Triton.. Good for lots of rural k's??

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Re: Triton.. Good for lots of rural k's??

Postby mattz on Wed Dec 11, 2013 12:48 pm

Thanks for the update Mick 8-)
Sorry to hear about the crash. :(
I reckon 300k out of a set of injectors is pretty good.......I only got half that.
How long do you plan on hanging onto this one for?
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Re: Triton.. Good for lots of rural k's??

Postby MickFodor on Thu Dec 12, 2013 12:41 pm

mattz wrote:Thanks for the update Mick 8-)
Sorry to hear about the crash. :(
I reckon 300k out of a set of injectors is pretty good.......I only got half that.
How long do you plan on hanging onto this one for?


Not really sure...
Kinda thought to run it to about 300,000 but now my mechanic said after the injectors it might be good for a few hundred thou more?!?!? Basically, when it becomes too unreliable or too expensive to maintain we will trade it in...
Why do you ask? Did you want to buy it?? :)
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Re: Triton.. Good for lots of rural k's??

Postby mattz on Thu Dec 12, 2013 3:02 pm

:lol: :lol: :lol:
I think it'll be ready for the scrap heap when you finish with it. :lol:

You really are putting to the test like no one else could.:shock:
We should start running a book on how many kms it will have on it when it goes bang or when you get rid of it :lol: :lol:
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Re: Triton.. Good for lots of rural k's??

Postby Cage on Thu Dec 12, 2013 6:28 pm

Reading this thread has been very comforting for a soon-to-be Triton owner.

Being retired, I'll be flat out doing 20K's a year, and am, I think, a 'car friendly' driver. I've always tried to work with my vehicles rather than making them work with me.

After reading of the heavy use Mick's Triton's get, I'm reassured that I should get the longevity and reliability that I was hoping for.

Thanks for sharing your experiences Mick.
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Re: Triton.. Good for lots of rural k's??

Postby MickFodor on Fri Dec 13, 2013 8:51 am

Its funny... I got on this site before buying it and started this thread... Learning from you guys, finding out if the triton will take the abuse i knew it would cop. Now 2 years later i get on here and people are reading the same thread saying "Well if it does that, she'll be right for me"...

I have had a bunch of people say that we should have bought a Hilux (mainly), Navara, or what ever they were driving at the time... To be honest, I think they are all full of it because not many vehicles have ever taken such a beating over such a short time.. I truthfully did not know how the Triton would be after 300,000 because no one had done it to tell me... It is the same with all the others... Sure, there are some high kilometer cars out there but not many that have done a lot of it on rough roads...

I honestly had no real second though when we needed a second vehicle, there was the curiosity that made me want to try another vehicle to compare. Looking at the different utes out there they are all priced higher (not touching the great walls and alike) and for the extra cash it would be a real gamble to find a more suitable vehicle... We found a couple of weaknesses in the triton which we learned a little from and obviously none of it was enough to deter us from buying again...

My review so far,

Build quality -
Good build quality, plastic flares held on with plastic clips are pretty ordinary but thats modern cars... Sports bar rattled off in 2-3 weeks from new... The vibration tore the radiator support from the bonnet latch area... The bumper plastic rubbish on the back fell off. Some other bits and pieces rattled loose too...

Engine -
definitely no racer but reliable, torquey once the turbo wakes up, EGR bolts rattled loose and or broke off a few times... Injectors at 300,000.

Gearbox/drivetrain -
No issues at all after 325, seems tough.

Steering -
Not an issue but the turn circle is only slightly bigger than a 747 and i think i counted 86 turns of the wheel lock to lock. But again, has not had a fault.

Suspension -
Considered a weak point but does the job. Only replaced parts as they wear out. We did not upgrade it at all. It does rattle and squeak but nothing terrible... For standard suspension i am actually impressed... Regular wheel alignments needed for obvious reasons.

Cabin -
Front seats are more like a bench but ok. Radio buttons fell off. Hard to get after market switches to fit. Running wires through the firewall is a PITA. I drilled a little hole in the new one :-)
If it was my personal vehicle, i would consider an aftermarket front seat... No real issue though.

Tyres -
Standard tyres are bloody useless... (Note to manufacturers: When selling a 4X4 in Aus, put ALL TERRAINS on it!!!) 694's are a long lasting upgrade which have been great for us...

Hope this helps anyone looking for one.
Cheers and merry Christmas all :-)
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Re: Triton.. Good for lots of rural k's??

Postby MickFodor on Wed Jan 08, 2014 11:47 am

SAD NEWS.
Triton was declared a write off this morning...
Electrical fire last week, exploded the battery and fire from engine bay through to back of cabin...
Damage apparently exceeding $20,000
Just over 320,000.00 kms..
:cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry:
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Re: Triton.. Good for lots of rural k's??

Postby DocBassett on Wed Jan 08, 2014 11:52 am

Ah mate that sucks. Sorry to hear that. I was really keen to know how long it would have kept going. As long as everyone is ok and insurance comes through.
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Re: Triton.. Good for lots of rural k's??

Postby MickFodor on Wed Jan 08, 2014 12:07 pm

Tony wrote:
MickFodor wrote:Ordered and paid for... thanks guys...
Should get the Triton today.

GL-R, Dual cab, 4X4, Auto, White.

Will send him out on the first run standard and see how it holds up...
Will measure the ride height and see how it looks after few thousand ks.
Thanks for the lead to Ultimate Suspension... I googled it... its the one at Ingleburn right?
I should get a pic of the new car and ad pics of the changes at each service...
Might be interesting to see the change...
Somewhat of a build up/Tear down thread...

Heres hoping i dont have to rescue him in my Jeep... :P

Well done! I cant comment on the Jeep except bit of a closet fan my self. :roll: Just make sue you keep a fire extinguisher in it. :P :P :lol:


I've noticed our local mines are renting and leasing quite a few tritons now days, Seem to be holding up although have had heavier suspension fitted as most other makes do.

Will be watching for a build, tear down, shake down etc thread. 8-)

Cheers T



Keep a fire extinguisher in the Jeep huh??? Maybe we should have put one in the Triton :lol:
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Re: Triton.. Good for lots of rural k's??

Postby jop on Wed Jan 08, 2014 12:08 pm

:lol: :lol:

Sorry to hear about the triton ........but that was good ^^^^^
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Re: Triton.. Good for lots of rural k's??

Postby lachiem on Wed Jan 08, 2014 12:18 pm

Damn hey.
Still one of the best reading threads going around though mate. Great for reassurance that the Triton can stand amongst the best with long term beatings.

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Re: Triton.. Good for lots of rural k's??

Postby Toddyh on Wed Jan 08, 2014 12:44 pm

MickFodor wrote:SAD NEWS.
Triton was declared a write off this morning...
Electrical fire last week, exploded the battery and fire from engine bay through to back of cabin...
Damage apparently exceeding $20,000
Just over 320,000.00 kms..
:cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry:


Wow that sucks. This was the strongest contender so far for toughest Triton ever ;) Any idea what caused the fire?
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Re: Triton.. Good for lots of rural k's??

Postby Tony on Wed Jan 08, 2014 1:21 pm

MickFodor wrote:
Tony wrote:
MickFodor wrote:Ordered and paid for... thanks guys...
Should get the Triton today.

GL-R, Dual cab, 4X4, Auto, White.

Will send him out on the first run standard and see how it holds up...
Will measure the ride height and see how it looks after few thousand ks.
Thanks for the lead to Ultimate Suspension... I googled it... its the one at Ingleburn right?
I should get a pic of the new car and ad pics of the changes at each service...
Might be interesting to see the change...
Somewhat of a build up/Tear down thread...

Heres hoping i dont have to rescue him in my Jeep... :P

Well done! I cant comment on the Jeep except bit of a closet fan my self. :roll: Just make sue you keep a fire extinguisher in it. :P :P :lol:


I've noticed our local mines are renting and leasing quite a few tritons now days, Seem to be holding up although have had heavier suspension fitted as most other makes do.

Will be watching for a build, tear down, shake down etc thread. 8-)

Cheers T



Keep a fire extinguisher in the Jeep huh??? Maybe we should have put one in the Triton :lol:


You Jeep boys are all the same :roll: :lol: .... How long ago did I post this. :lol: :lol: :lol:

Sorry to hear she got toasted as was still serving you well.

We've had batteries explode on machinery and always ended badly.
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Re: Triton.. Good for lots of rural k's??

Postby Cowboy Dave on Wed Jan 08, 2014 7:45 pm

Did the battery explode and cause the fire, or the fire caused the battery to explode?

Would be interested to hear what caused it in the first place.
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Re: Triton.. Good for lots of rural k's??

Postby MickFodor on Fri Jan 10, 2014 6:48 am

According to NRMA, the issue was likely a fault with the inverter (mounted behind the back seat) which the driver used to run a printer. The thick power cable which runs through the firewall alongside the ECU and main loom toward the rear of the vehicle was all melted... Probably some kind of short... failure of fuses?? Made the battery go bang and then the fire was put out... While we cant be sure, the assessor seemed to think it was the inverter.

Start over? Of course, the other Triton is still on the road after its accident last year, I assume it would be over 40,000ks by now...

We also need to find another victim... Any dealers on here that have something we could buy??? I know we can get a new one for $29,888 on carsales.com.au and i have a couple of people looking around for me too... really anything 4X4, Auto, Dual cab or Wagon less than 2 years old with less than 50,000 ks would be considered. We promise to find a better inverter ;)
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Re: Triton.. Good for lots of rural k's??

Postby Toddyh on Fri Jan 10, 2014 6:54 am

Bugger. Such a shame. Would have loved to see just how far the thing would have gone. On the bright side for everyone here at least it wasn't any factory wiring that caused the fire.
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Re: Triton.. Good for lots of rural k's??

Postby MickFodor on Fri Jan 10, 2014 7:05 am

Toddyh wrote:Bugger. Such a shame. Would have loved to see just how far the thing would have gone. On the bright side for everyone here at least it wasn't any factory wiring that caused the fire.


Me too Toddy, it got towed to my mechanic after it was put out in a hope that it wasn't going to be a big issue. He is still confident that without the fire we would have got another couple of hundred thousand ks without big dramas after doing the injectors.

Oh well, always the next one... It won't take too long to get some miles and some updates of the new one... I hope that #2 goes as well as #1 did to be honest because we had a good run up until now.

I'd still be keen to run another brand (toyota, mazda, nissan, etc) to really see how they compare... I wish the prices weren't so high. I think it would be really interesting to find out what costs more to run and what lasts longer...

Have a great weekend all.
Cheers
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Re: Triton.. Good for lots of rural k's??

Postby MickFodor on Wed Jan 15, 2014 7:48 am

Time to shake things up a little and find out how the Tritons really compare to the others...

Bought a 2013 run out Hilux. SR, Dual Cab, Diesel, 4X4, Auto for $39,990 so it compares with the Tritons basic equipment level i think. Everyone seems to say that the Hilux is so much better, so we are throwing the extra 10k at finding out.

I am putting Pete behind the wheel, he is the more experienced driver and has done over 500,000ks for us over the last few years in a few different vehicles. He is the best person to compare a Hilux to the Triton that he loved. We are aiming for a true unbiased comparison between the 2. The Hilux will have to be a serious performer to be worth the extra 10k but you never know i guess.

Anyone want to guess how this will go?
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Re: Triton.. Good for lots of rural k's??

Postby 4wd26 on Wed Jan 15, 2014 8:07 am

injectors before 150,000kms
will see the auto transmission light at least once before that time as well.

time will tell.


keen to keep following- as you now have one of each
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Re: Triton.. Good for lots of rural k's??

Postby lachiem on Wed Jan 15, 2014 12:22 pm

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Re: Triton.. Good for lots of rural k's??

Postby hvac guy on Wed Jan 15, 2014 12:35 pm

gold^^^^ :lol:
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Re: Triton.. Good for lots of rural k's??

Postby MickFodor on Wed Jan 15, 2014 1:47 pm

lachiem wrote:Click to view larger picture



bahahaha!!! love it...
It will have to do seriously well to warrant the extra 10k...
I honestly don't think it will...
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Re: Triton.. Good for lots of rural k's??

Postby AnOldFart on Wed Jan 15, 2014 5:51 pm

MickFodor wrote:According to NRMA, the issue was likely a fault with the inverter (mounted behind the back seat) which the driver used to run a printer. The thick power cable which runs through the firewall alongside the ECU and main loom toward the rear of the vehicle was all melted... Probably some kind of short... failure of fuses?? Made the battery go bang and then the fire was put out... While we cant be sure, the assessor seemed to think it was the inverter.
...etc, ...etc, ...etc, ...etc, .... We promise to find a better inverter ;)


Hi Mick, my background is electrical and I can vouch for the --awesome-- power / current that heavy duty lead-acid batteries can deliver into a dead short circuit. A long, long, time ago now, as a then shiny new, pimply faced, first year PMG apprentice, I had an 'underpants soiling moment' when I observed an old Tech, who should have known far better, have a -very- hair raising experience with them. It's a lesson I've never forgotten, and I've certainly as a result, had the utmost respect for them, ever since.

Anyway, my point here is just to warn you that if you are going to now, repeat the previous "Printer Inverter install exercise" in your new Hilux Ute then make bloody sure that you use the services of a 'switched on auto-sparky' (no pun intended) who will correctly 'fuse' the heavy duty power cable run to the Inverter, directly --at the Battery end-- of that connection path. Also be sure that the cables are correctly lug-terminated, secured in place, and supported, along their -entire length- to avoid -any- posible movement or chafing of their insulation against -any- sharp metal chassis edges, and also use protective rubber grommets around them, wherever they have to pass through a hole in metal eg, one that's drilled through a firewall.

The critical part, is correctly 'fusing' the cable -at the Battery end- so that it provides 'disconnect protection' for everything else that's connected to it -downstream- of that fuse. From reading between the lines of what you've already said about what happened with the electrical fire in your poor old Triton, it sounds like it might not have been 'correctly set-up' with a suitable disconnect fuse at the Battery, in that case.

Hmmmm, maybe, upon reflection, seeing as how you subsequently bought a bloody Hilux, maybe I shouldn't have told you all of this stuff after-all.....??? Naaahh, second thoughts, forget everything I've just told you Mick. :D Go ahead and wire up the Inverter in the new Hilux in -exactly- the same way, as it was done in the --reliable-- old Triton. :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :lol:
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Re: Triton.. Good for lots of rural k's??

Postby Hondon on Wed Jan 15, 2014 6:00 pm

I think you could say the same about any auto electrical circuit as even very light gauge wire can cause a fire if shorted...aside from heavy cables shorting a battery and causing an "explosion " of sorts..
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Re: Triton.. Good for lots of rural k's??

Postby MickFodor on Thu Jan 16, 2014 7:06 am

AnOldFart wrote:
MickFodor wrote:According to NRMA, the issue was likely a fault with the inverter (mounted behind the back seat) which the driver used to run a printer. The thick power cable which runs through the firewall alongside the ECU and main loom toward the rear of the vehicle was all melted... Probably some kind of short... failure of fuses?? Made the battery go bang and then the fire was put out... While we cant be sure, the assessor seemed to think it was the inverter.
...etc, ...etc, ...etc, ...etc, .... We promise to find a better inverter ;)


Hi Mick, my background is electrical and I can vouch for the --awesome-- power / current that heavy duty lead-acid batteries can deliver into a dead short circuit. A long, long, time ago now, as a then shiny new, pimply faced, first year PMG apprentice, I had an 'underpants soiling moment' when I observed an old Tech, who should have known far better, have a -very- hair raising experience with them. It's a lesson I've never forgotten, and I've certainly as a result, had the utmost respect for them, ever since.

Anyway, my point here is just to warn you that if you are going to now, repeat the previous "Printer Inverter install exercise" in your new Hilux Ute then make bloody sure that you use the services of a 'switched on auto-sparky' (no pun intended) who will correctly 'fuse' the heavy duty power cable run to the Inverter, directly --at the Battery end-- of that connection path. Also be sure that the cables are correctly lug-terminated, secured in place, and supported, along their -entire length- to avoid -any- posible movement or chafing of their insulation against -any- sharp metal chassis edges, and also use protective rubber grommets around them, wherever they have to pass through a hole in metal eg, one that's drilled through a firewall.

The critical part, is correctly 'fusing' the cable -at the Battery end- so that it provides 'disconnect protection' for everything else that's connected to it -downstream- of that fuse. From reading between the lines of what you've already said about what happened with the electrical fire in your poor old Triton, it sounds like it might not have been 'correctly set-up' with a suitable disconnect fuse at the Battery, in that case.

Hmmmm, maybe, upon reflection, seeing as how you subsequently bought a bloody Hilux, maybe I shouldn't have told you all of this stuff after-all.....??? Naaahh, second thoughts, forget everything I've just told you Mick. :D Go ahead and wire up the Inverter in the new Hilux in -exactly- the same way, as it was done in the --reliable-- old Triton. :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :lol:



Thanks for that mate... I really appreciate the advice... I helped the driver with the install when we first got it but he did the connection at both ends while i was installing a "Shu-Roo"... I asked him about it and he said that he "followed the instructions" and "Does not recall installing a fuse at the battery". This was after the write off and I just shook my head. Both the Hilux and Triton need an inverter installed now and i think i will need to do it... I'm not exactly a "Switched on auto sparky" but i have done a lot of car stereos, winches, lights, UHF's, etc. and wiring up an amp is virtually the same... Anything installed in a car needs a fuse at the battery (Shu-Roo and the tracker had one, i know that much because i did it) but I will take a lot more care about the rest of the install too now that i have seen what can happen... I run everything through that black split conduit stuff where it may be exposed to heat or rubbing and i use heat shrink around connections.

On another note:
I found out this morning that apparently that on a Hilux, A/C is not standard??? :shock: :o :shock: :o
I left a message for the guys at Toyota...
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Re: Triton.. Good for lots of rural k's??

Postby Greedy on Thu Jan 16, 2014 10:52 am

MickFodor wrote:On another note:
I found out this morning that apparently that on a Hilux, A/C is not standard??? :shock: :o :shock: :o
I left a message for the guys at Toyota...

Better check you get other basics as well then. Steering wheel, seats etc. :roll:
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