rims and the larger discs like mine. So I believe that 15" are not an option. The Prado here has been on 17" rims for a while, so the availability of 17" tires is improving. I have some 265/70R17 BFG's AT's on hold ready to be installed. Having said that MT's in this size are not due until the middle of next year. On the 16" front, the availability is relatively good (for Kenya) as the older 90 series Prado uses them and is very popular here.

John,
What you need depends on what you plan to do.
Security is an issue, so a good lockable canopy is important.
If you planning to visit the parks and not to do anything more extreme, then a set of good tires and tow rope is all you really need. Personally I recommend you at at least add bull bar to this, helps when you are in Nairobi traffic [:-). A small suspension lift/leveling kit is required if you have add a bullbar and nice even if you don't.

For more adventurous travel, then see the list above.

_AJ_

[bfgjohno]

Thankyou everyone for such a rapid response and such detail. I'll take on the message about getting an additional fuel filter fitted - Racor is the one I was looking at here.

Arthur - your info and contacts are really useful - perhaps there is also an opportunity to meet up in the New Year.

The camping gear I am squared away with and the navigational kit I'm working on (love my planning and GPS and was thinking of an old CF18 tablet running memory map with scanned maps and nroute using tracks4africa. Garmap doesn't seem too detailed for EA. will probably end up with paper maps and my faithful Garmin GPSMap60Cx!).

My list of accessories is growing and I will need to prioritise. Not all are essential, many can be sourced later locally but some are easier to find cheaper in europe

- ARB standard height hardtop
- ARB lifting side windows
- ARB internal braces
- ARB roofrack fixings for hardtop and braces
-? rear bed Drawer system
-Engel 40 litre fridge + Engel twozone for 40 litre fridge (21 l) OR Engel 60 litre fridge + Engel two zone for 60 litre fridge (40 l) OR Waeco 80 Litre fridge OR National Luna 80 litre double door fridge
- safari snorkel
- Slide kit for waeco 80 litre OR Slide kit for 60l fridge
- 140*115 aluminium roofrack
- leg kit for roofrack
- roof bar kit for hardtop
- Headlamp protectors
- Long Ranger Tank (140l)
- Engine bay skid plate
- Rear diff guard
- Transfer box guard
- Gear box guard
- Fuel tank guard
- canvas seat covers
- Steel rims with BFG All terrains
- Kaymar (or similar) rear bumper with swing away wheel carrier
- HD springs & shocks
- ?front bumper and winch – but what about weight and the tree always being behind you!
- Hi-lift jacking points front and rear
- recovery points front and rear
- leisure battery with relay

keep 'em coming!

John

[OOOOMS]

High lift jack not on your list
Water tank

[bfgjohno]

- ARB standard height hardtop
- ARB lifting side windows
- ARB internal braces
- ARB roofrack fixings for hardtop and braces
-? rear bed Drawer system
-Engel 40 litre fridge + Engel twozone for 40 litre fridge (21 l) OR Engel 60 litre fridge + Engel two zone for 60 litre fridge (40 l) OR Waeco 80 Litre fridge OR National Luna 80 litre double door fridge
- safari snorkel
- Slide kit for waeco 80 litre OR Slide kit for 60l fridge
- 140*115 aluminium roofrack
- leg kit for roofrack
- roof bar kit for hardtop
- Headlamp protectors
- Long Ranger Tank (140l)
- Engine bay skid plate
- Rear diff guard
- Transfer box guard
- Gear box guard
- Fuel tank guard
- canvas seat covers
- Steel rims with BFG All terrains
- Kaymar (or similar) rear bumper with swing away wheel carrier
- HD springs & shocks
- ?front bumper and winch – but what about weight and the tree always being behind you!
- Hi-lift jacking points front and rear
- recovery points front and rear
- leisure battery with relay
- hi lift jack
- water tank/jerry cans (latter allows flexibility)

[_AJ_]

John,

Keen to meet up, just let me know when you arrive.

Looking at the list the following is hard or expensive to get here:

o:- Long Ranger Fuel Tank
I want the TR63A 128l replacement tank and it looks like I will need to import this from Aus myself. The 128l has slightly more ground clearance compared to the 140l. There are alternatives from SA, most of which are 2nd tanks, my preference is the long ranger replacement.

o:- OEM Steel rims
My original plan was to switch to the OEM 16" steels that are std on the Fortuner sold here. But the local stealer wants KES 25,000 each for them. So have decided to stick with the 17" OEM alloys. As yet have not located an extra one to be my 2nd spare.

o:- Kaymar rear bar with swing away carrier
Robsmagic have these in stock, however the price is ~KES 166,000 for the bar, and ~KES 76,000 for the swing aways, as in real money. They are about 20% to 30% more than in Aus, which considering freight and local duties may not be so bad. You can get cheaper from Front Runner in SA, this config works out at ~KES 160,000 for the bar and one swing away carrier.

Items to consider:
o:- Canopy - The steel SMM canopy, it is available with the lifting side windows, has central locking and is stronger, so it does not need all the extra bracing etc. (Traveler made the same comment).
o:- Tailgate lock - My Thai spec Hilux does not have one, so I am looking. The only one I have found is in the UK (http://www.autostylinguk.co.uk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) and it's pricey @ GBP99
o:- Safe - Frontrunner in SA make a locking lid for the storage areas under the rear seats

I have not looked into these items locally:
o:- Fridge and related - Already have an Engel plus slide from when I lived in Aus.
o:- Headlamp protectors
o:- Drawer system - I expect you can get these easy enough from SA.

On the GPS maps front, Garmap are due to do a significant update before the end of the year. Will be interesting to see what sort of improvement this brings. At the moment T4A is the best bet, has all the main routes, just not all the detailed in the cities/towns. In the car I use a Nuvi 1300 which I picked up cheap in the US and for other activities an old 60CS, both with T4A.

_AJ_

[bfgjohno]

The SMM V2 is available in UK at £999 with sliding windows. I'll check on the lift up windows aspect. Certainly looks very good. the weight it can take on the roof seems to be variously reported as 50 or 100kg. It's not an issue in the near future a rooftent and a couple of bodies are going to pass that easily - or perhaps it's just a max travelling weight?

That said I'm unclear what weight the ARB internal reinforcements allow one to carry up top and, anyway, weight up top is not good anyway - rather bulk.

The Frontrunner kit looks very good. I'll have alook and see if it available over here.

Cheers

John