modifications for a defender 90 for the desert

[Spanish Bob]

most people take 110s to the desert. Ive got a 90 - I dont want a 110 - but I do want to go back to the desert, so.....

....anyone got any advice on how to prepare one, piccies, examples of one already done etc.......

Ive searched, but...

cheers

bob

[essexlandy]

gonna want a snorkel with all that dust

[Abu]

Get rid of your mud tyres and put on some nice fat non aggressive ones on.

Long tow rope and maybe some sand ladders.

Other then that you can go bog standard. Alot of sand driving is skill rather then a prepped vehicle. SWB are good as you dont get beached as you go over crests:D You get to pull the long boys off he he

If your taking a manual...change gear fast lol:p:p

EDIT: you can go really modded if you want...but in all honesty it doesnt make a huge amount of difference from past experiance

[Spanish Bob]

gonna want a snorkel with all that dust
got a home made one.

ta!

[Spanish Bob]

Get rid of your mud tyres and put on some nice fat non aggressive ones on.

Long tow rope and maybe some sand ladders.

Other then that you can go bog standard. Alot of sand driving is skill rather then a prepped vehicle. SWB are good as you dont get beached as you go over crests:D You get to pull the long boys off he he

If your taking a manual...change gear fast lol:p:p

EDIT: you can go really modded if you want...but in all honesty it doesnt make a huge amount of difference from past experiance

Cheers Skinty!

I haven´t got M/Ts, Ive got A/Ts they seem OK, was hoping to keep them.

What about other mods, internal stuff, batteries, etc.....

bob

[etsdit]

What about other mods, internal stuff, batteries, etc.....

bob

my thoughts...

you will probably need a fridge (Engel are very good) but you wouldnt neccessarily need a split charge system... depends what else you are running tho... 1 optima red top would be sufficient :)

slightly harder suspension is not a bad idea for some of the heavily corregated tracks - would make the ride much easier. AT's are fine for the harder tracks as well as sand driving

roof tent is recommended unless you dont mind sharing your sleeping bag with the creepy cralwlies :eek:

snorkel will help too.

must have kit: 2x 20lt jerry cans for water, and 2 for fuel. Sandtracks and recovery rope as Skinty mentioned,a hi-lift and a spare air filter or two :)

[Abu]

Im trying to think back to what we did on our trucks and i cant think of anything that was that special.

2 disco's, one wrangler, one trooper, one land cruiser and one nissan pathfinder were more or less factory standard. On many occasions the pathfinder out did the mighty land cruisers:D

AT's should be fine....the only problem with lugs is soft sand. You break the crust of the sand and dig yourself down rather then along. A good alternative to sand ladders are palm leafs

We took them into the empty quarter of saudi arabia, UAE and oman etc and never had any problems. Bar a blown engine....so the snorkel is probably a good idea:D:D

A fridge is nice to keep some food and drink cold:) (A spare battery as a back up might be useful, but if your going in a convoy there will be plenty of helpful jumps) Lots of spare parts, depending on how far into oblivion you fancy going:p

We were never entirelly serious. Rather we were expats enjoying the company cars we were given for at most a week at a time travelling to different camping sites and messing about once we got set up :D Storage was an issue for a familly of 4 in one vehicle but as long as you keep the heavy stuff down you can pack it to the brim......so maybe a dog guard....lol

Im sure i read something , a big PDF of someone who was planning a trek accross affrica...that had loads and loads of info in. The guy who wrote it covered every eventuallity:eek:

Whereever your heading im insanely jealous. Nothing compares to offroading in sand

sooo:

Snorkel
Ladders
Fridge
Extra fuel and water storage
recovery gear
spares

and walla .....we're off to see the desert, the wonderful desert of oz

[hinsonberger]

Hey Bob,

As Skinty mentioned, try this Tom Sheppard PDF on desert expeditions. Very comprehensive:

http://www.rgs.org/PDF/Desert.pdf

Cheers

[Abu]

Hey Bob,

As Skinty mentioned, try this Tom Sheppard PDF on desert expeditions. Very comprehensive:

http://www.rgs.org/PDF/Desert.pdf

Cheers

Thats the one:D:D

[pak967]

You might find this useful

http://www.sahara-overland.com/desertdriving

[pak967]

........................also available here

http://www.landroverenthusiast.com/store/dvd.html

[Spanish Bob]

Cheers, will start looking at that material. I think Ive got Toms stuff, but I´ll re read as its always a good read!!

pak967 - Chris Scott, well known to me, biker before he was a 4x4er and I probably own every book and DVD hes ever done. Quite right to point him out he is a real source of quality info.

Ive been to the desert, Ive lived in that part of the world, especially interested in knowing what other people who have adapted vehicles have tried and whther they have been good or bad.

ta very muchly:D

bob

[pak967]

You might have seen a programme ray mears did on desert survival, from what i remember all he did to his landy was a snorkel for the dust, extra spare wheels ,sand ladders ,tarp for shade , as much water as you can carry...and tell people your route.......but im sure you knew all that lol !

[Spanish Bob]

You might have seen a programme ray mears did on desert survival, from what i remember all he did to his landy was a snorkel for the dust, extra spare wheels ,sand ladders ,tarp for shade , as much water as you can carry...and tell people your route.......but im sure you knew all that lol !

No I haven´t seen the programme - I´ll see if I can track down a copy.
Wot no DVD???:D

[El Stiemo]

Hi Bob,

as has been mentioned above: Water (either Jerry's or a built-in tank, but space in the 90 might not be sufficient for a fender tank, don't know really? Recovery equipment, i.e. Hi Lift, kinetic snatch strap, air compressor to reinflate the tyres (can run off cigarette lighter, or convert an e.g. aircon compressor and use that as full time install).

AT ' S are usually fine for soft sand, the tyre should be able to make a bulge on the sidewall when you deflate it, see pic. Don't hesitate to go down to approx 0.9 bar in soft sand, just don't drive too fast like that.

Keep as much weight as low as possible, for the creepy crawlies a rooftop tent is great but it lifts the c of g of a landy a lot. Take a first aid kit.

Plan your route if you drive in the dunes, DO NOT go over the crest of a dune if you do not know what's on the other side, might be a depression very difficult to get out of.

I recommend getting a GPS and good maps. For shocks, I can recomend OME's, they give a more secure ride on the corrugations, but most gas shocks are fine.

Take engine oil, brake fluid and ATF fluid plus the usual spares and tools.

Take binoculars along. If for nothing else, watch the night sky with them.

And also very important: Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but tracks! Take your refuse out with you.

Just my 2 c worth.

[El Stiemo]

Sorry, forgot the pic

[iggy]

Good list El! But do forget to bring plenty of water.....

iggy

[nickgriff]

Consider taking a large sheet with you so you can attach it to the side of the truck to create a shaded area.

[jasper110]

i suppose you could take and spend as much as you wish. i've never been to the desert so i couldn't comment on experience, however enough fuel, more water than you think you'll need, something to recover your vehicle (sand ladders), a form of communications to summon help, shelter,food, an ability to navigate without a GPS (incase of failure) and above all else knowledge of your limitations and your vehicles.

regarding the vehicle, its pretty good as standard. sure a more specific tyre choice will help. just make sure everything is in good condition to limit the chance of breakdowns.

try to go by KISS (keep it simple stupid)

remember your vehicle is your lifeline and treat it as such.

[essexlandy]

Ray Mears Extreme Survival Series 1&2 DVD
Price: £19.99 (inc VAT)


This has tthe dessert stuff on it

[pak967]

No I haven´t seen the programme - I´ll see if I can track down a copy.
Wot no DVD???:D

You will probably have to buy the whole series :D

One clever tip he mentioned was, if you are recovering out of sand, to tie the sand ladders to the back of the truck with a long length of string , then as you pull out you can drag the ladders with you ,and not risk getting stuck again in the same spot when you get out to pick them up ;)

[streaky]

We have our own club out here in the UAE which also covers other GULF countries. (Saudi, Oman etc)
Membership is up to around 600 or so people (mainly ex-pats) of whom 200 are very active.
I was the clubs safety and training officer for four years but have taken a back seat now in favor of a simple marshals position.

There are alot of Rovers in the club, Tombraiders, 110's, Discos, Rangies and the single 130 (mine) but not too many 90's. They are considered abit small when extra fuel, water, camping gear,recovery gear, spares etc all have to be packed for a few days out in the dunes.

Try our club website on me4x4.com/ and you'll get tonnes of ideas for the mods that you think you might want done. Take a look in the gallery section for ideas. They may not all be 90's but the ideas can often be taken from one truck to another.

As far as mods to your vehicle goes....most people here have answered in the way of additional equipment for packing. I'd say tyres are top priority for the actual truck.
Snorkels are not vital but can be considered as an up-grade.
Suspension falls into the same catagory. It's all weight dependant and also how fast you intend to drive the gatch tracks etc. You won't need twin shocks and uprated springs if all you are going to do is bimble along a regular sand track with a half laden vehicle. (as an example)

Alot depends on how far away and how long you want to be away from home. Are you planning an expedition of some sort or just a week away?
The depth of the pocket is the biggest determining factor.
I could have bought a brand new series two Discovery for the same price as what I've spent on my Defender 130 in the past two years!

I also have the Vehicle Dependant Expedition Guide by Tom Sheppard. He really is a master of the game and the book is amoungst my most favorite publications ever.

Lets see how you answer a few of these points and then we can take it further with ideas and modifications etc.

Regards Streaky.

[Spanish Bob]

Hey streaky,

trip planned will be several weeks. Mixed terrain, some hard, some very hard, some not. I will be alone in the car, but in a group of several vehicles.

Appreciate what youve said about the 90, but Ive got a 90 not a 110 or 130 and given that its parked in central barcelona and most of the driving I do in it a tight forest or mountain routes I prefer the 90 as its more of an all-rounder for me.

Suspension is already upgraded and it has all the neccesary underbody protection. Mechanically its very good, engine pulls and no leaks, knocks or similar.

will have a look at the site! cheers

bob

[Spanish Bob]

I also have the Vehicle Dependant Expedition Guide by Tom Sheppard. He really is a master of the game and the book is amoungst my most favorite publications ever.


450$ at amazon.com
95squid at amazon.co.uk

:eek: buy the book or do the trip?

[streaky]

Wow.....that must be a typo. I can't remember what I paid but it ws in the regeon on 20-40 pounds from the UK.

Jaspers above advice seems like common sense to me. Don't go over board and keep it simple when ever possible.

Tires are always an issue on overland trips.
I'm off to Oman in two weeks for a ten day trip in which I intend to capture 4 of the remaining 5 confuence points in the Rub Al Khali Empty quarter there. Loosing tires is always a big concern for me when away from civilization and I'll be taking two spares and some spares tubes, repair kits etc.
I used to run Perrelli Dakars, but have made a switch to BFG AT's to get better all round performance.Knowing what type of terrain to expect throughout a trip is nice but it's not always available before hand. The tubes in the Perrelli Rally tires were also prone to rotating inside the tire when used at lower pressures. I was scared of ripping a valve out so I went back to tubeless again.

It looks like you've taken care of the suspension, beware of over-loading the truck before you set off! Once you get into soft sand you'll have these words niggling away at you for the whole trip otherwise!

Have you considered a roof rack to carry a few extras up-top? Rover stipulate 75kg as the maximum reccomended weight, but at least you can put a 2nd spare wheel and few other items up there that you hopefully won't need. Again.....keep the weight down as low as possible, but bed rolls etc can go up there. They are light but take up valuable space inside the truck. A cargo net will help keep the buffeting down if you can pull it tight enough.

Make sure your ride has good recovery points for snatch recovery in the sand. We normally use a good quality recovery strap for such events and have found that sand ladders and waffles take up more space and weight than they are worth. There will be other trucks around to snatch you out so a little bit of digging around the wheels before the actual pull should be enough to get you out.
Ensure that the inside of the Defender has plenty of quality tie down points in the cargo bed. Fuel cans should if possible be loaded in between the axles to get the best weight distribution. The best part of the 90 is that you can't really get this wrong by putting any loads behind the rear axle!
Being able to access things in a hurry is also important. The use of a second floor with slide out draws would be ideal for the 90. You could put the occasional use items, tools, recovery gear, spares etc in the draws and then secure the camping kit on top along with the fridge and daily use items.
Failing this, use stackle boxes.

Tinting the glass on the rear panels is also a good idea. It keeps the temperature down by quite alot in summer. The Defender's glass is all flat, so buying a roll of 30% tint can be a cheap and easy job for an afternoon. I did mine yesterday on the Disco in two hours. I reccomend nothing darker than 30% though. Some of the border guards get suspicious of vehicles fitted with anything darker and I've heard of people having the film removed at border crossings by the police.

A second battery is a nice peice of mind to have on board. If you don't have one then at least make it easy to use jumper cables by rigging up some Anderson cannectors to your battery and fit the male end to a set of jump leads.

Water. You should have planned the trip enough to know where and when you can take on supplies of fresh drinking water. Washing water is different and can be carried in a 25lt jerry can. Bottles of water can bought at fuel stops on route. Don't be tempted to buy the larger 5lt or 10lt bottles. We have found that with constant abuse in the back of the truck they can split open and you loose all of the days supply in one go.
I carry purification and chlorine tablets as a precaution incase bottles water isn't available.

Get a small inverter to charge up your gadgets, it doesn't have to be a 1000 watt jobby to run a small house! Another handy item if you can get them are the small FRS radios. They are small enough to hide at border crossings and arn't powerfull enough to alert anyone else to you using them. Comms during convoys saves alot of time and agrevation between other people in the convoy. They may be ilegal in some countries, but they are not serious enough to send you to jail if you're caught using them.......I've never had a problem with comms in the 17 years I've been in this regeon anyway.

Chat later.

regards.

Streaky.

[swag298]

Forget the roof tent, you'll soon get used to the wierd creepy-crawlies!
Or you can sleep in a 90 if it's just for one.

A fold down piece of ply on the passenger side of the seat bulkhead, that drops down to a couple of brackets on the front bulkhead. You can even put a full width piece in if you leave a cut-out for the steering wheel.
It has the added advantage of forming a barrier to stop kit flying forward into the cab when you're driving. You could even use weld-mesh instead of ply.
Another sideways folding bit, hinged on the body side capping gives you a full length bed.

swag

[Spanish Bob]

Cheers Streaky!

Ive got the inverter aleady and run the A/Ts, I have throught about the floor and looking at homebrewing it, although Ive seen matt savage do a damn good kit!

Rack - yep was thinking of second spare wheel, possibly a couple of jerry cans, ropes, spade, recovery kit basically. A bit undecided as Im not sure whether to try to put a tent on the roof or a mat and sleeping bag. Im not too into the roof tent idea and as I already have a tent for 2 wheel adventures that probably takes as long to set up, seems a bit pointless.

Regrettably I did not make a typo, they are first editions and youd have to bonkers to buy them. Course if any one wants to make a few quid making bootleg copies, I know of a bloke in northern Spain who might find a buyer.....

Ive used a hi lift but it makes me nervous (Ive got scorpion racer tree and rock sliders with grooves for the jack) but what about those air bag things? Will need to get a decent compressor of course.

Will need to make a list of parts to be taken as well for my 200Tdi.

Spent time in Tabouk (NW Saudi Arabia) as a teenager (due to dad being an armourer) some beautiful geography in that penninsula!


bob

[Spanish Bob]

Forget the roof tent, you'll soon get used to the wierd creepy-crawlies!
Or you can sleep in a 90 if it's just for one.

A fold down piece of ply on the passenger side of the seat bulkhead, that drops down to a couple of brackets on the front bulkhead. You can even put a full width piece in if you leave a cut-out for the steering wheel.
It has the added advantage of forming a barrier to stop kit flying forward into the cab when you're driving. You could even use weld-mesh instead of ply.
Another sideways folding bit, hinged on the body side capping gives you a full length bed.

swag
Swag - been thinking about that option as well. Travelling alone in car so no probs. Im big But Im sure I would fit.

thanks

bob

[Spanish Bob]

Forgot to mention - I aiming to put a solar panel on the roof rack as well so screw the tent.

I´d better speak to my bank manager!:D

[adafish]

and forget your GPS/SAT NAV stuff just take a sheet of SAND-PAPER.....thats the only map you'll need.......:heheheheh :heheheheh :heheheheh :heheheheh

[Spanish Bob]

and forget your GPS/SAT NAV stuff just take a sheet of SAND-PAPER.....thats the only map you'll need.......:heheheheh :heheheheh :heheheheh :heheheheh

****** off. how do you think Im going to find the ferry?

[streaky]

Ah Saudi.......I was there for ten years before moving to Dubai. Saudi has some of the best scenic stuff in the M.E....shame about the nutters who make us westerners want to leave.

Roof tents are great, but having owned one for the past 4 years I can't even think how much it has cost me in petrol! They really arn't good for fuel consumption and really increase the C.O.G too much for sand driving.

Air bags. If you're going to get one then spend the most you can afford. We see em' popping all over the place at weekends because people buy the cheap ones and expect them to work like the top of the range types.
To make a cheap one work like a decent one.....carry a large one meter square piece of mat/carpet or rubber sheet to guard against the sharps edges and hot parts of the exhaust.

Solar panels, just for trickle charging are great and nothing else unless you spend out on a full size unit. Definately better than nothing though.

Air compressors. Again you get what you pay for. I have destroyed two ARB's over a reletivly short time and have now switched to the VIAIR compressor and a 5 gallon tank. After two years I'm still using the original unit and it peforms great. Our compressors get used alot here, most week ends are spent in the dunes or Wadi's so we get to test the entire range.
Anything from Australia or South Africa tends to get good marks out of ten, but there are exceptions like the ARB compressor for example.

Chat later.

Regards.

Streaky.

[adafish]

that will be the wet bit........:D

[Spanish Bob]

that will be the wet bit........:D:D:D:D

[AJC]

Bob,

If you choose the 'under canvas' on the ground as opposed to the roof tent option remember to replace the standard pegs for sand pegs.

AJ

[Ben_J85JTY]

Bob

I have a PDF copy of Tom Sheppards Desert expedition guide if you want it.

PM me your email addy and I will send it over

Regards

Ben

[nobber]

spare turbo perhaps?

[Spanish Bob]

Bob,

If you choose the 'under canvas' on the ground as opposed to the roof tent option remember to replace the standard pegs for sand pegs.

AJ

thats a good one!

[streaky]

El Estiemo has mentioned a good point about dune driving and being aware of whats over the other side of a sand dune crest.

For this reason you will notice on my 130 Avitiar a big flag pole with flag attached flying from the back of the truck.
This is an indicator to the truck following me so he can see me over the other side of a crest.
Driving up a dune face, all you'll see is the long bonnet of your truck and the sky above. It's only when you've gone over the top that you'll actually be able to see whats on the other side. ie a stuck truck etc.

The lead vehicle will pick the path and he's the one who normally stops to take a peek over the other side making sure the route is do-able.
If every car in the convoy stopped at the bottom of each dune to look over the other side then you'd be there all day. We use these fibre glass roach poles with great success. Every one in the club has one as part of the desert kit.
It doesn't have to be 7 meters tall like mine....just an extra 6 feet will make all the difference to a safe convoy through the dunes. The FRS radios are also good for shouting "clear" once you've made it over the other side.

At night time I also put a light activated strobe on top of the pole to warn people of us camping in the bottom of sand bowls etc. One evening we were camping out and a gang of quad bikers came flying over a dune and through our camp. They stopped and appologised, but mentioned that they had no idea we were there.
Silly little things like this can make all the difference between a safe trip and a problem filled one.

Regards.

Streaky.

[Spanish Bob]

Thanks for all the replies!!! I really appreciate the help.

Im going to start looking know to see what I buy and what I bodge (sorry meant to say fabricate) myself!

thanks again.

bob