Thread: Our Defender Td4 Expedition Conversion

Looks like a well thought out conversion I'd certainly get the winch fitted and an awning to create a shade space, it gets very hot over here.

Happy travels and maybe see you if you get over to the Brisbane side

Hi Mike,

Nice to start off with a new vehicle to build on. Lucky you No struggling to pull apart rusty things or decide if this or that part needs replacing.

For Lockers: - ARB have an excellent reputation out here (of course!), but you might also want to look at TruTrak diffs. They are a lot cheaper and have no user intervention (i.e. always "on") and because you have Traction Control they will work beautifully.

For winches: Nice to have if your other option is digging, but I think I've used mine more for recovering other people or pulling things around the farm than getting myself out of a bog. They are extra weight on the suspension & etc, but when you need it, you're SO pleased you've got one.

For Sidebars: Not really a 'must have', but I put some on my 130 for a bit of additional side impact protection & winching point. Mrs Spud has short legs, and they help a bit with getting in and out. I also made mine in a "closed" design to hold compressed air, so I have about 10 litres of air held in them.

Wheels: We went for Wolf rims in the tubeless design. Still carry a couple of tubes, but with a puncture repair kit you can fix a tubeless puncture in a few minutes. I did one on Saturday, and it was all patched in about 15 minutes. For size, the standard 235/85R16 are fine (I think!) and this is what I have on my 110 (Pirelli Scorpion ATRs - BRILLIANT). We also run the older style 7.50R16 tyres on our 130 (Michelin XZLs - tough as) and everyone will say they are too skinny but personally I am not a great fan of fat tyres. You will be able to get either size here pretty easily. 255's are also popular and if you do a search here on AULRO you'll find quite a few threads on this size (BFG KM2's seem to be a regular suggestion).


Cheers
David

step 1 sounds like a nice fit out

Awaning as jerryd mention an awaning would be worth its weight in gold......i see you have mentioned a foxwing if dollars are not an issue i would opt for a hannibal as they are self supporting meaning you dont have to worry about pole and pegs = less stuff to do at the end and beginning of each day

Long range fuel spot on you will enjoy the range you will get out it

Driving lights fro touring i reckon two on the front bar is sufficant, i'm just not into additional lights hanging off roof rack, travelling with two small kids i doubt you will be travelling at night very often

Diff locks i have front and rear ARB but have never used them while touring although i is nice having them there just incase.....i have no experience with auto lockers so cannot comment

Side bars good idea, i must get around to welding on some steps (tree sliders) i call them steps as this is what they will be in trouring mode as you wont come across too many trees that are going to bother you, maybe up the cape but thats its

Winch i have one fitted and used just the once while touring......so i guess it has been handy although i have had it fitted for six years, a hand winch might take up too much space in your setup

Tyres/Tubes i run disco steel rims, tubless with 235/85/16's fitted. 235/85/16's are pretty much available anywhere. the tyre repair kit that spudboy has mention is a must as well

Spare wheel carrier make sure its good quality...........

when is your start date??

G'day Mike and welcome to the forum.

From your description it sounds like you'll have a very well equipped touring Landy.
One thing you'll need to keep in mind though is that every addition/accessory adds weight to the vehicle and excessive weight can result in trouble. So, keeping that in mind, I'd offer the following suggestions regarding your Open Questions:

- ARB 100% Diff(s)? Necessary? Rear only or rear and front?
Nice to have and allows slower running through some tough spots with resultant less chance of damage or breakages - I'd suggest only rear 'diff lock is necessary.


- Side bars / rock and treesliders? Necessary? Rockslider only or rock and treesliders? Not really necessary for general touring and adds considerable weight. Mostly needed for 'hard core' 4WDing. Not recommended.

- Winch? Necessary? As you will be travelling alone for a lot of the time I would recommend fitting a winch, and carrying some nylon winch extension straps.

- Which wheels (tubed vs. tubeless, size, brand (i.e. which is the most common one in Oz?)) on which rims?
The wheels you mention are quite satisfactory however the 255x85R16 tyres will raise your gearing slightly and I would therefore recommend sticking with the standard 235x85 R16 tyres. these are more readily available throughout Australia. I actually have a friend with a 2010 Defender who found that the slightly increased gearing from the 255's meant that the vehicle would not cruise comfortably in 6th gear and he found it necessary to change down to 5th gear whereas with the 235's he was able to cruise comfortably in 6th gear.

We would be very happy to get some comments / advice on our plans and probably some answers for our open questions.

With 12 months touring and the vast distances involved, you'll need to plan your route carefully taking into consideration the climate. For example, you'll need to avoid the 'top end' during the wet and in fact IMHO the best time to visit the 'top end' is around May to August. I'd also suggest that you consider the Victorian high country and some time in Tasmania - a beautiful area with plenty of variety but without the vast distances encountered in most of Australia.


Anyway keep in touch, especially as your plans develop and when you arrive 'down under' there are plenty of us who would enjoy meeting you and showing you around.

This website has plenty of information and answers to many of your questions.

Beadell Tours - Desert Tours & Expeditions

Looking forward to seeing you over here.

don't under estimate how good the traction control is.
I would say for touring the lockers (100% diffs) might not be necessary.
but that depends on how adventures you plan on being and how often.
(I would get some more advice on this one though)

235/85's are more common out in the sticks (outback) and will keep your fuel consumption down a little also.

and i'll give a thumbs up for the foxwing awning. it will give you a little more coverage then most awnings (might be handy with 4 of you) and is very easy to set up. but looking at how the pop top roof works it might be a pain when it comes to getting into bed...

apart from that keep us posted on here on your progress!
I know lots of us would love to see the build of a lovely expedition landy.

good luck with your build and future adventure =]

Leave the MT's at home the rocks will have them for breakfast AT's will be fine (yes I know a magazine promotes MT they are !@#$ing idiots and get their tyres for free).

Make sure you have some kind of decent dust separator on top of your snorkel or turf the defenders air box and fit a proper cyclonic filter. Fuel quality can be a bit variable not sure on the size of the defenders water trap toyo's can only cope with 30ml of water it really needs to be bigger. Know how to change the fuel filter have a spare and how to re-bleed the system. If you have pressed tin battery clamps (most modern cars do off the production line) get rid of them and put some solid ones off the tin ones will fatigue and crack on corrugations especially if you have a few extra's hanging off them.

If going duel batteries make sure you know how they work and most of the solenoids have a bypass function so you can tie both batteries together make sure you have it wired up and know about it. What others have said about spare wheel carriers.

Lockers realistically not needed IMO although a decent set of sand pads and a long handled shovel.

Most common tyre size is the 16 235/85? can never remember the profile basically the stock rims that come with the defender common to the toyo 70 series as well. Tubes you can repair them out bush but the tyres will run hot and last half as long, tubeless you can whack a plug in if you need too I'd go tubeless.

I'd see if you can rent a sat phone or maybe get a Codan HF setup, you haven't mentioned water storage you'll need to give it some thought.

Hi All,
Thanks a lot for your replys ... am in a hurry (unfortunately work is waiting for me!), so any reply 'll have to wait until (European) afternoon. Thanks again ... will be happy to meet all you friendly people in Oz!
Mike