Greetings Fellow off road hogs

[P.C.P]

Hi there, it's good to see so many people come together over the Hilux, really surprising to be honest! I've just been looking for a car over the last couple of months, i've driven the FTO, RX7, 350Z, a couple of Type R's (civic and the old accord) and nothing took my fancy....

So I was trawling through the Autotrader pages yesterday with something completely different in mind. I was originally thinking about the Mitsubishi Warrior mainly because I thought that was the only off road car of it's type (dumb I know ) but was a bit ****ed off because the back of the cab isn't attached to the rear loading section, and being into my music I thought this would be perfect for loading up with speakers... I checked the toyota part by mistake and found loads of these Surfs for under £3,000, checked a few sites and to be honest i've fallen in love with the damn things! I used to get off road a hell of alot but in buggies and crossers, and it was always like the proverbial chinese food, i'm just kicking myself over the fact I didn't think of buying an off roader sooner.

I've just a few questions that I hope you guys can answer, i'm wanting to install a good £3,000 worth of in car entertainment but by the same token i'll be planning alot of off road sessions (I live in the Lake District, U.K, Green Lane capital of the world ), I know diesels are great for getting stupid with in the wet, but is there a package I could invest in to keep the electronics and cables safe from getting wet and shorting out?

Also, can anyone tell me what problems you've had with yours - if any - engine wise and electrics.

Thanks for reading, and thanks again for any answers.

Pete (n00b)

[Linda]

Hi there, it's good to see so many people come together over the Hilux, really surprising to be honest! I've just been looking for a car over the last couple of months, i've driven the FTO, RX7, 350Z, a couple of Type R's (civic and the old accord) and nothing took my fancy....

So I was trawling through the Autotrader pages yesterday with something completely different in mind. I was originally thinking about the Mitsubishi Warrior mainly because I thought that was the only off road car of it's type (dumb I know ) but was a bit ****ed off because the back of the cab isn't attached to the rear loading section, and being into my music I thought this would be perfect for loading up with speakers... I checked the toyota part by mistake and found loads of these Surfs for under £3,000, checked a few sites and to be honest i've fallen in love with the damn things! I used to get off road a hell of alot but in buggies and crossers, and it was always like the proverbial chinese food, i'm just kicking myself over the fact I didn't think of buying an off roader sooner.

I've just a few questions that I hope you guys can answer, i'm wanting to install a good £3,000 worth of in car entertainment but by the same token i'll be planning alot of off road sessions (I live in the Lake District, U.K, Green Lane capital of the world ), I know diesels are great for getting stupid with in the wet, but is there a package I could invest in to keep the electronics and cables safe from getting wet and shorting out?

Also, can anyone tell me what problems you've had with yours - if any - engine wise and electrics.

Thanks for reading, and thanks again for any answers.

Pete (n00b)

Hi Pete and welcome to the forum- cant really advise on the HIFI electrics as I'm not that big on it myself - but there are a few guys on here who have gone to town on their in car audio and I'm sure they can help.

In general terms the surf is hardwearing and reliable. My 3.0 has had no major problems other than general wear and tear in a 10 year old vehicle that gets thrashed off road from time to time. I love 'em and wouldnt want anything else!!

You can find info on just about anything on here so have a good play with the search function.

Welcome again - hope to see you somewhere muddy soon!!

[TonyN]

but there are a few guys on here who have gone to town on their in car audio and I'm sure they can help.

yeah, Fester springs to mind, havn't heard from him in a while.

[kitesurf_phil]

Welcome to the forum.I can't answer your ICE questions but I don't know of any problems with getting water in the electrics. Some of us have done some pretty serious wading wih no problems.

Enjoy your truck.

[Linda]

Some of us have done some pretty serious wading wih no problems.

Like this you mean???

[Gizmo]

In terms of wading, unless you get a snorkel then you need to be careful about water getting in the air intake which comes out behind the n/s headlight.

For deep wading, although not heard of it yet, you might just have to pay for extra waterproofing of things like fuse boxes, ecu units; although as stated no one seems to have had problems with the electrics yet.....

But certainly a damn good vehicle....first 4x4 and certainly to replace with newer or same gen next time.

[da SLUG man]

to keep the cables / electronics dry, i'd recommend not opening the doors!... how else would it get wet??

[truckarms]

As some one who like to play a bit with electrics I would start by recommending you buy a 3rd gen, not because the sound system etc would work better but it does have obdii which is a nice wee toy, as I guess you are planning on installing tv's or monitors of a computer a very nice addition to this is the obdii which will let you monitor a whole load of things, the second gen does not have this which is about my only complaint on the vehicle but it is old so should not really complain.
As for what surf to buy just make sure you think about the power supply option. Most surfs have 2 batteries but both are normal not leisure batteries and I dont know haw easy it would be to add a leisure battery as a 3rd battery and find somewhere to hide it.
I have a uk spec 4runner and it only had 1 battery in it, and trying to find somewhere nice to hide my leisure battery has been a big problem, infact I think I have tried it in about 4 places and currently its just sitting in the boot!!!
Otherwise welcome to the massive grin club. no other car makes you smile like a surf does.

[CaptainBeaky]

...a 3rd gen does have obdii which is a nice wee toy

Que? Wot dat?

[surfenstein]

sounds like a character out of star wars.as for the ice set up i used plastic conduit to run the power cables through the centre of the truck to the load area,and a similar set up for the speaker cables down each side of the roof of the truck exiting under the dash and either side of the b pillar,the amps were then screwed into the backs of the rear seats from the load area side.one word of warning the plastic trim panels in the load area are very large,care should be taken when removing them as they tend to crack and the clips break off as with the a and b pillar trim.good luck.

[surfenstein]

oh and welcome to forum.let the grin begin.

[BUSHWHACKER]

Yep, it's best to remove the panels on a warm day, or after the truck has been sitting in the sun for a while, or after a run with the heaters on.

[TonyN]

I have a uk spec 4runner and it only had 1 battery in it, and trying to find somewhere nice to hide my leisure battery has been a big problem, infact I think I have tried it in about 4 places and currently its just sitting in the boot!!!
Otherwise welcome to the massive grin club. no other car makes you smile like a surf does.

Cut down the intake pipe, fit a cone filter and throw away the old airbox, then the other battery can go where it's 'sposed to!

[P.C.P]

. Most surfs have 2 batteries but both are normal not leisure batteries and I dont know haw easy it would be to add a leisure battery as a 3rd battery and find somewhere to hide it.
I have a uk spec 4runner and it only had 1 battery in it, and trying to find somewhere nice to hide my leisure battery has been a big problem, infact I think I have tried it in about 4 places and currently its just sitting in the boot!!!

cheers everyone for the help and views, I'll have the system running on 2 batteries in the load area underneath the speaker housing, wired up to a -wait for it- solar panel on the roof...The solar panel'sbeen specifically designed for the job and it's very small so it's not as bad as it sounds, won the thing in a car mag competition months ago and it's been gathering dust ever since....

.one word of warning the plastic trim panels in the load area are very large,care should be taken when removing them as they tend to crack and the clips break off as with the a and b pillar trim.good luck.

Thanks, I would've broken something for sure!

[Gizmo]

Que? Wot dat?

obdii is onboard diagnostics port/connection so you could tap in to all your sensors and see them on screen.