Less is king. Less weight, less restrictions, less fuel, less damage, less time at work to pay for stuff destined to become landfil

Great video! I think given all that you've covered, an upright fridge will be the best choice for my motorcycle.

A well done "no commercial" tutorial. Good job!

Plastic bins in metal or wood dividers make excellent light weight drawers. Easy to build, light weight, and come out easily for packing. Big win all around!

Another 4WD channel just did one on canopies. We won't mention the name😊 Yours is much better🎉❤

5:16 engineer here. Weight up top can be offset by adding weight as low as you can. If you have 90kgs on the roof if you add around 1.5x the weight just below the tray (ie; 135L of water) you will potentially lower the centre of gravity back to where it was prior to adding the tent.

Great video Ronny! I would love to see a video on your thoughts on open tray set ups, different options for mounting water, gas, compressors, 12v under the tray - pros and cons to a battery being exposed under the tray etc.

Ive had a compact canopy with duels spares. Things I’d change if I had my time over: mounting the awning on the opposite side to the fridge, maybe getting a quarter length canopy, going with the old style fold out RTT (lighter, you should have time to set up when you are camping), getting a track correction to prevent dual spares. One thing I would recommend though is to pull the canopy off for a few months a year so you can service/detail it and drive with just a tray and going over the weigh bridge before a big trip. Another thing if you are starting from scratch is do you even need a tray body when you can get roof conversions for wagons and troopies.

Instead of too many hard boxes or drawers I've opted to go with arb soft cases for recovery gear and north face gear bags for camping gear/living gear. I'm also thinking steps for the fridge

This video was so professional, you covered everything Ronny. Loved this edit; we just saw Ronny's channel flash by. Brian, Luke, Torbs, Wayne, Dylan, modifieds, and the surprise 'one and only camp setup in daylight'... such good times.

Best video on canopies on KZfaq! Thanks!

I have been watching people set up utes and canopies for many years and have been laughing at many set ups. Now your talking about what I have been laughing about. My canopy has no heavy draws, no drop fridge slide, no steel fridge slid, no oven, no microwave, no big inverter, no induction hot plate, no kitchen slide, no false floor, no false wall to hang all the high tech 12v bells and whistles and only one spare wheel and my wheels are alloys not heavy steel. Another thing to think about is the spare weight carrying over the front axle. I have air compressor and other gear under the bonnet or to the front rather than in the canopy. Glad to see you have come around and are now promoting weight consciousness. Love your channel.

One of the best videos I’ve watched in a while. So great to see a local WA creator

Very well covered. Everyone's needs are different, don't get caught by 'want' and what is needed.

Great video, so many good points. We like to keep the storage lighter than what's being carried. And use thin material to save space .

Great video. With all of the talk about power, I did not recall the mention of solar panel weight.

I know people that have the "full package" canopy set up with everything including the kitchen sink installed and they end up toruing more uncomfortably than what I do with a very basic set up, I just have a little 1000mm canopy with a fridge and some draws I don't even have a fridge slide and I can tour more easily based off the fact that I'm light. And having that small of a canopy leaves empty space in the tray for carrying things like wood rubbish all sorts of messy items you won't want to have in your nice canopy set up, and at the end of the day it's simple but it achieves the same purpose, it's a lockable place that keeps your Camp gear out of the weather and that's it. The guys I go with that have massive set ups are so nervous off road due the the amount of weight over the back axle and there's been multiple times where cars have almost rolled on tough tracks. All those guys are opting out of their massive set ups and going back to small set ups

I asked all kinds of questions about the 4 thousand pound towing difference of 2003 silverado and 2015 silverado. Salesperson, service persons, no clue. It's the boxed frame. Don't remember how I found that out. Probably asked the right person the right question. That's you. Amazing and thoughtful. Thanks for bring it. Good job.

Wow just discover you Ronny some days ago and those kind or video are so usefull I’m going to start the big lap in two months and this is really what I need now, tips from people that have experience on it Thank you

This is interesting to me. I live in the states in a town where the power goes out often. I designed my setup around the idea of a portable power generator (powered by solar on the RTT), that I can pull out to power the house, or whatever I need as needed. It keeps the fridge always on when in the truck but can easily be pulled to power whatever I need in a power outage, be it power tools, home fridge/freezer if needed, and power home lighting. Everything had to be modular to make it work, but if a friend loses power I'm the one they call. Also relatively light and was completely DIY. But being able to remove the power source as needed was the key.

Very informative Ronny. Great food for thought

Great to see you're doing well Ronny. Ain't checked in since COVID days. Well-Done matey 🙂 Keep up the great work.

Great educational video. A large number of people have no idea about GVM for their vehicle and that everything they attach or remove from the vehicle alters the GVM. Ball weight is a big issue when it’s forgotten about.

Awesome information, well said. Couldn't be said any better 👍👍👍👍👍

Well done mate, so many guys out there with 'all the gear and no idea'.

Thanks.I really like the idea for plastic boxes for work and camping quick swap. I am going to set up new canopy 600mm wide aluminium shelf and side drawer for work and another side put Packout system to carry some tools and gear when I am doing daily task, when I need camping will manage swap packout with plastic containers, this set up is way less weight than old school plywood. You are right, set up as you need.

Great vid Ronny. Some helpful concepts. I find a simple weight saving solution to having to carry a funnel for filling water tanks, is to borrow the Mrs' shewee and use that.

Fantastic episode, coming from lived experience, well done

A real eye opener mate…awesome thanks

This is a real good video given my rig atm is tub n canopy and looking at going canopy tray when the ranger hits 10yr old (as a bday treat for it). I have considered a full canopy multiple times but after this video, I might go either a half canopy with tilt slide to my 60L chest fridge and one drawer one side and one long slide to the other, or a quarter canopy with just the fridge and double stack drawers on the other. It is odd on the second one but I have plans to remove my backseats for more storage/drawers anyways so anything like my swag and sit in cab anyways.

Great video Mr Dahl I learnt a lot about over landing

Great advice well done

Great discussion and review 👍 lots of sense said

Thanks Ronny, a few things to consider as we look to set up our new D-MAX!

Totally agree watch your weights on the rear axle.

Helpful video, for bigger Overlanders like my Iveco Daily 4x4 too

Cheers Ronny. Good video. 🎉

Good stuff Ronny!

All worth considering, your probably going to be hating this if you haven’t thought of all this before! Recovery gear in low compartment on canopies hey. That table of yours is gold!

Solid info, thanks mate👌

Building out my canopy now. VERY cognisant of weight. down to the point of the thickness of the ply depending on where its being installed. I know My camping will never be extreme any more. I'm a little past that adventure, so My road conditions will be soft road and a little sand. This will allow me to reduce the amount of spare parts. My point is consider where you intend on going too. My canopy can be removed with jacks as well, so If I do plan to do some more 'robust camping, I'm versatile. Versatility is my benchmark. Was never going to get a fridge slide of any type. never saw the point of sliding a box out that could be opened in place. I'm confident that I wont reach my GVM by a long way. Thanks for the vid

Great bit of info!

I have a pvc canopy with a lockable aluminium toolbox on one side. This saves a lot of weight and is perfect for my needs.

excellent advice

I'm far not that experienced tourer as you are but came to exactly the same ideas - light weight ! No drawers , no slides , plastic canisters for water (different number of them for different tours) and so on

Nice one Ronny!

I'm a novice 4wdriver and I've inadvertently, followed most of these steps for my 3/4 canopy. Fridge is held in place by straps and I have a step if i need it everything is in boxes 1 box food, 1 kitchen etc. etc. And having some tray left over at the back means I can either carry all the swags back there and when I get t camp but the butane cooker on the tray and then I done t need a table And I can still empty it all out for work .

Great advise

Good to know thank you. 😎👍

You man, are the KING!!!

Draws are where things/tools go to die. As soon as you forget where it is it’s gone. Milk crates are great, light, and double as camp chairs, stools, step ups, you name it and changeover from weekend to work day is simple.

Banga video Ronny! Weight distribution is often overlooked. Just as you said, we have all been there my friend. Light weight is the best. One thing I tell people new to camping/4x4ing is spend a little extra on hiking equipment, get used to using it and you'll save a s$&T load of weight and it encourages a minimalist approach to camping. K.I.S.S.

nice .. excelent suggestions...

I'm into convenience, so yes our setup is heavy, but touring is our aim with ability to do tracks also. Convenience meant fitting a Bundutop RTT & Bunduawn 360° awning. Bundutop mattress is very heavy, ditched it for self inflating that we leave inflated, much lighter. I then addressed counterweighting it by placing 60litres of water down low, and currently adding diesel 80lt subtank infront of axle. Yes, water gets used along with fuel so counter weight is reduced but at least I addressed it as practically as I could. Wagon is GVM upgraded, full floor to roof storage system, lighter items up high, heavier down low. Yes, our table can be 1st item out, last item in, but with our slide out Fridge/coffee pod M/C - induction cooker/washing shelf, slide out food storage - preparation area, the table very rarely sees light of day. Coffee M/C - milk frother utilised daily. Yes, you'd consider my system over the top, but cripes it supper convenient. On the fridge type, just can't get my head around an upright fridge on corrugated roads. Contents would go all over the place, at least in a chest fridge they stack down, bounce up then lower back down in same origin as they were placed usually, staying in place so to speak. Nah, I'll stick to my combined EvaKool chest freezer/fridge thanks. Convenience beats basic hands down, wifey gets all meals cooked for her, roof top bed made up for her, seat produced within seconds of stopping, if I'd stuck to basic setup she'd stay at home. Years of experience here, done basic, at my age it must be convenient. Horses for coarses so they say.

Thanks

Great video food for thought. I have a MUX so I’m looking at building a fridge box with a food pantry. Weight is key

My missus complained about getting into the fridge when it was in my canopy and wanted me to put a drop down slide in. I just threw a milk crate in. I can put fire wood in it for quick trips and she can stand on it if she wants to get stuff out of the fridge

Upright fridges loose cold air very quickly every time you open the door, which makes the fridge run more often to keep it cool inside. Tilting slide for a fridge is a great idea.

cool vid, I'd like to add tarps, poles, ropes & pegs go a long way to making a great setup, highly underutilised.

Excellent guide. Definitely need a custom set up that suits your needs but not follow others. Would rather spend time than bad experience and money.

You know I kicked myself for not adding this and that, cooker trays custom trays drop slide ect. Just went for the basic box canopy with a good elec set up. I am so happy I was so more broke $$$ back then and didn't fall into the look at how good... um heavy i am now. One more addition to your very informative video would be the use of the duel cab back seat. My little ol Luxy mostly travels with the back seat folded away 95% of the time. Heavy items like tool bags, even the heavy cooker get stored in there.. Making use of that space for heavy items gives me so much more piece of mind that my chassis is going to stay straight. 60-80kgs when bounced over a rutt is not just 60-80kgs and more like 120-160 kgs and there is the main reason for broken back canopy tears... Great vid

Thought about a canopy, I have a D-max spacecab tray, but I also want use of the tray when not going away. So it will be boxes and a tarp cover. I am used to pretty basic camping and it is just me so no one to consider. It is also a fuel issue with all that weight, and wear on the vehicle.

Hey Ronnie, tub racks are becoming super popular over this the states (platforms like the leitner racks). Might be good to get some content on your view on bed/tub racks vs canopies? Just my 2c 🙌

Hey Rhonny. Would like to see a comparison video on how much and of what, you can carry realistically and safely, in an upright fridge vs top load, of the same capacity of course.

Redlights also help keep your night vision

Full canopy is the go. Fridge, battery, chairs and a table. Everything stays dry. Not too heavy as its half empty

Yes I was sucked in to getting something that I didn’t really need. Now as I travel more less is best. Especially for weights

On weight… I initially bought/installed a twin-draw setup in the tub. At ~100kg it was heavy. After a number of trips, I realised that a draw should be ONLY for things I wanted to get to every day. Why was the recovery gear stored in a draw FFS. So I split the pair of draws, installed one, and put everything else into plastic tubs. Anything I needed to access everyday in the draw, and everything else in boxes strapped down. And all the small-but-heavy stuff (tools/jacks/shackles/etc) now go in the rear passenger side footwell.

Super well done Ronny. Biggest mistake is buying a dual cab instead of a cab chassis when you're only travelling with the two of you. Marty and Sal from Perth

Man the carnivore diet simplifies your kitchen life perfectly. Cast iron fry pan, gas cooker. Done.

Great video with tons of amazing advice!

This is for a wagon... but when I went from a ute to a wagon it's had a custom setup in the rear which was everything I needed. But no fridge slide. The fridge has a hole I guess you could say it doesn't sit on top. So I had to make a get get out of jail free fridge slide for that weekend. It ended up being a sheet of ply with some holes cut out for the tie downs and it has 2 pieces of alloy angle on the walls that surround the fridge. Slide the fridge out and when it goes to drop the angles stop it. With still 300mm of ply sitting on the angles.. its been 8 months now and I still haven't built my "proper" fridge slide because.. it just works lol

Another great video. I just do not understand why people put a Ute Canopy on the back of their Ute and over fill it with junk! Also I have never understood why people put on a Canopy and then a Roof Top Tent? When there is so much room to sleep in the standard canopy, not need to waste the time and money on a rooftop tent. Trust me, having driven adventure tour across north Africa, about Europe, and skinny Scandinavia to Nordkapp for over 5 years! I used to sleep under the couch in one of the lockers 6 to 8 months a year solid each year. Well, I may have bought myself and slept in the backseat, quite often, too . But the lockers were much cooler and easier to sleep in .

i think there's an advantage to having two 40l fridges instead of one 80l. you can take 1 or 2 depending whats needed. you have redundancy. you can have 1 fridge 1 freezer with no concerns about the fridge getting frozen or the freezer not being frozen. you can put one in a trailer giving you one in camp one in the vehicle. 2 40l might pack better than 1 80l. weight difference for two 40l engel vs one 80l combi engel is 8kg in the 80l favour. but you have the ability to leave 24kg at home if you only need a 40l that trip. max power consuimption is 1.8 ah more for 2 40l engels than 1 80l engel combi, it's not no difference but it's also not a massive difference considering the lithium and solar available these days.

I believe you would have the most experience since you have done lotsa different set ups and also asked lotsa people through modified series. It's just that every series looks good that you want a similar set up, especially custom made purpose built canopy😂.

Hi Ronny- I would like to see a video from your perspective on dust control, what is the best way to keep it out/ or reduce it from getting into your gear or if it is possible to achieve? do canopies actually keep it out? I'm curious as I'm contemplating getting into a ute style setup and knowing what is better would help me make some decisions up front. Any input would be great

I prefer back to basics. Kiss keep it simple stupid. In the past I had all the gear and with age body isn't as it was so having less now means less stress on me. Awesome channel you have will be watching more. My gear is so simple it can go on a motorcycle as well.

G’day Ronny , how bout an Out Board Motor ? Heavy , weird shape and likely to move if not secured . Be great to see any you have come across , be good inside , out of sight !!!!!

Super cool stuff! But the actual outfitting and the stuff has really become the adventure in a set up like that. A great four-wheel-drive, proper tools to fix things in the bush and the Then get the best base camp backpacking equipment and your set. Use the vehicle to carry some extra water, maybe even a simple platform on the top that you set your backpacking tent up on so you’re not down on the ground if that’s what you prefer. All the talk about time the rooftop tents take less time to set up, really? You’re out on vacation/holiday. Are you really worried about 10 minutes of set up time? But again, all that stuff is super cool and I think the stuff has become the actual hobby. Keep it light and simple and quit. Trying to take all your home conveniences out in the bush with you. And if your spouse needs all that convenience? They going to be happy out there anyway so just leave them at home.

As I get older I only want to open/move one thing to get to another. A canopy with upright fridge, draws and shelves; means everything is ready to go and easy to access. With driver, 40L water, 70L fuel, bull bar, rock sliders, canopy, fridge, electrical package and camping gear for touring I’m at 3t with a GVM of 3.45t in the Dmax using 12L/100km.

Have you thought about doing a modified episode on The Cartwrights? They have a really nice family setup.

When I see any vehicle with gutter roofing and the type of connections where they meet ,that point is under so much stress ,twisting and loading that the sealant will crack and open up to let water into the roof cavity . I know I had a 1991 Nissan Safari and the entire gutter around the roof rusted out . I had that vehicle for 30 years .

I use a chain to hold up the side of the back tray for a quick and easy 'roadside' table

With chassis extension, it’s still the same overhang, just less leverage

Need a full run down on your current bare bones setup !!

Really good ideas, what box are you using on your build? The "spares box" as it looks really clean behind the spare wheels.

great tips

I'll go search, but do you have a video on different types of Ute chassis to use?

More modified episodes plz xxx

I want a setup for my 2020 longhorn 1500 6" lift 37's ❤

With your experience with canopies you’d have a stroke if you saw my canopy setup. Lol

Hey Ronny, Where'd you get your silicone hose from?

I think the No1 mistake is buying a Dual cab, an xtra cab or single cab chassis is a better option, most dual cab setups I see only have two people and the back seats are crammed full of stuff that's hard to get to, the extra weight of the 2nd cab puts you on the backfoot from the start, xtra cab are good because they have suicide doors makes it easier to get at stuff from a larger opening, single cab is better as you can have a decent canopy and keep a lot more weight in front of the rear wheels

The complete kit in one bag. But it is a big bag.

4wd 24/7 did this buy Ronny’s videos aren’t complete sell outs

Hey Ronnie, I’m thinking about doing a week long laning trip in Wales (UK) this winter. I was wondering about water storage, does the exhaust not heat up your water storage tank with it above the exhaust?

My clear view ES150 fridge slide weights 40+ Kilos. It is waaaayyyy to heavy and why an upright fridge makes so much more sense

Great video. Too much weight and poor weight distribution are the enemies. Too many accessory manufacturers just throw steel at it instead of "engineering" their products.

Ronny - PLEASE buy an Isuzu NPS 175/55 dual cab - build it and make us videos!!!!

If you remove the tow bar how can you have a recovery point at the rear?