This is part two of our three-part Hilux Stories series. Read part one here. Or click here to read more about the Hilux #Where2next? competition.
This 2010 Toyota Hilux 2,5 D-4D will make you look twice. A custom-made aluminium canopy crowns the white single cab but … something looks different. The canopy hangs almost unnervingly far over the roof and is an odd shape. But it takes a mere two minutes to reveal its secrets and transform the otherwise stock-standard-looking bakkie into a fully fitted overland tourer.
Chris Frylinck, the proud owner of this Hilux and a member of the 4×4 Community Forum (4x4community.co.za), spent a year designing the canopy together with Sarel de Klerk of BlinkGat Products, a custom canopy designer and manufacturer in Delmas, Gauteng. Hours of design adjustments and strategic planning resulted in an overland and camping setup that can be propped up and packed away with an ease campers are not usually used to.
An avid photographer, Chris often needs to break camp quickly to get the best out of the early morning “golden hour” – the time shortly after sunrise and before sunset when the sunlight is at its softest and creates a spectacular glow. Before the canopy, the Frylinck and his wife Greta travelled with a freestanding tent, but pitching took a lot of time and it was a cumbersome extra.
“The goal was to have something that would save us time when pitching a tent and facilitates in leaving early without hassle. Everything needs to be ready for instantaneous departure,” Chris explains as he purveys his beloved bakkie.
In December 2013, he drove the Hilux to Delmas where it was fitted with the canopy within a day. On his return, he spent two weeks kitting out the Hilux. On the roof of the canopy, he installed a solar panel for electricity and has an extra battery installed to power the fridge, lights, computer, etc. From necessities such as a compressor for tyre-related emergencies to an oh-so-comfortable queen-sized mattress, which Chris admits is much more comfortable than his one at home, he made sure the Hilux placed comfort first.
Greta even added zips to the tented canopy’s mosquito nets, turning the bakkie into an instant photography hide.
In May 2013, before the addition of the canopy, the Hilux was put through its paces when Chris and his wife embarked on an 8 000 km trip from Cape Town via the Caprivi in Namibia to Kasane in Bots-wana for a photographic safari.
Why specifically a Hilux? With fewer carmakers still producing single-cab 4×4 vehicles, Chris says it was the obvious choice. “It’s just the two of us and we wanted the camping space in the back. When doing an 8 000 km solo trip, you want legendary Hilux reliability.”
And reliability is what Chris values most, as he plans to conquer another few thousand kilometres on his next photographic safari. When will this be? He has no idea, but at least he knows his Hilux is packed and poised – ready to leave in an instant.
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