Pretty excited to be here. Hi all from Melbourne.

Give me a call/message Mat and we can chat.
blessings. pete. 0412376556

So far so good. Had a great introduction to Paul Nott, Ian and OkaPete recently. Thanks for the time and introductions! I'm looking at all sorts of options, and something will no-doubt come my way that works for our needs!

In the meantime, I'm learning as much as I can. I am likely to head down the path of a rebuilt unit, and I can tackle bodyworkpaint/doors/windows as well as a full camping fit-out (external awnings, external kitchen, external shower, diesel heater/electric cooling, 2 fridges, full size bed, small sitting area, toilet, solar with as much battery as I can fit/afford.

I'm after a comfortable pop-top with seating for 5, where the rear seating can come out if not required (when it's just myself and the missus). We want to be able to go anywhere, but cruise at highway speeds with nice low rev's and reasonable fuel economy.

So I am after opinions on what everyone would regards as the BEST modern build? Yes, I too am wary of modern electronics, but my missus won't appreciate an agricultural bus! I am also well aware opinions are going to differ!!

I personally prefer properly cooled auto gearboxes for proper 4WDing (can live without the better engine braking of a manual provided an auto had high/low ratios and selectable gears that lock-up early or manually). Both wife and are happy driving manuals, but I suspect auto So in a perfect world, what would the best compromise combo be?

Engine:
- assume rebuilt/new Cummins 5.9lt 6BT?

Gearbox:
- rebuilt Spicer (?with hydolic or cable clutch) vs Allison 6sp auto

Transfer case:
- NP205

Axles:
- Dana 60/70 LSD?
- ARB airlockers?
- 35 spline

Also, can I clarify if the following are true:

- XT has a wider engine bay making Cummins conversions easier

- LT and NT have twin shocks up front (which is preferable) and an improved steering box, but the chassis-mounted transfer case can be a noisy thing.

So which platform is best for a Cummins setup? Can dual shocks be retrofited to an XT, and if so, would you bother anyway?

Lots to cover!! I'll be chatting further about options to the BrainsTrust in Melbourne, but in meantime compiling as much info as I can.

All the best and safe travels all.
Mat

G'day Mat,
I can comment on a couple of your issues. We have just returned from a round trip from Southern NSW to Cairns in our XT. Now an oka isn't the fastest vehicle on the roads, but we passed ten times as many vehicles as passed us on the lousy outback roads, simply because the Oka, in our case with single shocks, handled the appalling roads/tracks perfectly.
Yes, the divorced transfer case in the LT is a pain in the neck. Most XT's now have the later upgraded steering box fitted and ours steers brilliantly, much better than the F250 or Chevrolet Silverdo-do that we also tried.
Don't dismiss the Perkins 6 Phaser engine - not as fast as the Cummins, probably not as economical, but very smooth and refined by comparison.
Finally, a dunny in a sealed small bathroom compartment means you can just stop for the night anywhere..........
Have fun, Paul

Hi Mat,

You have certainly started your research with the right crew ! Here's my personal take on the most reliable setup :

Cummins 6bt - fits easier than a perkins 6, initial outlay is more, but is a great engine in the oka

Spicer 5 speed for functional simplicity

Dana 70 rear diff with one of Paul's heavy duty centres - he will be able to explain much better than I can that setup. 35 spline axles a must !

Dana 60 front diff with a powerlok and upgraded knuckles, outer shafts and free wheeling hubs

Np205 with a 29 spline upgraded input shaft. If you get an LT change to an NP205 from the rockwell - Paul and Ian have all the gear you need to make it a great thing

Twin shocks..... up for debate, but my experience is that a better single shock beats a twin setup any day of the week. Twin shocks work well when they are valved differently, in the oka they are valved the same standard. Dave Blythe had a few issues with twins and his truck by all accounts rode far better as a single, but he will be able to give you first have experience there.

Steering box on XT if it hasn't been upgraded yet would be high on the list for changing. The trw box is a night and day difference to the kirby bishop.

I personally think the XT looks better from the outside, but the LT interior looks a bit nicer. Aircon in an LT is better but there are options to make the XT aircon much better.

Lots to think about !! Heaps of support in this community though !

Good luck,

Dane

welcome enjoy 210 up for sale

Seating.
#196 has 2 seats in the cab, plus a legal child seat mounting on the engine hatch.
Then the 2 sideways facing seats in the habitat have seat belts and are legal for use on the road.
A good engineer can do things that others think impossible.

#196 is also (the only?) bed-over-cab (N-S) OKA in existence. I do not understand why that is. It WORKS.
I hope it will be for sale in a couple of years.
Cheers,
Peter

G'day Peter, Hope all goes well with you.

Being a bit tongue in cheek, the typical Oka owner is an old fart, and bed-over-cab set ups are better for young fit people who can bounce in and out with youthful ease, and reach over to make the bed without snapping sounds from their vertebrae......

We have an island double bed... easy to make, easy to get in and out.

Cheers, Paul

All in the mind Paul
I reckon if you can get in and out of the cab, you would have no trouble getting in and out of the bed,
I'm 80 in November and Margaret is 6 months younger than me.
It makes a massive difference to the livability of the rest of the habitat.

I am building up #077. The primary purpose is weight reduction so it is registered under 4.5T to avoid the need of a LR license.
It is very similar to #196 but no pop-top over the bed and 250mm higher than #196.
Slightly larger toilet/shower with composting toilet, No gas, 2+kW of solar, lots of Li batteries..........................
Cheers,
Peter

Good point, Peter, but........I have torn my rotator cuff muscle once too often apparently, and I am already having difficulty getting in and out! They tell me that at 75 it can not necessarily be fixed with shoulder surgery......

But I have often looked at pictures of your lovely spacious interior with great envy. We can only just sit two inside, and mostly eat outside where there is more room.... Yours is wonderfully spacious inside, much more sociable.

I am looking forward to seeing the result of 77. If you can keep it as roomy as 196 at that weight and under 4.5 tons I think I should copy it! At 75 in NSW I need annual medical tests for license, and at 80 annual driving tests, which here are not really tests, just paper excuses to keep old people off the roads.

Please keep us posted on your progress.

Cheers!

Thanks Paul. As per your helpful response:

engine:
Yes I suppose that's the best and worst of the Perkins - very reliable and solid, but perhaps at the cost of extra fuel and modern highway cruising speeds?

Transfer case
- NP205 worth fitting

Steering box
- upgraded one worth fitting

Dunny:
- I'm thinking about this one. Yes, inside is handy, but seems to come at a big space cost. Not keen on a whole partitioned "shower over dunny" arrangement. I also like the idea of composting units - will do some reading. I quite like Earthcruiser's approach to this, whereby the dunny comes out from a slide near the doorway, and access for maintenance is via a hatch to the right of the door outside.

Thanks Dane. It sounds like the shortlist I'm compiling matches what you've stated here. This is where I'm headed I think.

In terms of cab interior/layout, I'm mindful that my wife (and i!) would try to make it a bit more "tourer" and a bit less "truck". I'd make sure heating and cooling are up to scratch. I may think about sourcing proper suspension seats. Anyone have suggestions for cabin fit-outs that don't cost a fortune? Once the cab is properly prepped/painted/sound deadened/insulated, has anyone gone to custom fitted mouldings/overhead liners/shelving - that sort of thing?

Many thanks! Mat

Thanks Paul and Peter (AKA "Old Farts").
Yes food for thought. I've seen "bed over cab" arrangements, and I understand the advantage, however I think I wish to be forced to stay within the confines of the standard space (+poptop) of the OKA camper body. This will force me to be careful with space, and like Peter, keep weight as low as possible.

Bed:
Looking at that couple (?Karson and wife) online in the new OKA, there are some good ideas. I am wondering whether a bed can be placed at the back, north/south, on actuators (like the pop-top ones) and lift up out of the way when not in use to make space underneath for seating and cabinets? That online guy has it on a hinge, but maybe it could remain parallel to the floor and lift somehow? Want north-south low-level access to bed (don't want to climb a ladder or climb over missus!)

Power:
- I need to look into battery, inverter and solar options, especially when running (likely) 2 fridges, and aircon in hot weather.

Aircon:
- has anyone fitted a rear-mounted aircon (like Earthcruiser do)? Advantage will be keeping weight lower, no holes in the roof, and pop-top stays light (so may not need actuators, but rather just hand-lifted)?

Yes Mat, the Perkins is no rocket ship. but I cruise happily at 110KPH with a little left over for overtaking. Fuel use however is not great.... at those speeds, typically 20 litres per 100K's.

I once had the honour of driving Ian's Cummins powered rocket ship......very exciting, and I was very envious! But I do like the refinement and long life of the Perkins..... even if overtaking is a bit relaxed.

As to the dunny... in my experience, whichever technology, they ALL at some or another time smell horrid - that is why I like a nice hermetically sealed bathroom. If accessible from inside, one can park anywhere for the night, even on a busy suburban street.

And at the cost of living Paul, any suburban street may have to do!!

Oh, and as to seats....... with the fabulous Oka front suspension, sprung seats to me are absolutely un-necessary. I speak as someone with a very fragile back after prolapsing 6 discs in my back riding motorbikes.......

The Oka suspension makes them stand out above every other truck ever made!

Peter_n_Margaret wrote: Seating.
#196 has 2 seats in the cab, plus a legal child seat mounting on the engine hatch.
Then the 2 sideways facing seats in the habitat have seat belts and are legal for use on the road.
A good engineer can do things that others think impossible.

#196 is also (the only?) bed-over-cab (N-S) OKA in existence. I do not understand why that is. It WORKS.
I hope it will be for sale in a couple of years.
Cheers,
Peter

Thanks again Peter. To clarify seating needs for us:
- 90% of the time we'd be just us in the cabin
- occasionally, we'll have kids (and by that I mean adult kids) - up to 3. Thus would be after perhaps a 3-seat forward facing or 2+1 side-facing arrangement in the back (to left of rear door) that are legal and easily removed. That may not be easy?? When seats are out, I may clamp 2-3 bikes inside to the floor.

Has anyone installed "Douglas Tracks" in the floor (heavy duty seat and tie-down tracks)?? I used to work on aircraft, and this was a brilliant way to install/remove/move stuff around and clamp down safely. They were all load rated, so can be Engineer signed-off. Is this another of my expensive "rabbit holes"!?Would be interested to hear if anyone had applied them to seats/objects....

Great! Mat

....re AirCon.....I fitted a 12 volt "truck cab sleeper" chinese AC to 297 slide on camper rear. Bloody great for about $1000. Having said that it hardly ever gets used since (a) the camper seems not to get too hot and (b) we tour in the cooler months anyways. Just FYI these units (inside) are really well built with very minimal but strong parts such as the copper tube is way way thicker than the crappy Dometic unit that the PO had on the roof and let go after a few corrugations...this unit crossed the Canning Stock route and didn't flinch...good units.

Hi Mat...."- XT has a wider engine bay making Cummins conversions easier".....some take the cab off completely to do this...the guy that did mine (LT) didn't however and he said it wasn't a biggie. For maintenance and better access he/I cut the existing access panels bigger and likewise fettled the cover to fit the larger holes. Rivuts are a godsend. Seen here is the engine being installed and showing the enlarged access arrangement.

Dave Blythe wrote: ....re AirCon.....I fitted a 12 volt "truck cab sleeper" chinese AC to 297 slide on camper rear. Bloody great for about $1000. Having said that it hardly ever gets used since (a) the camper seems not to get too hot and (b) we tour in the cooler months anyways. Just FYI these units (inside) are really well built with very minimal but strong parts such as the copper tube is way way thicker than the crappy Dometic unit that the PO had on the roof and let go after a few corrugations...this unit crossed the Canning Stock route and didn't flinch...good units.

Yeah that's the sort of thing I was thinking Dave. Many thanks. It seems like a good idea to keep it out of the way and protected from low branches. Also keeps the pop-top lighter (with only solar panels on top, may not need actuators - just manual? Not sure). I note that Earthcruiser use this approach with the AC centre mouted, soi can still get 2 spares on the back......

yes Mat I stole the idea from Mark at Earthcruiser when I visited