PraDog

Post by **Family_Dog** » Mon Jan 11, 2010 9:14 pm

Well, let's kick off here.

Introducing........ PraDog!

Let's hear from the other <ahem>.... Prado owners here!

-F_D

Gertc · Post by **Gertc** » Mon Jan 11, 2010 9:46 pm

Eric how much did you pay the guy to take that photo on an angle?

Post by **CasKru** » Tue Jan 12, 2010 6:10 am

Eric.... who is the guy driving your Prado? It seems like he did take all his pills like he was supposed to

Post by **Family_Dog** » Tue Jan 12, 2010 7:26 am

Now, now.... nasty, nasty!

I don't mind the vertical angles so much, it's the side slopes I don't like.

This one doesn't look too bad, but there's a nice little drop right next to the car into the marsh and you have to forward-reverse-forward once or twice to make the sharp turn. Of course, the fact that we did that section in reverse made it worse than if we had done it in the correct direction, then you would be turning up and not down the hill... ;)

-F_D

Gertc · Post by **Gertc** » Tue Jan 12, 2010 3:48 pm

Cassie dit moet Eric wees agter die stuur wiel. Hy swaai uit vir die water plassie voor hom.

Scotty · Post by **Scotty** » Tue Jan 12, 2010 9:17 pm

-F_D!!!

Some more info about the splendid Pradog please....

How many kays on the new dog's clock?

Approximate fuel consumption?

How is the cruz'in at 120kph?

Safety features - any airbags?

How is the drive compared to your Hilux's?

Did you also consider a Land Cruiser? How did you finally decide on the Prado?

Do you have any mods planned?

Thanks

Scotty

Scorpion · Post by **Scorpion** » Tue Jan 12, 2010 11:14 pm

Family_Dog wrote:
This one doesn't look too bad, but there's a nice little drop right next to the car into the marsh and you have to forward-reverse-forward once or twice to make the sharp turn.

-F_D

Eric, now that's just silly! Tell the oke in the road to move and if he refuses - drive over him!

Post by **Family_Dog** » Wed Jan 13, 2010 7:52 am

Scotty wrote:-F_D!!!

Some more info about the splendid Pradog please....

How many kays on the new dog's clock?
275,000km. The engine is just run in!

Approximate fuel consumption?
About the same as the 2.7, seems to be around 6.5km with mixed town/country driving, at legal speeds. Remember, it is a heavy vehicle with 4-speed autobox and six cylinders, so I am happy with this.

How is the cruz'in at 120kph?
Superb! It cruises at that speed at somewhere around 2400 RPM, engine just ticking over.

Safety features - any airbags?
Yes indeed!Driver & front seat passenger.

How is the drive compared to your Hilux's?
With OME suspension fitted all round, the drive comfort is superb. I cannot speak for normal suspension, I bought it with the OME.

Did you also consider a Land Cruiser? How did you finally decide on the Prado?
I had a new 76 SW on order, but I wanted a beige one, same colour as Bulldog. The dealer only had a white one and by the time he found a beige LC 76 SW for me, the price had gone through the roof. Then there were mumblings about a new engine for the 76 series. All things considered, I finally decided against diesel and while the petrol LC's are great, they are heavy vehicles and are very thirsty. It's no fun filling that petrol tank when it is empty. The car would be a long-term investment and I doubt I would ever recover any sort of return from the LC even over a lengthy period of time. I also did not want a vehicle that would sit in the garage most of the time because I was put off by the price of petrol, which will only increase in time to come. All things considered, the Prado suited me better because I wanted a station wagon type vehicle which had to be reasonably off-road capable as well. The Prado is an extremely safe vehicle, it is indeed capable for anything I would ever want to do with it and it is a very comfortable vehicle to drive. If anything, it features a shorter wheelbase than either White Fang or Bulldog (I haven't confirmed this with measurements, but it fits in a standard garage easier!!) and has oodles of space inside.

Do you have any mods planned?
I thought I would play this one by ear. First mod would probably have been a suspension lift, but it already had that when I bought it. It was also fitted with an aluminium RV Bullbar. I considered a rear diff-lock, but that is not necessary, the vehicle apparently has a LSD (later vehicles came out with rear diff lock as standard) which is more than capable and I never experienced any wheel spins anywhere when I tried it out on Thinus' 4x4 training track. This track has everything, and Thinus is registered with the same Offroad Training Academy that Okkie (on this forum) is affiliated to. So, total mods thus far is to fit a strip of gray vinyl (cost: R130.00) to the top of the RV bullbar to combat reflection from the sun, and I am considering replacing the fitted aftermarket spot lights for better ones. I also replaced the headlight bulbs with Osram Silverstars (could not get Nightbreakers at the time) and the headlight spread went from yellow to bright white. The only additional mod I am considering is to replace the aluminium sidesteps with rock sliders, but this is by no means an urgent requirement, the van has plenty of ground clearance. Oh, last thing: I replaced the new Nankang Road Tyres that were supplied with the vehicle, for Bridgestone Duelers D694, an excellent AT tyre.

Thanks
Scotty

Scotty · Post by **Scotty** » Wed Jan 13, 2010 9:04 am

Thanks for all the info FD.

The Prado seems excellent. The only thing that strikes fear into my heart with most of the options I'm considering is the fuel consumption!

I've become accustomed to my 1.6L Corolla sipping at the petrol, so I've going to have to start being brave at the petrol pumps again. But my Corolla wont take us everywhere we want to go.....

Doctor V · Post by **Doctor V** » Wed Jan 13, 2010 9:37 am

The Prado 3.4 V6's consumption is much better tha that of the infamous 4500 in the Cruisers. I have a friend that is a part time guide and he owns a 60 and 105 series as well as a 3.0D4D Fortuner. He reckons that open road with rooftop tent the consumption of the 4500 is about 20l\100km and in the sand about 30l\100km's. and because he is always helping people it drops to about 40-50l\100kmS

Friens who have Prado's work on about 13-15l\100km's, depending on the load. And they all stay clear of the 3.0D in the Prado

Post by **Family_Dog** » Wed Jan 13, 2010 2:16 pm

Scotty, one thing I meant to mention and forgot, is check when the cam belt was last changed. If in any doubt, change it. Pradog had a new Cam belt fitted just 10,000km ago, so all is well. Also, check the condition of the rubber CV boots - but this should be done with any vehicle in any case.

Prado toughness? Consider this thread from the Community Forum: Speculation becomes fact (Wildcoast Prado accident).

If you look at the first photo that HenriS posted, you will note a vehicle (small dot visible) going up the hill, on the left side. The Prado in the photo drove along the top and down the hill in order to get a good view. The driver was then unable to reverse and attempted a U-Turn... not a good idea. He was not wearing a seatbelt and was flung out of the vehicle as it tumbled down the hill, only just missing him. Considering the distance the Prado tumbled, the body of the vehicle is in outstanding condition.

You are SAFE in a Prado!

-F_D

BenHur · Post by **BenHur** » Wed Jan 13, 2010 11:14 pm

The secret homing/communication device I installed in Bulldog during the conversion alerted me yesterday with an SMS message, saying that Bulldog feels neglected, unloved and abandoned. It says I must come and fetch him and bring him back home where he will receive the necessary attention and love it deserves as it will be used and not left in the garage while you are gallivanting with the new Prado

Post by **Family_Dog** » Thu Jan 14, 2010 7:01 am

Bennie, you need another cuppa...

coffee.jpg: (22.87 KiB) Downloaded 2675 times

Enoy it!

-F_D

Post by **CasKru** » Thu Jan 14, 2010 7:05 am

Can I have one too Eric?

Post by **Family_Dog** » Thu Jan 14, 2010 7:42 am

Coffee is klaar, Cassie, but will this do?

: Dis 'n apple.jpg (4.72 KiB) Viewed 6654 times

-F_D

Post by **CasKru** » Thu Jan 14, 2010 8:11 am

:wth: :wth:
Ek teken apel aan

Post by **Family_Dog** » Sun Jan 17, 2010 2:15 pm

We installed a Kenwood TK7100 VHF radio into Pradog...

For the antenna I used a quarter-wave roof top mount antenna, which is not as prominent as the side mount 5/8 antenna. Why the Kenwood? Well, I have a Motorola GM360 remote mount radio installed in White Fang and a Vertex VX2200 installed in Bulldog. All these radios feature an alpha-numeric display, which is critical to my work as we have some 20+ repeater stations programmed in. Kirisun will very soon be introducing an (affordable) LCD alpha-numeric display version of their successful PT8000 VHF radio and I will evaluate that as well as soon as we receive stock.

-F_D

Post by **CasKru** » Sun Jan 17, 2010 9:20 pm

Eric you won't believe me... I finally

made the bracket this weekend and secured the two radios

:Geek: :Geek:

Post by **Family_Dog** » Sun Jan 17, 2010 9:41 pm

Well done, Cassie! :) Photos, photos!

-F_D

DOELLOOS · Post by **DOELLOOS** » Sun Jan 17, 2010 11:43 pm

CasKru wrote:Eric you won't believe me... I finally made the bracket this weekend and secured the two radios :Geek: :Geek:

Ek kan dit nie sien nie...

:wth:

Post by **CasKru** » Mon Jan 18, 2010 6:36 am

Family_Dog wrote:Well done, Cassie! :) Photos, photos!

-F_D

Now if only I had a camera... :shifty: :shifty:

Post by **CasKru** » Tue Jan 19, 2010 9:14 am

Ewald... net vir jou

En dit is min of meer soos hy lyk....

DOELLOOS · Post by **DOELLOOS** » Tue Jan 19, 2010 9:30 am

Post by **CasKru** » Tue Jan 19, 2010 9:48 am

Mr_B · Post by **Mr_B** » Tue Jan 19, 2010 10:02 am

Post by **george** » Wed Jan 20, 2010 3:18 pm

As julle weirdo's klaar is...net gou 'n vragie

Cassie hoe gaan jy weet wie roep jou op wattter radio

Of het jy 'n external speaker op 'n ander plek

Post by **CasKru** » Wed Jan 20, 2010 4:01 pm

george wrote:As julle weirdo's klaar is...net gou 'n vragie

Cassie hoe gaan jy weet wie roep jou op wattter radio Of het jy 'n external speaker op 'n ander plek

Jy kan duidelik die verskil hoor tussen die twee radio's. AM het eenvoudig nie dieselfde kwaliteit as VHF nie. Behalwe vir dit is daar ook 'n BUSY indikasie op die radio wat transmit / receive

Pixel · Post by **Pixel** » Thu Mar 18, 2010 5:17 pm

FD, seen you asked so nicely..

.. introducing Nala:

btw, FD on the photo of your dash, have you spotted that there are two demister buttons... why

?

HennieJ2 · Post by **HennieJ2** » Wed Mar 24, 2010 10:00 pm

One for front and one for rear?

HJ

Post by **Mud Dog** » Thu Mar 25, 2010 1:19 am

HennieJ2 wrote:One for front and one for rear?

HJ

Very probable.

On my old 7 series, there were two demist buttons the one for the front was basically a 'one touch' button that engaged the air-con and a pre-selected fan speed, directing the airflow to the windshield. Airflow selection was button controlled, not slider and achieved by electrically triggered vacuum servos that opened / closed the air passages.

Post by **Family_Dog** » Thu Mar 25, 2010 7:17 am

btw, FD on the photo of your dash, have you spotted that there are two demister buttons... why ?

Sooo... after many sleepless nights pondering the futility of two demister buttons, I went and studied the centre console. Yes indeed, two demister buttons there are! So I grabbed my trusty driver's manual and paged through it and Whamo! - I found the answer! I am now at peace with myself and sleeping soundly at night once again!

-F_D

Post by **CasKru** » Thu Mar 25, 2010 7:59 am

Family_Dog wrote:
btw, FD on the photo of your dash, have you spotted that there are two demister buttons... why ?

Sooo... after many sleepless nights pondering the futility of two demister buttons, I went and studied the centre console. Yes indeed, two demister buttons there are! So I grabbed my trusty driver's manual and paged through it and Whamo! - I found the answer! I am now at peace with myself and sleeping soundly at night once again!

-F_D

You're the only one. Now share your sleep remedy with us

Post by **Family_Dog** » Thu Mar 25, 2010 9:23 am

CasKru wrote: You're the only one. Now share your sleep remedy with us

Cassie, that's easy! Buy a Prado and enjoy many nights of restful sleep! ;)

This must be one of the most under-rated vehicles ever, and definitely a second-hand Prado (esp. the older generation) must be one of the best buys ever!

-F_D

Post by **CasKru** » Thu Mar 25, 2010 9:32 am

Family_Dog wrote:
CasKru wrote: You're the only one. Now share your sleep remedy with us
Cassie, that's easy! Buy a Prado and enjoy many nights of restful sleep! ;)

This must be one of the most under-rated vehicles ever, and definitely a second-hand Prado (esp. the older generation) must be one of the best buys ever!

-F_D

So does your front window also have a demister?

Pixel · Post by **Pixel** » Thu Mar 25, 2010 2:41 pm

OK, seen that I want you all to sleep well at night.... The 1 is for the rear screen the other is for the Side Mirrors. :)

FD, next question: Why are there 3 buttons / levers that spray water?

And for all the other Toy drivers, on which side is the indicator stalk on a Toyota Prado?

Mountain Man · Post by **Mountain Man** » Thu Mar 25, 2010 2:50 pm

Another "WHY" question... Why do we have Prados on the Hilux forum?

Post by **Mud Dog** » Thu Mar 25, 2010 4:04 pm

Because we have an "Other vehicles" section, and if we can accommodate the occasional Landy / Nissan / Frot , then surely we can have a couple of Prado's too?

Post by **Family_Dog** » Thu Mar 25, 2010 7:15 pm

A Prado is a natural for Hilux drivers! You must have both to enjoy both worlds - and many components are much the same, especially with the later models of each. ;)

MM, may you sit with Mr. Bean in a closed room for a week and a day for asking such a redundant question!

The answer? - It gives you something to read!

-F_D

Post by **Family_Dog** » Thu Mar 25, 2010 7:17 pm

FD, next question: Why are there 3 buttons / levers that spray water?

Gee Pixel, you're asking me all the difficult questions! I never even knew that!

Back to the Driver's Manual just now, I guess... ;)

Your next question I could answer... learnt that one soon enough!

-F_D