Living with a 130

[Cliffy]

Looking at buying and extra cab (ex Telstra) 110s but all I can find are 130's.
Can you guys that own 130's give me some pros & cons on owning one??
I had bought a HZJ75 purely because of the leg room issue in a STD 110 but not long after buying it I developed a rash every time I drove it (dunno, some kind of allergy?). My ears started to ring due to the laughter of my mates who were so happy that I had realised the Landys were cr@p and had bought a "real" 4WD...... So it has now been sold.
Any how, I now have the opportunity of picking up an extra cab 96' 130 and really wanted to know what it is like to live with one?!
It won't be used much in the city, mainly for shooting, fishing and getting down to the shack on the South coast.
So what's the go???!

[rick130]

Raise the drivers seat 20-22mm if you are long in the leg, (four spacers and longer bolts) this also allows the seat to slide back over the lip on the seat box in a CC or wagon.

I'm 6',1,3/4" (187cm) with an inseam something like 37.5", so I know about long in the legs, and I'm very comfy behind the wheel of my CC.

PM 130man about living with an Extra Cab, Ross has an ex-Telstra one that he uses daily and can fill you in on the ins and outs.

[dmdigital]

You can also buy extended seat rails (eg MUDSTUFF.CO.UK, MUD Seat Rails, Land Rover Defender Solutions: West Yorkshire)

[lardy]

You can also buy extended seat rails (eg MUDSTUFF.CO.UK, MUD Seat Rails, Land Rover Defender Solutions: West Yorkshire)

mate when it's on the road mine is a daily drive the twin cab aspect keeps the boss happy (though what it has to do with her i don't know she has never driven it, bloody itinerant co pilot) i utilised the mud rails and boy it makes a hell of a difference and they are tough cos i am a fat bastard ...all i can say is go for ya life personally i would keep the tub as is, if the original landy one sticking a longer one on is just gonna alter your departure angle

[Cliffy]

Got offered a 94' Defender wagon yesterday for under $6000 but as I have a Disco1 (we'll actually my wife now does....after being forced to drive it after her Corona was put off the road, she has never stopped driving it!!!!) I realy need something with carrying capacity.
The ones I'm looking at are only CC not DC which suits me just fine.
The only thing that MIGHT be a pain is the Aircraft carrier deck of a tray and the turning circle off road. (some of those track down south can be a little tight!).

[lardy]

Got offered a 94' Defender wagon yesterday for under $6000 but as I have a Disco1 (we'll actually my wife now does....after being forced to drive it after her Corona was put off the road, she has never stopped driving it!!!!) I reaaly need something with carrying capacity.
The ones I'm looking at are only CC not DC which suits me just fine.
The only thing that MIGHT be a pain is the Aircraft carrier deck of a tray and the turning circle off road. (some of those track down south can be a little tight!).

there is a tub available on the site in the markets section there may well be two one converted to a trailer so you could remedy that would need a measure of the chassis/ tray bed and if you want i could measure my tub to give you the dimensions of that if it helps

[wally]

I've had a single cab 130 for the past 5 years or so. I've also had a 130 CC in the past. Personally I find there's just no comparison between a Defender and a 70 series Landc*****r in terms of comfort. I've spent an awful lot of time behind the wheel of both. The ride is better in the Land Rover and the seats are far more comfortable. Landc*****rs give me a sore back, whereas I can be behind the wheel of a Defender all day without a problem. Some people will complain that the seat's positioned too close to the door resulting in a lack of shoulder room and that the handbrake intrudes into the footwell. I've never found either of these things to be a problem. I will acknowledge that for taller or wider frames they may be a little cramped, but I'm a short, skinny bloke and they fit me perfectly. And I'm not an air-conditioning sort of bloke (my 130 doesn't have it), so I drive with the window down, and generally with the right elbow resting on the door. If I do wind the window up, I find that I do miss my armrest. What's it like to live with? I couldn't live without it. If you're not driving in the city I can't think of a single reason not to have one.

And another thing...My wife's daily drive is a 2008 Forester. It turns out that the 130 uses less fuel. Even I am surprised by that.

[XSiV]

Cliffy I have to say I couldn't agree more with wally. I've owned my 130 CC for almost 3 years now and I don't think I could ever own another vehicle. Mine's my daily driver in the city and apart from the occasional 3 point turn on the tighter tracks and the odd roundabout in town, I've never had a problem with it on or off the road.

I'm 6'2"+ and have broad shoulders and at first I thought a defender would be too tight and uncomfortable but I have found it to be quite the opposite. As wally said, the 130's seats are very comfortable. I have no problems driving all day in it. In fact I bought it in Toowoombah QLD and after a brief overnight at a mates place on the tweed river I then drove it to Helensburgh, south of Sydney in one day without the slightest discomfort.

The power you can get out of the td5 is incredible and the fuel economy is also. I have a 6' x 6' tray on mine, upon which I mount a removable pod that has a roof top tent on top and all our camping gear. It will go anywhere and take 1.3 tonne of gear with it.

In respect to capability and payload you cannot beat a 130.

[Cliffy]

Yeah, gotta agree Wally. The Cruiser nailed my back on the 5 hour drive from Perth to the shack.
My biggest problem is most of the vehicles are in the East and I'm in the West.
Transporting them over is not a problem but getting sellers to A)- Be honest and take as more than 2 crappy picks does not ease my fears of buying a dud.
Guy here on the forum has 97' 110 CC but it could be too heavily modified to pass inspection here in WA although it's probably excactly what I am looking for. THe fact that I am 6'4" also pushes me towards an extra cab and there are I'm told only 4 here in WA. Funnily enough, I have run into 2 of the vehilces and thier owners in the past 2 weeks. Both guys while amused at me chasing them down the street declined to sell me their Landies.
Maybe need to get an RAC check on the eastern units but I do not have confidence in them either as I have seen some inspection reports that were disgusting as the seller must have bribed the guy to overlook some pretty big defects!
Keep the info going, I will have to decide pretty quickly what I am going do.
I will be going for a TDI as that's all the budget allows (can only use sold cruiser funds).

Thanks guys!!

[lardy]

Maybe need to get an RAC check on the eastern units but I do not have confidence in them either as I have seen some inspection reports that were disgusting as the seller must have bribed the guy to overlook some pretty big defects!
Keep the info going, I will have to decide pretty quickly what I am going do.
I will be going for a TDI as that's all the budget allows (can only use sold cruiser funds).

Thanks guys!!

Hey mate i did look at some 130's in the eastern states and the local garage of one was the rac place desiganted to do the test we are talking the same town (instantly i thought oh no) but i gotta say the report came back that the landy was pretty much abused and rooted i got a fax and a follow up original report, and although the mechanic was required to remain impartial he steered me right, but you have to pick your questions, as i asked him straight out "would you buy that motor" he said "i cannot tell you that" so try another tack and you might gleen enough info as i did