My Overland preparation

[LUKEY]

hello people, relatively new here so hello :ylsmoke:

Thought Id start a Thread up on here of the Rolling restoration/preparation of my truck, Hoping to hit Europe next summer, then is Funds allow morrocco the following year. After morrocco who know, id really like to hit Africa but we shall see, I may need to upgrade to a slightly larger vehicle but we shall see :sombrero:

So here's how I bought it

Fisrt thing to do was fit Windows in the back, far to dark in there! Also because of the London low emission Zone I had to convert it to an estate to be compliant

All Done

Know to modifications, Everything as you will see was done on a budget, as Im a poor student, once cash comes in things will be replaced with better quality items

First Mod was a Wading Blanket, Nice and Simple and I used an old Gazebo side and Cut to fit, Hopefully this summer a Mk2 Model wading blanket will appear lol

Then I got myself a Roofrack

Added front A Bar and Spots although this will be replaced with a more substancial Bull bar incase I hit any cows :Wow1::Wow1::wings::wings:

Cant have too many spotlights can you lol

 

[ersatzknarf]

I like the addition of the rubber ducky :sombrero:

 

[LUKEY]

I then took out the heater as it wasnt working

Restored the Motor which was solid with rust, re fitted and its know toasty warm, well as warn as a Landrover can get lol

Out in the Snow last year

Then Made up some jerry Can Holder's, these will be relocated and Bettered when I eventually get myself a roof tent :camping:

Then Onto rear storage, This was designed so I can keep the seats in the back round town for carrying mates etc, the wood was got off a building site skip so it cost me nothing lol

Finished box is in the background

Replaced the front seats as I feel the Original Defender ones are a lot more comfortable :Wow1::Wow1:

seatbox ready to come out

All gone, ready to be welded up, then the battery tray to be modified for dual battery's

Onto the Back door, decided to use whiteboard fibre board as 1 it was free, 2 its strong and 3 its wipe clean for those greasy bacon sarnies :wings:

Start of the cooker mount

 

[LUKEY]

Out and About

Then decided to give it a service

2nd Auxiliary Battery

Got Myself a Snorkel :wings:

Then Decided to Extend it so I could cross the Channel to france cheaper than getting the ferry :victory:

Only Kitting about the extension, Just for a test fit of the bottom as I have had to make it as I cant find a Rear mount anywhere

Then got myself a trailer, watch this space for this as I intend to Lift it up and make a little overlanding trailer out of it :sombrero:

So thats where the Mods stop at the moment

Over the summer the Jobs and Mods to do

- Strip rear axle, new brakes and new oils and seals
- UJ on props
- Weld the chassis up and rust proof
- Repaint the interior in its new colour
- Rubber it all out so nice and maintenance free :sombrero:
- New TD5 Dash with CD Player and all Spots Wired in
- Fit and wire in Twin Battery's
- Make up Cubby box ( got the wood) and fit CB radio, Inverter
- Fit Map Light
- Fit Laptop Mount
- Fit Snorkel
- Repaint the outside
- Fit Body Sliders plus Custom Table you have yet to see
- Finish off and Fit Awning for front and Side
- Fit new Tyres
- Find Bullbar and fit
- Start on even more rear Storage
- SOUND PROOFING? Hang on I cant hear you :wings::bike_rider:

So Just a small List to be getting on with lol

Watch out for more updates :ylsmoke::ylsmoke:

Luke

 

[washington taco]

Very cool defender!!

 

[BorntoVenture]

Very nice build, I can't wait to see more!

 

[Gren_T]

Hi Luke,

nice project good to see someone doing it themselves for a change.:clapsmile



Bonne Route

Gren

 

[Snagger]

Smart work on a budget, Luke. For expedition work, make sure you have the viscous fan fitted - lots of people remove them from Tdis, and they're idiots.

Regarding the fuel cans on the roof - they're illegal in Italy and Switzerland and other countries may have similar rules, so you might want to think more along the lines of adding a fuel tank under the passenger seat (relocating the batteries) or a TD5/TDCI rear mounted fuel tank.

You might also want to reconsider driving to north Africa, including Morocco, in the near future, given the "Arab Spring" revolutions - Morocco is much more stable than its neighbours, but most of the companies that do guided trips have cancelled their Moroccan as well as their Tunisian, Libyan and Egyptian trips. There are terrorist cells in Morocco, as evidenced by the bomb in Marrakesh. It's all a personal judgement, though - there are terrorists in the UK too, after all.

The trailer is very useful for road and industrial uses at that height, so rather than mess about with it, why not buy a Sankey - they're already designed to be attached to the back of a LR, have bigger capacity for a similar footprint, are incredibly tough and are good off road. The going rate for a Sankey is between £150 and £250, so by the time you factor in the time, materials, welding rods, grinding discs and value of the current trailer, the Sankey will be cheaper too.

 

[LUKEY]

Cheers for the Kind Comments, Ive had a change of Mind at the moment, Ive decided I am going to Build the 90 into a TD5 with twisted performance/ Engine tuning for better MPG etc Keep it fairly standard and have it as my everyday motor, then Build up a 110 for overlanding as Ill only have to do in 5/6 years time when Kids come along so no point piling in the cash on the 90.lol

For the time being I will be using the 90 for europe trips with me GF as we can fit everything in there with ease :sombrero::sombrero:

As for the Sankey, I will look into them, I did think it was a good idea

 

[LUKEY]

Well My Idea's have changed once again following a trip to the Billing Landrover show :wings::wings:

I plan to keep the the 200tdi, Fit a larger intercooler, and perhaps bigger Turbo

- Fit HD Springs and Shocks
- Twin spare wheel carrier for the back
- Fit a second tank using a TD5 90 tank :victory:
- Build up the roofrack, this will carry fuel and water, roof tent and awning etc
- New Bulkhead fitted with TD5 dash, and a double Din all singing all dancing sat nav etc radio
-Full respray
- Disco rear axle fully rebuilt
- Interior Storage, I have some very very good ideas for this :victory:

 

[Nonimouse]

Luke

In the UK and Europe your 90 has a maximum roof load of 100kgs.

In the real world Overlanders NEVER carry fuel or water on the roof. Even a 'Cruiser or a Patrol will fall over if you do that. Nor do you carry a complete spare up there - because you need to get it down...

A VNT or a larger Garrett Turbo on a 200Tdi finds the week points fast. A VNT is about £1,100 and a bigger Garret is about £400. It's a Land Rover not a sports car and unless you do the daft thing of lobbing on 35's and not changing the gearing it's pointless. Just put a +50% cooler on, lose the centre box and tweek the pump diaphram up to 3 o'clock. Maybe use a 1.22 T box for better cruising

Don't fit HD shocks - just fit decent gas shocks. Don't fit HD springs unless they are OE and then go for progressives. YOu only need non OE HD springs if you carry the kitchen sink!

Fitting the TD5 tank is a PITA. Just go to Safari Equip and buy and rear reserve tank

Disco axle? No. Fit a 4 pinion not a 2 pinion 24spline

A word form the world weary. Billing is NOT a guide to how to do it properly. It's a show. Most of the Overland prep companies know next to nothing about prep. They just sell stuff with big mark ups. Some even do the work for lots of bucks.

Talk to Paul at OEC or Matt at Overland Auto Engineering. The guys at OffRoadPreparation.com really know their stuff but be patient on a reply as one of their people was killed in a crash about two weeks ago..

If you are up at LRMax at Stoneleigh I'll happily go through any ideas you have with you, over a beer of course

Forgive my curtness by the way - I'm tired

 

[Snagger]

Luke

In the UK and Europe your 90 has a maximum roof load of 100kgs.

In the real world Overlanders NEVER carry fuel or water on the roof. Even a 'Cruiser or a Patrol will fall over if you do that. Nor do you carry a complete spare up there - because you need to get it down...

A word form the world weary. Billing is NOT a guide to how to do it properly. It's a show. Most of the Overland prep companies know next to nothing about prep. They just sell stuff with big mark ups. Some even do the work for lots of bucks.

Talk to Paul at OEC or Matt at Overland Auto Engineering. The guys at OffRoadPreparation.com really know their stuff but be patient on a reply as one of their people was killed in a crash about two weeks ago..

If you are up at LRMax at Stoneleigh I'll happily go through any ideas you have with you, over a beer of course

Forgive my curtness by the way - I'm tired

Isn't that the truth - on my Alpine trip, most of us weren't well configured. I had my ground tent stowed on the roof rack and it was a fairly heavy Coleman type which really didn't help with body roll or packing/unpacking. We soon relocated it but continued to suffer body roll as the 109 had no anti-roll bar, which I think is a real necessity on an expedition vehicle on winding roads like in the Alps.

One of the Defenders had twin RTTs up top and was rolling similarly on the corners despite having wheel spacers and anti-roll bars. The other Defender (a double cab) had been modified for the trip with an open cheque book by Scrapiron Racing, who fitted a roof rack with a single RTT, a spare wheel, twin jerrycan holder, 60l water tank, a big suspension lift (I mean, why, on an expedition vehicle?), twin dampers throughout, a big double battery unit in the rear load bay and several other mods that were more of a hindrance than a help, plus the huge Scrapiron Racing stickers down the side.

I think we all learnt a lot of that trip. There was no effort by those so-called professionals to keep the weight or its CoG down or fit useful accessories in sensible or even legal positions on that double cab and, despite all the other vehicles being set up by first-time amateurs, they were all more stable, accessible and (perhaps most importantly in some countries) legal. I keep seeing the same mistakes on so many of the big show stands and magazine adverts. Most of the expedition specialists seem to be selling very expensive bling rather than useful kit - much of the best stuff is extremely hum-drum and cheap, but there's no profit in that so they sell an image and expensive crap. RTTs are a prime example - they have their advantages and they're justified in some circumstances, but they're heavy, their position affects CoG and fuel consumption, they use up a vast amount of storage space and most take a fair while to set up or fold away. They also prevent day excursions from "base camp" - you have to pack everything up unless you have another ground tent to leave stuff in, but they are marketed as the only way to camp on an expedition (I rate quick ground tents like the Quechas more highly - very cheap, seconds to put up and put away, very light and compact, cope well with wind and heavy rain and can be left set up while you go out for the day). Alloy roof racks are another example - they bang on about how much better they are than the old steel ones, but both carry the same amount ( because of the vehicle limit) and weigh about the same, but the steel ones are a damned sight cheaper and are more easily repaired or modified if necessary. The latest "Must have" is the Foxwing awning, which while it looks cool is a pain to set up and is easily damaged, somewhat missing the point on a real expedition vehicle...

 

[Nonimouse]

I'm a great fan of the Quechua. At the moment I have a 3man XL. It has a small porch which is works well in bad weather. It's my second - the other was stolen; and has stood up to some pretty bad weather as well as a large number of camps. For two people it's excellent. There is a new 4man XL out now as well as the rather clever base camp...

With a decent roof tent retailing at silly money, £80 for a 3man and £114 for a 4man make sit a no brainer.

Luke you need to have a look at Tom Shepperd's book on vehicle prep - Vehicle Dependant Expedition Guide http://www.desertwinds.co.uk/expedition_guide.html
It's the best book on how to prep an overland vehicle. Okay it's not perfect but it's damn close. At one time Tom used a 300Tdi 90 as his main form of travel and there are a number of pictures and diagrams of it in the book as well as a good description.

 

[Snagger]

Well My Idea's have changed once again following a trip to the Billing Landrover show :wings::wings:

I plan to keep the the 200tdi, Fit a larger intercooler, and perhaps bigger Turbo

- Fit HD Springs and Shocks
- Twin spare wheel carrier for the back
- Fit a second tank using a TD5 90 tank :victory:
- Build up the roofrack, this will carry fuel and water, roof tent and awning etc
- New Bulkhead fitted with TD5 dash, and a double Din all singing all dancing sat nav etc radio
-Full respray
- Disco rear axle fully rebuilt
- Interior Storage, I have some very very good ideas for this :victory:

Nonimous is right - HD springs will give it a very firm ride if you overdo it. I agree that HD dampers would be too much and that decent gas dampers would be better.

I think a twin rear spare carrier is a bad idea - it'll be expensive and will be very, very heavy, making weight distribution of the vehicle poor and badly affecting its handling on road and its ability off road. It'd also prevent the opening of the rear door until both wheels had been swung out, so will continually get in the way. If you want two spares, do what LR found to be the best solution and stick the second on the bonnet - it does reduce visibility a little, but not enough to be any kind of a problem, and keep the first on the back door. For what it's worth, my back door is from an '86 90 and has carried a wheel the same type and weight as yours for the last decade and over 100,000 miles, plus whatever it did when on its original vehicle, and even after all the thumping from the aggressive local speed bumps and the Alpine tracks, the frame has no cracks or breaks. I think swing away carriers are just one more example of unnecessary bling regarded by many fools as "essential" (I have also seen a Mantec carrier cause the failure of a D90's rear door, where the original carrier would not have cause a problem).

The roof rack should not be used for fuel storage at all - it's unsafe and is illegal in many countries. Water is also better stored low as it is surprisingly heavy in large quantities (it's what constitutes most of a person's mass). RTTs - unless you plan on camping in boggy conditions or the deserts, don't bother.

TD5 dash - why bother if yours already works? If you need to fit extra radios, instruments or switches, a Mudstuff console is cheaper and easier and allows greater choice of what to fit and where.

Rear axle - as Noni said before, go for the 4-pin unit from a later Defender, not a Discovery unit.

Interior stowage - you need to be thorough in planning because a 90 doesn't have a huge capacity. A drawer system could be a good idea as it would allow access to recovery equipment and tools/parts (which are heavy and so should be stowed as low as possible) without unpacking the vehicle. I quite like the idea of the outward opening lockers in place of the rear windows - they would make stowage of cooking and camping kit very practical. The main problem with those is that any chests beneath them on the wheel arches would probably have to be front-opening, not top opening, limiting choice. I'd be interested to see your plans as you clearly have something up your sleeve...

 

[Snagger]

I'm a great fan of the Quechua. At the moment I have a 3man XL. It has a small porch which is works well in bad weather. It's my second - the other was stolen; and has stood up to some pretty bad weather as well as a large number of camps. For two people it's excellent. There is a new 4man XL out now as well as the rather clever base camp...

With a decent roof tent retailing at silly money, £80 for a 3man and £114 for a 4man make sit a no brainer.

Luke you need to have a look at Tom Shepperd's book on vehicle prep - Vehicle Dependant Expedition Guide http://www.desertwinds.co.uk/expedition_guide.html
It's the best book on how to prep an overland vehicle. Okay it's not perfect but it's damn close. At one time Tom used a 300Tdi 90 as his main form of travel and there are a number of pictures and diagrams of it in the book as well as a good description.

My wife and I had a sense of humour failure towards the end of out trip - the Coleman was not only heavy but took an hour to put up or stow, which is bad for a trip where you move every night or two. We bought a couple of Quecha "2-seconds Air" tents, so named because they erect literally in two seconds and have the additional air vents on the sides. One is a 2-man and the other a 3-man (so we could stow bags in there too) and cost about £40 each from Decathalon.

For the next camping holiday, we bought a Quecha 4-man tent with the same configuration and roughly the same size as the Coleman (2x2-man berths with a 6x6' centre room for eating/stowage. It goes up in under a minute, pack away in just over two minutes (less than half the time of a RTT), stood up to a massive thunderstorm perfectly, weighs only 8kg (as opposed to a RTT's 55+) takes very little space and even comes with the same type of day-sack with twin shoulder straps as the smaller tents. At £140, it cost 1/10 the price of a small RTT... It's a no-brainer, really, isn't it?

Personally, I'd only put an RTT on a trailer, so you can keep the low CoG and keep a base camp while you head out in the car for the day. I'd also build my own trailer from a Sankey, if I thought I needed one - have you seen the prices of the pre-prepared ones? Some go for over £26000! You could by three Camel Trophy vehicles for that!