THE 20 YEAR SLEEP
OKA 297 was delivered new by the factory to a mine in QLD in mid 1994. She worked there for 6 years before going to auction in 2000 ( I still have the auction ticket!).
She was bought by a businessman in the NSW Blue Mountains as a future retirement project and dry stored in a shed there. She was started and run around the paddock every few months to keep things working, but He had other priorities…many it seems!
20 years after buying Her (yes, 20) OKA 297 was put up for sale because the owner could no longer climb up to the cab.
And that’s where Her early retirement ended. Feb 22nd, 2022 I bought Her!
She was a time capsule. Totally rust free dry stored, original everything. A blank canvas. Her 20 year sleep makes OKA 297 unique among OKA’s and was a key reason for my acquiring Her.
In 2022, asleep for 20 years!
SIZING UP THE TRUCK MODS/REQUIREMENTS
| LIMITATION | SOLUTION |
| OEM Perkins engine makes only 110 HP, very inadequate in my view | A new Cummins 6BT making 310 HP will be very reliable with adequate power and torque in addition to being universally known by any bush mechanic. |
| Spicer manual gearbox has a varied reputation and I wanted modern Auto | New Allison 6 spd auto with overdrive on 5th and 6th and with easily programmable shift and other parameters. Well supported in Au too. |
| Divorced Rockwell transfer case – heavy power sucking behemoth | Recon. NP205 case for bombproof reliability and universally respected kit. |
| Tray length too short for most decent size slide-on campers | Extend the wheelbase by inserting 300mm in chassis plus a new tray giving 4.6 metre load length capacity. |
SIZING UP THE CAMPER REQUIREMENTS
| Overall length < 4.6M, pop-top lowered not to exceed cab height |
| Composite insulated w/pop-top, not keen on any wood in the build |
| Roomy and light/open interior with standing room |
| Rugged – think corrugations/rough tracks |
| Self supporting jacks/easy to get on/off tray |
| Shower/toilet/solar/air-con/indoor and outdoor cooking/living |
| Storage for spares, food, water, chainsaw, awning, chairs table, recovery gear, 2 spare wheels +++ |
Unfortunately the market was at 2 extremes. Small composite campers to fit Utes and big expensive custom built EarthCruiser style to fit full size trucks like ours. We didn’t have the time or money for option 2 and option 1 didn’t tick our feature list. Bugger!
Then I saw it. Gumtree. A phone call. 200Klm drive. Bought it on the spot A$20K. So what was it?
Everything on our list. An exploration geologist wanted exactly what our ticklist had for his extended remote trips in his Hino truck. So he had one made and now he was retiring he needed it gone. Unbelievable luck on my part.
THE DOG HAS CAUGHT THE BUS – SO NOW WHAT?