Prepping a defender 130 for around the world..

[The Rover Shop]

Staying with this colour..I debated over colours to go..and different places in the world make most colours dangerous..white for UN..sand for military..black coz it's just too hot.. Etc etc..this colour should stand out best in the desert, the snow, the jungle etc etc.. In case we ever get lost or need to be rescued..lol.. Truck was originally white but it had a very good colour change many years ago..guessing it was done for the electricity board.??.. Was wrapped white vinyl when I got it and most of that came off..some parts they had painted white but mostly this orange..tangiers orange..??.. This is also the best colour for our black reflective material decals that are going on the truck..should look pretty cool..

 

[Juddy]

Thats a good way to hinge the carrier, very neat.

Did you stick with the standard springs and shocks?

 

[The Rover Shop]

No..I tried a set of terrafirma heavy duty expedition 130 shocks and springs and they are ****...back sagged beyond stock height..so I got on the horn to OZ and spoke to ARB direct, got the correct part numbers for what I needed and relayed that to Les at rovers north, ARB USA didn't have any idea what I was talking about and were trying to say to use all sorts of listings that were wrong...Les went above and beyond and called arb Australia and got them to air freight me the correct spring set in.. (Les and I went through this before on the defender 110 expedition build with arb USA not having the right listings on 20 mm HD rear springs.. But I installed the rear arb springs and they are perfect...will install the fronts shortly..and I am running fox racing long travel shocks with remote reservoirs.. RTE heavy duty castor corrected cranked control arms and some other select heavy duty parts I have collected over the years.. Will be having a set of front and rear high articulation heavy duty driveshafts custom built as soon as the height is settled.. Since the lift I now need to extend the sway bar frame mountings, it only has an inch of drop before the front driveshaft hits on the sway bar..

 

[Juddy]

Thats funny, as the quadtech is stupidly heavier than a standard tub, I went for the HD Terrafirma Standard ride springs, Rubbish in fact I think the standard ones were better, so out they came, in went Terrafiram 2 inch lift springs and Commercial HD shocks, and now its perfect.

 

[DividingCreek]

Looks good Shayne. Whats the finished product going to weigh ?

 

[The Rover Shop]

Not quite sure on the weight.. I think most of the heavy stuff is already in it so I may have it weighed on the next couple of days..I think it won't be much heavier than the 110 when I had it kitted..

 

[spikemd]

Impressive Shayne. 130s are so coveted in the states. Too bad you can't keep it here. Where are you resuming your trip from?

 

[The Rover Shop]

Wifey wants to see the Labrador coast..so I guess we will drive up the east coast from Florida and ship out of Baltimore area..wherever we can get the best roro rates from I to Europe..half tempted to go back to Alaska,.

 

[vasily]

Nice build dude. Thumbs up.

 

[The Rover Shop]

So I've been toying with the idea of a pop top roof tent on the front as well as the bundu tent, sat one on there to give it a test... Truck is too tall for the annex etc to reach the ground properly and I just don't think it's going to be used much.. Looked like a rolling condo with everything deployed..

 

[The Rover Shop]

Love the trasharoo but one of its flaws was its sagging base if you have something heavy in it... So I made a nice big bent aluminum insert into it..this also allows me to bolt it through its centre to the spare wheel carrier.. Now I can keep firewood in there during wet weather and it stays dry.. The last ones all seemed to rip at the straps or they droop off the tyre..

 

[The Rover Shop]

On the left spare tyre is our front runner brai grill... These things are great..

 

[The Rover Shop]

Nice big unused space on the back of the spare tyre carrier seems perfect for the table that I made in Alaska. .. (See the camel 110 build thread in the stickies section).. for my other 110 camel build.. (This one is removable and has legs..kinda our dining room table..lol..) and then next to it is one that is hinged to drop down once the carrier is opened..

 

[The Rover Shop]

And above the spare Tyres I had left enough room for the maxtraxx to be fitted..

With the tyre carrier gate closed you don't even know there are doors there.. A little added security..

 

[The Rover Shop]

Tyre carrier gate is locked in the open position at 90 degrees by this setup.. Will add 45 degrees as well as 180... Makes a Great Wall for a windbreak also..


Once I have everything working the way I want it I will be trimming the unnecessary material off and finishing welds etc... And then it all gets pulled apart and the whole truck gets painted and the roll cage and framework gets painted or rhino lined..