Toyota Hilux
The Hilux Dual Cab Ute is a super economical , affordable vehicle - It can carry a decent load too without fuss...
For fitting up touring gear like tents and Pole less awnings the Dual Cab gives you Just 1650mm of space over tray and jst 1250mm over the cab. As Fitters of Touring Gear like RTT and Pole Less Awnings - Neither the cab or tray is long enough for either install, so we designed and now manufacture 1750mm OVER CAB racks that can handle 150 + KGS for the Hilux - This Opened up a range of possibilities for better balance of the vehicle while carrying heavy touring gear forward between the wheels for the best vehicle balance. More on this below.
Tough Touring Over cab Racks
Rooftop tents: what's the best rooftop tent for the Hilux?
The best roof top tent for the Hilux Dual Cab
As per our reccommendations elsewhere on the website - The shortlist of Cpmfortable Quality tents is (Bundutec Bundutop Standard (1350mm wide) , (The Tuff Trek mk 3 load bearing tent). or the Budget BOAB hardshell RTT If you want to carry Solar panels on the roof of the tent - They can all be fitted with Panels
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we reccommend the Bundutop or the Tuff Trek Mk3 for long term touring for the Hilux - The Bundutop offering Push Button set up and the TUFF TREK mk3 offering Load bearing / low profile option for those that need more rack space and or are toughter on their gear. (Both Have their Pros and Cons but are equally at the top of the list for usability on the Hilux. Our Current list of top 4 Roof Top tents (and Why) are listed here - 'Roof Top tents
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POLE LESS WING AWNINGS - FIT to ROOF TOP TENT DIRECTLY ON ALL DUAL CAB UTES
When Fitting Hard Shell tents to the Hilux please note Its BEST PRACTICE to fit awnings need to be fitted directly to the tent. This Puts them Up High enough to stand under, It also gives the Awning the right width to mount on . The Roof Rack at 1200mm and the canopy at 1650mm are too both short and or Narrow to fit full size pole less awnings too directly. Brackets to do this are listed here
This also Means Fibreglass Tents are USELESS if you intend to also to run a pole less awning. (Because you can't bolt a 30Kg Awning to a plastic tent) Tents with Bevelled Sides are also more difficult to fit awnings too....
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FITTING A POLE LESS AWNING WITHOUT A ROOF TOP TENT TO a HILUX WITH CUSTOM CANOPY
FULL SIZE 270 AWNING OPTIONS:
If you want to fit a full size wing awning Like the Ostrich 270 Wing awning directly to any Dual Cab Ute running a 1650mm Canopy - You can fit them using our '3 point awning mounts' - More on these Mounting Brackets here.
We have listed our picks of top performing awnings (For Victorian/SA weather conditions) here.
SHORT /SMALL 270 AWNING OPTIONS
If you wish to run a Pole Less Wing awning on short canopy Utes without bridging the awning across canopy and Cabin on Dual cab utes - The Choices are limited due to the short mounting lengths available on the DMax (and all dual cabs). Our Fitting Brackets to mount Pole Less Wing awnings directly to rack or canopy are listed here. Some manufacturers are making smaller / Lighter Specialist Awnings that are built for dual cabs ... At time of writing the one to check out is the 'Ostrich Junior Wing' It is as large as much of the competition at 2.2m span - and can be fitted with mounting points at only 1500mm apart... One shown below on a ford ranger for example below... See more on these here - https://www.toughtouring.com.au/product-page/ostrich-junior-270-pole-less-wing-awning
The Tough Touring Over cab Rack is:
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Lowest in the market
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Its bloody strong
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Allows tent to be mounted over the dual cab
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Your Tent remains easily removable with all fixing bolts accessable from beside the vehicle.
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Can be fitted yourself
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Supports almost all rooftop tents including softshell and hardshell tents up to 2.3m long (Even Flush mount tents like the James Baroud - however a variation kit is also required to make flush mount tents bolt off easily)
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Top Hat Bar Planks make Installation and removal of the tent super easy.
For Further information on What to look for before fitting a Rack over the cabin of your Dual Cab ute - See here"Dual Cab Roof Cavities types and warnings"
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BUILT IN DUAL BATTERY SYSTEMS IN DUAL CAB UTES CANOPIES - THERES A BETTER OPTION:
Tough Touring Builds and prefers to install Renewable Power Stations for Tub Tray Utes and Canopies over Traditional Dual Battery Systems, They have huge benefits ($$$$?)over time when travelling.
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