Around Australia Touring Defender Build

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Originally Posted by Bushman83

Thanks mate. How much weight do you typically carry?

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Mine is a Hardtop so there is a bit less weight in the back but I have a rear drawer/storage setup and second battery that adds about 150kg empty. So unloaded 150kg more than an empty Hardtop. That's 90% of my driving.

The rest is touring trips and the back is full, a second spare on the carrier, lots of wine :D, 60ltrs of water, tools, spares, food, camping gear etc. Probably add 400kg to the previous 150kg.

I run reasonably soft springs though, 180lb fronts and 270lb rears with air bag helpers that only get used when loaded.

With the Raids on the factory setting it was a bit of a marshmallow but with the rebound wound to max it is close to perfect.

If the rebound is too soft you'll notice it on the corrugations, they'll literally shake yourself and the Deefer to bits.:mad:

Got around to installing my 65L Long Range Automotive Defender drivers side sill tank last week.

http://eftel.com/~mrlewis/defender/1.jpg

To start with I had my standard fuel filler modified into a Y filler by a local welding fabrications shop. They use part of the filler that came with the tank to speed up the fab process. Was completed in 2 hours while I waited.

http://eftel.com/~mrlewis/defender/2.jpg
http://eftel.com/~mrlewis/defender/3.jpg

http://eftel.com/~mrlewis/defender/4.jpg

The installation was pretty straightforward although took some time. The biggest issue I faced was the tank's fuel sender fowled on the floor panel. Some 6mm spaces were added to lower the tank and bolt it up level. This unfortunatley means the tank now sits about 6mm below the chassis rail at its lowest point. Probably just the defender build variation coming into play, although the tank is mainly advertised for 300tdi/TD5 vehicles.

http://eftel.com/~mrlewis/defender/5.jpg
http://eftel.com/~mrlewis/defender/6.jpg

Found a nice spot for the included fuel pump to fit. Added an extra fuel filter for safety.

http://eftel.com/~mrlewis/defender/7.jpg

The kit came with a dual fuel gauge/transfer pump switch. Mounted nicely into my Mudpod.

http://eftel.com/~mrlewis/defender/8.jpg

With the extra 65L plus the 120L from my primary tank I now have 185L total fuel capacity. This should give me around an 1800km range on road as my 200tdi averages 10km/l. Had my tank compliance plated for $150 to make it all legal. :)

You are an inspiration for defender project motivation to all across the globe!!!

Keep up the great work!

Nice work. That sill tank is purdy...

We had a water tank made up similar to that (same shape, but didn't go back under and past the rear crossmember), and I made sure it was above the fore-aft chassis rail, and the rock slider (that's replaced the lower door sills). I'm paranoid about bottoming out on it, though I probably never would.

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Originally Posted by TeamFA

Nice work. That sill tank is purdy...

We had a water tank made up similar to that (same shape, but didn't go back under and past the rear crossmember), and I made sure it was above the fore-aft chassis rail, and the rock slider (that's replaced the lower door sills). I'm paranoid about bottoming out on it, though I probably never would.

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Yes, that's my fear now. Will just have to be observant of any rocks passing the drivers side. At least if I did tear a hole in the sill tank I would hopefully still have enough in my primary to get me to the nearest town.

great thread mate and great work on the build, hope my discovery build will be half as good as yours!

http://eftel.com/~mrlewis/defender/10.jpg

As mentioned earlier I bought some Koni Raid 90's. I also decided to upgrade my front springs to a pair of Land Rover HD versions as my original springs were sagging badly under the weight of the new bullbar and winch. I decided to keep it simple and go with the Land Rover type rather than playing around with other brands and varying spring heights.

http://eftel.com/~mrlewis/defender/11.jpg

With the springs installed I gained a 40mm lift in the front getting the vehicle back up to level. I decided to leave the koni's at standard setting and see how they go.. thus far I feel the rear could benefit from some tweaking but that's without a load in the back. Otherwise happy with the ride.

Also installed a APT Fabrications steering guard. Had to modify the bash plate slighty due to it hitting my pair of non-standard recovery hooks I added to the chassis.

http://eftel.com/~mrlewis/defender/9.jpg
http://userweb.eftel.com/~mrlewis/defender/13.jpg

:)

I finished off my winch installation. The cheapy winch I bought didn't have long enough cable to reach my battery box, plus it uses a pathetic 3B&S (25mm) cable... A little too small for my liking. So I purchased some 0B&S (50mm) cable and a blue sea systems isolation switch and busbar. Managed to find a car audio place nearby who could solder and crimp the connections for me.

http://eftel.com/~mrlewis/defender/winch3.jpg

The battery switch is rated to 300amps continous and 500amp intermittent. Plenty enough to handle a winch.

http://eftel.com/~mrlewis/defender/winch4.jpg

The switch is fitted in my Mulgo Exbox.

http://eftel.com/~mrlewis/defender/winch2.jpg

I used the busbar to connect a short lead from the winch to the larger cable. This means I'm getting maximum current and voltage up to the winch. The 3b&S over a short run will then be plenty to power the winch.

http://eftel.com/~mrlewis/defender/winch1.jpg

My parents bought me an awning for my birthday so installed that this afternoon. It's an Aldi special. Seems well enough made. Bolted straight up to my roof bars. 2.5m x 2m.

http://eftel.com/~mrlewis/defender/awning1.jpg
http://eftel.com/~mrlewis/defender/awning2.jpg

:)

Great thread!! How much 50mm did you need? I like your setup and was thinking of doing the same.

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Originally Posted by dcale

Great thread!! How much 50mm did you need? I like your setup and was thinking of doing the same.

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Thanks. I purchased 4 metres of each red and black. This was plenty to run the full length without worry along the top of the chassis rails. Bought mine from here:
RED Battery Cable 0 B S Auto Starter Wire Alternator Jumper Leads Tycab 250Amp | eBay