My Defender 110 build up for South American travels

[ExploringNH]

Just as I was finishing up work on the roof platform, the rain started. I held out for as long as I could, but I wasn't able to finish.

The last two boards are just set in place to give an idea of the profile. I still have some finish work to do, but I think it is looking pretty good. I am not a huge fan of the ends of the wood, so I will do something to make it look a little nicer. I am thinking of just adding a 3/4"x3/4" strip of wood to the underside of the platform, all the way around. Routing the edges might also do the trick, so I will try that first.

 

[Christian P.]

Nice!

When is your departure date? you should not have any trouble finding another partner.

 

[ExploringNH]

Nice!

When is your departure date? you should not have any trouble finding another partner.

I have a lot of flexibility in my time-frame for leaving, but right now, the goal is roughly August 1st. I would prefer to leave sooner, but a lot of it depends on how quickly I can get the truck done. In all honesty, the truck is probably ready to go as it sits right now. Everything else is just "nice to have", not "need to have".

 

[Christian P.]

I have a lot of flexibility in my time-frame for leaving, but right now, the goal is roughly August 1st. I would prefer to leave sooner, but a lot of it depends on how quickly I can get the truck done. In all honesty, the truck is probably ready to go as it sits right now. Everything else is just "nice to have", not "need to have".

this August, in 1 month? Try posting something here (for a partner) or also on the Hubb.

How fast do you want to travel? I would perhaps have a partner for you, but you would need to bring him to Panama by mid-August...

 

[ExploringNH]

this August, in 1 month? Try posting something here (for a partner) or also on the Hubb.

How fast do you want to travel? I would perhaps have a partner for you, but you would need to bring him to Panama by mid-August...

Yes, this August.

To Panama will be, ideally, as fast as possible. Having a deadline of mid August would be very fast, but do-able, especially if we were able to leave a little bit sooner. Most of my friends that would be interested in going want to take a slower pace through Central America. I want to get to Panama quickly so that I can take more time in South America.

 

[hplp]

Heya,

I was just wondering how are you finding those Chinese HID spot lights? I have seen similar on ebay and wasnt sure what to think of them.....

Have you a 200tdi under the bonnet?

H

 

[ExploringNH]

Heya,

I was just wondering how are you finding those Chinese HID spot lights? I have seen similar on ebay and wasnt sure what to think of them.....

Have you a 200tdi under the bonnet?

H

I have yet to use the HIDs at night. The ones I have are sold and branded by Rugged Ridge. I will report back once I have some over the road time with them.

I do have a 200tdi.

 

[hplp]

is that 62 mph flat out? You must have the 1.6 transfer box.

My 90 tdi with discovery transfer box would do 95 without too much effort.

H

 

[ExploringNH]

is that 62 mph flat out? You must have the 1.6 transfer box.

My 90 tdi with discovery transfer box would do 95 without too much effort.

H

Yup. 1.6 gears. It will do faster, but on the initial drive home there were some strange noises and vibrations starting at 63mph. I never really looked into what was causing it, but I replaced a ton of stuff just in normal maintenance and the problem disappeared. Now it will comfortably cruise at 70mph and slightly beyond. It is loud at that speed, but everything feels solid. I am sure that it would go faster than that, but without a tach, I don't want to push it too far. I actually have a nice VDO tach to put in it, but I haven't gotten around to it yet. It isn't a high priority for me.

I have an R380 and a 1.4 gear set in the garage right now. The plan is to install them once I return from the trip. The LT77 is recently rebuilt and works great, so I don't want to mess with it.

 

[haven]

Good luck finding a trip partner in time! 55 mph will be plenty fast enough for any road other than the Interstate highways in USA.

Pet peeve #11: There is no "u" in the name of that country east of Panama.

 

[ExploringNH]

Good luck finding a trip partner in time! 55 mph will be plenty fast enough for any road other than the Interstate highways in USA.

Pet peeve #11: There is no "u" in the name of that country east of Panama.

Haha. You are correct. I had always assumed that it was a US vs. rest of world spelling difference. Turns out that Columbia is just used incorrectly...a lot. I blame it on all of the other things that are spelled with a "u". Columbia sportswear, Washington DC, the space shuttle, etc.

From now on, I promise to try and spell it correctly. ColOmbia. :sombrero:

I also am happy about 55mph being a top speed. It is a lot quieter there than it is at 70mph.

 

[hplp]

hey,

You could always change just the transferbox leaving the origional lt77 in place.

BTW I like your inside layout, very smart!

H

 

[ExploringNH]

I finished up the roof platform. I spent way too much time on this thing. I could have used two 2x4s and had it work just as well. All I needed was something to spread the load of my spare tire over all three roof ribs instead of just one. Oh well, I think it came out pretty good and I'm glad I spent time on it. I really like the way it turned out and this was something I have always wanted to do. I would love to have enough money and time to build an entire roof rack out of this.

I felt like I should have been doing a drill review for a magazine. "All three drills performed well throughout the test. The Dewalt scored +2 points over the other contenders because of it's three available speeds. The competitors products only brought two speeds to the table. The Bosch was the overall winner with it's advanced Lithium Ion battery and super light weight."

Mounting the side rail. I've been told this is called "bread-boarding". it sounds good, so I'll take their word for it. This is my first wood working project that I have ever done without any help, besides the initial milling of the boards. I am pretty proud of myself.

All finished up.

The platform is screwed from inside the truck, through the ribs that run down the roof. I drilled in between the spot welds that attach the rib to the actual roof sheetmetal. There are fourteen 1-1/4" screws in total holding the platform down. I didn't need that many, but I really wanted to spread the load out over a large area.

The tire is mounted with lag bolts through the center rib on the roof. There is plenty of strength in just the rib to hold it in place, but the addition of the platform really holds it all together.

 

[gm13]

Coming together nicely. I was talking to Adam about that 110, glad to see it made it to a good home. Good luck with final prep and co-pilot search. Looking forward to following your adventure.

 

[Dmljohnson]

I love it..been following your progress...good luck