Steve's touring mods thread

[camel_landy]

Those of you that were asking about awnings... Have you had a look at the Hannibal ones? IMO, they're a much better design as they're free standing and don't require pegs & guy ropes. They also go up in under 30 sec.

M

[JDNSW]

Wow I didn't know they were that bad at sucking dust. I thought they were for water crossings, so was going to get one when we went to the cape.

We didn't have one on our last trip but it wasn't super dusty though. I'll add one to the list.

Snorkels are very rarely for water crossings - very few owners go in water deep enough to matter. But they are a good idea for dust - look at any tractor! But how necessary depends on circumstances - if you rarely drive in company on dirt roads, for example, they are little advantage, although obviously won't hurt. But if driving in company on dirt roads, definitely a good idea! Assuming your aircleaner is working they don't stop dust getting in, just reduce servicing needs for the aircleaner.

John

[camel_landy]

Snorkels are very rarely for water crossings - very few owners go in water deep enough to matter. But they are a good idea for dust - look at any tractor! But how necessary depends on circumstances - if you rarely drive in company on dirt roads, for example, they are little advantage, although obviously won't hurt. But if driving in company on dirt roads, definitely a good idea! Assuming your aircleaner is working they don't stop dust getting in, just reduce servicing needs for the aircleaner.

John

Ahhh... Yeeeessss... However... Have you seen how many snorkels out there point forwards??!!?? Rear facing would make a lot more sense in dusty conditions.

M

[weeds]

i wouldn't say having a snorkle is essential for outback touring, in saying that i have a snorkle that was fitted by the previous owner.

my defender is the first 4wd that i have owned that has a snorkle, when travelling long distances in a group one just needs to drop back from the car in front so that you have clean air, when your're a few hundred metres behind the car in front the level of dust in the air at the headlight level (where the orginal air intake is, well i'm guessing) )compared to roof level would be about the same so i reckon your air cleaner will end up with the same amount dust in it reguardless.

on my last trip 'even though i was travelling solo' it was school holidays i was either following, overtaking and passing cars going in the opposite direction therefore driving through plenty of dust. i think its good practice when touring to pull the air cleaner every week or so and blow the element out with compressed air, well at least inspect the element

[ak]

Would you be able to tell me a bit more about your rust proofing? Wondering what to do myself, thanks.

[seqfisho]

i wouldn't say having a snorkle is essential for outback touring, in saying that i have a snorkle that was fitted by the previous owner.

my defender is the first 4wd that i have owned that has a snorkle, when travelling long distances in a group one just needs to drop back from the car in front so that you have clean air, when your're a few hundred metres behind the car in front the level of dust in the air at the headlight level (where the orginal air intake is, well i'm guessing) )compared to roof level would be about the same so i reckon your air cleaner will end up with the same amount dust in it reguardless.

on my last trip 'even though i was travelling solo' it was school holidays i was either following, overtaking and passing cars going in the opposite direction therefore driving through plenty of dust. i think its good practice when touring to pull the air cleaner every week or so and blow the element out with compressed air, well at least inspect the element

The main problem with the defender is the location of the factory air intake, directly behind the front wheel, you dont have to be following or passing anyone for that to be sucking in dust, it just sucks in whatever the front wheel produces

[weeds]

when your're a few hundred metres behind the car in front the level of dust in the air at the headlight level (where the orginal air intake is, well i'm guessing) )compared to roof level would be about the same so i reckon your air cleaner will end up with the same amount dust in it reguardless.

i thought it may hace sat in behind the headlight

The main problem with the defender is the location of the factory air intake, directly behind the front wheel, you dont have to be following or passing anyone for that to be sucking in dust, it just sucks in whatever the front wheel produces

yep must agree now, its in a bad spot

[JDNSW]

The main problem with the defender is the location of the factory air intake, directly behind the front wheel, you dont have to be following or passing anyone for that to be sucking in dust, it just sucks in whatever the front wheel produces

Could be a point - it looks like it should, but this is the same place S3 heaters have their inlet - do they blow dust into the cabin? Not having a Defender I can't really comment.

Whether you have the snorkel facing forward or back will make no difference to how much dust you pick up (the dust will be sucked round with the air), although it may reduce the insect numbers. Facing it forward will give a very slight increase in manifold pressure to make up for the losses of the extra tubing, where facing it backwards will slightly reduce it.

John

[JDNSW]

Dunno where it sucked in, (likely thru poor seals on the 5 doors) but we got plenty of dust in our new Defender on our trip last year. First hint it was getting in was I could smell it. By the end of the trip the inside was quite red and dusty.

Most cars will get dust in them unless the air pressure inside is kept higher than outside, on a Landrover usually by keeping the vents open and everything else shut. Because Series/Defenders are made of a lot of bits bolted together, there are a lot more opportunities for dust to get in than in cars with conventional construction, but even there, few will keep the dust out unless pressure inside is kept higher than outside.

John

[Captain_Rightfoot]

Things are cooking along nicely. The traxide DBS is on the way. The tombed up ecu is also on the way back to brissy. It's going to be a fun weekend.

I've pretty much settled on arb lockers with maxi axles. I'm just finalising things but week after next looks like the date for that