leeds

As Dave said ammo boxes (steel) are cheap and waterproof around a fiver Believe Wolf Box is a South African Army ammo box costs around £25 Go to your army surplus store and have a look for ali tool boxes. Got some about size of a wolf box these are robust reasonably dust and water tight. Have one bolted down in back of hybrid with recovery gear etc in Brendan

Safari Equip stuff is well made! Their rock sliders are galvanised and then powder coated. I can vouch for the quality of their gear. On another forum I saw photos of rusting swinging wheel carriers which were less then a year old. The Safari equip one on the back of the 110 is still in good nick after about 5 years. Remember old adage. Buy cheap, pay twice over! Brendan

Interesting! There again in ponds etc there are other factors to introduce algae growth. I have only had algae growing in a clear water bottle after storing it for months. There again can always resort to the maxim of storing caving/climbing gear. Store in a clean, dry, cool dark place. Makes you wonder what the shelf life is on bottled water???? Brendan

Whilst the black Nato water containers are tough I am not sure that I fully buy into the opaque container being a benefit to stopping algae growing it it as a practical consideration for the average user. Yes algae will grow in clear bottles but it takes many weeks if not months to grow. Is this really a practical issue since water will normally only be carried for a few days/weeks rather then long term storage? For long term storage of water yes opaque containers. Some of the best water containers I have come across are the 20l Swiss Army water bladders such as these Small when empty, tough, flexible and black. They do tend not to work after a road train has run over them! Anyone know of a decent UK supplier at a reasonable price? Trek has them at £26. Can only find them from America on ebay for about £12 but p & p is expensive! Brendan

Thanks folks. Think it will be a case of borrowing the crimping tool from Mark the sparki. Brendan

Need to make up some Anderson onnectors so what is best way of connecting wires Solder? Crimp? Solder and crimp? Have access to a rather large crimping tool that my sparky uses. Brendan Brendan

Tensioner pulley has been changed. The old one felt weaker then the replacement one. Hope that cures the problem Brendan

One big problem is that not all virus are know and that they can mutate. This may cause problems as it could be the unknown virus that makes us sick or kill us. Doing a quick back ground search on viruses gives the size of the smallest virus as 25 nanometres. The filtration pore size on the Lifesaver is 15 nanometres and so should filter out most viruses. So it should be capable of filtering out the vast majourity of viruses As for flow rates it is 2.5 litres per minute but it only holds 0.75 litres so flow rate not critical as refilling time would be the main time constraint Brendan PS Just found this technical FAQ on the Life Saver HERE

This SITE might be of interest. Brendan

The drive/fan belt failed on the D2 last October when my partner was driving it. The AA come to the rescue and fitted an aftermarket belt bought at a local independent LR dealer. The fan/drive belt failed again on Monday whilst my partner was leaving Billing and going over a speed hump at 5-8 mph. This belt had a maximum 8,000 miles since previous one went. This after market belt is 1 mm longer then a OEM. Can not see that being the cause of failure. The damage to the belt was concentrated on about a 3" section of the belt So what things should be checked out? Currently wondering about the tensioning pulley. Regards Brendan

Ensuring you get clean safe drinking water can be difficult in certain parts of the world. Steritabs used to be readily available, have not used them in years but the after taste was awlful. People who are going to travel might like to consider an ultra filtration water bottle such as the Lifesaver 4000UF. There website is HERE Not cheap but managed to get one at Billing at a much cheaper price then the advertised web price. Now would it be possible to plumb one into a vehicle? No idea but might be worth an enquiry. Hope that helps some people Regards Brendan

The Halfords 150 piece professional set is a good buy. Latest version includes some ratchet spanners. They have improved the case by putting metal catches on rather then the plastic ones which broke. OK life time gaurantee does cover the case. Yes you will need sockets as well as sometimes can only get in with a socket rather then a spanner. Also take a 9/16 spanner and a prop shaft tool or 2 x 9/16 spanners for UJ repairs. Circlip pliers, mole grips, pliers, pry bar, folding axle stand, test meter, crimping tool etc Get a 24 inch breaker bar for that 27mm socket Grease gun and spare cartridges yes. Don't use bungees to fasten down standard 5 litre plastic bottles as they can wear through the bottle. Makes a lovely mess inside. Either store them in a box or use oil safe drums. Use tape to keep lids on. Also tape up the filler bung on jacks. Btrendan

I spent some time on the Ashcroft stand speaking to Mr Ashcroft senior. He suggested that Ashcrofts shafts were not necessary for my 110, although he was willing to take my money That is genuine advice and not advice based on trying to get a sale. So another well done to the Ashcroft team. Regards Brendan

Hate to say this Kev but you are wrong LRM originally annouced Newark as 23/24/25th July 2010 LRO announced Billing as 16/17/18th July 2010 after the LRM announcement People much happier in general terms. Now LRM has announced revised dates as 16/17/18th July 2010 See HERE at bottom of page. So blame for clash next year is firmly at LRM doorstep! Regards Brendan

If you have corrected the wiring to the pins and there is still a small current draw then everything is still not perfect. Have you taken the negative wire all the way back to the battery? Regards Brendan

At Billing one of the traders remarked that the use of a NATO hitch for towing in the UK was illegal. When I questioned this statement he said that only the 50mm tow ball was legal for towing in the UK. The obvious reply to that was what about the British army towing trailers on UK roads. So what are the legal restrictions on different towing hitches in the UK? Regards Brendan

Many food stuffs and liquids such as milk etc are transported in stainless steel tanks. So there is no safety fears from the stainless steel itself. Keep fuel and water tanks as low as possible. You might want to consider flexible water containers rather then one or two fixed volume tanks especially if you are planning on using a 90 as an overland vehicle where space can be at a premium. My solution in the 110 was a stainless 70 litre tank in the rear footwell plus some water bladders. This was made by WVA Holdings/Safari Equip in Bradford. Be careful of only having one water tank as if you top up with 'dodgy' water all your water supply is contaminated. Ensure your drinking water is kept clean in a seperate tank you can always use less clean water for washing etc. Use of wet wipes reduces personal washing water requirements. Using kitchen roll etc for cleaning plates etc can reduce washing up water as well. HTH Regards Brendan

Like Chris, I arrived at Billing on Wednesday to be a 'hired friend' and was there until late Monday morning. LRO/LP promised increased/better security and toilet facilities. Plenty of toilets around which were kept clean and stocked with loo rolls. Plenty of wheelie bins around as well. Security was good and police were also on site patrolling so minimal anti social behaviour. As for Billing flooding there were frequent extremely heavy showers and the ground did drain well. So I think LRO/Live Promotions delivered on their promises. Regards Brendan

I don't think there is an offical closing time on the Friday. Traders tend to stay open whilst there are customers or until the BBQ and beer calls them away from the stand and the 'shutters' will come down then Brendan

What finish has the old roll bar got on? If it is already powder coated then clean it off might be fun and games. Bead blasting tends to bounce off powder coating. Have a look HERE one of these guys might be able to help you out. Best long term finish is probaly galvanisation and then powder coated to finish. Regards Brendan

A well maintained vehicle is an essential starting point now start to think and practise preventertive maintainence. Also go through all your kit and ask yourself what would happen if I lost/destroyed each bit of kit. If travelling in a convoy kit and spares can be shared especially if similar vehicles are travelling. If travelling as a solo vehicle you need to be totally self sufficient. Then you may well need to double up on certain items of essential kit. For instance lose a wheel brace, get a puncture and in extreme circumstances you could die for lack of a second wheel brace or a 27mm socket Regards Brendan

The sleeping area of the Beduin tents vary for instance the sleeping area of the Explorer 1 is 2.05 x 1.25 whereas the Explorer 2 is 1.65 x 2.05m. I would suggest that if Baldy is interested in rooftents that he has a good chat with Jon or Ellie on the Venture Overland stand at Billing. He can then decide if any of the Beduin tents suits his needs. Regards Brendan

Beduin tents are highly regarded. Have a look here Have a few words with Jon or Ellie on the Venture Overland stand atBilling. They will be happy to show you the tents and answer any questions you have Regards Brendan

Hi Daan, Just read your reply and dug the folding axle stand out of the back of the 110. I can not see any important structural welds. The welds I can see are as follows 1) Full ring weld fastening saddle to upright tube. Location weld rather then structural? 2) Continuous weld of feet to leg. Non structural?? Will provide stability to U shaped legs 3) 3 tack welds to base of upright tube. Non structural. Provides a stop for the 3 piece central ring which stops legs splaying too far. 4) 3 locating tubes for top leg pivot points. These are tack welded top and bottom and as far as I can seen is non strutural. With no load applied to the stand the base of the upright tube just about touches the floor. Assuming under a reasonable load the base of the upright tube touches the floor then the axle stand is being basically loaded vertically down a fixed column. The 'weak' point as I see it would be the solid 6mm(?) rivets which act as pivot points for the folding legs. The one I have appears to be like tis available on ebay Have had a look at the others on ebay and the feet appear to be held on by 3 tack welds rather then the continuous welds on this one. There is no room in my vehicles for something which is not capable of working properly. Can you recommend a better folding axle stand? Regards Brendan

Mike is referring to the two lids , one on the battery box, the other on the drivers seat storage box. Without reinforcing these lids with plywood I would be concerned that they would deform when used as a jack load spreading plate. Regards Brendan