Ol' Jenny - our noble steed, source of joy (paired with occasional frustration) and home on wheels.
Year: 1997
Model: HZJ75RV
Engine: 1HZ N/A (reliable slug)
Km's: 550K (at the time of writing)
Suspension: Terrain Tamer parabolic leaf
Tyres: we started with 5x Bridgestone Dueler A/T's
(however after 3 years of remote travel we've ended up with all sorts of random tyres on her)
From our teenage years, we've always been passionate about 4WD touring and the feeling of freedom that comes with it. To us, the Toyota LandCruiser is the epitome of Australian touring and the Troopy is the elegantly simplistic, legendary workhorse that suited our lifestyle best.
The famous reliability, mechanically controlled engine, ease of maintenance and repairs, and wide availability of parts throughout the country made it an easy choice for our ultimate touring rig.
Jenny is our second Troopy now, our first one was a '92 HZJ75RV with the standard roof and a full-size bed setup in the back with storage underneath. This was a simple and convenient setup for weekenders and short term touring, however, we knew that if we were going to live on the road full time that an internal living space was essential.
The weather in some parts of Australia can be notoriously unpredictable so having a safe and secure space where we could still cook up a hot meal, knock back a few frothies and just hang out was a huge draw card for the pop-top Troopy.
We've built a little dining suite along the passengers side with two comfy seats and a fold-up table, and on the drivers side we've got a mini kitchen space with a plumbed sink.
We invested a lot of time modifying just about every aspect of the Troopy to make it uniquely ours.
All of the bar work is custom and one of a kind, our good mate built it all in his shed at home so there’s nothing else quite like it.
If you look closely you’ll also notice we chopped the rear quarter panels. We had some rust festering there and figured why not just bring them up higher. We prefer the look and there’s less potential for the panels to become damaged on rough tracks.
Once we had the body in shape we had our sunrise stripes designed and installed. We first saw this style of decal on an old Land Rover about ten years ago and decided if we ever got our dream Troopy to the point where it had clean, rust-free panels then we’d love to have our own version of the sunrise stripes slapped on to help her stand out from the crowd.
Being an ex-hire camper, she has a side hatch which was originally used for storing gas cylinders. We weren’t sure what we should do with the space until we realised it would be the perfect spot for a hard-wired compressor. We ditched the factory ARB wiring harness and built our own power and control circuits from scratch and installed it all neatly within the hatch. We usually air up and down multiple times a week so it’s super handy having it right there ready to go.
A few of our other simple but favourite mods would have to be the Akubra holders, our Outback Gear Solutions storage bags ;), the barn door drop down table, our RAM iPad mounts and the OneStone armrests.
When we eventually settle down for while we’d love to give the old darlin’ some more TLC. Nothing major, just tidy up some cosmetic blemishes and freshen her up a bit. We’re pretty sentimentally attached through the experiences and adventures we’ve shared together, so providing we can keep her kicking and stay on top of the rust we’d love to hang onto her. Then maybe when we’re 70 years old we can still jump in the old girl for a Sunday pub lunch and our grandkids can take the reins when we eventually kick the bucket.
If you've been tossing up the thought of buying a Troopy we couldn't bloody recommend it enough!
YEEHAW!