Why There Are Ute Cabs in Our Workshop...

We bought the rear end of five utes. Here's why.

If you follow us on Facebook, you might have seen our post the other week putting out a call for vehicle cuts. The response was great — thank you to everyone who shared it and reached out. We wanted to give a proper explanation of what we're actually building and why we went about it this way.

The Problem We're Solving

If you've got a dual cab ute and you want a second battery — whether you're a tradie running tools, or heading off-road and camping — your options for where to put it are pretty ordinary.

Under the bonnet might work for a lead-acid auxiliary, but it's not suitable for LiFePO4 — the heat generated by the engine bay is too much for lithium chemistry and will degrade the cells over time. In the tray or canopy means running cables and losing space. Behind the seat? That space exists on pretty much every dual cab out there, but nobody has properly designed a power system that fits neatly into it with a clean, easy mounting solution.

That's the gap we're going after.

Over the coming months we're designing and building a range of behind-seat power systems for popular Kiwi utes — purpose-built to sit in that rear cab space without eating into your tray, your canopy, or your legroom. Built around our slimline LiFePO4 battery packs, and designed so that installation is actually straightforward.

The target is tradies who want power on the job, and adventurers who want it off the beaten track — without sacrificing the cab space they actually use.

Why We Bought Actual Ute Sections

We could have pulled dimensions off the internet. We could have guessed. We didn't want to do either.

The only way to design a mounting system that actually works — and actually fits — is to have the real thing in front of you. So we went out and sourced rear cab cuts from wrecked vehicles. We now have the rear quarter of five different utes sitting in our workshop in Motueka, rear seatbacks and all, so we can test real fitment and design mounting solutions that work in the actual space.

It's the most hands-on, least glamorous approach. It's also the right one.

Thanks to:

We sourced our first two cuts through Toycomm 4x4 in Christchurch — a 2014 Ford Ranger and a 2014 dual cab VDJ79 Land Cruiser — and picked up a Next Gen Ranger cut through Harleston Auto, also in Christchurch. Good people to deal with, and we're grateful they could help us out.

What Models We're Working With First

We're starting with the most common dual cabs on NZ roads:

• PX2 / PX3 Ford Ranger

• Next Gen Ford Ranger

• KUN / GUN Toyota Hilux

• VDJ79 Series Land Cruiser

Depending on how the first rollout goes, we're looking at expanding to the Isuzu D-Max, Nissan Navara, and Mitsubishi Triton as well.

If you drive one of these and you've ever wished there was a cleaner way to run a second battery, this is built for you.

One More Use for the Cuts

Once the mounting solutions are designed and built, these ute sections aren't going into the bin. We're planning to use them as display setups at shows around the country — so people can see exactly how the system fits in their specific model, in person, before they buy. No guessing, no "it should fit." Come and see it.

Still Looking for More Cuts

We're still on the hunt for late model dual cab cuts — If you know someone wrecking a late model ute and the cab is heading to the scrapper, we'd love to know about it. We need the rear seat back included in the cut so we can get the fitment right.

Flick us a message at sales@nzlithium.co.nz and we'll take it from there.

NZ Lithium is based in Motueka, Nelson-Tasman. We design and hand-assemble LiFePO4 battery packs for off-grid, marine, caravan, and vehicle applications — and now, apparently, we collect ute sections. Watch this space.