My 2007 Discovery 3 build journey

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Originally Posted by SeanC

Keep an eye on the weight.
You have about 730kgs under GVM to play with.
70kgs for the driver and a full fuel tank are included in the tare.

On my 2008 D3 I have a bull bar, winch, snorkle, dual battery, long range tank, rear wheel carrier, rear drawers, 66 litre fridge freezer, roof racks and awning. Pretty much what you are looking at. Also on more remote trips I have a second spare.

This doesn’t leave much weight under GVM for other passengers, equipment, food etc.

I have removed the rear seats. On longer trips the second row of seats come out and as much weight as possible goes into the camper trailer.

With out the camper trailer I don’t think I would be able to keep the vehicle under GMV.

It might be an idea to visit a weigh bridge a couple of times as you add equipment to get an idea where you are with regards to weight.

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I’ll definitely get her weighed at some point soon — I’ve been concerned about weight based on what I’ve read along the way. Disappointing there aren’t any readily available GVM upgrades on the market like there are for LC200, but thems the breaks! Plenty of positives to outweigh any negatives!

The weight concern is what’s stopped me from putting a Kaymar on it already — a little bit here, a little bit there… you chew through that GVM pretty quick.

Cheers,

— Andrew

Congrats and good luck with your build. I’ve had my D3 for 6 months and just about to do a first road trip before I commit to bolting things on. I will probably go the long range tank and RWC first.

Cheers,
Randy

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Originally Posted by ndrew

I’ll definitely get her weighed at some point soon — I’ve been concerned about weight based on what I’ve read along the way. Disappointing there aren’t any readily available GVM upgrades on the market like there are for LC200, but thems the breaks! Plenty of positives to outweigh any negatives!

The weight concern is what’s stopped me from putting a Kaymar on it already — a little bit here, a little bit there… you chew through that GVM pretty quick.

Cheers,

— Andrew

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Yep that's why I don't have a Kaymar. Would be a lot more convenient than chucking the 2nd spare onto the roof racks but we all must make sacrifices sometimes.

Sean

Hi Andrew, following with interest.
One thing missing from your wish list which weighs near nothing is a Llams ride height controller!
Also, wondering what you have in the provided place for a second battery in the right rear of the engine bay?

Hi,
I liked your write up its a pity you didn't live in Victoria both My son and I bought Discovery 3s about 2 weeks a part from Sydney and we both got them registered by Vicroads using the number on the rocker covers. It was a simple process. Regarding the over flow bottle I had the same problem there is a cone shaped holder on the vertical panel that the over flow bottle slots in to. I made up a fitting with 2 washers and a small spacer the over flow bottle now sits about 10 to 15 ml forward and gives you more room for the battery.
Regards Bob

Please keep posting pictures and write ups, I'm desperately searching for a tdv6 here in Perth but there is very little choice. Looks like I might have to go over east myself.
Really keen to see what you do with it. All the best

Hi Andrew
I've enjoyed reading about your build. Your D3 looks immaculate! I did the same things in 2009 on a D3 and most of the same things on my 2014 D4. The OL winch bull bar is going on next month after a couple of near misses with wildlife on 2 recent trips. Re the Traxide- I've used it on both vehicles and very happy with it. On my current D4 I've got the USI-160 which you may not know has a in cabin toggle switch so you can choose between a "Shared Mode" or a more traditional isolator mode (around 12.6 V cutout from memory- Tim will soon correct me if I haven't got that right!). I certainly have no issue with using RedArc as I know they are good products too.

For others interest though- One thing I've learnt is that in "Shared Mode" you need to keep an eye on the status of your starting battery. If it's past its best then in "shared mode" it's failing status may be in part masked by the Optima which in effect supports it- well at least until you turn on a fridge. Then the starting battery isn't providing support to the Optima to run the fridge- it's reducing the Optima's reserve (at least that's my amateur interpretation of what I've observed in the real world!). So I have a sticker on my Starting battery telling me the installation date and keep a multimeter in the car as well. If in doubt I switch it to traditional isolator mode for a while and do some testing.

You might also like to consider a Air compressor protection plate (Maybe you have already?)- Gordan at Green Oval Experience supplies a good one which I've had on both D3 and D4 and very happy with it.
Also check your brake pedal switch has been replaced as failure can cause cascading faults I believe (it's cheap and both Sovereign Auto and PCB Land Rover here in Adelaide will be familiar with this issue) and check on the status of your OEM air compressor- in a 10yo D3 it may need updating. I look forward to reading more about your progress. Feel free to private message me as I'm in Adelaide and happy to share any info/tips.

Regards,
David

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Originally Posted by Blue C

I've enjoyed reading about your build. Your D3 looks immaculate! I did the same things in 2009 on a D3 and most of the same things on my 2014 D4. The OL winch bull bar is going on next month after a couple of near misses with wildlife on 2 recent trips. Re the Traxide- I've used it on both vehicles and very happy with it. On my current D4 I've got the USI-160 which you may not know has a in cabin toggle switch so you can choose between a "Shared Mode" or a more traditional isolator mode (around 12.6 V cutout from memory- Tim will soon correct me if I haven't got that right!). I certainly have no issue with using RedArc as I know they are good products too.

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I did not know that about the in-cabin toggle. That's interesting! I've been extremely happy with everything that I've bought from Redarc, and I like that it's manufactured here in Adelaide too.

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You might also like to consider a Air compressor protection plate (Maybe you have already?)- Gordan at Green Oval Experience supplies a good one which I've had on both D3 and D4 and very happy with it.

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New underbody protection is certainly on the list! I'd like to grab rock sliders and plates to protect the compressor, air reservoir, and transmission. It seems like the toss up is between GOE and APT Offroad. I'll make a decision on those soon, once the bank balance recovers a little!

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Also check your brake pedal switch has been replaced as failure can cause cascading faults I believe (it's cheap and both Sovereign Auto and PCB Land Rover here in Adelaide will be familiar with this issue) and check on the status of your OEM air compressor- in a 10yo D3 it may need updating. I look forward to reading more about your progress. Feel free to private message me as I'm in Adelaide and happy to share any info/tips.

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I haven't looked into the brake pedal switch, other than having briefly read online that it's a potential issue – I'll have to do some more digging; thanks!

Funny you should mention the EAS compressor – I knew from my pre-purchase research that it was a potential issue, and, of course, it packed up within the first few months. I started getting the "normal height only" messages on the dash and decided to bite the bullet and replace it with an AMK compressor. I figured I could spend $100 refurbing the old Hitachi, or put that $100 towards a whole new compressor – as you say, it's 10 years old.

I called up Sovereign Autos and asked for a rough guestimate on the cost to change over the compressor and was told about $2K or so. That sounded like than I wanted to pay, so I set about researching doing it myself. Between the resources here, YouTube and over at disco3.co.uk, there's an absolute pile of in-depth instructional material to do it yourself.

A bit more research later and I'd ordered an AMK replacement kit from Island 4x4, which came in at about $750 before shipping. I wound up buying a handful of other bits too, so, call it $800 delivered. I realised I'd also need to reflash the suspension ECU, so bought a GAP Diagnostic IIDTool (bluetooth), which I'd been wanting anyway. So about $1500 in materials.

I stupidly didn't take any photos of the process, but I reckon it took me about an hour and a half. And that's for a mug who's never done it before. I spent a bit of time scratching my head working out which way was up and how the rubber feet and springs went together, but once I'd nutted it all out, it was very quick and easy. Reflashing the suspension ECU took all of about 2 minutes.

Cheers,

- Andrew

The roof rack

I'd had my heart set on a Rhino-Rack Pioneer Platform for this build, but in the lead-up to a rack purchase, the Front Runner Slimline II rack also caught my attention. I umm'd and arr'd about it for a while and in the end settled on the Rhino, mainly because I liked the Backbone mount more and I thought it was ever so slightly less tall than the Front Runner.

One of the key criteria for me in choosing a rack was to be able to put a full 1200x2400 sheet of timber/gyprock etc on the roof. I'd seen others suggest getting a narrower rack than the standard for this reason but decided I'd rather have the extra width. On that basis, I went for the JA8250 2128x1426mm platform, and I'm glad I did.

It arrived half-assembled, in the sense that the main platform itself is 80% assembled and already at its full size. You need to add a couple of extra cross-members to the platform before it's good to put on the car. The backbone mount is pretty straightforward to deal with – it bolts down to the factory nutserts and you're good to go.

It probably took my Uncle and me about 4 hours of fiddling around to get it done, but I'm really thrilled with the final product. I also added a rear roller, which is handy for chucking sheet goods onto the roof on your own. The only downside is that it rattles a bit, but I've learned to live with it. I was given a Kings awning for Christmas, so that got chucked up at the same time. Pretty neat for the price, but I can't see it lasting too long. The aluminium extrusion is already a bit bent. I'll get a Batwing when this carks it.

I've seen a lot of people ask about wind noise from the platform. My take is this: there's no doubt it adds wind noise, and I reckon it's cost me about 1l/100km in fuel economy too. That said, it's hardly a specifically noticeable drone or whoosh or anything; to me, it easily fades into the background noise and doesn't bother me at highway speeds. The car also has a snorkel on it and to my ear, that makes a more noticeable sound, but it's one I like :)

Attachment 139290 Attachment 139291 Attachment 139292

Rear drawer system

This particular addition wasn't entirely supported by the Speaker of the House, who was concerned about losing boot space and not being able to flatten the seats and turn it into a giant storage area. My counter was that a) we don't need that kind of storage often, b) it keeps a LOT of stuff organised and more accessible and c) we've got a roof rack and a trailer for the very few occasions we need to haul bulky stuff. In what I thought was a slightly contradictory suggestion, the Minister for War and Finance suggested a setup with stacked drawers on one side and a fridge on the other. I'm not personally a fan of that configuration for the same reasons as the good Speaker (lack of usable boot storage).

Anyway, that wasn't an argument I think I "won", so decided that seeking forgiveness rather than permission was the better strategy. My research centred around finding some drawers that were tightly fit to the Disco, gave me ready access to the spare tire when needed and were built with a bit of strength. I narrowed it down to three options: custom-built, Drifta, or Front Runner.

I went with the Front Runner drawer system and couldn't be happier. I mentioned to the Speaker there "might be a few bits and pieces for the car being delivered" one morning. I got a text in the afternoon including a photo of a small pile of stuff in the driveway, accompanied by, "that's not a few things, that's a ****ing palletload!"

Anyway, once the marital crisis was resolved, my bloody legend of a wife actually helped me install them. She's pretty great, actually, and so are the drawers. Installation was pretty straight forward – essentially lift the drawer unit out of the box and into the back of the car. It's held down with turnbuckles which pickup the factory floor tie down points, so they're non-destructive and can be removed in about 30 minutes if you're that way inclined.

I keep a handful of tools and recovery gear in the front of the driver's-side drawer and have added one of the Front Runner drawer dividers to keep things in place. Neat enough solution.

Attachment 139293

Things I really like about the Front Runner drawers:

• Great fit and finish – the wings are beautifully contured to the side of the interior
• The passenger-side drawer can hold three Cub Packs, which are great to organise camping gear
• There's a bit of space down either side of the drawers to put extra stuff
• It comes with an extension bar/winder to lower the spare tire, through a hole on the top deck

Things I'm less keen on:

• The drawers don't remove from their slides, making working on the interior or sides a bit difficult (you need to remove the top deck to gain access to the drawer space
• The carpet is a bit too wooly for my liking. Seems to hold onto dirt and bits too easily. A tighter weave fabric would be better

I really like the MSA 4x4 drawers with their built-in LED strip lighting. That's one feature I'd really like to see added, but it's certainly no show stopper, as I can do something myself pretty easily.

That's it for today's update!

- Andrew

That's a great looking setup Andrew. I like the Front Runner drawer system-like you say more compact than the stacked drawers system (like I have from Off Road Systems) and almost looks like a factory option! I have the Front Runner long roof tray and I agree it's probably a fraction higher perhaps in part because it's slightly more "chunky" in profile view. I've got a couple of LED strip lights on the inside of the rear tailgate glass which light up the drawers on right side and fridge on left side quite nicely. That's another option to the strip lights inside the drawers. Regards, David