The “Green Dragon”
My overland vehicle is a 2012 Toyota Land Cruiser 78 Series Troop Carrier (a.k.a., “Troopie”) that I purchased from an individual in Simon’s town, South Africa. I nicknamed my Troopie “The Green Dragon” after its brother-in-law “The Red Dragon” – my 1984 Chevy S10 truck in the U.S. (that I purchased new in 1984 and have been driving ever since) named by Nathan and Caitlin many years ago. It seemed fitting to keep with the “dragon” naming convention since the Red Dragon has been so reliable. I’m hopeful that the Green Dragon can amass a similar stellar performance record. It should, because the Toyota Land Cruiser 78 Series Troopie is considered by many overlanders to be the best vehicle ever made for overlanding, especially for overlanding in Africa where the Land Cruiser is hands-down the most popular safari vehicle. The 78 Series Troopie is built to last for several hundred thousand miles. Indeed, it’s not uncommon to realize well over 500,000 miles before any major engine overhaul is needed, this due in large part to Toyota’s 1HZ diesel engine that was designed for the most rugged driving conditions. My Troopie has 174,000 miles on it (at the time of purchase), which means that it is still just in its adolescent or young adult stage of life. With proper maintenance and service, I am hopeful that the Green Dragon will serve me well and without major mechanical issues for many overlanding adventures to come.
I purchased the Green Dragon not just because it is a Toyota Land Cruiser 78 Series Troopie, but also because the former owner fully “kitted” the vehicle for overlanding. This means that the Green Dragon comes with just about everything one could need for extended self-drive overland trips. It is very much “turn key” ready, which means that it has everything needed to just get in the vehicle, turn the key, and take off on an overland adventure. I made a video to show the major features of the Green Dragon in full regalia. If you are unable to watch the video and wish to see pictures let me know and I will put up some still shots of the vehicle and its features.
Green Dragon overview video (link to Youtube)
Below is a detailed list of some of the features of the Green Dragon for you vehicle geeks. Note, with the alucab top up, you can also push the bed up and it offers ~9′ interior headroom, so you can stand inside with full standing headroom – it’s really nice not having to crouch when getting dressed, and you’re protected from the elements.
Mechanical:
- Terrain tamer heavy duty greaseable shafts front and back
- Terrain tamer Clutch
- Terrain tamer tranny internals
- Terrain tamer heavy duty wheel bearings front and rear
- Terrain tamer axle internals front and rear
- Terrain tamer auxiliary fuel filter
- Full OME 2” lift kit 400kg constant leaf’s rear, tuned medium for winch bumper in front
- New HD swivel hubs
- New manual locking hub conversion
- EGR delete (comes with parts to re-install if exporting to country that requires it)
- All new belts
- New alternator
- New fuel pump
- New Water pump
- New timing belt
- New cam belt
- New Aircon Idol bearing
- New clutch slave cylinder
- New front knuckle bearings
- New fan clutch
- New front and rear custom-made heavier duty drive shafts and knuckles
- New front brakes
- Twin 90L long range fuel tanks (both tanks good for >1300kms)
- Dual engine battery’s, with National Luna dual battery charging and monitoring system
Exterior:
- Steel front winch bumper
- 14k winch with synthetic cable
- Custom dual swingout rear bumper
- Custom aluminum storage box
- Alucab Hercules top
- Alucab Gullwing window
- Alucab 270 shadow awning
- Front runner roof rack
- 150W solar panel
- Custom fold down prep table w/ bolts to hold 2
maxxtrax’s - Aluminum side steps
- Front runner dual Jerry can holder
- 2 Jerry cans: 1 water, 1 diesel
- Waterproof/weatherproof pelican case
- 2 full size unused spare tires (one on rim, other just the rubber)
- Frontrunner spare tire braai grill
- 2 wheel covers
- White blackout vinyl on rear and side windows
- Smash and grab tint applied on all windows
- UV resistant film on front windscreen
Interior:
- Full custom aluminum welded interior by Alucab
- Inside sink w/ prep area (can easily add a domestic stove/burner
- Full length bench that duals as a second sleeping area
- 45L Dometic 12v fridge
- 1500/3000w pure sinewave inverter
- 120Ah house battery
- National Luna Battery charger (shore power)
- 40amp charge controller
- 4 flexi marine lights
- Full length slide-out drawer, also huge pass thru storage compartment on the other side
- 5 large storage cabinets
- Ripstop blackout curtains w/ pockets
- Tons of custom ripstop Velcro pouches
- 2 safes
- Tons of 12v and 220v charging points
- 50L freshwater tank w/exterior fill
- 12v Flojet water pump
- Custom ripstop seat covers with pockets
- Custom ripstop dash cover
- Alucab storage cubby (above sun visors)
- Custom strong box center console with hidden safe
- New 7” touchscreen apple and android car play entertainment system
- Back up camera
- Upgraded kicker speakers behind seats
- Full length weatherproof floor vinyl/floor covers
- Exterior water tap
- Air compressor
- Full kitchen set
- Tool box with basic repair tools
- Tire changing kit
- Emergency roadside kit
- First aid kit
- Mechanical spares kit
- Electrical spares kit
- Queen-size sleeping bag
- 2 down bed pillows
- Winch recovery kit and spare shackles
- MSR Dragonfly diesel stove
- Propane single-burner stove
- Several rachet straps