Thread: Desert crossings

you'll find some info among this group - Land Rover New Defender Owners Group - founded in Australia ??

you'll have no issues in the Defender as far as capability goes our D4 did it easily and will take our Defender this year.

For water, If you have a roof rack then you could consider this product:

G-Series 18L Water Tank | Portable Water Storage for Camping | VAAST

I have a pair. The big benefit is that they can be filled and emptied without having to remove them from the roof.

Originally Posted by jwb

you'll find some info among this group - Land Rover New Defender Owners Group - founded in Australia ??

you'll have no issues in the Defender as far as capability goes our D4 did it easily and will take our Defender this year.

Thanks, I’ve asked to join

Originally Posted by one_iota

For water, If you have a roof rack then you could consider this product:

G-Series 18L Water Tank | Portable Water Storage for Camping | VAAST

I have a pair. The big benefit is that they can be filled and emptied without having to remove them from the roof.

Thanks again for your input. I will have the ARB basic roof rack very suitable as I don’t have a sun roof.

Hi Lindsay
I've done it a number of times in my D4, most times towing.
First couple of times with 19" Goodyears. No issues.
The main thing is they don't give you the side wall protection like a BFG, which is not so much of an issue in the desert but more so on the roads getting there, ie, Birdsville Track or Oodnadatta Track.
Roads like these can have sharp rocks.
You probably can't deflate them as low as a BFG, but again I don't think that is an issue for what you are doing.

Bull bar handy for roos, mostly dawn, dusk or night.
A UHF radio is a must, as is a flag, and good recovery gear.
If you get stuck on a dune, maxtrax and snatch strap.
The only times I got stuck is when towing, trailer is like a boat anchor in sand.
Fuel will be fine with LRT, Defender gets far better economy then D4 did.
Water, you seem to have covered.
Take your time, it's an amazing experience and place.

Thanks for the experience sharing and your thoughts.

For water carrying we get the supermarket 10L containers. The rigid type work well and can be tied down nicely.
They are cheap and you have flexibility of distributing through the car to fill in empty spaces if desired.
Can be refilled along the way if needed or just crush empties and drop off at recycling once back. Also you can flex the number carried to your trip duration.

OK, some good info. I was wondering about removing the bases of the rear seats and the rear seat headrests which might give a good space for water containers immediately behind the front seats?