Want a canopy, a roof rack, tray liner, hard lid, bonnet guard, monsoon or even an Ironman bullbar or three? Then Airplex Industries in Auckland’s Otahuhu is the place to go.

 “We like to think of ourselves as a one-stop shop if you have a ute and you want an accessory for it,” says company General Manager Simon Judd. “What we  have found is that; 1) people like to be able to see a product – preferably fitted either to a vehicle like their own or similar, and 2) often they will come out here looking for one thing, then find out when they get that they see something else they like or need.”

To that end the company always has at least two – and currently three – fully accessorised double cab turbo diesel utes on its fleet which double as mobile showrooms.

Currently the three are one of the new T60s from LDV, a Ford Ranger Wildtrak, and one of the range-topping V6-engined Volkswagen Amaroks.

Each is set up slightly differently to showcase different accessory sets.

LDV T60

The T60 is one of the ‘new kids’ on the Double-Cab, Turbo-Diesel (DC/TD) ute block. To kick this particular build off Simon and the team put together a set of Airplex-brand bonnet guards, headlight covers and four-piece slim weather shields.

They then added a set of 20-inch alloy wheels from BGW and Delium Terra Frontier 265/50 x 20 tyres, an Airplex Sport Bar (in this case in a powder-coated black finish) and aluminium hard lid rated to carry up to 200kgs, made by Ashburton-company (Airplex is the North Island distributor) Smiths Lids.

Beneath the hard lid is a bed liner (part of a range of similar products available form Airplex) and  a bed extender designed and built to Airplex’s specs in the US. Unlike similar items the Airplex bed extender has been specifically for utes available here meaning it fits perfectly under a tonneau, SteelTop® Canopy or hard lid.

It can be flipped backwards so that you can leave the tailgate down safe in the knowledge that items won’t slip backwards and fall out, or flipped forward with the tailgate up so that you can secure fragile or awkwardly-shaped items (like a gas bottle, for instance) between. When it’s not required it can be easily removed.

Setting the tough urban/adventurer look off, meanwhile, is a set of Rhino Rack ‘Tradie’ roof rack platforms, a pull-out Rhino Rack Sun Seeker awning (on the left-hand-side), and a Big Red LED light bar

Finally Simon did a little ‘personalising’ to enhance  the ‘black-on-black’ look that is popular at the moment. Look - really - closely at the photo and focus on the grille and side mirrors. Both are chrome plated ex-factory, but have been treated to a little subtle ‘blacking out’ via matt black wrapping vinyl.

Ford Ranger Wildtrak

The sleek black Wildtrak is the company’s current ‘canopy’ demonstrator.

The canopy is one of the top-of-the-line SteelTop models (this one is the ‘Lifestyle SUV’ model) Airplex imports and sells. Manufactured - as the name suggests - in pressed steel (rather than the fibreglass most others are made of) the canopies are colour-matched to factory paint codes and come complete with a lined interior, central locking (using the factory remote no less), interior light, rear window heater demister, and roof rails as standard.

The stance of the Ranger has benefitted from both a lift kit, installed by Papakura Auto Electrical, and a set of 20 inch alloys wrapped in Nitto Trail Gripper 2665/50 x 20 tyres.

The Ranger has also been fitted with an Airplex bonnet guard, two Big Red LED Light Bars and as well as a pair of LED-equipped headlight surrounds, a Rugged Liner tray liner, six mm thick non slip rubber tray pad and a tailgate rail cap.

Also mounted to the Ranger is one of the ingenious electric side steps (which drops down when you open a door to help you climb up an in, then automatically retracts once you are safely) and drop-down T-step (left-rear)  to help you get access to the tray, particularly if you your ute is lifted.

Rounding out the Ranger fit out is a Rhino Rack stealth bars mounted to the factory roof rails, a set of aftermarket tail lights and a  Airplex-supplied tow bars   plus plug-and-play towbar wiring harnesses.

VW Amarok

While the VW Amarok looked – at first glance anyway – the least ‘accessorised’ it was more it was the one with the most subtle set of mods.

Like the other two it is equipped with an Airplex bonnet guard, Airplex headlight guards and  a full Monsoon weathershield on the driver’s and passenger’s door.

The side-steps look ‘factory’ but are actually a special ‘luxury’ step the company imports exclusively for the Amarok, as well as a two-way Hard Lid (which lifts and locks into place if you need to carry something which doesn’t fit if the lid is closed), a Heavy Duty tray Bed Slide (which you can load then push in for transport then pull out again at your destination to unload) rated to 250kgs) and finally a Prolift tailgate assist.

To see for yourself how Airplex can help you check out the website at www.airplex.co.nz or simple turn up on a weekday at the company’s large showroom at 21 Saleyards Rd Otahuhu. There they have examples of virtually every product on display. They also have a full range of bars and drawer systems available thanks to a new distribution agreement with Ironman 4x4.

To read every story in the July 2018 issue of NZ4WD go to Zinio.com (June 15) or purchase your own hard copy at the Adrenalin store.