When you can get five-inches of lift and 35s under a Triton, what else do you really need?
When you’re working on an apprentice sparky’s wage, there’s a good to fair chance you’re not going to be able to swing the cash for a brand-spanking anything, let alone a big solid-axle truck. So, you do the next best thing – get yourself a secondhand Triton and make it bigger than your average 79 Series (35s anyone?). And that’s exactly what Harley did.
The vehicle
Harley picked up this 2011 MN Triton five years ago, bone stock with only 24,000 km on the clock. He got it for next to nothing, in immaculate condition with the kays on it not even past the wear-in stage for the Di-D donk under the bonnet. Suffice to say, he wasted no time building up the Triton to a big, capable tourer, with plenty of squirt and the driveline to take it anywhere the big rigs go… without an issue. But don’t take our word for it, have a go at the photos!
The mods
As we said, the Triton started life with Harley bone stock. No bullbar, no roof racks, no lift… but it didn’t last like that very long.
Harley wasted no time throwing an X-ROX bull bar at it with brackets to suit the 2-inch body blocks and a set of Wildcat Engineering sliders, again to suit the body lift.
Out the back there’s an MCC rear bar, with custom made jerry can and wheel swing-aways. Up on top, he’s thrown on a Rhino Pioneer platform, with the Rhino Vortex bars holding it to the roof. Also bolted to the roof rack are a Darche awning, a set of MaxTrax, a shovel, a high-lift jack holder and a 42-inch LED light bar.
As well as the roof-mounted light bar, Harley’s also got a set of 9-inch LED spotties and a 32-inch light bar fitted to the bull bar. Oh, and there’s a set of 5-inch LED floods out the side of the bar, an LED headlight conversion, a Domin8r X winch and heavy-duty recovery points.
Underneath he’s thrown a set of 3mm bash plates from the front all the way back to the transfer case, and a set of diff wedges bringing his driveline geometry back into spec. Suspension-wise, Harley has gone with Dobinson constant-load coils and Ironman shocks. There’s a set of coil spacers in the front giving a total 3-inch suspension lift at the pointy end, with Lux Lifts 2-inch body blocks front to back, giving a total lift up front of 5-inches to fit the 35s under the the Triton. Out the back, there’s a set of EFS constant load 2-inch lifted springs, mated to a set of 2-inch shackles and the 2-inch body lift, totalling a six-inch lift in the rear.
Off the end of the axles, there’s a set of Kings D-Locker rims in 17×8 with 0° offset, wrapped in Mickey T Deegan 38s in 315/70R17 variety. And he tells us they have been fantastic all-round muddies for the Triton.
Into the engine bay, there’s a 4-inch stainless snorkel by In-House Fab running into a custom size-matched airbox with pod filter, and a 3-inch mild steel X-Force exhaust from the turbo back. This gets the Triton breathing a lot better and, so far as Harley’s concerned, gives it plenty of go.
Heading into the cab, there’s a Uniden 80 channel UHF and a 6.5db antenna to match, with switches all over the place for all the other gadgets. He’s got an iDrive managing throttle input and has thrown a Kenwood head unit in the dash to look after the tunes. He also picked up a HEMA Navigator the week after we saw him to take care of navigation.
In the back of the ute, there’s a set of Outback drawers, with the fridge and dual-battery system the next things on the list to help make this one of the most capable tourers around, and allow trips longer than just weekends with the esky and ice.
Harley’s advice and our final thoughts
After throwing the lift in, Harley broke a uni and cracked the gearbox mount, which lead to the installation of the diff wedges and tail-shaft spacers to bring things back into spec, and he offered up this little gem of advice: “Do your research and if it’s something crucial, pay the money for quality parts. Poor man pays twice – I’ve learnt that the hard way! Find yourself a mechanic who you trust too. Scott at the local Carline has been my go-to guy for 90% of the stuff I’ve done, and it’s all come out exactly how I’ve wanted it.”
All in all, this is a bloody neat Triton, with enough mods to make it capable, and Harley’s just starting on the touring side of things… and all of it done on an apprentice’s budget.
It all goes to show, whether you’re on the same money as the CEO of Google or an apprentice’s wage, there is absolutely nothing stopping you from getting out there, building up a 4X4 and enjoying this magic place we call home. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how you fit a set of 35s under a Triton!
