Ex Telstra Patrol Help Please

[rafa]

Hi all

I am hoping somebody can help me, I am looking to purchase a low km 08 Patrol 3.0L ex Telstra for my work.

I am in NT and travel some pretty harsh roads and in the Wet up here have to contend with water crossings etc on a weekly basis.

I am comfortable that the Ute is up for the task but cannot find the answer to one of my main concerns, during the Dry, roads can be extremely dusty, I carry some pretty expensive gear, and wondered what the Roscos pod is like at keeping dust out.

I thank you in advance for taking the time to help me out.

Marty

Darwin.

[BigRAWesty]

Welcome mate. We ask all members to stick up an intro, sorta like a hand shake. Bit about yourself and future plans. Cheers

If your getting the complete Telstra Ute and pod I would think it would be quite good. They do work in similar conditions and carry expensive tools to.

Cuppa should be able to inform you further, I'm pretty sure he has the same setup.

Kallen Westbrook
Owner of
Westy's Accessories (http://www.nissanpatrol.com.au/forums/showthread.php?15134-Westy-s-Accessories.-A-small-back-yard-builder.)

[BigRAWesty]

In the mean time mate here is cuppa's build thread.
http://www.nissanpatrol.com.au/forums/showthread.php?p=62354

Kallen Westbrook
Owner of
Westy's Accessories (http://www.nissanpatrol.com.au/forums/showthread.php?15134-Westy-s-Accessories.-A-small-back-yard-builder.)

[Cuppa]

As Kallen said, I have a Rosscos canopy on my 06 4.2.

It was used by Telstra in the Alice Springs area so had a similar life to what you are planning for yours & came with plenty of red dust packed into all sorts of crevices. However the inside of the canopy was pretty clean.

Whilst I can't 'compete' regarding dusty conditions of the NT, I do have 10 Kms of dirt road between my home & the bitumen, so am familiar with dusty summer conditions. On my canopy dust ingress has not been a problem in the main canopy, but was a bit of an issue in the under tray compartment. However some new sealing rubber around the compartment door fixed this.

So I would say that generally the Rosscos canopy is pretty good at keeping out the dust, but whether the one you buy will, will depend upon it's sealing rubbers (which are easily replaced if need be). I also had to bend the locking arms of both side doors a little to stop 'door open' alarms going off. Prior to doing that the doors could move a bit, & allow ingress of dust, but again a very small job. I now have my doors so that they require a light push on them to allow the locking handle to be turned.

I doubt you'll ever keep the interior of the canopy 100% dust free, but they are pretty good. One camping trip we did included about 80kms of VERY dusty road (bull dust in Victoria!), & we had no need to wipe anything down when we set up camp.

The flat exterior at the rear, & the little 'shelf' that the spare tyres sit on is a real dust magnet though.
Cuppa

[DX grunt]

G'day Marty.

Welcome to the forum and glad you could join us. Answered your PM and now know you live in NT. lol.

Cuppa knows where a stack of pods are.

Mine's done nearly 250k, and I have a couple of small issues. I lock both the pod doors, because they sometimes work their way loose on gravel roads, and set the alarms off. If I have the pod doors open, during the rain, sometimes, the rain runs down the side and pools in the front of the pod. I'm sure it would't take much to fix it, with a bit of thought.

Take care up there.

Rossco

EDIT. I'm sure they make the Roscos pods in Bibra Lake, in WA.
EDIT. I too have dust issues with the storage under my pod. Looks like I gotta change my rubber. Pod seems OK.

[Cuppa]

Hi Rosco, it's ThreeDogs who knows where there is a hoard of pods.

Regarding the rain dripping in, do you have the length of plastic channel glued just above each door on yours?

Cuppa

[rafa]

Hi Guys

I have done an intro post, I am looking at this one http://www.pickles.com.au/cars/item/-/details/CP-06-08--Nissan--Patrol--GU-6-MY08-DX--Cab-Chassis-Single-Cab--3-Seats--2-Doors/602104014 any thoughts?

Cheers

Marty

[DX grunt]

Hi Rosco, it's ThreeDogs who knows where there is a hoard of pods.

Regarding the rain dripping in, do you have the length of plastic channel glued just above each door on yours?

Cuppa

Only the standard pvc that runs the length of the door. Thanks for the pic, I'll investigate further.

[threedogs]

Looks well looked after, as someone wrote these were the service guys' personal truck,
so most are well looked after. Looks well optioned too and heavy. Thinking if you can find an example in 4.2TD
you'll have better resale as well, last of the 4.2TD were 2006. Well worth trying to find.
Winch may have never been used

[DX grunt]

Hi Guys

I have done an intro post, I am looking at this one http://www.pickles.com.au/cars/item/-/details/CP-06-08--Nissan--Patrol--GU-6-MY08-DX--Cab-Chassis-Single-Cab--3-Seats--2-Doors/602104014 any thoughts?

Cheers

Marty

G'day Marty.

What I'm about to say is my opinion only and provided in good faith. The bottom line is, buyer beware.

I'm really happy with mine. From what I see in the pics, the only difference is the horse power. When I got mine from a car yard, it appears all Telstra did was wash it and flog it, because it still had conduit in the plastic tube on the roof.

Mine looks like it was set up for a one person, remote travel operation. It doesn't mention anything the add about dual batteries, or how much each diesel tank holds. My mains is about 90lt, and the reserve is about 75-80lts.

Be aware of all the costs involved as it's unregistered and is in Qld and you live in NT.

Be careful with split rims. If you don't know what you're doing when changing them (deflating/changing tube/reinflating, etc) , they can kill. It costs me about $50-$60 to take it to a tyre shop to get a new tube, etc.

Because the pod on the back sticks out past the cab, it acts like a wind anchor sometimes, especially during a head wind, so you need to factor in fuel consumption/next fuel stop, when travelling.

I always travel in H4 on unsealed roads - again, if you do, factor in fuel consumption/next fuel stop.

Hope this helps.

Take care up there.

Rossco

[rafa]

ok, I took on the advice, and searched harder for a 4.2t found one, an 02 with 180k, I get it tomorrow.

Im 43 and this is my first Patrol!

I wil post photos of what I do as I do it.

Thanks for all the help.

Marty

[rafa]

Will post some pics later. Pick her up today :)

[threedogs]

looking forward to some pics, exciting hey lol