Trig Point’s chopped Nissan GU Patrol

The booming popularity of double-cab 4x4 utes fitted with service body-style aluminium canopies on the back has revealed just how versatile these utes can be.

Fitting a canopy on the back of a ute gives you the security and accessibility of a wagon with a lot more space, capacity and functionality, making them a perfect touring set-up.

The problem for many though, is that the popular dual-cab utes are relatively small in the cabin and their off-road capability is not as good as many demand. Sure, you could opt for a LandCruiser 79, and there are plenty of those around with incredible set-ups on the back, but they are expensive and have their own inadequacies including comfort and space in the factory Toyota cabin.

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Cut-down LandCruiser 200 Series and Y62 Patrols fitted with canopies are also popular, but very costly and not everyone needs a four-door cabin and massive wheelbase.

Melburnite, Murray Brookes, was one such example of a four-wheel driver, and as the owner and head engineer at Trig Point Canopies, he well and truly knows the versatility and possibilities that a custom-made canopy can provide.

Trig Point canopy

Murray wanted a two-seat 4x4 but with more space than a single cab, live axles underneath and a petrol engine. It had to have a Trig Point canopy on the back, of course.

“I was looking to build an all-round car that was durable and capable enough to test new products, tackling the hardest tracks around, while remaining comfortable and reliable enough to be an everyday car,” Murray told us. “I didn’t need a five-seat ute, yet wanted enough space behind the front seats for Sam, the Trig Point dog.”

Murray says he considered cutting down a 105 Series, but they are relatively wide in the body and wouldn’t mate to the width of the canopies mainly made by Trig Point. So he went looking for a GU Patrol wagon, as it was just the right width to match.

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“We settled on a Patrol wagon cut down to an extra-cab ute,” said Murray. “This results in a length that fits a dual-cab canopy well. Aside from some shorter toolboxes, the canopy is our standard dual-cab canopy to fit a Hilux or Ranger. The profile happened to fit the GU perfectly!”

Having enjoyed the performance of a big petrol six in a previous Jeep, Murray again wanted petrol power for his Patrol and went looking for a suitable donor vehicle. One was found in Adelaide and shipped back to the Trig Point’s Knox, Victoria, workshop.

The burgundy, 4.8-litre, five-speed auto, GU Patrol ST-L model was in good condition for its age with just 150,000km, 33s, a suspension kit and bullbar. But all that was soon to change with the plans Trig Point had in mind. With the GU in hand and plans mapped out, it was sent to Tinman Fabrications to have the back end of the body chopped off and extra-cab conversion done.

Soul Red

Plans to repaint the cab in the factory burgundy were shelved, as Trig Point’s Sven and Pauly progressed on the body prep once back from Tinman. This work included fitting the D40 Navara rear windows in the pillars. They convinced Murray the car needed a colour that would really make it stand out and eventually they settled on Mazda’s popular Soul Red metallic.

“This is a three-layer paint process and applying it is an exceptionally difficult task,” said Murray. “The guys really did an amazing job; but now I cringe at every bush pinstripe it gets, as I know the effort we put into the body work.”

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The doors on the canopy were also lathered in the red lacquer. Murray opted for what they call a two-tone colour treatment, where the frame and rear wall of the canopy are black and the side and tool-box doors and rear bumper are colour-matched to the vehicle.

The aluminium canopy is a full body replacement; that is, it mounts directly to the chassis and doesn’t sit on a tray. This design saves weight and allows for a lower floor height and more internal space, to make the most of what a canopy can offer. As mentioned, this canopy is the same size as the ones Trig Point makes for double-cab Hiluxes and Rangers.

Decked out

The Patrol’s GVM was a consideration when outfitting the canopy, so inside you’ll find a Bushman 85-litre upright fridge, a drawer containing a kitchen set-up, and the 12V system. For power, a 200Ah Invicta lithium battery is kept charged by a Redarc 50amp charger, and a 2000W inverter is used to power appliances.

What you can’t see in the canopy is a 70-litre water tank and pump that sits underneath it, while on the back are the rear bumper, spare-wheel mount and a ladder used to access the roof where sometimes there’s a Darche tent affixed to the inbuilt rails. The Trig Point roof rails are rated to 300kg and made to take different crossbars, roof tents or awning mounts.

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Protecting the sills on the Patrol are a pair of Southern Cross Fabrications rock sliders, while up the front is an ARB bullbar that was modified to accept an 8274 Warn high-mount winch. ARB Solis LED lights are also mounted up front.

Slide underneath the Patrol and you’ll spy ARB BP-51 shock absorbers at each corner with three-inch coils, progressive bump stops, and Superior Engineering control arms and rear sway bar suspending the big Nissan diffs. Those diffs are fitted with ARB Air Lockers and 4.11:1 gears for best performance on the highway and off-road.

Also underneath are Road Runner Offroad aluminium tie rod and draglink arms, as well as a Long Ranger 140-litre fuel tank in addition to the factory 40-litre sub-tank.

Loves a drink

THE super-cab Patrol needs extra fuel capacity for High Country adventures, as Nissan’s 4.8-litre engine is known to love a drink, and this one is no exception.

“The 4.8, although thirsty, is, in my mind, the pick of the (Nissan) engines for power and refinement,” said Murray. “I had a couple of diesel 4WDs previously, yet still really liked the old straight-six in the XJ, so I chose to go back to a petrol engine.”

Murray’s helped the efficiency by fitting a set of extractors and a Beaudesert 2.5-inch stainless-steel exhaust system plus an ECU tune by Bog Stock Conversions, but it’s still no fuel sipper.

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The engine breathes in through a Fatz Fab four-inch snorkel with a Safari head on top, to keep the intake noise down to an acceptable level. Inside the engine, the oil-pump gear was updated to a billet aftermarket unit to prevent possible failures of the factory unit that is a known weakness in these big sixes.

Heading into the drivetrain and the factory five-speed automatic transmission remains in place. A set of 43 per cent reduction gears from Marks 4WD adaptors have been fitted in the transfer case; the auto-locking front free-wheeling hubs were replaced with factory manual ones, and the hand brake, which is in the rear discs on 4.8-litre GUs, has been relocated to the back of the transfer case where it is in all other Patrols of the era.

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All of these mods were done with durability and practicality in mind, as this is a touring wagon that gets used plenty. With Trig Point’s HQ being in Melbourne’s east, Murray is only a short drive from the High Country where he likes to get away for weekends and longer trips.

He said he’s also looking forward to competing in nav-runs and other events, plus a Tassie trip over the New Year break. The way the Patrol has been set-up suits these purposes perfectly.

“The strength of the Patrols makes them very hard to overlook when you want to put together the most capable and durable car you can,” Murray told us, and we reckon he’s nailed the brief with this build.

Fast facts

Canopy

The body was chopped and the super-cab fabricated to allow the fitment of the canopy. Less visible body mods included removing and filling the OE radio aerial and replacing it with a stubby one from a Hilux.

Power

A Redarc DC-DC charger keeps the 200amp Invicta lithium battery charged in the back, while an Invicta hybrid lithium battery is used under the bonnet as the main battery.

Seats

The two-seat extra-cab interior has retrimmed seats and steering wheel, a GME UHF radio, Android head unit running maps on OziExplorer, and a signal repeater to improve the signal from the Hummingbird antennae on the bullbar.

Wheels

The clever thing with 315/70R17 Mickey T Baja Boss tyres on Dirty Life Dual-Tek alloys is you can legally run the tyres fitted conventionally on the inside bead, or, to get serious off-road, at low pressures on the outside using the beadlock rim.

Interior

Murray has kept the fit-out of his Trig Point canopy relatively simple with just the upright fridge and Tanami kitchen drawer on one side, and open storage space on the other.

Engine

The big Nissan petrol six isn’t everyone’s first choice of powerplant, but Murray likes the balance of power and refinement it delivers for his off-road adventures.

Winch

The ARB bar was modified to take the Warn high-mount winch; while Murray uses a recovery kit, also from ARB.

Accessories list

• Trig Point canopy
• Bushman 85-litre upright fridge
• 200Ah Invicta lithium battery
• Darche tent
• Southern Cross Fabrications rock sliders
• ARB bullbar
• ARB Solis LED lights
• ARB BP-51 shock absorbers
• Superior Engineering control arms and rear sway bar
• Road Runner Offroad aluminium tie rod and draglink arms
• Long Ranger 140-litre fuel tank
• Beaudesert 2.5-inch stainless-steel exhaust system
• ECU tune by Bog Stock Conversions
• Fatz Fab four-inch snorkel
• Marks 4WD adaptors reduction gears
• Redarc DC-DC charger
• GME UHF radio
• OziExplorer maps
• Hummingbird antenna
• 315/70R17 Mickey T Baja Boss tyres
• Dirty Life Dual-Tek alloy wheels