Thread: Serious desert trip with a D1 300Tdi...asking for trouble or AWESOME??

I'm in a similar situation as yourself.... I've got a '96 Disco Tdi300 (Auto) & a '95 Defender and I'm wanting to make one or both into something that I'm confident in taking them on remote trips, etc. Currently we us the missus' '10 Prado and it's been great, but as it gets older, the modern electronics; CRD engines, etc all start to play on my mind as I don't have the knowledge to work on them. That's why I'm leaning to a older touring vehicle.... but that comes with it's own issues as well.
No matter how few kms, vehicles of that age will be showing their age. All rubber hoses (Water & Oil) will need replacing, Engine/G'box mounts, Suspension bushes, etc should be replaced. Fan belts; water pumps and many other items will need replacing/inspecting.... BUT, once these things are done, u will have one very reliable, repairable vehicle..... well, that's my hope at least anyway

rob

Treat it with respect on near stock suspension and wheels and it'll give you years of joy. I'd rather go bush in something simple like that than a plastic toy truck loaded with goofy electronics, but that's just me. The worst that can happen is that you have to ask someone for a tow to a spot where you can hammer it back together.

In 2010 some of us from this site done the Canning Stock Route, we were in D2's and I had plenty of people tell me we were crazy , they would never make it etc etc. Funnily the first vehicle we came to was a D1 coming the other way who had just travelled from the north end and so would have done approx 1500 ks of remote desert travel.

When we got to the north end we met some people who were shocked that we done it in Disco's and they had sold theirs because of everyone telling them they wouldn't make it.

If your D1 is well maintained and you carry the correct spares , don't overload it and drive to the conditions , then in my view you will be no worse off than any other brand.

Get out there and enjoy it.

Cheers Ean

We did the Simpson in a 95 300Tdi D1 and our only problem was a siezed pulley on the air con (so we took the belt off and motored on). Meanwhile the BIL had several problems with his near-new Triton, including cracking the suspension. A Mazda BT50 bent its chassis through being overloaded.
Prepare the D1 well and it should be fine.

Sent from my SM-G900I using AULRO mobile app

recently did 10.000 km thru GCR to alice/ binns track ... oodnadatta track to victoria and home....in 7 weeks. AWESOME!!! (96D1 auto)

vehicle was well prepared. driven conservatively , pulled a pajero from a bog near mt dare, had 2 mechanical issues...
1. cassette player died on the corrugations
2. a chinese wheel bearing collapsed ...(take note- dont use them)

no other worries....advice?...go now... land rovers are great!
robbo

The age of the vehicle is basically irrelevant, condition is much more important. A well maintained older vehicle is going to cream a poorly maintained newer vehicle every time.

Another benefit of the older D1 is that it is a lot lighter than it's modern counterpart, also it's simplicity should mean there's less potential points of failure and should something break diagnosis and repair should also be simpler. No fancy electronic bull**** to leave you stranded.

Don't overload your vehicle with non essential crap, this is probably the biggest single mistake novice 'off road' tourers make and don't even think about towing a trailer.

The Canning is a good trip with the longest leg between fuel stops being Koonawaritji to Wiluna assuming no fuel dump at well 25/6 or whatever. Being able to carry sufficient fuel/water/food over this section is the greatest planning challenge for the trip.

Keep it light, keep it simple, drive to the conditions in a well maintained vehicle and you'll be fine.

Find out when the food truck is due at Koonawaratji and try and plan your stop there for the next day to ensure best re-supply. It'll take you 3 weeks to do the CSR properly and sympathise with the poor ignorant 'victims' who have been foolish enough to be conned into a G Wagon tour that takes a fraction of this time. As they sail past suffering a $1000 a day ordeal instead of the enjoyable 'trip of a lifetime' give them a sympathetic smile and a wave.


Deano

If it is basically unmodified, in good condition to start with, driven sensibly, and not overloaded, I don't see any issues. I would have no hesitation doing a similar trip in my (much older) 110.

Suspension lifts, oversize tyres etc increase loads on driveline and suspension components, and while they may have some merit for tackling extreme offroad conditions, they do not improve reliability.

John

Originally Posted by JDNSW

If it is basically unmodified, in good condition to start with, driven sensibly, and not overloaded, I don't see any issues. I would have no hesitation doing a similar trip in my (much older) 110.

Suspension lifts, oversize tyres etc increase loads on driveline and suspension components, and while they may have some merit for tackling extreme offroad conditions, they do not improve reliability.

John

with a 2inch lift, good quality suspension and new bushes, it shouldn't be an issue though? right? if you go huge tyres and 4inch maybe, but say with my 245/75 and 2inch king spring and billstein shocks it shouldnt load it too much.

i saw mention of dont tow trailer either. if you had a light camper trailer would it be that bad? u can stock the trailer a bit more and loose weight on your suspension. i know you need to pull it through some soft stuff but if you are careful and drive gently would it be that much of an issue?

i wanted to do trip around australia with camper trailer. 600kg dry weight. would be a lot of road driving but wanted to do things like drive along finke river etc.

you think thats not a good idea?