leeds

But the folding axle stand which is used as a safety precaution solves that problem. Regards Brendan

Storing shovels can be awkward! The one on the left splits down for easy storage. In its long form it makes digging sand from under diff/chassis rails a lot easier. Take haft the shaft out and it is standard length shovel I got mine in Australia. Not sure if they are available in the UK Regards Brendan

Found out why the Discovery jack was in the lock up. No oil in it! Now sorted! A couple of photos. Left jack is Discovery jack rated at 2 tons. It has a vee cradle and is a two stage jack. Middle jack is a 10 tonne Machine Mart jack which is a single stage jack with a screw section, minimum height 200 mm. Right jack is a 12 tonne Machine Mart jack which is a single stage jack with a screw section, minimum height 210 mm. The black tape is holding a washer over the rubber filler bung Max height of the 10 and 12 ton jacks are 420 and 435 mm respectively. Showing all three jacks at maximum extension The Discovery jack is only 2 ton, is slightly smaller and does not extend as far as the machine mart 10/12 ton jacks. To the right of the jacks is a plastic load spreader plate used by scaffolders which I noticed down at the lock ups today. Looks like it will make a good jack base plate. Storing a spreader plate under battery box lid depends on your battery set up. Would not fit in my battery box. You could keep them under the seat base however. Personally I carry mine in the overhead wire cage in the back of my 110 so that all the wheel changing gear is available in one place. HTH Regards Brendan

A quick search on ebay come up with thes Folding Stands They look similar to what I have. They are German made like Aldi/Lidl. Rated at max 2 tonnes but am dubious about that but will be fine for lifting a corner of a laden Defender. Cost £17 for a pair including P & P. Only need to carry one though, so find a friend who needs one and split the costs??? Another thing if ground is suitable and clearance is too low for jack start digging! May save a tyre if you are forced to drive on to a rock etc to get clearance Regards Brendan

Mine cost me £3 off Mike Gemini. Think he bought a pair of folding axle stands and wheel chocks from Aldi for £6! I would not trust it as a workshop heavy duty axle stand but as a lightweight safety precaution which is sharing the jacked weight of the vehicle it is fine. Regards Brendan

Hi Martin, I carry a 10 or 12 ton bottle jack from Machine Mart and they work fine. Reason for 10/12 ton is the minimum max height. If you look HERE you will find list of specifications. Must admit I have a Disco jack in the lock up but have never used it! Besides a bottle jack you also need a folding axle stand and two pieces of ply as load spreading plates. USE them! Important tip for you. Whatever bottle jack you take put a washer over the rubber bung filler cape and tape it on! It is surprising what corrugations can do. For your bumper you can use self adhesive grit paper. If you have tree sliders put some on the top of the tree sliders but NOT down the outer edge. You will find out why the first time you get out of the LR in shorts. If you are going to Billing and want to see some used overland vehicles come along to the Venture Overland stand and say hi. Dependent on time of day/your luck you might get a beer or a tea. Will mine be clean by then? Regards Brendan

Thanks for the replies folks. The makers letters did have me slightly confused. Thanks for clear it up Regards Brendan

Just been to change the tow ball on the back of the D2 for an Alko one. The replacement Alko ball come with two BZP machine screws(?) threaded all the way to the head and is marked 8.8 and JD. Come supplied with spring washers and normal nuts. The old ball was fasten on with two bolts (parallel section to head) marked with 8.8 M YH. Fitted with flat washers and nyloc nuts. Above the existing ball the two bolts are marked 8.8 and HH. OK I understand that 8.8 refers to the strength of the steel used but what does M YH HH and JD refer to?? The existing bolts look more yellowish (a bit like the old cadmium plating which I believe is now banned) and appear to have a 'cleaner' cut thread then the BZP ones. Always thought bolts were stronger then equivalent sized machine screws. Am I better off getting new nylocs and using the old bolts or what? Regards Brendan

I have the Ram mount and cradle for an Xplore tough book set up in the 110. It does not interfere with the navvy's knee space too much. It can be seen from the drivers side ok and is robust. On corrugated roads the mount slowly slips down after an hour or two driving and needs a push up. Got mine via Jon at www.ventureoverland.com. Deciding on the right components out of the Ram system can be a bit complex. Go for the large ball/heavy duty components. HTH Regards Brendan

Can anyone give some pointers about these green lanes. Personally I would like to right more then I object. So if someone has some knowledge about these lanes maybe they could give some more detailed reasons to objections. Must admit I 'like' reason a for closing these roads Now surely IF that is a valid reason for closing a road it would be more sensible to close sealed roads which are accdent blackspots. Under that reasoning the M1, A1 etc should be closed as people and traffic are in danger and are injured on those roads. Wonder how many deaths, or RTC have occured on those green lanes? Regards Brendan

Interesting look at that link and you get technical spec of TYRE SPECIFICATIONS C : Buttressed shoulders with offset block design to promote soft soil mobility and protect the sidewalls. B : cut and chip resistant compounding for increased durability. A : Pronounced groove angles to avoid stone retention and drilling. Size : 7.50R16 Revs per mile : 655 Maximum speed : 65 mph Maximum weight per axle at PSI 35 : 1320 kg Maximum weight per axle at PSI 40 : 1467 kg Now GVM of Defenders can vary between 3050 and 3500 kg Now it would seem to me that these tyres could be overloaded???? There again what is load rating of other tyres??? Another factor for tyre wear? Regards Brendan

Interesting comment about BFG ATs being soft. Soft in comparison to BFG M/Ts? I get about 50k miles on M/Ts with very mixed use. So is difference in wear due to tread pattern, soft/hardness of rubber compound or it is driving style/useage? Has there been any significate change in BFG tyre production? Regards Brendan

I use BFG M/T 255/85/R16 and find them a good all round tyre. Two points for travelling, set off with new or nearly new tyres. Also get a good compressor. If you can reinflate all 4 tyres in around 10 minutes start to finish then you are more likely to be willing to deflate as ground conditions dictate. Regards Brendan

I have mine mounted at the top of the battery box. Does not get kicked by passenger and is relatively high so out of the way of any mud/water which gets into cab Front view Top/side view Hope that is of some use Regards Brendan

Hi Si, interesting point there about the 28 days bit. I did not realise there was such a possible long delay between ordering and paying for stuff and delivery. Under what legislation does this come under? Recently ordered some rivnuts etc from MEMfast ltd late on a Thursday night. Got an email back saying one item was out of stock but rest of the order would be with me on the Monday which it duely was. Out of stock item was with me on the following Monday and they kept me informed of what was happening. So thumbs up to Memfast. Now need to use the kit to see if it as good as it looks. Things will go wrong, but it is how things are handled when mistakes are made which matters. There are some good firms out there. Buy cheap, pay twice over. Regards Brendan

It is good news now let us hope that all 4 x 4 drivers drive all green lanes with respect. Also that the authorities (county councils/national parks etc) actually make reasonable decisions about the future of green lanes. What we do not want is the authoroties getting retrenched ideas and closing the lanes again resulting in future court cases. Each lane should be considered seperately and decisions made on things like is the lane sustainable for driving all year round, whether a lane shold only be driven in the summer months (i.e seasonal closure) closed for 2/3 years to allow lane to recover/be repaired, or permanent closure as the lane is too damaged/goes through sensitive areas/too costly to be repaired Regards Brendan

I find it sad that some people feel the need to do down Billing or Newark dependent where their alliagence lies. As for LRO and LRM I owe no alliagence to either of the magazines. However I hope both shows are a success for the benefit of the small traders and visitors. The small traders can not afford to be at both shows and in the current economic climate they need all the success going. It is possible that a poor show might push a small company under. The average visitor deserves a successful show whether it be Billing or Newark. Wishing doom and gloom on one show is tantamount to wishing doom and gloom on the small 4 x 4 traders. If a visitor has a bad experience then they may not return for future shows. Therefore I hope both shows are successful. Regards Brendan

Well I would say congratulations to the admin/mods/treasurer for having the guts and common sense to publish the actual figures in the forum pot. Well I have grubbed around the cubby box and footwell of the 110, let some moths escape from the wallet when I found it. Come across a 100,000 dong, some ringits, the odd few lei and some krona. These are now winging their way down to the respected treasurer and I am sure this contribution will help satisfy the mods wine gum fetish and Ep90 sniffing habits for a few more days. Regards Brendan

There was the misleading information also given out. A vehicle not having a valid MOT is in itself not illegal. It is only illegal to have it on the public highway. It is perfectly legal to drive a vehicle without an MOT to and from a prebooked MOT so there was no panic over the MOT on the lightweight. I get the feeling that these two writers were short of something to say so over egged the cake so to speak. Also as has been mentioned it is possible to get a 13 month MOT ticket so basically these two writers were disorganised in arranging MOT and spat their dummies out when two old vehicles rightly failed the MOT. Regards Brendan

FridgeFreezer comment about forum funds on the LRM got me thinking that maybe I should find some coppers which are hidden in the fluff at the bottom of my pockets. How are the forum funds doing in general terms? i.e is it dire needs with server provider about to pull the plug due to last months unpaid bill or is there enough money in the kitty for next 3 - 6 months? I am not interested in MOGs wine gum fetish on expenses or that Whites90 has been sniffing the forums communal EP90. So could someone give us a broad brush picture on the forum funding situation, please? Regards Brendan

Sorry Nick, the deed is done. Actually it was quite relaxing after spending a day sorting out a sump. Not a vehicle sump but a sump in a house as we have a problem with ground water rising after heavy rain. Hard heavy work digging sticky clay but that is mainly sorted now. Regards Brendan

Any reply from LRM Lansalot? We run 3 Land Rovers, one which is 32 years old. Normally they get a MOT no problem, ok occassionaly we get an advisory. I am not a mechanic (hence some of my basic questions on here) , I just make sure they are maintained by people who are good LR mechanics. Personally I think one problem with Land Rovers is they are percieved as simple vehichles and many people 'tinker' with them sometimes beyond their mechanical abilities. Regards Brendan

Thanks Phil. @ cieranc Knowing me it is more likely to be 10 f, 5 c and 2 pints of Ep90 down my shirt sleeve Regards Brendan

What is the torque setting on the diff pan bolts on a Salisbury axle? Or is it a case of gasket sealant and tight enough on the bolts? Regards Brendan

To stop theft from the back of the vehicle Patriot Roof Racks do a aluminium cage which sits just underneath the hood. Just had a quick look at the Patriot website but can't find it. I know Jon at Venture Overland has one fited to his 110DC so if anyone is interested it might be worthwhile contacting him Regards Brendan