Thread: 300tdi - how much is "overloaded" when people say don't overload it and you'll be OK?

Originally Posted by AK83

Have you done a weight measurement?
What other accessories do you have?
You'd be surprised how little a modded D1 can end up carrying before it hits GVM.
Bullbar, winch, dual batteries, extra tanks ... etc. You may only have 200-300kgs of load capability ... so treat the roof top tent with a lot of suspicion!
80Kgs is a lot of weight for accommodation, where a pop up tent will be more like 15-20kgs.

GVM of a D1 is only about 2700kgs, and a tdi is tare at 2100kgs, but once you've added the usual accessories, you're more likely at 2300 kgs already.
With just bullbar and dual battery mine is at 2250.

I should put it on a weighbridge at the tip...I don't have too much, have a roof rack with a couple of lights on it, front bar, winch, wheels are stock alloys with 245/75/16 mud tyres on it (probably pretty heavy) then drawers weigh about 50kg I think when empty and have a bunch of recovery gear and tools in there (heavy stuff), then a fridge. I don't think there's any way to tell unless I actually weigh it, good to know it's 2700 though thanks Arthur.

Also have lpg d-gas tank, 45ltr petrol sill tank, and rear maxidrive diff locker. Hmm I don't really want to get anywhere near GVM to be safer...it does have stiffer springs and good shocks in the rear I know that, probably good ones in front too, not sure if that helps.

Mate you have some heavy gear. Good but heavy. I thought hard about rooftop tents. The weight of most exceeds the D1's rated on road much less offroad rating. You can get rooftop tents down at about 50kg but you are still over the offroad rating. I have a Coleman 6v instant up tent. Has been magic. Probably quicker than a soft rooftop tent (slower than a good hard-shell rooftop) and extremely weatherproof and easy to set up. Very light in comparison . From memory less than half the weight of the lightest rooftoper. I usually carry mine on the roof but it does fit sideways into the back of the Disco. Cheers

This is why we went with a trailer for our family touring. A big RTT would've been too much for the D1. Then we decided that towing a camper around Australia in the D1 would be a bit hard on the 5th gear at 100km/hr so switched to a D3. It was a slippery slope. I'd prefer swags or quick setup tent to a RTT I reckon, for weight reasons

Originally Posted by ozscott

Mate you have some heavy gear. Good but heavy. I thought hard about rooftop tents. The weight of most exceeds the D1's rated on road much less offroad rating. You can get rooftop tents down at about 50kg but you are still over the offroad rating. I have a Coleman 6v instant up tent. Has been magic. Probably quicker than a soft rooftop tent (slower than a good hard-shell rooftop) and extremely weatherproof and easy to set up. Very light in comparison . From memory less than half the weight of the lightest rooftoper. I usually carry mine on the roof but it does fit sideways into the back of the Disco. Cheers

I know, good gear but doesn't leave much wiggle room. I just want the rooftop so we're off the ground really and it's less to set up and don't have to worry about finding a flat bit of ground. Just looks like it would take a lot of the trouble out of things. Surely plenty of people put rooftops on D1s or equivalent Defenders and don't have issues with them...but maybe they have less stuff on their vehicles than I already have

Where is the weak link on these things? Is it just a case of putting in heavier springs to deal with the extra weight or is there way more than that you'd have to do to make sure it didn't stress things out too much? I still need to be able to do proper off road driving if we need to while on a trip.

EDIT: Or I buy something newer...but I really REALLY don't want to do that!

A few years back when I had teenage kids, I had to suddenly get myself a tent, so headed to KMart and got their 4 man(really 2.5 man) quick popup tent for about $60. Was great, and even tho quite large for my own use, could still put it up in about 5 mins on my own. Wouldn't recommend for cold climates as it was very thin ripstop type nylon material, but for warmer weather would be perfectly fine.

If I had to choose a set up for a trip, I'd prefer to have the combo of an awning and pop up tent, which in total would still weigh in less than a rooftop tent.

Also, and again it really depends on where you end up going, you can't always find a reliable source of firewood, so you may have to haul some in as you travel along certain tracks.
So for this reason, I'd say have a roofrack, hopefully flat type and lightweight aluminium and keep it for emergency loads, like firewood, or some light bulky type stuff ... or something like that.

Hi young Angus.
I have a D1TDi and seen some fantastic parts of Australia.
Our first trips where just the two of us.
We used a Darche Safari tent. So quick to set up, 4 pegs one pole, can be two if centre pole got in the way, Looking back we travelled lightly. Used thermarest mats, we do a lot of hiking so where used to them made a sleeve to make a sort of double mattress. Across the back we had an esky for dry food, ticker box for all our utensils and a 39l engel. under that I had one draw full of recovery gear and Tirfor, yes Hand winch, excellent at making sure you pick the right line first time. Only got used twice I think, but that didn't stop us exploring some serious country. Point wanderer, Kalumbaru, Mitchell plateau, some other unnamed areas, The bight, Vic High. Most of these areas weren't popular back then so the 35" brigade hadn't been thru, D's relatively small wheels sometimes catch me out on the more popular tracks, Did try to increase tyre size but she wasn't happy. Just got to pick your line, bit of road build, "MaxTraxs", where there is will there is a way.

The tent wasn't light but went on the roof with the spare and two jerries, I have no idea what we weighed, had medium duty OME 2+ springs, bottomed out once on a high speed wash away. There was no where near the camping stuff available then as is now, which is good and bad. The light we used in the tent I fashioned from a series 1 dash light inside an egg whisk on a long length of two core, we thought it was the Hilton with our "powered" tent. But we did tend to sleep and wake with the sun. So So many good memories.

I have found with the D1 and the Deefers I have you don't tell the old girl what to do, you sort of have a conversation with her/him, "listen old girl wouldn't mind wandering up that track a bit, what do you reckon", and together you have a ball and get there. When Bec drove I stood back and just watch it waddle and amble up the hard stuff, amazing how it does it. Sand is not her best forte,got caught twice, but air down and bit of black smoke and we where away, sandy tracks where fine, cause of the shear comfort, you could maintain a slightly higher speed which would carry you thru. I am not a big fan of the foot flat to the floor and charge at every obstacle, makes me wince at imaging the stresses on the drive train etc.

We have a RTT on 110, I absolutely love it, The only draw back is you can't leave your camp set up as a base to explore from and its fairly high on top of the DeeFer.

If you are worried about safety maybe rather than overload with spares and limiting your choices think about upping your communication to something like an "in Reach" or a "Zoleo" and giving a close friend the heads up, I am sure you have a mate who would love the opportunity, " sorry Love I really have to duck up the Ooda, Angus really needs me" I'll be as quick as I can, week tops, Luv U."
Plan for a when instead of an If, I always thro in a couple of Dehydrated meals when Hiking just in case I need to sit it out for an extra day, weigh next to nothing and go back in the pantry for next time. A plan B is good.

The D will be fine, just keep it simple, don't over think it ( there's thinking and over thinking) and enjoy.

cheers

N.

P.S. it looks liking I am handing my son is eyeing of the Disco, She has done nearly 400K so we will give the motor a bit of love, compression is down, did the injectors recently, "now thats a new car in a can". The mechanic said the old ones had something akin to prostrate problems.

Rule #1 - There is no perfect setup for all trips.

I know you want to be able to do everything you'd do if on a weekend trip, but if you are taking the family in a D1 there has to be some compromise - particularly if you're traveling as a solo vehicle.
The easiest path to a successful self recovery is avoid getting yourself in a position that you need to recover from for a start!!

I love my rooftop tent, and have been all over the place with it on the County. Absolutely awesome when you're moving each day, and as you say - up off the ground etc. Its just my wife and I though, and the basic RTT literally takes 1min to set up, and about 2 to pack up (without having the extra awning).
Not all rooftop tents are the same though, and when we did a couple of months touring in southern Africa a few years ago we hired Defenders out of Joberg with RTT. They took about 20mins to pack up, and I had many mornings heading out game driving before dawn packing them up with frozen fingers where I wished I had the county with my own simple RTT on it!

I've had a D1, and personally wouldn't like to have a decent RTT on it. My approach in your situation would be to put the RTT on a raised rack on a small capable trailer. Keeps the weight off the vehicle, and if you want to go exploring during the day just leave the trailer/tent back at camp.
Yes, it does mean that you need to think about where you go with the trailer, and some trips just wouldn't work with that setup.
It would allow you to take a few extra bulky but light comforts for the family, and if you need to go for a short drive and get some firewood etc you can leave them at camp and throw it on your empty roofrack!
On another note - a TPMS system is much lighter than a second spare. If you run decent tyres at the right pressure and get alerted if you have a puncture - very unlikely you will ever need to use your first spare, let alone a second. The times I've seen people get into trouble with tyres is either running old ones that break down under load, or having a tyre go flat without noticing until its completely stuffed.

Biggest thing - don't overthink it. Just get out there and do it!!

Edit: I see that Simo already beat me to a couple of points - but I already had it typed up

Steve

Young Angus I understand mate. Unfortunately while structually the D1 would likely be fine with a RTT (although I have heard of some getting some cracks) it is the safety factor - very high vehicles and heavy on the roof would make it a bit of a dog - not enjoyable. Also, you could well end up giving your insurer an excuse to void your insurance if you swerve and go over etc. Mate RTT's seem great but heaps of downsides including if you have to have a pee a few times during the night or want to do day tripping without packing your turte up just for a trip (even a short trip) etc. Heavy on the juice too with the wind resistance. I can take take enough weight legally on my Triton roof and it is lower to the ground and handles a lot better than a D1 in corners etc but I am still not going that way. Food for thought at least mate.

Cheers