Roof Tent on a SJ
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thelostshepherd
- Got muddy boots
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Roof Tent on a SJ
Good day guys on the forum i'm a new member! i'm taking part in the 2019 mongol rally then continuing on to japan in 2020, i have the option of getting a cheap roof tent off a friend who makes them. my question is will the 410 be stable enough? how could i make it more stable? (wheel spacers/ wider tyres?) i'm not sure i'm completely new to this. any help would be much appreciated!!!
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timwilks13
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Re: Roof Tent on a SJ
They're pretty stable if you're not going on crazy angles in all fairness, you can make them wider with wheel spacers but then you might find you're chewing through bearings quicker!
1986 SJ410 - Furry dice, new window winder.
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10 kinds of people in this world, those who understand binary and those who dont.
if you can read this you're too close to the monitor, sit back and save your eyes!!
My build, formally Trotters build.
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thelostshepherd
- Got muddy boots
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- Joined: Mon Jan 07, 2019 10:19 am
Re: Roof Tent on a SJ
Cheers tim! if i fit new bearings and take spare bearings with me, you reckon i could get away with adding 25mm spacers?
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Anton
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Re: Roof Tent on a SJ
Spacers can fail. Better option is to get a set of deep offset rims. Wheels from various vehicles fit Suzuki's, so if you look around you can find all sorts.
Look for 5x139.7 pcd rims with (I think) a 100mm bore. https://www.wheel-size.com/pcd/5x139.7/
Wheel spacers/deep rims eat wheel bearings. Fit new ones before you leave, they'll last more than long enough to complete the rally. Most of us have big wheels/tyres with large offsets, we all have to deal with premature bearing failure - although it's not terrible. You'll get thousands and thousands of miles out of a set of bearings, just not the 100,000+ that you get out of bearings with stock wheels/tyres.
If you have the money/time/expertise, then you could fit Samurai axles, which are wider than 410 axles, but have longer gearing so the 1.0 is going to struggle. You'd probably have to do an engine swap too, so I'm not recommending this route (I'm guessing you want to keep it 1.0 because of rally rules?) just pointing out it's an option. 410 diffs (4.11:1) don't fit into Samurai axles (3.7:1)
Look for 5x139.7 pcd rims with (I think) a 100mm bore. https://www.wheel-size.com/pcd/5x139.7/
Wheel spacers/deep rims eat wheel bearings. Fit new ones before you leave, they'll last more than long enough to complete the rally. Most of us have big wheels/tyres with large offsets, we all have to deal with premature bearing failure - although it's not terrible. You'll get thousands and thousands of miles out of a set of bearings, just not the 100,000+ that you get out of bearings with stock wheels/tyres.
If you have the money/time/expertise, then you could fit Samurai axles, which are wider than 410 axles, but have longer gearing so the 1.0 is going to struggle. You'd probably have to do an engine swap too, so I'm not recommending this route (I'm guessing you want to keep it 1.0 because of rally rules?) just pointing out it's an option. 410 diffs (4.11:1) don't fit into Samurai axles (3.7:1)
1985 SJ413VX (SJ50V) with SPOA, rear disc brakes, 31x10.5R15 Kaiman Malatesta tyres, an MOT and a lot left to do!
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Re: Roof Tent on a SJ
If you are doing the bearings, fit genuine koyo bearings, they will outlast aftermarket bearings so it will be worth it in the long run. Doing the rear wheel bearings is not really something you can do in the middle of nowhere so you would have to make sure your rear shaft bearing retainer plates are the type where you can pull the shaft and bearing without removing the brake backing plate and take spare shafts With bearings, locking collars and retainers already pressed on. If you use decent bearings and don't go crazy with offset and big tyres then the bearings will last a very long time, probably the whole trip. driving in ruts wider than the track width of the sj also kills bearings so straddle ruts where possible.
As long as the tent isn't too heavy and for the type of offroad driving you are doing I probably wouldn't bother with spacers or wheels with a big offset. keep it simple and it will be reliable. Drive sensibly, pick your lines through challenging terrain and you should have no risk of any rollovers.
As long as the tent isn't too heavy and for the type of offroad driving you are doing I probably wouldn't bother with spacers or wheels with a big offset. keep it simple and it will be reliable. Drive sensibly, pick your lines through challenging terrain and you should have no risk of any rollovers.