htr
Well-Known Member
- Posts
- 1,602
- Location
- Central Otago, Southern New Zealand
Departure angle is important for any 4WD. Tow bars generally and rear mufflers on the FL1 are quite low. Some Tbars are removable [ not mine
] and you can add a protective cover to that back muffler like what SES88 can supply [very nice by the way].
I was under my FL1 the other day and was having a gander at that area and a thought occurred to me. Just what would I use the load space storage box for? I have a hard plastic load space liner in there so if I ever did put anything in there it would be a proper B taking whatever is in the load space out to get to it. Others on LZ have shown that that wee box can leak and lets water in as it can be poorly sealed from the factory. I wondered how many other owners hardly used the storage box too.
My thought then went along this line: if I remove that storage box completely with a spot welt cutter and then fix a flat plate over it, having carefully water sealed it first I would gain space below deck. I could use that extra 120 to 150mm to raise that back muffler up, giving myself less to get caught up on and thus an improved departure angle. Id combine this with a removable tow hitch too. Yes there would be some replumbing of the rear exhaust but that wouldnt be to hard to do. It would most likely be sited about 100mm further to the passenger side so as to clear the fuel tanks filler pipe I could even add an alloy heat shield above it to help keep the load space from heating up. But that extra heat could be useful in drying out that area if water is getting in from another point!
Is this a feasible plan, comments please.
] and you can add a protective cover to that back muffler like what SES88 can supply [very nice by the way].I was under my FL1 the other day and was having a gander at that area and a thought occurred to me. Just what would I use the load space storage box for? I have a hard plastic load space liner in there so if I ever did put anything in there it would be a proper B taking whatever is in the load space out to get to it. Others on LZ have shown that that wee box can leak and lets water in as it can be poorly sealed from the factory. I wondered how many other owners hardly used the storage box too.
My thought then went along this line: if I remove that storage box completely with a spot welt cutter and then fix a flat plate over it, having carefully water sealed it first I would gain space below deck. I could use that extra 120 to 150mm to raise that back muffler up, giving myself less to get caught up on and thus an improved departure angle. Id combine this with a removable tow hitch too. Yes there would be some replumbing of the rear exhaust but that wouldnt be to hard to do. It would most likely be sited about 100mm further to the passenger side so as to clear the fuel tanks filler pipe I could even add an alloy heat shield above it to help keep the load space from heating up. But that extra heat could be useful in drying out that area if water is getting in from another point!
Is this a feasible plan, comments please.
