Central Otago sparkie Ryan Brown owns what could well be the perfect Ford Ranger for work AND play. If you want he can sort you out with one just like it, too. Richard Soult has the story.  

Always on the lookout for exceptional truck builds, I was talking to a good friend and regular trip buddy, Calvin Johnson,  about the work that he had done to his Nissan Navara. 

I was particularly impressed with the quality of the build of the box that he has on the back of his ute.  

The work, he said, had been done by Probuilt Fabrication in Christchurch and gave me the number of the owner, Phillip Lepoidevin. Now, despite his name, which definitely sounds it, Phillip is not French. 

He is, in fact, an Australian and moved to New Zealand after having spent many years in OZ fabricating Outback modifications for 4WD vehicles in Darwin. 

This is a bit of a long story, so bear with me... Phillip told me that he was particularly pleased with a job he’d recently done for a guy based in Cromwell, but, due to the whole Covid-19 thing, the truck had been hurriedly picked up and was back in Cromwell having a dual battery system fitted by the owner, Ryan Brown. 

Well I was heading down to Cromwell on my first post-Covid trip, so I gave Ryan a call and we caught up. Wow, that was a long introduction... Here’s the story, finally!

For work & pleasure

Ryan’s had a few trucks in the past, mostly Nissans, and recently bought a 2017 Ford Ranger XLT, stock standard out of the showroom. Ryan, Amy, his partner and two young kids, love Overlanding and were looking for a vehicle to get them out for their frequent weekends away. 

The list of modifications that Ryan has made, are impressive and look awesome! As well as what’s visible, he has also done a lot under the bonnet that I won’t even pretend to understand. All this “stuff” has added power and altered the gear ratios and various other things. Black magic to me! Anyway, invisible as it is, the truck sounds great and, I’m sure, performs brilliantly.

The things that I do recognise are a bullbar, winch, scrub bars, side steps and suspension all done by Ironman4x4. The winch is a 13,000lb Runva winch, which should have enough power to pull Ryan, and his friends, out of trouble.

Lighting is provided by Stedi and tyres are Mickey Thompson 33” Bajas. The Maxtrax and Darche Panorama rooftop tent all sit on a Rhino Rack Pioneer roof platform and make the truck look the part.

But wait, there’s more!

Well, “all that’s been done before”, I hear you say, so that about covers the standard modifications. It’s the rest which is really interesting.

Ryan runs his own business, Otago Electrical Services, and after having taken on a new member of staff, who required the van, Ryan needed his Ranger as a work vehicle. 

Having a standard tub and canopy, he decided that he needed some more storage and started thinking about getting something custom done with the back.

And so, he approached Phillip at Probuilt Fabrication, who, after only a couple of years in New Zealand, is establishing a well-deserved reputation for exceptional quality and workmanship. 

Being a totally custom build, the vehicle had to fulfill a few requirements. It had to provide storage for Ryan’s tools and work materials. His domain. It also had to be a functional Overlanding platform with a kitchen and plenty of storage for the family. Ryan and Amy’s domain. With all of the requirements in mind, Phillip set about coming up with plans to keep everyone happy. 

This is where the real fun started!!!! The whole unit is made from aluminium and is removable from the truck. It has legs, which can be used to self-support it and Ryan can simply unplug and drive away.

Everything INCLUDING the kitchen sink…

The tray itself has two storage boxes and a 60litre water tank.

The kitchen, which was designed with Amy’s help and patience, has a series of drawers and even a kitchen sink.

The 12V dual battery installation is a work of art! As I guess it should be, Ryan being an electrician and a self-confessed perfectionist. His work shows that! Based around a 120 amp hour battery fed by a Redarc BCDC charging unit, the system runs a 75 litre Waeco fridge freezer, 1800W invertor and has lights for Africa! 

Ryan installed this system during lockdown, while I had plenty of time to write. Eager to get information, my regular emails were mostly answered with, “I’m waiting for parts and not quite ready”. Such is the price of perfection!

…and a shower

At the rear of the unit is a Smart Tek shower, allowing the whole family to take a hot shower on the road. A true luxury! The original plan was for the canopy set-up to be finished in a Textura powdercoat, but as I mentioned, Ryan took the truck home just before lockdown and Raptor-coated the canopy himself. 

Seeming like a guy who can turn his hand to anything, I’m sure you’ll agree that he’s done an awesome job!

Ryan’s father is a local stock agent with plenty of contacts to private land in Central Otago so a trip out with him in his backyard is definitely on our agenda. 4x4Explorer.co.nz is all about local knowledge and people like Ryan are an awesome source of information that we provide our subscribers.

See it, like it, buy it!

The other big thing that I must pass on is Ryan’s next venture. Central Otago is a major centre for Overlanding and indeed two of our 4x4Explorer Adventures trips are based in Cromwell and Ranfurly.

Ryan has created “Get Off Grid”, a much needed 4WD outfitters in Cromwell. Opening in August, Ryan and his team will be able to provide you with all your 4WD needs. Over landing kit supply, roof tent supply, dual battery management systems. 

They will also provide a service where they project manage a complete build of a vehicle from the start to handover - a turn-key package. For more on his new enterprise you can email Ryan at ryan@getoffgrid.co.nz and tell him you read about his amazing Ranger rig in NZ4WD mag. It’d make his day!

As I said earlier, a handy guy to know in more ways than one!