G'day from echuca

[Geoff035]

G'day all,

just wanted to say hi and introduce myself. my names Geoff and I hail from Echuca in Victoria. I have grown up with land rovers with my first car being a series 3 LWB and my current one being a tired old series 2 disco. I used to get on the AULRO forums a bit a few years ago (even had someone rock up in their newly purchased 6x6 air defence on a trip I organised to the high country a few years ago, may have been Mick but I’m shocking with names so my apologies) so know a few people from there but I haven't been on in the last few years as I found my time over the last 3 years fully consumed by the paramedicine degree I just completed.

I was lucky enough to purchase a nice 6x6 perentie comsec at the last FLM auction and flew up the other day with my 7 year old to drive it back. had a bit of a hiccup at Goulburn when the freshly stirred up mud in the fuel tank made its way into the fuel filter but apart from that the old girl is running beautifully. I also ducked into Bunnings and purchased a couple of sets of earmuffs to make the Db level tolerable when sitting on (close to) highway speeds. I've just get the roadworthy so its round to VicRoads on Friday to get her registered. I’ve also had to order a new fuel tank changeover solenoid as the one fitted is buggered.

from what I can ascertain from the daily occurrence book I found in the back of the vehicle, it was attached to the 1st combat signal regiment. I also found a logo painted onto the inside of the door and I’ll post a pic if anyone is compiling a registry of vehicle markings.

I know it may be sacrilege but I purchased the car with the intent of turning it into a camper. I plan to try and keep it looking as original as possible and haven’t decided yet if I’ll use the existing workshop module or build a lighter weight camper module. I’m thinking of removing the 24 volt generator as its only putting out around 16 volts at the moment and just running 12 volts in the module. the only problem with that though is I’ll probably lose the use of the air con fan I guess.

I don’t know if any of the historians among us can shed some light on this but every entry in the daily occurrence book starts with "vault opened" and the last entry is always "Vault closed". there was also a sign in the cupboard with vault written on one side that I’m assuming was hung on the vehicle somewhere. I don’t know if vault was a generic term used for all the comsec vehicles or if its specific to my vehicle.

I have to do some things to her before my better half will even consider getting in for a drive, namely some sound deadening, cab insulation and try to get the heater to blow warm air but my lad and I love it.

I’ll have to post some pics up in a few days when I get home from work as the government internet here is a bit slow

[Mick_Marsh]

Well done on your purchase and welcome to the forum.

There have been a number of camper conversions done on the 6x6s. Have a look around here, AULRO and the Perentie facebook pages for ideas.
The first thing I would be thinking of is what you want. A basic camper, a Taj Mahal or something in between. Then you can work out how to convert it.
I'm not familiar with your variant but, as an example, the ambulances don't convert well in my opinion. The pod on the back is very solid and very heavy. Peter Blake has done a marvellous basic camping conversion to his. IIMV or Assault Pioneer I think.

[Geoff035]

hey Mick,

yeah I was gunna get the cab sorted out and use the truck as is for a while to get the feel of the space available until I work out how exactly I want to set it up. I was thinking of making a new rear camper pod out of that composite sandwich board with a front hinged pop top or something eventually. I'm not rushing into this one and will definitely be looking around at different ideas. at this stage I want something that is luxurious enough to get the missus out of the house but basic enough that I don't have to sell my first born. for starters, I want to just be able to shoot down the river for a night or two at a whim

[AGAS 5]

Welcome to REMLR Geoff.

The vehicles module was a Communications Security Repair facility. As such, it held a COMSEC equipment account that contained 'special' bits of gear.

Facilities that contain 'special' bits of gear are sometimes called Vaults.... hence the entries in that log book.

Cheers.

[STDDIVER]

G'day Geoff - welcome to the forum - good to see another 6x6 owner!  Interested to see how the works go.  I have just insulated my 6x6 and the difference it makes is outstanding. 
STDDIVER

[Geoff035]

Mate, that looks awesome. May I ask what you used to do it eg I'm guessing that's marine carpet but did you use anything under the carpet like dynamat or anything?

[STDDIVER]

Hi Geoff - I've actually used a three layer process.  First sound deadener That's the silver coloured product on one side with black bitumenised material on the other.  Then waterproof underlay which is self adhesive.  Thirdly I used (and you are absolutely correct) marine carpet.  Two types of marine carpet - thin for the cabin sides, foot well walls and cabin generally and a heavy ribbed marine carpet for the flat floor areas which is not glued in but removeable for cleaning and drying.  The supplied military mats go back in over the top just to keep the originality supporting functionality.   It makes the 6x6 @ 90 kph a comfortable vehicle to be in and conversations can be had without the need to raise your voice.  I cut around all of the inspection plates so that they are removeable to provide access to fuel lines, transmission etc. so the installation is functional.  Mud and #$ap on the carpet removes with a bit of effort which is much easier than I had first imagined by allowing it to dry brushing and a vac. The floor, when completing a river crossing, (remove the loose carpet) drains well and I have a little 12v wet vac I use to get the 'tidal' areas free of water.  So far no odours remain from the water crossings when I have got the excess water out.  It is worth the time to pull the seats apart whilst you have them out, clean out the gunk from the tracks and repaint.   I then sprayed a graphite onto the seat tracks and moveable mechanism before re-installation and the cabin is like new, my WO mate says 'better than new'.   The idea for this came from "Robert 42" from this forum.
Hope this helps - let me know if you want more information.  ps (I used the access hatch to make a template to cut the carpet and underlay and this sped up the process a treat)

STDDIVER

[STDDIVER]

Finished floor photo.

 

[Notlongnow]

Great job, that looks really neat - and inspirational. I am half-way through doing my 6x6 - similar to yours, but I still get  a lot of noise through the firewall and windscreen. Will try under-bonnet shielding, but there is also a lot of noise from the intake snorkel. Not sure what to do about that.

[STDDIVER]

Thanks Geoff - one of the easiest jobs is insulating under the bonnet - just spin off the bolts and one sheet of under bonnet insulation is all that is needed.  I also insulated from the engine bay side with the sound deadener and this also helps keep the noise down.  This is so effective that when you open the front air vents it acually allows more noise in but is far quieter just the same.

Cheers    STDDIVER

[Geoff035]

Guess I better pull my finger out and order some supplies

Here's the old girl anyway

[Rob6x6]

Nice looking truck you have Geoff.  Will be interested what you end up doing with the truck.  The forum is great for ideas and inspiration and not to mention all the expert knowledge that is on hand.
Cheers, Rob

[Geoff035]

i would love a dash like this but i have no idea how PJ managed to get the carpet to mould around the corners. it looks awesome