Thread: The Most Well-Built Land Rover Defender We've Seen ??

Originally Posted by Robmacca

I'll leave it to everyone to post their thoughts and post what improvements they reckon could make it even better.....

.................leave the dogs behind.

Not only do they have to manage two large dogs through various countries with differing quarantine and other requirements they automatically exclude themselves from visiting all nature reserves, national parks and anywhere else that excludes dogs.

Deano

Hope he strengthened the rear diff housing to take all that weight...hmmmm

Cheers Rod

It's certainly an impressive truck with a huge amount of work done to it.
As for being married, I'm married too, but I can't imagine The Navigator ever agreeing to spend that much money on kitting out a truck. She thinks our modest camper trailer is luxurious camping.
Mind you, she has been scrutinizing hybrid camper trailers at recent shows, so I better not speak too soon...
As for weight, I've been sceptical about loading up too much weight after seeing a beautifully kitted Mazda BT-50 dual cab bend its chassis in The Simpson and have to be trucked home.
Less is more.

I can appreciate the thought and effort gone into the rear of the build. I should have a look at the rest of the truck itself on EP
About to register my 130 and complete final tweaks to the rear camper.
I'm reminded of how different our individual travelling/camping needs and requirements are to the next persons.
Accommodation wise, I couldn't imagine myself being comfy in that setup if stopping for more than a few days.

Each to their own. See how they go in 6 months time.

For me that huge canopy set up is too much. Those plastic tubs would not last after 1000kms of corrugations. That awning out the back is useless in wet weather.

I have spent a large amount of time and money setting up my 130 for remote travel and after each trip, always find ways to improve things. I still work on the kiss principle but at the same time have some level of comfort - which includes sleeping in a swag. Roof top tents are not for me (too much to pack up if you need to move in a hurry)

My 130 sits around 3.2t with fuel (120 litres) and water (110 litres) plus swags and food for my self and my two sons so I'm guessing that 130 must be pushing 4t

In this day and age I am still stunned why people aren't using composites etc for construction of such items.

I've been working on a remodel/rebuild of our Jurgens Cross Over using composites.
The cost is competitive, maintenance lower and the weight savings significant. We're talking a 2-300kg reduction in mass..

I would think that an off road trailer would have been an obvious solution to carry all that kit instead of massively overloading the truck.

Originally Posted by Tombie

In this day and age I am still stunned why people aren't using composites etc for construction of such items.

I've been working on a remodel/rebuild of our Jurgens Cross Over using composites.
The cost is competitive, maintenance lower and the weight savings significant. We're talking a 2-300kg reduction in mass..

You would've liked a mates race car trailer from twenty years ago.
Space frame chassis, aluminum composite bonded walls/roof.
Nomex/aluminum/honeycomb ramps.

Did I mention he was a Qantas sign off engineer? 😂