Toyota Hilux LN106R
- Thread starter boris mikilchuck
- Start date
boris mikilchuck
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My initial plan was to have a hidden battery in the drawer side compartment and a 12v switchbox with DC-DC changer and inverter mounted to it but in the end I decided to try and keep things as simple as possible, its pretty easy to get carried away and add unnecessary complexity 
The LN106 has no room for a second battery under the bonnet (unless you replace the airbox) and the heat from the engine would kill an AGM battery anyway so I knew I would have to put it in the tub. I wanted things to be as modular as possible in case I ever wanted to use it as a ute again which I might have to in the future, another self imposed rule was I didnt want to drill any holes into the tub (luckily it has some in it already). I already had a fusebox under the engine bay from when I added the three front spotties (keen eyed observers will note they are not gone but thats another story ) so I just connected the starter battery to the rear 12v stuff through a 60 amp glass fuse and earthed everything to the main earth point under the bonnet.
The LN106 has no room for a second battery under the bonnet (unless you replace the airbox) and the heat from the engine would kill an AGM battery anyway so I knew I would have to put it in the tub. I wanted things to be as modular as possible in case I ever wanted to use it as a ute again which I might have to in the future, another self imposed rule was I didnt want to drill any holes into the tub (luckily it has some in it already). I already had a fusebox under the engine bay from when I added the three front spotties (keen eyed observers will note they are not gone but thats another story ) so I just connected the starter battery to the rear 12v stuff through a 60 amp glass fuse and earthed everything to the main earth point under the bonnet.
boris mikilchuck
Active Member
boris mikilchuck
Active Member
In the past most people ran an isolator to connect the starter and auxiliary batteries which is all well and good if your second battery is a standard 12v lead acid under the bonnet but not suitable for most deep cycle batteries which require a higher changing voltage of 14v and which are often placed in the tub instead of under the bonnet. A lot of people are also not aware that the voltage drop across the wires linking the starter and auxiliary batteries is significant over the distance from the engine bay to the tub. Thankfully there is an easy fix for this and thats a designated battery charger often referred to as BC-DC battery chargers. Most battery chargers will charge all battery types and compansate for voltage drop over distance. I decided to go with the Redarc 1225D battery charger and the adventure kings 138Ah AGM deep cycle battery in the kings maxi battery box so if I wanted to I could remove the battery and use it elsewhere in the battery box.
boris mikilchuck
Active Member
boris mikilchuck
Active Member
Next was wiring everything up which is pretty straightforward as Redarc provide a good instruction booklet. I used thick cables wrapped in electrical conduit to link the starter battery to the charger which I ran along the drivers side chassis rail up into the tub through the drain plug hole. Having the battery in the battery box made it easier to connect everything up as well. An added benefit of the Redarc 1225D is the ability to add a solar panel without a solar regulator so its just a matter of connecting an Anderson plug to the solar charging wire and the charger does the rest for you. The charger comes with some terminals and connectors but not enough fuses from memory so I had to buy some.
When I got the drawers and wing kit from 4WD supacentre I also got the kings 12v panel which has two cigarette lighter plugs and two USB chargers, its designed to fit nicely onto the rear wing plate. I also wanted a switch panel for future accessories such as lights and water pumps etc so I got a switch panel off ebay but there wasn't really enough room to put the 12v plugs and switch panel in the same area so I just made a little box out of plywood and covered it with marine carpet and mounted the charger and switch panel on that. Overall there was no dramas and everything came together alright.
When I got the drawers and wing kit from 4WD supacentre I also got the kings 12v panel which has two cigarette lighter plugs and two USB chargers, its designed to fit nicely onto the rear wing plate. I also wanted a switch panel for future accessories such as lights and water pumps etc so I got a switch panel off ebay but there wasn't really enough room to put the 12v plugs and switch panel in the same area so I just made a little box out of plywood and covered it with marine carpet and mounted the charger and switch panel on that. Overall there was no dramas and everything came together alright.
boris mikilchuck
Active Member
boris mikilchuck
Active Member
A few of the accessories I run (including my beloved 12v kettle) pulled a but too much current out of the cigarette lighter plugs and hence kept blowing the fuses so I upgraded all the fuses which solved this issue. A bit of testing to make sure the charger was working didn't reveal any problems.
After the core 12v was all wired up and working I turned my attention to water storage and lighting. I had a few water issues on Fraiser island and some of my more recent trips so I wanted to sort this out once and for all. I decided to buy a 70l water tank and mount it up the front of the tub out of the way and run a 12v submersible pump with a hose to get the water when I wanted.
After the core 12v was all wired up and working I turned my attention to water storage and lighting. I had a few water issues on Fraiser island and some of my more recent trips so I wanted to sort this out once and for all. I decided to buy a 70l water tank and mount it up the front of the tub out of the way and run a 12v submersible pump with a hose to get the water when I wanted.
boris mikilchuck
Active Member
boris mikilchuck
Active Member
For lighting I just bought some of the kings 12v rigid LED light strips and stuck them onto the canopy door with double sided tape and wired them into the switch panel, they are super bright and I am happy with them so far
I don't have a fridge at the moment so the 12v system won't really get a good workout until then.
I don't have a fridge at the moment so the 12v system won't really get a good workout until then.
boris mikilchuck
Active Member
With the 12v finally all done I decided to move onto some more comfort oriented touring mods. For all long time now I had been wanting a seat upgrade but couldn't decide on which seats to buy. After doing a bit of research I decided to upgrade to some hilux surf seats which were supposedly very comfortable and best of all they bolt straight into dual cab LN106s without any modification. Unsurprisingly a lot of LN106 owners also had this same idea so surf seats in good condition are pretty rare now but I eventually found some on gumtree in perfect condition for a great price.
I would highly recommend this upgrade to anyone who uses or wants to use their LN106 for touring and who is also on a budget. Obviously you can get better seats such as Recaros, Stratos or Suburu WRX seats but you will pay big money for them and also need an engineers certificate. The surf seats are almost as good for a fraction of the cost.
I would highly recommend this upgrade to anyone who uses or wants to use their LN106 for touring and who is also on a budget. Obviously you can get better seats such as Recaros, Stratos or Suburu WRX seats but you will pay big money for them and also need an engineers certificate. The surf seats are almost as good for a fraction of the cost.
boris mikilchuck
Active Member
boris mikilchuck
Active Member
Obviously the LN106 is a great vehicle and I love them, however, there are a few things about them that are very hard to understand from an engineering point of view such as the weak handbrake, lack of cupholders and lack of battery voltage and oil pressure gauges but probably the most annoying is the ridiculously undersized door mirrors . The factory LN106 door mirrors are so small that you can't really see anything out of them unless they are pointing in the exact correct position and even then its difficult. Thankfully as is the case with all of these weaknesses there is an easy fix and quite a few mirror upgrades are available. There isnt really any consensus as to the best upgrade and I know different people who have done different things, some people go with surf mirrors and I have seen others fit 80 series mirrors, however, neither of these bolt straight on. After a bit of research to my pleasant surprise I found that 60 series Landcruiser mirrors bolt straight onto LN106 doors making this a very easy upgrade indeed. I learnt to drive in a 60 series and have grown up with them so I knew the mirrors were good.
. The factory LN106 door mirrors are so small that you can't really see anything out of them unless they are pointing in the exact correct position and even then its difficult. Thankfully as is the case with all of these weaknesses there is an easy fix and quite a few mirror upgrades are available. There isnt really any consensus as to the best upgrade and I know different people who have done different things, some people go with surf mirrors and I have seen others fit 80 series mirrors, however, neither of these bolt straight on. After a bit of research to my pleasant surprise I found that 60 series Landcruiser mirrors bolt straight onto LN106 doors making this a very easy upgrade indeed. I learnt to drive in a 60 series and have grown up with them so I knew the mirrors were good.
boris mikilchuck
Active Member
typhoeus
Well-Known Member
Hi Boris, are those mirrors held on with 3 bolts? Ihave an rzn169r hilux, and i want to get better mirrors, they are3 bolt pattern.
boris mikilchuck
Active Member
Hi Typhoeus,
The mirrors are held on with 2 bolts. One of the main reasons I went with 60 series mirrors is because they bolt straight on where the other common upgrades (80 series and surf mirrors) are mounted further forward and attached to the upper glass section of the door (I don't know what its called sorry) so they require a bit of fiddling around to attach them. Also, underneath the mirror is obviously the bolt holes but also a black rubber bung so if you move the mirror location you need to cover up the bung which is more work again so the 60 series mirrors are overwhelmingly the best option for an ln106 in my opinion. I'm not sure what the best upgrade is for the later model hiluxes off the top of my head but its possible that 60 series mirrors could also bolt up. What is the distance between the two upper bolt holes on your hilux?
typhoeus
Well-Known Member
Ill have to pull one off & check. Ill get back to you.
boris mikilchuck
Active Member
Sorry my doors actually do have three bolt holes i'm not sure why I said 2 lol. The mirrors are held on with 2 bolts though but there are three available so I am assuming its probably identical to the bolt pattern on your hilux. I have taken some photos which might help you
