2026-03-22
The last of the major mods to the Prado have been completed, those being:
Of these, the Starlink mount was the only one I installed myself. I could have probably done the installs for the other two and saved some money, but running wiring harnesses through the firewall to the dash is not something I'm confident doing, or particularly want to do. So I opted to let the professionals install the mirrors and lights.
The mirrors extend out to provide excellent vision down the side of the caravan, with the main mirror being flat glass, and the under-mirror convex for a wider view, which means I don't end up with blind-spots, and the wider view is useful for manoeuvreing while backing.
It's hard to tell from the photo, but the new lights are a huge improvement from the old lights (not the least of which because these ones are working). They are extremely bright, and can be switched from Spot, to Flood, to combined Spot/Flood, via the dash switch, depending on what sort of terrain you're driving through.
The other news is that I've spent the weekend making chopping boards. Initially a round board to fit in the sink of the caravan, thereby giving me a bit more bench space when the sink isn't in use, and a large oval one that covers the sink and strainer area. That second one may end up being too much of a faff to pack, but we'll try it out on one of our short trips to see if it is worth it. The idea is that it's a larger surface all at the same level, so useful for rolling out dough and the like.
Neither board is finished yet, but the finishing is just several layers of Tung Oil, with some sanding in between layers, so they will look pretty much as pictured.