SLICED AND DICED
WHILE the Gasson family’s Y62 Patrol may have left the manufacturing line a wagon back in 2019, it didn’t stay that way for long. Just a few months old, it rolled in to the Toowoomba workshop of ASG 4X4 where it was sliced and diced beyond recognition. First up, a new back wall was handmade, turning the wagon in to a dual cab, with a pair of tool boxes pieced together where the old rear wheel arches used to be. From here the chassis copped a similar treatment, a massive 650mm extension was welded in with custom fuel and brake lines spanning the distance, and new wiring and rear driveshaft all going in to the mix.
The dual-cab conversion allowed the family to fit a decked-out canopy on the rear, taking their Y62 from mall crawler to beach tourer. MW Toolbox in Coopers Plains, Qld, was tasked with piecing together the canopy.
Popping open the colour-coded aluminium door on the passenger side reveals a huge outdoor kitchen. Pride of place is the 85L Bushman fridge. It’s backed up with a pull-out pantry, deep storage drawers, slide-out prep table and 12V pie oven.
A custom roof rack is built-in to the canopy, housing a Darche wrap-around awning fitted to clever Racksbrax quick-release lockable mounts. Swinging around the back, there’s an integrated ladder tucked high above the TAG tow bar, before arriving on the driver’s side with bulk storage and a built-in dog box.
A huge electrical set-up includes 400W of solar panels on the roof, which feeds a powerhouse 12V system with a Victron Multiplus-ii handling both input and output. It pumps in a massive 120amp of charge from external AC, 100amp from the Y62’s on-board electrical system or 30amp from the roof-mounted solar. All that power finds its way to a 320amp/h lithium battery bank. There’s 3000W of 240V power coming out the other end, as well as plenty of 12V power.
The rest of the Patrol has been spec’ed up to match the toughas-nails rear end. Up front a Dash Offroad Predator Evolution bar has been colour-coded and fitted by the team at Auramotive.
The 5.6L petrol-powered V8 is fed all the air it can handle thanks to a five-inch Fabwitz snorkel and Patroldocta airbox combination, before the spent gases are rocketed backwards through a hand-built three-inch exhaust.
Drive is put to the ground through independent suspension front and rear. At the back, ASG 4X4 lower control arms add strength and are tied in with the 4.2T GVM upgrade. The rest of the suspension is rounded out with 350kg constant-load Dobinson springs and Airbag Man helper airbags. The suspension set-up allows easy fitment of 285/70R18 Nitto Ridge Grapplers wrapped around Elite Off-road Podium alloy wheels.