Replacing a worn-out tray
4WD MODIFICATIONS – DIY WORKSHOP
Our faithful LandCruiser 75 Series’ custom-made steel-RHS tray was showing its age and, in late-2024, we opted to replace it with an aluminium tray. Of course ‘Harry HJ’ has a stretched wheelbase, so there was no standard tray available.
‘Harry’ has done most of the major remote area tracks in Australia and has also served as a light truck for us when renovating a couple of houses, so he’s earned his keep. The extended tray was already on Harry’s back when we bought him 15 years ago and had a hard life even before we put it to work.
The tray was a home-built, steel, thin-wall RHS ladder-frame, with aluminium decking that was originally insulated from the steel, but those insulating strips had suffered attrition over the years and the frame had been crack-welded in several places. By late-2024 the demon rust could no longer be kept at bay and a replacement was in order.
We had several quotes for a custom-made aluminium tray and headboard that varied from around six grand to nine grand. Strewth! That’s a lot of money for us. (Those who think that running a truthful website is a possible path to riches should think again.)
We discussed this issue with OTA team members Tony and Juana Ford, over a jar or two and Tony pointed to the tray on his HiLux: “That’s a repurposed and cut down aluminium tray that I picked up second-hand,“ he said. “We could do the same for Harry.” (Tony is a very skilled metal worker and that proved crucial.)
He rang about a month later, saying that he’d found two compatible Triple M trays and grafted them together to produce a custom tray to suit Harry’s long wheelbase. So we headed off to his house and workshop for what turned out to be a three-day fitting exercise.
With the assistance of Tony’s Massey-Ferguson tractor the storage box up front and the old tray came off without too much difficulty and then we carefully measured up the 10 body mounts to which we’d attach the Triple M galvanised steel cross members. A problem showed up instantly, with Harry’s custom exhaust intruding on the space needed for the two rearmost body cross members.
The solution was simpler than we first thought, because the exhaust pipe location laws have been relaxed across Australia. We could simply cut, shut and lower the exhaust system, with the exit being just near the rear diff. Phew! That got us home, after which we consulted an exhaust professional for a new muffler and tailpipe.
With the chassis jet-blasted and painted it was time to set up the cross members. That seemed like a simple enough task, but it took the two of us several hours, to ensure that the vertical posts on the cross members were perfectly aligned vertically, longitudinally and transversely.
Tony’s attention to detail was rewarded when the tray slid into place without a snag. A point to be made here: only Grade 8.8 bolts were used, with Nyloc nuts, in 18mm and 10mm sizes.
Next task was fitting the mudguards that came with the used trays and that’s where Keryn’s tiny fingers came into their own. She had little trouble sliding the 10mm nuts into the slots provided, where the boys’ fat fingers proved to be barriers to progress.
Harry’s long wheelbase had allowed space for steel-mesh fire-wood boxes ether side of the bodywork and Tony modified their attachments, to suit the underside of the new tray and cross members.
Then it was time to refit the front storage box. That was easy enough and the wiring for our drawer day fridge slid in, via a fresh hole in the new tray. All good. We backed the new tray under our Tray-Tek slide-on camper and Tony-welded gutter-grip clamps soon had it fastened in place.
Future jobs are setting up the cargo tie rails and modifying our existing drop sides to suit the tray. So far, so good, for far less outlay than a new tray.
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