Thread: Roamer drive

Also interested

I too am interested in this subject. I asked the question a few years back and was yelled at quite loudly by a few very smart informed people whom I respect.
I know Michael2 had a 300 TDI Defender with one and he spoke well of it from memory.
The previous objections were about running an overdrive in 5th gear which might well be well founded criticisms.

Thanks for the reply. I was just wondering how they were going reliability wise. We have the vgt turbo on so we thought it should be able to handle the higher gear and was trying to make it a bit easier when doing 110km+.

Originally Posted by DEF95

Thanks for the reply. I was just wondering how they were going reliability wise. We have the vgt turbo on so we thought it should be able to handle the higher gear and was trying to make it a bit easier when doing 110km+.

I asked Ray Wood the man who makes them a while back and this was his reply


- I have read on AULRO a thread where 110 owners haulng heavy trailers praise the overdrive as it allows them to tow in fourth gear and not damage the gearbox 5th
The limitation on the overdrive is not the strength of the components (It can push 400 HP) but the amount of heat that can be dissipated from the overdrive and transfer case when travelling at high speed.

Thre never seems to be a problem with standard factory setups but if you chip for more horsepower and drive like hell in an Australian summer you will need to install a temeperature guage and back off if the oil temp gets much over 100 deg c. A factory oil cooler on the R380 helps and I know of some owners who have rigged up oil pumps and coolers on the transfer case as well and reported good results touring in Spain and Morocco.

I'm in the process of kitting out a 101 with a ISUZU 4BDT2 motor and have elected to fit an American NV4500 gearbox rather than the R380. I'm installing an overdrive with a Q transfer case and have no doubts that this will be a pretty robust setup.

I have a Roamer Drive on my 2005 110.
It has been on my vehicle for just over 10,000 kms (installed on mine at 243,000kms). My 110 does have a remapped ECU, but only a stage 1. That being said, I spoke with the owner of Roamer Drive, and he said, as Djam1 pointed out that heat is the issue. I made sure to install the larger capacity oil sump, and a mechanical temp sensor/gauge for monitoring.
The Good: incredible difference on the highway!!!! Wished I had done it sooner! There is (website quoted) a 28% gear reduction, which in practical terms is like traveling in my 110 at 100kph, but the engine thinks it is doing 80kph (I have a tach fitted); real world test for your ears.
Power: On the flat, no problems. Moderate hills, are fine but heat increase is noted. Larger or steeper hills requires me to shift back to standard drive and handle it as normal.
Heat: without the Roamer Drive engaged, the transfer temp sits around 55C on highway, engaged around 80-85C, and in hills around 90-95C. Once I start to flirt with 95C, I disengage the Roamer Drive until I am back on flat land.
The Bad: From new, the Roamer Drive has produced a "whine" when engaged. Now in my pedantic/ borderline obsessive nature, I worry about potential issues being caused within the gearbox. The installation instructions note that this is possible over the first 5000kms (from memory), and this is something that I am working through with Roamer Drive. I will make sure to run it up the flagpole if there is anything noteworthy to share.

What oil do you run one of my concerns is Rays pedantic insistence on gl4 oils
I would like to run Motul gear 300 but would void my warranty

I have been running one in my series 3 shorty for about 7-8 years and over that period of time it has probably covered about 50-70,000 kays.
The vehicle is powered by a Holden six (I know everybody hates them, but I love them) which was built up for torque, Crow towing cam, 5.5 kg heavier flywheel, etc. As well as the overdrive (Roamerdrive) the vehicle runs 3.54 diffs, so cruising rpm is low, cab noise is less (for a series Landy). I regularly tow trailers of all sorts and weights, and when towing our camper trailer which weighs 700 kg, on sealed roads I cruise between 90-100 kph. We get some very extreme temperatures here in summer and so far no issues with the Roamerdrive. I run a Mobil GL4 75/90 mineral oil and also have the Finned Alloy transfer case cover fitted. The Roamerdrive was an expensive piece of kit when I purchased it, but it has been well worth it.
At Cooma I spoke with the guy who designed and built them and asked him why the particular ratio (28%) was selected. Apparently the particular gears he gets for the planetary set up only allows for 8%, 18%, 28% and 38% ratio increases.
I suggested a variant with the 18% step-up might be a good option to have available for series vehicles still running the standard 2.25 engine, as it would only knock about 700 rpm off at 100kph instead of about 1100rpm, which unless the motor is in prime condition, can make them work hard.

Cheers, Mick.

I have a Roamerdrive overdrive fitted to my td5 Defender, have done over 80k with it in and more than half of that in overdrive.
Down the CSR last year and knocked it in and out of overdrive between the dunes and on the claypans leaving the t/case in low range.

Also we tow a KK camper trailer, about 1.5t, 4th gear overdrive is about equal in revs to straight 5th so great for towing and easy on the R380.

As for reliability and strength well I forgot to take it out of overdrive a couple of times going over dunes with the camper in tow and the roamerdrive certainly handled the extra load.

Also forgot to take it out of overdrive when we went up the lookout at Elquestro and no problem.
So I would say they are very strong.

Support for the product is excellent, I have had numerous emails to and from Ray Wood and always very helpful.
I would recommend a Roamerdrive to anyone with a defender and if you have a remap and VNT they make driving the vehicle an absolute pleasure.

Paul.