Thread: The New Defender

Originally Posted by blackrangie

Eas is known to be reliable for 200,000km in d3 onward models, then its just shocks as per the thread in this forum,imo thats pretty amazing for what it does.

Thats an optimistic statement.

Many on here have had issues at way less than 200,000km,EAS issues,shocks failing,etc.
Mine as an example had a corner valve fail at less than 70,000k,then the new one,a genuine LR part, failed six months later.

The biggest difficulty is fault finding once there are EAS issues,finding leaks,air compresser issues,thinking there are leaks,when there aren't,etc.

I think changing just shocks in the D3/4 set up is not usually economical,better to change the complete air bag assembly,as the shock is located inside them.

But i agree,the EAS system,overall,is quite reliable,and very handy,particularly in off road situations.

I wouldn't by an LR product without it,its just got so many advantages over coils.

Originally Posted by ozscott

If you can't conveniently change a cage from the rear position to just behind the front row a cage severely restricts what you can carry safely....but at the same time it allows what you can carry to be carried safely.

A big load of camping gear in the back of a wagon with the second row seats folded and no cage immediately behind the front row is downright dangerous in an accident. A ute is in its own with safety here. You would have to try to get some sort of Gorilla cover and tie it over the load completely somehow but that is still a compromise safety wise and is a pain for accessing gear on short stops etc. Also each time you go to fully pack and unpack it's a pain compared to a well packed caged area or even easier a ute.

If LR wanted to they could have built in fixtures for a cage to be mounted immediately behind the first row. Who knows they might have, but if so I haven't seen it.

Cheers

Every off road wagon i have ever had has had a full height cargo barrier behind the second row seats.
IMO,its an important safety item.
We only put soft stuff,bedding,duffle bags,pillows,maybe softish food items in a soft box,etc between the first and second seats,when the second row seats are folded flat, touring,thats if they are not occupied.
Although on occasions there is a long handled shovel,or rifles in cases,down low, on the floor just behind the front seats.
Seems to work well,and its pretty safe.

Originally Posted by scarry

Thats an optimistic statement.

Many on here have had issues at way less than 200,000km,EAS issues,shocks failing,etc.
Mine as an example had a corner valve fail at less than 70,000k,then the new one,a genuine LR part, failed six months later.

The biggest difficulty is fault finding once there are EAS issues,finding leaks,air compresser issues,thinking there are leaks,when there aren't,etc.

I think changing just shocks in the D3/4 set up is not usually economical,better to change the complete air bag assembly,as the shock is located inside them.

But i agree,the EAS system,overall,is quite reliable,and very handy,particularly in off road situations.

I wouldn't by an LR product without it,its just got so many advantages over coils.

Yep I agree. I recall one occasion where a mate thought he would have to cut his holiday short because of a sagging issue in the middle of nowhere. Whilst it is easy to say well, you can take a handheld computer and make repairs in the field not many people can do that and what parts of the EAS system do you take. Truth is you shouldn't have too. Nobody take a spare coil or leaf pack with them (and someone will post saying they or someone they knew once broke a coil but man that is such a tiny tiny risk compared to EAS. You see EAS faults on here and in the field but I have never seen a broken coil).

EAS on modern LR is a great thing until it breaks and it will....but you can't be without it on a modern LR and still have a seriously good offroader.

Cheers

Originally Posted by ozscott

If you can't conveniently change a cage from the rear position to just behind the front row a cage severely restricts what you can carry safely....but at the same time it allows what you can carry to be carried safely.

A big load of camping gear in the back of a wagon with the second row seats folded and no cage immediately behind the front row is downright dangerous in an accident. A ute is in its own with safety here. You would have to try to get some sort of Gorilla cover and tie it over the load completely somehow but that is still a compromise safety wise and is a pain for accessing gear on short stops etc. Also each time you go to fully pack and unpack it's a pain compared to a well packed caged area or even easier a ute.

If LR wanted to they could have built in fixtures for a cage to be mounted immediately behind the first row. Who knows they might have, but if so I haven't seen it.

Cheers

I've never loaded a wagon over seat height in the back. John cadogan actually does a good video explaining that a cargo barrier is not needed if your load is kept below seat height and that a cargo barrier can in fact be dangerous to rear passengers.
A roof rack and roof cargo box are excellent bits of kit that can take a lot of gear. The trick is to ensure you load the lightest items to keep your centre of gravity as low as possible.

You know sometimes I think to myself that the Spriggs crossed the simo in a small capacity petrol nissan patrol with only basic gear..... then I watch ASPW and look at the amount of crap he bolts and puts on his car and think to myself; I'm better off YouTubing the location and staying home cause he's taking everything with him.

The moral of my story is: do we really need to carry so much crap that can't be stored safely in a roof rack, cargo box and rear of a wagon?

Originally Posted by 1nando

I've never loaded a wagon over seat height in the back. John cadogan actually does a good video explaining that a cargo barrier is not needed if your load is kept below seat height and that a cargo barrier can in fact be dangerous to rear passengers.
A roof rack and roof cargo box are excellent bits of kit that can take a lot of gear. The trick is to ensure you load the lightest items to keep your centre of gravity as low as possible.

You know sometimes I think to myself that the Spriggs crossed the simo in a small capacity petrol nissan patrol with only basic gear..... then I watch ASPW and look at the amount of crap he bolts and puts on his car and think to myself; I'm better off YouTubing the location and staying home cause he's taking everything with him.

The moral of my story is: do we really need to carry so much crap that can't be stored safely in a roof rack, cargo box and rear of a wagon?

The cargo barriers in our vehicles have eliminated the need for a rack and boxes.
I would much rather have gear in the rear of the vehicle,out of the weather,dust,etc, and secure,if it will fit.
And in a roll over,a cargo barrier can also be helpful,as it was in the Milford ad they used to have,which was actually a D1 owned by someone who used to be fairly active on here.

Yes you are right about all the crap,each time we go away i have to say to SWMBO,do we really need that?
In fact the first Cape trip i did, with one of my brothers,it was like the car was half full,we didn't even take a tent,slept under the stars for 4 weeks.

Just my 2 cents worth.

Originally Posted by 1nando

I've never loaded a wagon over seat height in the back. John cadogan actually does a good video explaining that a cargo barrier is not needed if your load is kept below seat height and that a cargo barrier can in fact be dangerous to rear passengers.
A roof rack and roof cargo box are excellent bits of kit that can take a lot of gear. The trick is to ensure you load the lightest items to keep your centre of gravity as low as possible.

You know sometimes I think to myself that the Spriggs crossed the simo in a small capacity petrol nissan patrol with only basic gear..... then I watch ASPW and look at the amount of crap he bolts and puts on his car and think to myself; I'm better off YouTubing the location and staying home cause he's taking everything with him.

The moral of my story is: do we really need to carry so much crap that can't be stored safely in a roof rack, cargo box and rear of a wagon?

Lot of good points mate. I.have seen several rollovers with unrestrained loads. The stuff under seat level becomes flying objects at head level within a few seconds.

Cheers

Originally Posted by blackrangie

Net cargo barrier or metal from options, thoughts?
Both state rated to same standard, net allows easy removal between trips when you want to fold everything flat for loading stuff.

Which would you pick and why?

Here's the two options.

If you were to pick one, which one and why?

Note both conform to same reg

Wonder how easy it is to clean blood out of the back a ute I can chuck my deer on the tray for the trip home I can imagine it would be a bit yuck with a couple of deer leaking everywhere amongst the rest of your gear in the car