DEFENDER 110 Td5 - mods for trip q's & a's pls...

JamesH · 13th January 2005, 11:02 AM

Hi Manta

I have been up in the Kimberley a few times in my Defender. Last time I went up in convoy with a mate in his 110 truck cab. I have twin 80 litre tanks but he only had the standard. He took some jerry cans and never used them. He re-fueled more often than I did and that's about it. I'm not saying I'm not glad I have the spare tank I'm just saying I did not *need* it, when up there. I'd love to put in a water tank on the other side to save the need to carry any jerry cans at all in the cab.

Dual battery set up is an important option for me (speaking of design flaws - take a look under the passenger seat - the most minor change to the layout in there would make the dual battery installation so much easier and allow for bigger batteries, it's like they were trying to make it hard out of spite). A camping fridge is not a luxury for me but a necessity, I don't own one - I rent them when needed $40 a week.

I have Bilsteins all round, I never drove the car much before but the previous owner tells me it was the best upgrade he did.

Find a home for the spare wheel apart from on the standard rear door fitting - on the bumpy roads the strain on the lock and door is too great. In fact take two spares. I have a bonnet mount mainly for philosophical reasons but I guess two wheels on a roof rack or on a swing away at the back is what normal people would do.

I was surprised not to see someone recommending a snorkel. They are good in the dust I found.

Sorry I can't help you with your frustrations about Defender idiosyncracies - I just love them with a crazy neurotic passion. Comfort is over rated and can actually detract from true contentment I find. Remember, your Defender is power steered, and airconditioned. A minor mod will see you with a car fridge full of Emu Bitter, meat and the odd bottle of Classic Dry White. None of us deserve any better, and I know from experience that non of us need more to have a good time in the Kimberley, surely one of the best places on earth. Next July will see me (before school hols) back on the Gibb River Road on the way to VRD and it's where I belong.

**BMac** · 13th January 2005, 11:06 AM

Hi Manta,

To fix the driver comfort, 6 foot passenger seeing out thing and air con probs, LR would have to ditch the 40 year old body shape and start again. The shape is part of the appeal to many people and I for one love the series look.

For comfort, and better offroad ability

, get a Discovery mate.

Bruce.

**VladTepes** · 13th January 2005, 11:25 AM

Originally posted by BMac
For... better offroad ability , get a Discovery mate.

Talk about throwing out the burley..... [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/img]

**Greylandy** · 13th January 2005, 11:31 AM

Originally posted by VladTepes+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(VladTepes)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteBegin-BMac
For... better offroad ability , get a Discovery mate.

Talk about throwing out the burley..... [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/img][/b][/quote]

Burley indeed Vlad :roll: I'll give him the comfort though :wink:

**4bd1** · 13th January 2005, 11:59 AM

If you are heading there in June, aircond shouldn't be a hassle.
The weather is pretty mild that time of year.

As James said fuel range on the standard tank shouldn't be an issue.
Unless you are doing a bit of long range exploring a bit of planning will see you right with the standard tank.
If you are doing the Gibb River road check opening times with places like Mt Barnett and Imintji store.

A bigger issue in the PIlbara is tires.
The stoney roads can really flog out tires.
I run Olympic Steeltreks and they stand up pretty well, forget about muddies.
Heat buildup in tires can be a problem, run them at high pressure on the rocky roads espesially if you are carrying a load.
Perhaps a set of steel skinnies might be worth considering.
A second spare, no rim doesn't take up much extra space if you stuff it with gear. A cover can keep the gear in place if you don't need to get at it too often.
Even if you don't take equipment to swap the tire on to a rim it can save sitting around waiting for a new tire as many places have a limited range.

Noise on the heavily corrogated roads up north is high whatever vehicle you are driving.

Pack carefuly, coz things rub pretty bad on roads like GRR.
Ally cans can rub through resulting in disasterous beer loss.
packing them horizontally seems to work as they rotate.

If safety is a concern, get a pocket sized EPIRB.
Having had a bad hiking accident in th Kimberley I can tell you it takes a long time to get out.
An EPIRB gives you peace of mind.

Most importantly have a good trip.

Cheers

**Outlaw** · 13th January 2005, 12:36 PM

yep, Snorkel as mentiond a couple times would be good.

But as for driver comfort... not sure on the Defenders, but in my series 3, i removed the 2 stoppers behind the seat which allowed it to tilt back further and greatly improved my driver position

and ask BigBugga, but i'd say paint some tar under your body, wheel arches etc.

**VladTepes** · 13th January 2005, 12:54 PM

Maybe I could remove the bulkhead behind my seat for the same effect in the ute [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/img]

**Ace** · 13th January 2005, 04:51 PM

It has been well documented that defenders have poor ergonomics, its the reason why the 90 didnt make it into 4wd Monthly's 4wdoty

But all reviews of the defender have the reviewer warming to the old world charms of the defender, i cant wait till i can get one as well as the disco i already have. Stick it out manta, you will get used to it, a little back yard engineering and some advice off the guys in this place should see you happy in no time.

As for mods there isnt a thing i can say which hasnt been mentioned before. But as mentioned above Bilstiens are the way to go interms of shocks, i was talking to a couple of guys at in the LROC of Oz, and they said bilsteins are the only shocks worth putting in Land Rovers. Good luck with it mate. Matt

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