Isuzu D'max Arctic AT35 2017
Discussion
This will be a thread of overly cautious off roading, half baked attempts to 'load her up' with the trailer and lots of mud remorse.
I bought the AT35 for my work vehicle to replace loads of L200's and an Astra van (275k miles)... It came up through Mercedes Commercial the week they discontinued the X-Class so seemed quite keen to punt it on. Inadvertently I strolled in a couple of days before the end of the month with enough cash (again all accidental - Saturday afternoon and the bank had closed) to clear the VAT on the Arctic. Sales guy seemed overly excited at this and a very good deal was done.
It's been a really enjoyable year of ownership which started out with a service and inspection at the local Isuzu dealer. Then down to the local guys for a proper underseal, Before:
A bit crusty I'm sure you'll agree,,,,,
After:
Much improvement very good. I sleep way better now it's all done and the guys that carried out the work have benefited too as most enthusiasts that have had a look under my undercarraige have went to see him for the same treatment.
We are lucky to live right on the border of near civilization and on the other side we only pass one set of traffic lights between here and Fort William. We have found a few wee trails locally and a small water crossing but I do find myself wanting a bit more. Looking around the only place I can find is Drumclog but seems a pretty unregulated affair and I worry about some lad on a motocross bike wiping out the Isuzu - happy to be proven wrong on this.
So there we go, happy with the Isuzu doesn't even cover it. Love its wee quirks too and my wive has started looking at replacing her 5 series touring with dodgy air suspension with an Isuzu now too. I've been campaigning for another Arctic but she feels this is "childish" and "unnecessary" and some other things....
Looking forward to stratching the AT35's legs and maybe venture a bit further in this too,
Sway bars oot
I bought the AT35 for my work vehicle to replace loads of L200's and an Astra van (275k miles)... It came up through Mercedes Commercial the week they discontinued the X-Class so seemed quite keen to punt it on. Inadvertently I strolled in a couple of days before the end of the month with enough cash (again all accidental - Saturday afternoon and the bank had closed) to clear the VAT on the Arctic. Sales guy seemed overly excited at this and a very good deal was done.
It's been a really enjoyable year of ownership which started out with a service and inspection at the local Isuzu dealer. Then down to the local guys for a proper underseal, Before:
A bit crusty I'm sure you'll agree,,,,,
After:
Much improvement very good. I sleep way better now it's all done and the guys that carried out the work have benefited too as most enthusiasts that have had a look under my undercarraige have went to see him for the same treatment.
We are lucky to live right on the border of near civilization and on the other side we only pass one set of traffic lights between here and Fort William. We have found a few wee trails locally and a small water crossing but I do find myself wanting a bit more. Looking around the only place I can find is Drumclog but seems a pretty unregulated affair and I worry about some lad on a motocross bike wiping out the Isuzu - happy to be proven wrong on this.
So there we go, happy with the Isuzu doesn't even cover it. Love its wee quirks too and my wive has started looking at replacing her 5 series touring with dodgy air suspension with an Isuzu now too. I've been campaigning for another Arctic but she feels this is "childish" and "unnecessary" and some other things....
Looking forward to stratching the AT35's legs and maybe venture a bit further in this too,
Sway bars oot
Macron said:
Great to see them being properly used!
What are the Isuzu’s quirks you mention?
Probably being a bit picky, but if I had paid the 'as new' price to then find how far the door cards flex when pulling them closed I'd be a bit put out! Obviously it's a work focused vehicle so it is a bit plain jane inside. However, I do absolutely adore it. A proper joy to own and I've never parked it up without at least one glance back. What are the Isuzu’s quirks you mention?
It has really benefited from the running mods as the emissions systems on these are quite temperamental. I tried everything, from huge runs in it to all the additives but needed a fair spend to sort. It was DPF regenning (??) so much it was filling itself with diesel. Very worrying at the time.
Alfahorn said:
Absolutely love these.
Great no nonsense trucks and tremendously reliable. Definitely better than the Navara, L200 and possibly the Hilux as well.
I keep finding myself looking at these on AT. I'll follow this thread with interest.
Brilliant. Well I had a near miss pre-Isuzu. Stuck a deposit on a new Ranger,,, couldn't stop myself from telling a mate as I was really excited. He asked if I was joking. He's in Ford Commercial and apparently some serious issues with these. The way I can justify spending this amount on a car is it MUST be with me for a long time. Not great thinking of gearbox and wiring loom replacements out of warranty.Great no nonsense trucks and tremendously reliable. Definitely better than the Navara, L200 and possibly the Hilux as well.
I keep finding myself looking at these on AT. I'll follow this thread with interest.
Back to the drawing board. Chatting with a pal about Isuzus / Hilux pick ups. He tells me how much they annoy him - "I never get them in",,,,,,,
He's a mechanic.
That was the answer there.MKM87 said:
Brilliant. Well I had a near miss pre-Isuzu. Stuck a deposit on a new Ranger,,, couldn't stop myself from telling a mate as I was really excited. He asked if I was joking. He's in Ford Commercial and apparently some serious issues with these. The way I can justify spending this amount on a car is it MUST be with me for a long time. Not great thinking of gearbox and wiring loom replacements out of warranty.
Back to the drawing board. Chatting with a pal about Isuzus / Hilux pick ups. He tells me how much they annoy him - "I never get them in",,,,,,,
He's a mechanic. That was the answer there.
I live in a very rural part of Leicesterhire. There is small family run Isuzu dealer in the next village. There are sBack to the drawing board. Chatting with a pal about Isuzus / Hilux pick ups. He tells me how much they annoy him - "I never get them in",,,,,,,
He's a mechanic.
That was the answer there.
t loads of D-max's round here as a result. Partly because it's so handy for the farming community to have a dealer local in the community with a great reputation and partly because they're so bloody dependable. These things can really take the abuse and a lot of the cars in this area work very hard indeed. It's taken over from the defender round here as the workhorse of choice.
Another small update. Put the Dmax into the back of a Golf TDI, writing the Golf off and causing 11 grands worth of damage (all in incl. labour) to mine. Grateful for a decent insurer (name escapes me, wife does all admin) and we were back on the road within 9 weeks!
Nightmare for the body shop as they were hit with 'Covid' and also had to deal with Japan for parts. Cracking job of repairing the AT35 and she's now cemented her place with us in life. We've been through a lot together, it's been emotional.
Once repaired she was treated to a nice new exhaust as previous system was a bit tatty, pic below shows how she blows. And a standard 'in the mud' pic picking up the Xmas tree. Cheers all and more updates soon......
Nightmare for the body shop as they were hit with 'Covid' and also had to deal with Japan for parts. Cracking job of repairing the AT35 and she's now cemented her place with us in life. We've been through a lot together, it's been emotional.
Once repaired she was treated to a nice new exhaust as previous system was a bit tatty, pic below shows how she blows. And a standard 'in the mud' pic picking up the Xmas tree. Cheers all and more updates soon......
P I Staker said:
Nice truck.
I understand your concerns with Drumclog. If you still want to do some offroading you should have a look at the Scottish Off Road driving centre
Good call, I'll have a look. Also booked a day with 4x4 Advernture Scotland located in Luss (Loch Lomond). Running a bring your own style offering now. Cheers.I understand your concerns with Drumclog. If you still want to do some offroading you should have a look at the Scottish Off Road driving centre
|https://thumbsnap.com/GoS8v8Lu[/url]Oh I love that. Really unique look to that. We have been busy with ours through the winter and making the most of the time to clean it back up again after all that salt, snow and mud.
We were looking forward to a Euro trip last year, now looking less likely for this year also unfortunately - no sign of vaccine booking for myself yet or for my wife.... Plus, waiting an extra year (max) we could probably plan for extending the trip to a month or more we'd like to think.
Making the most of the time to explore closer to home (is that the new tag line).. So here's a few pics.
We were looking forward to a Euro trip last year, now looking less likely for this year also unfortunately - no sign of vaccine booking for myself yet or for my wife.... Plus, waiting an extra year (max) we could probably plan for extending the trip to a month or more we'd like to think.
Making the most of the time to explore closer to home (is that the new tag line).. So here's a few pics.
Medium sized update!!!
Conversion underway to AT37 spec. Had some issues with th eFox Shocks leaking, then stopping leaking. Which is not good. So started looking around at rebuilds which brings a tonne of logistical issues like lifting the truck off the deck while they're away.
So had a look around and have decided to go with the following;
Only issue is we will have to repaint the wings with the AT35 logo on them.
Conversion underway to AT37 spec. Had some issues with th eFox Shocks leaking, then stopping leaking. Which is not good. So started looking around at rebuilds which brings a tonne of logistical issues like lifting the truck off the deck while they're away.
So had a look around and have decided to go with the following;
Only issue is we will have to repaint the wings with the AT35 logo on them.
Photo dump of what we have been up to with the Arctic. I am really really happy with this thing. It is a pain on the small bumpy roads around here and I find myself wanting for a bit more refinement (Like a Hilux AT37) but I am doing hardly any miles in the Isuzu so a bit pointless spending any more. Will be happy once it is lifted a bit more as above,,,,,
Quick update as we near 98k miles. This is now an Isuzu Dmax AT37 !!!!!
A full suspension refresh saw me go for a slightly larger lift which then left space in the arches which worked well because my tyres were wearing out!!
Lot of rubbish really, just fancied 37s. Waiting for one last part to arrive and I'll fire up some pics. SHould be pretty unique once this is all done.
A full suspension refresh saw me go for a slightly larger lift which then left space in the arches which worked well because my tyres were wearing out!!
Lot of rubbish really, just fancied 37s. Waiting for one last part to arrive and I'll fire up some pics. SHould be pretty unique once this is all done.
Now then hen. So after discovering that refurbishing the existing Fox shocks was pretty much untouchable, and knowing my tyres were about past their best, and seeing as right before Christmas when expensive wives and daughters are right in their element as business slows down, why not set about the Dmax with big plans and a big budget deficit!
Ordered up the 37s (37/12.50/17 Cooper Discoverer STT Pro Mud Terrain) and went with 12.5 wides as the 13.5 would mean an awful lot more chassis work. And that's where it all began....
Shocks replaced with Bilstein King Springs with the addition of SuperPro Roll Control Rear Anti Roll Bar just to get things under control, then the lads got to hacking. Pics below, I hope the satire of replacing the AT branded chassis bracing with the initials of the lads doing the work is noted..
Ordered up the 37s (37/12.50/17 Cooper Discoverer STT Pro Mud Terrain) and went with 12.5 wides as the 13.5 would mean an awful lot more chassis work. And that's where it all began....
Shocks replaced with Bilstein King Springs with the addition of SuperPro Roll Control Rear Anti Roll Bar just to get things under control, then the lads got to hacking. Pics below, I hope the satire of replacing the AT branded chassis bracing with the initials of the lads doing the work is noted..
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