Touring in a 90...

[YOLO110]

Now that I have downsized to a 90, I am curious how many on here have gone 'self sufficient' on extended touring with the more limited space?

I will probably be towing a small camper trailer, so some stuff will go in that... But the roof top tent is still an option as well!

Thoughts and tricks of the trade very welcome!

Cheers, Pete :)

[JDNSW]

I did extensive touring in an 88 fifty years ago, but most of the stuff we seem to think necessary these days did not exist then! (or if it did, we could not afford it)

John

[Toxic_Avenger]

How many people will be travelling? And how remote do you want to go?

Wouldnt say it's impossible, but it's a world of compromise when space is at a premium. But on the other hand, there is a lot of stuff that is not necessary for having fun in the great outdoors. Remember the rule of 3's and you should be fine :)

[Marty90]

I'm in the process of setting up my 90 for travelling (we'll get there one day).Most of my trips will probably be solo,but what I've got so far are:
Sill tanks -both sides@ 85 ltrs extra fuel
Boab water tank behind seat@45 ltrs plus pump and tap on tailgate.You lose some adjustability in the seating,but me being a short-arse,it's in the perfect seating position.
Drifta drawer
Dual batteries,Redarc gear in Ex -box
Hannibal roof rack & awnings
All from Mulgo.
Plus ARB bullbar & winch
Lovells springs & bilstein shocks.
Many families travel in a 110. When my kids were younger you'd have to take half the house.The ex brought the other half. I figure solo or as a pair my 90 has a ton of room.:D

[Vin Rouge]

My wife and I recently returned from four months in our twenty year old Defender 90 when we more-or-less did the round trip. We had a great time and found the 90 a great magnet for striking up conversations. See Vin Rouge in Australia (http://vinrougeinoz.blogspot.com.au/)

A big plus was that we had everything in the vehicle. The only downside was the need to pack up camp to go anywhere.

Oh yes, I should add that I'm in my 70s.

My only advice is fit good tyres, carry plenty of water and enjoy every moment.

[MrLandy]

My only advice is fit good tyres, carry plenty of water and enjoy every moment.
Great advice. ...It's all you really need. + Some food, a tent, swags and a fridge or esky, a cooker and a couple of camping chairs. Good to go.

I love packing light. Nothing worse than the constant set up pack up of heaps of stuff. The only thing I put on the back seat of my 110 is my bag of clothes and the boot is only half full, so a 90 is perfect for one or two I reckon.

Also it's easier on those tyres, on fuel, on brakes and on the whole vehicle in general, the less weight the better.

[debruiser]

Great advice. ...It's all you really need. + Some food, a tent, swags and a fridge or esky, a cooker and a couple of camping chairs. Good to go.

I love packing light. Nothing worse than the constant set up pack up of heaps of stuff. The only thing I put on the back seat of my 110 is my bag of clothes and the boot is only half full, so a 90 is perfect for one or two I reckon.

Also it's easier on those tyres, on fuel, on brakes and on the whole vehicle in general, the less weight the better.

I wish my otehr half was happy to just go with basics and some fishing gear!

[YOLO110]

My wife and I recently returned from four months in our twenty year old Defender 90 when we more-or-less did the round trip. We had a great time and found the 90 a great magnet for striking up conversations. See Vin Rouge in Australia (http://vinrougeinoz.blogspot.com.au/)

A big plus was that we had everything in the vehicle. The only downside was the need to pack up camp to go anywhere.

Oh yes, I should add that I'm in my 70s.

My only advice is fit good tyres, carry plenty of water and enjoy every moment.

Brilliant!

Many many thanks for the reply.

Love your website and blog... that says it all. :)

It's just 2 of us btw. :D

[Phil B]

Completely agree with the others.
Remove the rear seats and put in a barrier, drawers, gull wing doors, fridge, roof rack, long distance fuel tank and a water tank with pump (read shower). The rest (tent, swags, etc) will easily fit into spare spaces. KISS applies. Go touring.:cool:
IMO the 90 would make a really great touring vehicle for 2 people.
Regards,

[vnx205]

If there are only two of you, I can't see why there is a problem.

Back in the 60's, in the days before seat belts were compulsory I did some trips with four people in a SWB Series II and didn't ever feel the need for more space.

If you have a camper trailer, then at least half the stuff that we would have had in the vehicle will be in your trailer, so you should have plenty of space.

However, if you are determined, you can easily create a space shortage. All you need to do is insist on using a 60 litre fridge when a much smaller one would be perfectly adequate. Then add a multi room tent instead of something simple that just offers somewhere suitable for sleeping. Then with a bit of inefficient packing, you could easily fill the back of a SWB.

Most people seem to be able to fill whatever space is available regardless of the size of the space. Give them twice as much space and they take twice as much unnecessary junk.

I really can't see why you would have a problem.

[cookie monster]

We are currently doing the same to our 90.
Have put 3 aluminium drawers in the back with a 55L water tank to one side and the 50L fridge to the other side(drivers).
Dual battery is an ex Telstra standby 100AH unit that sits between the tubular strengthener behind the seats and the fridge, with the Redarc isolator in with the original battery.
ARB compressor under the drivers seat, ARB bulbar and Warn Magnum 10k winch up front, with IPF LED spots.
We also picked up a cheap 2nd hand roof rack, that we have tidied up and put mesh on, this is mainly for if we take the Oztent, but we generally take the Tvan.


Just about to receive 2 gullwing doors for the rear windows, which will make accessing the fridge and storage much easier.


We will be doing 3 weeks on the York peninsula over xmas and then 6 weeks in the Kimberlie middle of next year, so will give it a good test.


In time, we would like to complete the package with at least 1 sill fuel tank (probably a Brown Davis 55L unit to the drivers side) and a change of springs to bring the ride height back up to standard (thinking of 90 rears in the front and either airbags or 90 HD in the rear.


Cheers Cookie

[jackdef90]

It's surprising how much room there is in the back of a 90 once you pull out the rear jump seats.

[YOLO110]

It's surprising how much room there is in the back of a 90 once you pull out the rear jump seats.

Yes agreed! And having now removed my rear seats, actually they are about 10cm longer than a 110 in the load area! :cool:

[steve_a]

Check out Welcome to Reads4x4 (http://www.reads4x4.com/) that is from when Ali Read, who I am pretty sure is on here, did a lap in his 90 with the better half.

[jimr1]

I mentioned this a few years back . I was in a caravan park in White Cliffs NSW When a Red 90 pulled in , I was in my red 110 county at the time . On the back door there was a sign saying " Caution Left Hand Drive " Once they got settled I went over and said Hello ! It turned out they had come from Italy . They had shipped out there 90 to do a round Oz trip . They told me that they had drove from China to Italy , and across the Sahara as well . Two people in a td5 90 . Long range fuel tank , and roof top tent . The thing is they were doing It . Living the dream !!..Jim :)

[Reads90]

Check out Welcome to Reads4x4 (http://www.reads4x4.com/) that is from when Ali Read, who I am pretty sure is on here, did a lap in his 90 with the better half.

Yeah I did
One thing with my 90 is it is a soft top so I did not have the luxury of a roof for a roof rack 😀 .but the 90 does have twin fuel tanks ,along with all the other stuff , like twin Batteries , winch , snorkel blah blah

This is the route we took

102394

We had to take a camper trailer mainly for the space

102395

This up at the top of the Cape

102396

[YOLO110]

Just had a read of your blog! Great stuff!

Reading this is very motivating as well as informative!

[Garry]

I have been touring in mine for over a year and with two dogs as well, I have the Mantec shelf and parcel shelf. the fridge and battery goes under the shelf on the floor leaving just over a third of the floor space for extras and giving the dogs the full 2m3 shelf top
The parcel shelf was a great buy as can be taken out in a couple of minutes when not in use, we had a canvas bag made up with a zip sad canvas straps
Air comp under drivers seat and a third battery under the passenger seat

I an very happy with the set up and glad I bought the 90

Garry