Defender Station Wagon TD5

[eupa]

Originally Posted by peteb

Gavin and Codprawn, thanks for the PM's I am glad that you have made up and apologies accepted. It was all a storm in a D cup but happy that we can all agree the Defender is the best 4x4 by far

Eupa, I don't understand your rude PM about the Irish and insults about the English, but then I guess this was the most excitement you have had for a long time in Belgium At least you now agree as well that it was all a bit of fun and that if you needed a new 4 x 4 you would go for the Defender, why you don't say it on the forum is for you to decide

I have not made any comments about the Irish.. and all I said about the English was " where has all the prowess gone...)


I like the Irish and I am ENGLISH !!!!!

Jonathan

[Ken]

pete.

On the subject of the soft A frame bull bar, I would suggest you go for the A frame (only covers the grille area) rather than a full bull bar which covers the full width as I have seen slight impacts force the bull bar back enough to break the headlights and bend both wings as well as break the grille and rad.

Personally I go for a black powder coated cheap steel bull bar that bolts straight to the original bumper and has spot light mounts. Much cheaper than the soft one and more robust. For stuff like this I would go to one of the aftermarket suppliers like Paddock or John Craddock (look in LRO) as they are much cheaper than direct from LR.

On the side steps, you can get rock sliders that incorporate side steps, but they are generally not much lower than the footwell because for offroading you don't want anything hanging down too low!

There are various alternatives to the original side steps ( which I would have thought would come as standard) from the above suppliers but I would see how you get on with the originals first(assuming you get them). They do get damaged easily if used off road, especially if you forget to fold them up! If you don't get any and have to buy some then get the full length type as the small fold down ones are OK getting in but not so getting out as its difficult to see where you are putting your foot (especially if you have very short legs!).

Hope you have fun with your 90 and I'm sure it will suit your needs admirably.

Ken.

[codprawn]

Originally Posted by Ken

Pete.

Glad you have seen through all the banter.

The following I would suggest as necessary for what you are planning to do, and the rest are nice for looks (or for extreme offroading which I assume is unlikely with a boat attached).

Rubber floor mats for front footwells and rear load space
Rear work light is useful if recovering boat in the dark
locking wheel nuts (if it doesn't come with)
rear lamp guards may be useful if you are prone to catching things with trailers, ropes etc
I would thoroughly recomend the underbody treatment with waxoyl or the more expensive stuff if you can afford.

The rest are nice to have but not necessary.

If you plan to go offroading (more than just a grassy field!) then I would suggest you add the tank, steering and diff protectors and definately replace the side sills with rock sliders and add head light protectors.

Also consider getting yourself a high lift jack, great for most things (not just for the LR, but can be used for pulling tree stumps in the garden and many other things)

Roof rack is useful but increases height of vehicle to well over 2m which will restrict some car park access.

with regard the 90/110 long range driving Q, the 90 has a very short wheelbase, even compared to many cars, and is therefore not as stable at motorway speeds as the longer 110. It is however not a drastic difference and it doesn't mean you can't cruise along the M4 at 70+ in a 90.

Hope this helps.

Ken.

Totally agree Ken but to be honest unless you go bonkers you really don't need anything to take a Landie offroad.

I have been to some pretty extreme places and as long as you are careful then you can avoid any damage. Who needs a sump guard when the engine is a foot above the axle????

Roof rack on my 110 gets used a lot - mainly for moving freinds furninture about - can carry 2 complete suites!!!

The most over-rated bit of kit for offroading has to be a winch - most of the time when you get stuck you need to come out backwards - which is why I carry a Tirfor - as powerful as any winch but far more versatile - slow and hard work though!!!

[Ken]

Cod.

I agree with your comments, but I thought the mats etc would be sensible for keeping seaweed off the floor etc.

Some friends and I go green laning and we have managed to do the following to a 110 county:

Dented sump, bent track rod, dented diff casing, bent steps (now has galv rock sliders!) and last time we tore the roof rack off completely on an overhanging tree! We may sound like amateurs, but its amazing where you can find a rock sometimes!

I do have a full length 110 rof rack and its very useful, but as I said to pete it can be an issue with parking sometimes.

We don't have an electic winch on any of our vehicles, but we do have a couple of tirfors so again I have to agree.

The over-riding issue however is that as we have agreed, there is a strange bond between a person and their LR, and If you think a bull bar or winch looks cool and makes your LR different from the rest then go for it.

I agree however that most things are definate 'wants' rather than 'needs'.

Ken.

[peteb]

Ken and Cod, am on Paddock site now, getting front mats (original), Wipac spots 8", Safari Snorkel ( should I or not?), rear work light, just the A frame to choose, I like the metal one at £48 but they have the ABS plastic one on an offer at £84, is it worth it, see the pics of it here (PM508) :- http://www.paddockspares.com/shop/system/index.html

I had not thought about parking wiith roof rack so an important point, we use a lot of multi story car parks so will give that a miss at the moment.

Thanks again,

[codprawn]

Originally Posted by peteb

Ken and Cod, am on Paddock site now, getting front mats (original), Wipac spots 8", Safari Snorkel ( should I or not?), rear work light, just the A frame to choose, I like the metal one at £48 but they have the ABS plastic one on an offer at £84, is it worth it, see the pics of it here (PM508) :- http://www.paddockspares.com/shop/system/index.html

I had not thought about parking wiith roof rack so an important point, we use a lot of multi story car parks so will give that a miss at the moment.

Thanks again,

Unless you intend really deep wading you won't need a snorkel - having said that they DO look cool - I am about to fit 2 on mine - one for each side as it's a V8 and uses a lot of air!!!

As regards the A frame does it have provision for fitting your spots???

This brings back the old question of bullbars and A bars - loads of people slag them off for causing more damage to pedestrians etc BUT to be honest - the front of a land Rover is not exactly very soft anyway!!! Especially if you fit a winch to it!!! Hear plenty of people calling for a ban on bullbars - why not on wiches or front mounted towballs????

[Ken]

Pete.

Snorkel will take some fitting if you are doing it yourself, and unless you have a major catastophe on the slip then you are unikely to need it so again it comes down to the 'looks cool' category.

Don't like the look of the plastic A bar personally, but its a preference thing. I note the with/without air con note, you need to check this with some of them if your has aircon as the radiator sticks further forward to house the air con rad.

Do you have skype or Yahoo messenger?

Ken

[codprawn]

Originally Posted by Ken

Cod.


Some friends and I go green laning and we have managed to do the following to a 110 county:

Dented sump, bent track rod, dented diff casing, bent steps (now has galv rock sliders!) and last time we tore the roof rack off completely on an overhanging tree! We may sound like amateurs, but its amazing where you can find a rock sometimes!


Ken.

How the hell did you dent the sump??? NEVER seen that before!!! Steps I removed straight away - well my girlfriend removed the first one on a low wall..... but remember the steps are very low - much lower than the sills which tend to be protected by the chassis rails.

Diff guards I would fit as they do get bashed a lot - never broken one though!!!

The track rod is probably the weakest link - pretty vulnerable in extreme conditions. Either a steering guard or a hollow tube slid over it for better protection.

Having said all this I drove a brand new Discovery over some pretty exteme routes several times with no damage at all - was petrified though!!! Took it very slow!!!

[peteb]

I didn't get aircon because you lost a lot of leg room in the cab, it brought out the lower panel about 4" or so towards your knees. I mentioned the soft A bar as I thought it would be a bit more pedestrian friendly, and has place to fit lights the metal one looks good but could give you a bit of a headache.

I thought the snorkel kit would be good so that I could anchor off shore then go with the D90 to get the boat and drag it onto the trailer, this would make it easier for one person to recover it Yes a joke I actually heard that the snorkel was also for dusty conditions in order that you could get cleaner air in, I live on an unmade road so thought that would help, only £124 reduced by 30 or 40 so not too bad, but what is the difficulty in the fitting, picture of fitting diagram looks easy, tools required are saw and sledge hammer Could I just bolt it on for show and not fit it

Chequer plate looks a load of crap, why drill holes and make it more of a rust bucket? Just need to choose some side steps for a leg up, giving the winch a miss after your comments.

What about petrol tank guard? big article on them in one of the mags I got, but don't know if it is something you would hit easy.

[Ken]

If it requires removal of fuel tank to fit the guard then thats not easy.

I don't think that a tank guard is really necessary, and it can cause a problem in trapping mud etc between the guard and tank which then rots the tank.

Personally unless you are planning some serious offroading, then I would give the tank guard a miss.

Ken.

[peteb]

In the Safari section at Paddocks, can you tell me if I need DA3027 AND PM703 or just one of them, I can't understand it.

Thanks

[Ken]

pete.

They are different snorkels!

Safari one is made of plastic and the other one is metal.

Safari is the pucker make and definately looks better.

Ken.

[peteb]

Thanks Ken and Cod, will update you tomorrow.

[codprawn]

With a tow hitch fitted you do NOT need a tank guard!!!!

[Jono]

Originally Posted by Ken

tank which then rots the tank.

Personally unless you are planning some serious offroading, then I would give the tank guard a miss.

Ken.

Er... what's your tank made from Ken? I'm pretty sure mine's a rotomoulded item..

[Ken]

the tank on my 110 is steel, but thinking about it, the disco is plastic.

The trailing arms for the Dixon Bate hitch offer little protection to the tank.

By the sound of what pete is planning to do then we are looking more at cosmetics than serious off road needs so as I said before the tank guard is probably not really an issue, and definately not a cosmetic one.

Ken.

[Jono]

Originally Posted by Ken

the tank on my 110 is steel, but thinking about it, the disco is plastic.


Ken.

Just been to check and my 110 tank is placcy....

[DM]

Originally Posted by Jono

People just talking utter bollox about some inconsequential minutia…

Originally Posted by Jono

Just been to check and my 110 tank is placcy....

DM

[Jono]

Originally Posted by davidmanning

DM

Piss off ya Nobba......

[DM]

Originally Posted by Jono

Piss off ya Nobba......

One will not go to heaven with remarks like that. You need to find Jesus.

DM