The V8 Bike Bus
Discussion
bolidemichael said:
Just bringing this Q to your attn 
If it's got air front and rear I imagine it works well. With any vehicle carrying mass, it's own mass is important though. What's a downside everywhere else is suddenly a benefit when you're towing or in this case, have a load hanging off the back using the rear wheels as the fulcrum of a hefty lever. Just looking at the pics above with 4 bikes dangling off in thin air shows you the difficult job the suspension and chassis has to do. It's possible. I think it would probably be too much though; I like that detail in silver. For the same reason I'm leaving the exhaust surrounds. I'm in 2 minds about the badging on the back though. I normally remove model designation from my cars but am tempted to keep it on this but swap it for the optional black lettering to make it more subtle.
ChocolateFrog said:
Great to catch up with the thread, think I last tuned in just before the X5 went for the exhaust. That welding was truly awful, I could do just as good a job and that's not a good thing.
You've got me contemplating lowering links and spacers for my Touareg now.
A very good friend of mine had a Touareg on spacers and lowering links and some nice BBS whilst I had the E53. He's now also got a Cayenne 957 TT with spacers and links too. His Touareg looked fantastic, I'm not sure if he even has an account on here but I'll stick some pics up if not. You've got me contemplating lowering links and spacers for my Touareg now.
I don't do mega miles and certainly haven't in the last few years!. If I'm going locally on my own or without the whole family I'll normally take a different car than this. Plus, I live in a rural area so hardly sit in traffic, I'm straight out onto a national speed limit road usually and I get between 14 and 17 MPG. TBH I've got a Golf GTI and I only see a return in the 2* MPG range in that.
Since having it we've not really been allowed to go anywhere. I've driven it into central London a few times and parked it there when I've needed to go in rather than get on a Covid train and the MPG seemed similar. Once we're allowed I'll go up and see my parents in Manchester and give it a proper run, plus my wife's mentioned us driving to Slovenia to go mountain biking there which would be a good blast for it.
Since having it we've not really been allowed to go anywhere. I've driven it into central London a few times and parked it there when I've needed to go in rather than get on a Covid train and the MPG seemed similar. Once we're allowed I'll go up and see my parents in Manchester and give it a proper run, plus my wife's mentioned us driving to Slovenia to go mountain biking there which would be a good blast for it.
Jhonno said:
What has Ste replaced this one with then?!!
I decided I was fed up with bike racks of any kind and also with trying to have a dual-purpose vehicle that I use for the bikes and for other stuff. I've been riding more and more and wanted something that was always ready to have the bikes loaded onto in a few minutes and that I could get dirty inside and not have to worry I'd be using it for something else and would get my clothes dirty. So I bought a dedicated bike carrier. Initally I bought a T25 DoKa and ran that for a year.
With a tailgate pad it was almost the perfect bike wagon. The T25 pickups have a big locker box under the bed ahead of the engine so that was great to house some big crates for our kit to be stashed in. The bed is huge too so I could fit a long tailgate pad that could carry 7 bikes. Mine was a RHD 6 seater too, so really practical.
Over time I improved it slightly. Had a full bare-metal repaint in black, a lift kit and lots of other small improvements like LED lights and better electronics etc to make it more usable.
It was almost perfect, but was tiresome and slow if we took a longer trip eg to Wales for a bikepark.
So about a year ago I sorted out a Hilux as a replacement. It's lifted on bigger wheels, has nice proper bits like Pedders suspension and Old Man Emu arms and split-charge system so it can run a fridge for a weekend etc.
It hauls the bikes perfectly and is typcal Hilux, bombproof and completely reliable. AC is ice cold and inside is generic 'modern' Toyota so it's comfortable and just works.
Downsides are that the tub / bed is small so it can only take 5 bikes (but then only has 5 seats, so that's not a huge problem. And inside isn't huge either, especially the rear bench, so stashing your kit when it's got 5 of us in it is a bit of a pain.
Also, it's diesel and I hate diesels. I'd love to swap it for a petrol doublecab pick up but they're very rare in the UK, especially as I want RHD. New Ranger Raptor has caught my eye but as this is a dedicated luxury / toy and just a glorified bike rack the cost of one feels hard to justify.
The Hilux is an amazing tool. In many ways, possibly the best vehicle I've ever owned. It was a dependable, capable, work horse and hasn't once let me down or had a single fault. However it had a distinct lack of V8.
I have rectified this minor faux pas by buying suitable bicycle transportation that does have a V8.
It's a Ram 1500 4x4, 5.7 Hemi. It's obviously of US origin and is actually an '04 not an '08 as the plate would suggest. Blame whoever registered it, or the DVLA for getting it wrong. It's obviously originally from the US but went from there to North of Tokyo in about '08. I'm not sure why you'd want a Ram near Tokyo but many people probably wonder why you'd want one in Sussex. I assume when imported into the UK in November '21 the Japanese import date was used as the vehicle age. These kind of mess ups seem common on the imports I've had. I guess partly because of its lack of time in the UK the underneath is pretty immaculate; There's not a spec of rust anywhere. Also as the DVLA and therefore TFL think it's an '08 it's also ULEZ compliant...
It's got an aftermarket 'Gibson' exhaust system so makes a nice noise and the bed is 6' 4" so the bikes leave 1/3rd of it for a suitable lock box for all of our kit.
It came with a 'Snugtop' hard tonneau cover for the bed which I've sold on. When i sold the DoKa I kept the larger sized Dakine tailgate pad and that fits on the Dodge nicely, so I'm back to being able to carry 7 bikes on there (the smaller pad on the Hilux only has straps for 5 bikes) and the cab seats 6 in comfort.
I have numerous plans to make it look less chintzy and to update it and make it more capable. Will update here as I do.
I have rectified this minor faux pas by buying suitable bicycle transportation that does have a V8.
It's a Ram 1500 4x4, 5.7 Hemi. It's obviously of US origin and is actually an '04 not an '08 as the plate would suggest. Blame whoever registered it, or the DVLA for getting it wrong. It's obviously originally from the US but went from there to North of Tokyo in about '08. I'm not sure why you'd want a Ram near Tokyo but many people probably wonder why you'd want one in Sussex. I assume when imported into the UK in November '21 the Japanese import date was used as the vehicle age. These kind of mess ups seem common on the imports I've had. I guess partly because of its lack of time in the UK the underneath is pretty immaculate; There's not a spec of rust anywhere. Also as the DVLA and therefore TFL think it's an '08 it's also ULEZ compliant...
It's got an aftermarket 'Gibson' exhaust system so makes a nice noise and the bed is 6' 4" so the bikes leave 1/3rd of it for a suitable lock box for all of our kit.
It came with a 'Snugtop' hard tonneau cover for the bed which I've sold on. When i sold the DoKa I kept the larger sized Dakine tailgate pad and that fits on the Dodge nicely, so I'm back to being able to carry 7 bikes on there (the smaller pad on the Hilux only has straps for 5 bikes) and the cab seats 6 in comfort.
I have numerous plans to make it look less chintzy and to update it and make it more capable. Will update here as I do.
The Doka was absolutely great and I miss it a lot. I actually blew the engine up and while deciding what to do with it someone offered me more than i considered it was worth even not accounting for the fact its engine was broken, so I let it go. I do regret it occasionally and would consider buying another if a Syncro came up at the right price. Whilst mine looked the part ii was only 2wd and had an open diff. I got it stuck on a wet bit of grass at the side of the road once and had to be recovered!
I made plans for the Ram and started to get on with them. Most Rams in the UK are awful things, in my opinion. They tend to have lots of chrome tat screwed to them and huge shiny wheels bolted on with low-profile tyres. There's a lot of them like that in the US too, but there are a growing number of very cool trucks and the 3rd generation Rams are starting to be considered a classic and are increasing in value, particularly in the US and are becoming sought after. I think they're on that curve of being nice and modern enough inside but pre all the crappy emissions stuff. There are some lovely ones in the US being built as overlanders or baja or pre-runner style trucks that look cool as f
k.
I knew I wanted to get rid of lots of the chintzy stuff on mine. To be fair, some of it was factory fit. The wind-deflectors dfinitely weren't though and I'd guess were fitted when it lived in Japan. Almost every Japanese import I've owned has had these,they're very popular out there for some reason, but they did nothing to help the already bulbous shape of the glass-area on the truck.
Next up was to get it to an MOT and assess what it needed to become road legal. This is where things made a big turn for the worse. I dropped my son at his Saturday job and set off to my pre-booked MOT. I hadn't tried the 4wd system yet, so in the gravel carpark of the vinyard he works at, shifted the big shift lever on the floor into 4-high and then wished I hadn't. The guy I'd bought it off had explained how he'd broken the original axle on the truck and fitted a replacement. He was very insistent I take the original axle with the truck. I told him I didn't need it, but he insisted and when I turned up to look at the truck it was already loaded in the bed. It quickly became clear why... The 4wd system obviously needs the front and rear wheels to turn at the same speed. Very quickly I realised the rear ratio was incorrect as the transfer box shaft snapped and the front diff started throwing hot oil out of the breather as the front axle was being over-driven. I put it back in 2wd and limped it to the MOT. The horrible smell of gear oil and the rainbow pool spreading ouf from under the truck being my unwelcome calling card as I arrived.
k. I knew I wanted to get rid of lots of the chintzy stuff on mine. To be fair, some of it was factory fit. The wind-deflectors dfinitely weren't though and I'd guess were fitted when it lived in Japan. Almost every Japanese import I've owned has had these,they're very popular out there for some reason, but they did nothing to help the already bulbous shape of the glass-area on the truck.
Next up was to get it to an MOT and assess what it needed to become road legal. This is where things made a big turn for the worse. I dropped my son at his Saturday job and set off to my pre-booked MOT. I hadn't tried the 4wd system yet, so in the gravel carpark of the vinyard he works at, shifted the big shift lever on the floor into 4-high and then wished I hadn't. The guy I'd bought it off had explained how he'd broken the original axle on the truck and fitted a replacement. He was very insistent I take the original axle with the truck. I told him I didn't need it, but he insisted and when I turned up to look at the truck it was already loaded in the bed. It quickly became clear why... The 4wd system obviously needs the front and rear wheels to turn at the same speed. Very quickly I realised the rear ratio was incorrect as the transfer box shaft snapped and the front diff started throwing hot oil out of the breather as the front axle was being over-driven. I put it back in 2wd and limped it to the MOT. The horrible smell of gear oil and the rainbow pool spreading ouf from under the truck being my unwelcome calling card as I arrived.
Yeah he knew something was up. However, he bought it from the importer only a year before for a fairly considerable sum and I ended up paying him a lot, lot, less knowing that it needed an MOT and probably had a few gremlins. I buy quite a few cars for fun and go into it with my eyes open. I have a list of stuff I want to own and if an example of one of the things I want comes up for sale at the right price but needs some love then I can't help myself and end up buying them. I went to the pub last Thursday and when I woke up the next day realised I'd bought 2 cars after a few pints. With this Ram I knew I had a fairly large margin in my budget to spend and know I'd still only have commited less than the value of the truck once it's all up and running.
So, MOT, and it failed on absolutely loads. I knew it needed quite a bit underneath as it was very vague going down the road and had lots of slop in bearings, balljoints etc. So I decided to just go all-in and get it absolutely perfect underneath. The chassis and bodywork is in incredible condition, probably because it's been in Japan until very recently. So I'm happy to spend on the mechanicals to get them up to the same spec. So I bought a new transfer shaft to replace the one that broke when I put it in 4wd and pretty much every suspension and steering component for the front end and new brakes, pads, lines etc all round. Not cheap but well worth it and all sent from Rock Auto in the US. Whilst up on the ramp I adjusted the suspension (4x4 1500s have torsion bars) and lifted the front 2", or what's known as a 'levelling lift' to 'correct' the nose down rake they have as standard. And then it was legal and I could actually start to use it.
I have quite a few photos from petrol stations. Its appetite for Optimax is genuinely impressive. I've also never ran it down fully yet have still put numerous tanks in at around the £170 mark...
So, MOT, and it failed on absolutely loads. I knew it needed quite a bit underneath as it was very vague going down the road and had lots of slop in bearings, balljoints etc. So I decided to just go all-in and get it absolutely perfect underneath. The chassis and bodywork is in incredible condition, probably because it's been in Japan until very recently. So I'm happy to spend on the mechanicals to get them up to the same spec. So I bought a new transfer shaft to replace the one that broke when I put it in 4wd and pretty much every suspension and steering component for the front end and new brakes, pads, lines etc all round. Not cheap but well worth it and all sent from Rock Auto in the US. Whilst up on the ramp I adjusted the suspension (4x4 1500s have torsion bars) and lifted the front 2", or what's known as a 'levelling lift' to 'correct' the nose down rake they have as standard. And then it was legal and I could actually start to use it.
I have quite a few photos from petrol stations. Its appetite for Optimax is genuinely impressive. I've also never ran it down fully yet have still put numerous tanks in at around the £170 mark...
I could now start the long snagging and improvements list I had. First up, were new bonnet Rams as i'd got fed up of the bonnet closing on my head. It's as heavy as a house and I was genuinely concerned it would close and trap me in there. To check the oil there's a stepped area on the front bumper and you actually step up there so you can lean over and reach in far enough. New rams fitted and potential engine-bay incarceration averted.
It's worth noting that the engine bay is one of huge disappointment. Considering there's a bellowing 5.7 Hemi in there, it's all a bit dull.
Something I'd wanted to do since the moment I first saw the truck was to remove the side-steps from it. They ruin the lines and are a bit chintzy and shiny. They really didn't fit with the look I was aiming for at all.
Luckily they are a factory option and not all trucks have them, and for some reason there's a demand for them. Often the brackets are rotten, but as my truck is so rust free they came off nicely, all intact. So I sold them on to a pleased individual who wanted a set. After, the look of the truck is improved significantly and ground clearance is also better.
It's worth noting that the engine bay is one of huge disappointment. Considering there's a bellowing 5.7 Hemi in there, it's all a bit dull.
Something I'd wanted to do since the moment I first saw the truck was to remove the side-steps from it. They ruin the lines and are a bit chintzy and shiny. They really didn't fit with the look I was aiming for at all.
Luckily they are a factory option and not all trucks have them, and for some reason there's a demand for them. Often the brackets are rotten, but as my truck is so rust free they came off nicely, all intact. So I sold them on to a pleased individual who wanted a set. After, the look of the truck is improved significantly and ground clearance is also better.
It was then pressed into service to see just how well it was going to work for hauling bikes. The answer was, great! The extra size over the Hilux is really useful. The Hilux bed was pretty much full with bikes on the tailgate pad, with the Ram, the 6' 4" bed isn't even 2/3rds full so there's still plenty of space for kit against the bulkhead. Inside the cab is much more roomy too and the 6th seat is also really welcome.
Carrying on with the tidying, I wanted to remove the aftermarket tint from the back screen. I don't know the full story here but the factory build sheet shows that the truck was built with tinted glass. The rear window is a genuine OEM Chrysler branded one, but the glass is clear with a nasty JDM style dark purple tint. This is as common as wind-deflectors on Japanese imports for some reason. Anyway, I meticulously removed and cleaned off the purple film.
I then tasked Road Radio with matching the factory tint on the rest of the truck's windows and I was pleased that they did a great job.
Carrying on with the tidying, I wanted to remove the aftermarket tint from the back screen. I don't know the full story here but the factory build sheet shows that the truck was built with tinted glass. The rear window is a genuine OEM Chrysler branded one, but the glass is clear with a nasty JDM style dark purple tint. This is as common as wind-deflectors on Japanese imports for some reason. Anyway, I meticulously removed and cleaned off the purple film.
I then tasked Road Radio with matching the factory tint on the rest of the truck's windows and I was pleased that they did a great job.
Whilst at Road Radio I realised I could get the mess in the centre of the dashboard sorted out. In yet again, typical Japanese import scenario, the car had been fitted with lots of aerials, and a TV tuner and lots of aftermarket electronics and stereo parts. The previous owner had removed some of this, but left lots of unneeded wiring and modules and boxes plugged in. He had also broken the dash panel when removing the headunit.
I'd already researched and imported a Metra double-DIN replacement panel from Germany....
.....so I handed that over to Road Radio for them to fit a wireless Carplay system, but more importantly chase all of the additional aftermarket wiring from Japan out of the car and remove it all. Once they were underway I was glad I hadn't elected to take it on myself.
With it all finished, the interior feels much more modern and together. I now have a reverse cam too which is handy as if I rely on my mirror alone, I can look in it, and if anything smaller than a Range Rover is behind me I can't see it!
I'd already researched and imported a Metra double-DIN replacement panel from Germany....
.....so I handed that over to Road Radio for them to fit a wireless Carplay system, but more importantly chase all of the additional aftermarket wiring from Japan out of the car and remove it all. Once they were underway I was glad I hadn't elected to take it on myself.
With it all finished, the interior feels much more modern and together. I now have a reverse cam too which is handy as if I rely on my mirror alone, I can look in it, and if anything smaller than a Range Rover is behind me I can't see it!
The truck had a tidy plastic bed-liner in it when I bought it, but I added this to the for-sale list and someone local to me came and collected it. I didn't like how it blocked off access to the lashing points and it also wouldn't work with the type of bed cover that I had planned. I dropped the truck at Illusions Custom in Sussex and they sprayed in a Upol Raptor liner instead which I've used before and has proved to be incredibly hard-wearing and easy to keep clean and tidy.
You can see the rear window is clear there so I must have some of this out of sequence...
When I'd removed the wind-deflectors fom around the windows it had left some marks in the lacquer in places. I also wanted to remove all of the shiny chrome badges from around the truck and thought this may leave marks and residue too and would expose paint that had been exposed to less UV, so I also asked Illusions to remove all of the badges and do a full paint correction wherever it was required.
I thought all of this various faux-chrome lettering and emblems were a bit naff.
With them removed and the paint correction completed the truck has a much cleaner and less fussy look.
And the usual shot in the common location as my wallet assumes the position...
You can see the rear window is clear there so I must have some of this out of sequence...
When I'd removed the wind-deflectors fom around the windows it had left some marks in the lacquer in places. I also wanted to remove all of the shiny chrome badges from around the truck and thought this may leave marks and residue too and would expose paint that had been exposed to less UV, so I also asked Illusions to remove all of the badges and do a full paint correction wherever it was required.
I thought all of this various faux-chrome lettering and emblems were a bit naff.
With them removed and the paint correction completed the truck has a much cleaner and less fussy look.
And the usual shot in the common location as my wallet assumes the position...
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