Advise Appreciated on a few accessories Please!

[Babs]

Hi Guys,

The Hilux was delivered to the new owner tonight, so hopefully by end of week I will be an official Land Rover member.

The candidate is a 2012 MY12 defender NEW.

My first question is Long range tanks, I had a search on here at previous threads and although there was great reading I cant determine weather there is a replacement long range fuel tank for the original tank.

I have found sill tanks and the Mulgo rear sill tank and others but not a larger replacement tank. Do they exist for the new model Defender? and where oh where do I source it? I looked at Longranger and Out Of Town 4WD but they don't say if they have them for the current model???

Second item I need help with is Snorkel. The deal I have worked out with the salesman is towbar and snorkel, is the Land Rover genuine snorkel a good item or would an aftermarket be a better choice. Pro's and Cons on snorkels will be a great help. Cheers.

Third is roof racks, I would prefer alloy the lightest option possible without compromising load. And do I really need the ladder?

Fourth is the external roll cage that I see on Deefers all over the internet, not sure if I want to fit it, though it could be a good option as protection for possible rollovers with kiddies in car. Help with what they are called and if anyone does them here in Aus, thank you.

Also I will be selling the new Continental ContiCrossContact Tyres, if you know of anyone send them to the sale section. Cheers.

Well Guys I look forward to all your advise and experiences :)

Regards,

Babs.

[juddy]

I can offer you advice on roof tacks, we are stockist of patriot, Hannibal and front runner. Do you really need a ladder, if you intended on using the rack then a ladder will be a huge help.

Email me at info@landybitz, if you would like further information and pricing.

[Sue]

Is it a 90 or a 110?.. that makes a huge difference in regards to larger tanks.. :)

I got a quote from Land Rover for a snorkel but decided to get an airtech fitted with TJM instead (less than half what I was quoted from Land Rover) and I'm really happy with it.. besides I'm not that keen on the look of the Land Rover snorkel but if you've managed to work out a deal with them you might as well let them fit it - unless you can get it changed for something else (tint perhaps).. :)

Talk to Juddy about roof racks.. both the Patriot and Hannibal racks look fantastic.. and yup unless your about 7 foot tall you'll be needing a ladder if you want to access your roof rack.. :)

I'm also a fan of the Baja roof racks but admit to not knowing anything about them - I just like the look of them... :)

Oh and you can buy the roll cages online..

[lowbox]

Just did my MY12 Defender, ended up with the factory snorkel (but check the sealing, the dealers installation was shabby), the front runner rack & ladder from Mulgo (very good). The Mulgo bumperettes are good for accessing the rack too.

However if you want the external cage - like the Safety devices, then don't buy anything that wont fit with the external cage. A friend has just imported and installed an external cage on his 110, I think you would need to get a compatible snorkel, rack, and probably upgrade your springs due to the weight.

[Drover]

Long Range Tanks - not sure for 90's but 110's no problem. LongRanger do a 120L replacement and Long Range Automotive (LRA) do a 140L, both replace the factory tank.

I have the LRA in my 110. And it has been there for the past 3 years, no problems and very happy with it.

Snorkels - any known brand of snorkel will do the job just fine. Safari have the advantage of having available per-filter oiled foam covers or inserts for the dusty tracks. These work a treat for extended trip.

The issue with the snorkel is the ducting between the snorkel and the air box. First the seal between the snorkel and the mudguard and then there is a couple of joints in the ducting. All of these point are likely to leak. Best solution is to replace with flexi tube and fabricate an adaptor to attach the flexi tube directly to the snorkel and air box.

Cheers

[Reads90]

You can get long range tanks for a 90. I have one on my 90

[newhue]

LRA Long Range Automotive do the biggest replacement tank for a 110, it's 127 Lt and will let you keep the sway bar. LRA also do sill tanks but Mulgo's are the best priced.
Long Ranger through ARB is a 120lt and you loose the sway bar from memory?. Try another stockiest if they feel it doesn't fit, Im 99% sure they will.

I have a factory air intake - fake snorkel, I like it because it has standard hi clone separators, and the intake pipe is risen up a bit in the head cap so water can not blow in. It also sucks from under and behind the head cap limiting leaves and bugs going in. I pulled it apart and resealed the joints with sensor safe silicone, all is good now. You MUST do this if you want it to be water proof. The same as any other brand snorkel, they are all siliconed.

Factory tow bar, yes it will be under warranty, but you can get exactly the same done the road for $250 cheaper. You can also get the style you like. Not many of us require warranty on a tow bar.

Rood rack, good idea instead of a trailer

If you find a good roll cage, I'll buy one too. Saftey Systems, through Tarrafirma seems to be the go. Helishy expansive, and non ADR approved. This may not matter but the legal guys always bring it up. Custom would be another choice, but make sure the guy does it for a living. An internal cargo barrier is a good alternative, and people have found it worked very well in a roll over situation.

[chook73]

The main thing to consider with long range tanks is where you want the weight of the fuel. Replacement tanks put all of the additional load over the rear of the rear axle where as sill tanks place it between the axles.

With the sill tanks you loose a little clearance in certain situations however its all a trade off and greatly depends on what you are planning to do with the vehicle in the long run (i.e. tourer or weekend rock climber). The other benefit with sill tanks is that you are compartmentalising the fuel so a hole in a tank or in some situations contaminated fuel may not be a show stopper.

I have the rear quarter panel 45l tank and the drivers side sill tank for fuel (60l) and then use the passengers side sill tank (40l) for water. I will eventually get a 40l rear quarter tank made up for the passengers side water for long trips.

As I stated before the problem with the rear quarter tanks is the weight is placed behind the rear axle.

As for the roll cage the safety devices one is the only one people seem to be recommending Motorsport, Expedition, Fleet and Military Roll Cages & Roll Over Protection Systems | Safety Devices (http://www.safetydevices.com). I believe that Daniel from Mulgo is now fitting them but they are not cheap but then neither is the vehicle.

Roof racks, the windcheetah gets my vote, again Daniel from Mulgo and as your Sydney based it would be worth having a chat to him about it all as he is a good guy and very passionate about defenders.

[460cixy]

I heard a rumor that the factory storks took a lot of work to get sealed up and were pretty much junk

[chook73]

I heard a rumor that the factory storks took a lot of work to get sealed up and were pretty much junk

I think all of them do. I have a safari and its the same with sealing as the snorkle seals to the panel and not a tube right through to the air box.


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[harro]

Long Range Tanks - not sure for 90's but 110's no problem. LongRanger do a 120L replacement and Long Range Automotive (LRA) do a 140L, both replace the factory tank.

I have the LRA in my 110. And it has been there for the past 3 years, no problems and very happy with it.


Cheers

X2 for the LRA 140L tank.
Fitted mine over a weekend about 5 years ago and very happy with it.
Usually work on 1,200 klm range when touring so a vast improvement on the factory 75L.
Cairns to Bamaga including OTT without refuelling :).

Cheers,
Paul.

[carlschmid2002]

Where do you live? If you live near Sydney go and have a chat to Daniel at Mulgo. You won't be able to fit the external racks with a Safari or LR snorkel. The LR RAI needs some work to seal it up but it is a good design for dissipating dust. I would go with the Windcheater or Hannibal roof rack. The external cage costs about $6000 at least and is not easy to fit as it comes through the body panels.

[Michael2]

I bought my 110 with an LRA tank, I've had no problems with it.

Another option is to keep the original tank and fit the small tank that goes in the RH rear quarter panel. Have a look at the Front Runner | 4x4 Accessories | Roof Racks | Fuel Tanks (http://www.frontrunner.co.za) website. They are available locally from Opposite Lock.

This gives you a cheaper option and almost as much fuel as the LRA LR Tank, and a bit more ground clearance (comparing STD tank to LRA).

[Greyfox]

I may be wrong, which I seem to be often just ask the wife.
But I thought in the LR brochure that the LR snorkel is not a snorkel and is not intended for water crossing use as per Tjm, Safari, etc, but is only a raised air intake.
:angel:

[Babs]

The main thing to consider with long range tanks is where you want the weight of the fuel. Replacement tanks put all of the additional load over the rear of the rear axle where as sill tanks place it between the axles.

With the sill tanks you loose a little clearance in certain situations however its all a trade off and greatly depends on what you are planning to do with the vehicle in the long run (i.e. tourer or weekend rock climber). The other benefit with sill tanks is that you are compartmentalising the fuel so a hole in a tank or in some situations contaminated fuel may not be a show stopper.

I have the rear quarter panel 45l tank and the drivers side sill tank for fuel (60l) and then use the passengers side sill tank (40l) for water. I will eventually get a 40l rear quarter tank made up for the passengers side water for long trips.

As I stated before the problem with the rear quarter tanks is the weight is placed behind the rear axle.

As for the roll cage the safety devices one is the only one people seem to be recommending Motorsport, Expedition, Fleet and Military Roll Cages & Roll Over Protection Systems | Safety Devices (http://www.safetydevices.com). I believe that Daniel from Mulgo is now fitting them but they are not cheap but then neither is the vehicle.

Roof racks, the windcheetah gets my vote, again Daniel from Mulgo and as your Sydney based it would be worth having a chat to him about it all as he is a good guy and very passionate about defenders.


Chook,

Thanks for that, the link to safety devices was helpful, and I will definiately be making my way over to Mulgo..

Thank you as well to everyone else who has input on this thread, appreciated.

Also why would it be such a big problem to have an extra 50 odd litres behind the rear axle?

[Babs]

I may be wrong, which I seem to be often just ask the wife.
But I thought in the LR brochure that the LR snorkel is not a snorkel and is not intended for water crossing use as per Tjm, Safari, etc, but is only a raised air intake.
:angel:

:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

[Babs]

[QUOTE=Sue;1796951]Is it a 90 or a 110?.. that makes a huge difference in regards to larger tanks.. :)

Sue,

Its a 110. Cheers.

[KarlB]

I may be wrong, which I seem to be often just ask the wife.
But I thought in the LR brochure that the LR snorkel is not a snorkel and is not intended for water crossing use as per Tjm, Safari, etc, but is only a raised air intake.
:angel:

If you want to believe that TJM etc raised air intakes are actually snorkels then so be it but just to make it clear, maximum wading depth for a Puma is 500 mm which is close to the sills. At 600 mm you have water on the floor in the front of the vehicle. At 750 mm you have water entering the back. At 900 mm you reach the bottom of the air intake, but at this depth some sensitive electronics and your battery are under the water. From the external air intake, the ducting rises within the engine compartment with the bottom of the ducting (at its lowest point) being close to 1000 mm. We are talking some seriously deep water here. The Defender is not a boat. You may be able to get through such depths for a shortish distance but you must not stop. At that depth you clearly should use some sort of sheet over the front of your vehicle to make a bow wave and to keep the water out of the engine bay. In water crossing, a raised air intake is not a snorkel as some would like to foolishly consider them. However they are useful to keep splashing and small waves, etc. from getting into the air intake. If the water is 500 mm or less then you should not need a wading sheet, and you can change gear, etc. At depths greater than 600 mm you will start to loose traction because of flotation (until the vehicle fills with water). This is a particularly serious issue if the water you are crossing is fast flowing. You also need to be mindful that if you cause any damage to your vehicle by crossing water deeper than the recommended maximum you may find that you are not be covered by warranty nor insurance. I am sure TJM and Safari would not be paying for a rebuild if you hydraulic the engine.

Cheers
KarlB
:)

[Babs]

Asked the salesman this morning about the raised air intake, they dont seal it. So I told him to take it off or tell service department to seal it up as I plan on going through water,and they would be responsible if I damaged the motor. He phoned me back and said they were going to seal up every joint :)

[chook73]

Chook,
Also why would it be such a big problem to have an extra 50 odd litres behind the rear axle?

It might not be a problem if that is all you are planning on putting there however if you think about the combined weight of everything you are carrying.

Weight is always better low and between the axles where you can and some of the lra tanks add another 65 liters. As I said I have the rear quarter tanks as well so it doesn't bother me I am just mindful of it when packing the vehicle.



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[newhue]

there is also the max axel weight if it matters, some don't care, but I have been mindful of where the weight ends up and sill tanks help put it onto unused front axel weight.
Suspension also comes into the load ride if it's all on the rear. Set it up nice for expedition and it can be tough around town empty. Airbags solve this but it's usually more expanse that can be avoided if you like coils.
Rear quater tanks also foul with 33" (255/85/16) tyres which many of us progress to.
The sill tanks look like they can collect all sorts of things, but in reality with the bevel type they only fill the void that exists there anyway. Yes you can dint them but you have to be doing some pretty serious angles over rocks. If its a dirt bank they just slide along with the car and that's about it. These times are minimal for most of us.

There is nothing wrong with a replacement a tank and rear quarter tanks, just a different way of doing it. Standard suspension is very good, but it's not the be all either. And many are happy with standard 32" tyres.

Do the sums, everyone has a budget, but don't be in too much of a rush to build the new car. Do it once and right.

[Babs]

Do the sums, everyone has a budget, but don't be in too much of a rush to build the new car. Do it once and right.

Good advise there, I will do exactly that.

What range are people getting out of the Mulgo rear 1/4 tanks? This could be an option as there is only 5 litres difference between them and a replacement tank.

[newhue]

most people seem to get 10.5 to 11.5lt/100km at 100kph. Some do better but I certainly cant. 90kph is a different story though. Around town seems to be 11.5 to 12. In soft sand it can go to 18 so depends of what you up to.
The 2.4's start to go through much more fuel at 110kph, and I'd imagine the 2.2 will be the same as it's a gearing ting.

[Babs]

I really, really like the Camel Trophy front bars which fit on to the standard bumper, with the mesh around the lights.

Could someone enlighten me as to where I could buy this, as I have googled it over and over and can't find somewhere to buy it.. :(

[Sue]

You may have to order it in from overseas.... :)

ROVER ACCESSORIES - For all your Land Rover needs! (http://www.roveraccessories.com/RA/brownchurch.htm)

[Babs]

You may have to order it in from overseas.... :)

ROVER ACCESSORIES - For all your Land Rover needs! (http://www.roveraccessories.com/RA/brownchurch.htm)

Thanks Sue, appreciated. I'll keep this as back up, I would prefer to find something in OZ, let's see how we go. :)

[Babs]

Ok Monday it will be raising the seat, and changing the steering wheel.

What would you guys recommend for the steering wheel replacement, the only places that come to mind for me is the likes of Supercheap, but I don't want something crappy..

Who would stock decent steering wheels?

Cheers,

Babs.