Aiden bids fond farewell to his cult 4WD

It’s been quite a journey. Tauranga’s Aiden Richardson has ridden the crest of the Jimny cult wave, building ‘Lil Rig’ from a base road Jimny into an all-seasons, all reasons adventure wagon.
It all started with a snorkel, but it was never going to end there.
After the snorkel came strong and good-looking black steel wheels fitted with Maxxis A/T 225/70x15 tyres.
Tauranga’s Wrap Dept put a black vinyl roof on the truck, and then Aiden added a roof tray, following that with a rear door ladder for improved access to gear stashed up top.
Camping adventures called for an RMR awning and a tent, along with a cool shower tent that got tested out over the summer.
Now it gets serious: rock sliders down each side provide a step-up into the cab and protect from stones and brush flung up in tough going. The Jimny’s paint has a protective coating that shrugs off bracken and blackberry. The headlights and front indicators have brush protectors to elbow away pesky sticks.
Inside, he’s fitted a UHF radio for communicating with other owners when they go out in convoy (see NZ4WD December, ‘On safari in the Forgotten World’) with seat covers and rubber mats to protect from the worst of the mud and sand he encounters.
In the back a full built-in shelving setup holds all sorts of ‘roughing it’ essentials – even a folding full-size picnic table.
There are RGB Stedi rock lights in