leeds
-
Posts
393 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Gallery
Blogs
Posts posted by leeds
-
-
Well I should be the hired friend on the Venture Overland stand. Feel free to come along and say hi. Dependent on the time of day and your luck tea/coffee/beer might be on the go.
Regards
Brendan
-
I know if something seems cheap there is normally a reason, but what do people know about this rope :
http://www.winch-it.com/rope.htm
?
Gordon
The price does look cheap, very cheap in fact. Compared with say Devon 4 x 4 which can be found HERE
Personally I would not buy it! I know nothing about the company Winch It selling it. However I looked at the rest of their website.
Winches are cheap but no brand names given
Snatch blocks are cheap again no brand names given
Shackles offered for sale do not appear to be rated which I would not buy.
The winch line does say Dyneema 60 however and is £100 cheaper then the equivalent Plasma 12 line. The Winch It line also comes with an aluminium Hawse. That is 40% less then the equivalent Devon product.
Yes it might be a genuine bargain but if things look too cheap there is normally a reason for it.
Personally I will only buy safety related equipment from a company that I know is reputable and sell branded products. Since most of the kit is non branded and cheap I would tend to give the winch line a miss also.
That is my view anyway, others may disagree.
Regards
Brendan
-
Screwfix can be conveinient and relatively cheap. Quality can be dubious.
Nails I can buy at 1/3 of the price of Screwfix from local builders merchants. Screws I can buy at one box level for a fraction more then screwfix BUT quality is far superior. The small increase in price is well worth the increase in quality, i.e. ease of driving them in and less breakages. If I want a few thousand screws my local hardware shop is cheaper.
Get on good terms your local trade suppliers can pay dividends.
Regards
Brendan
-
Martin, there is no such thing as a silly question, there is such a thing as a stupid answer though!
For overland trips do not buy cheap gear as it will not last. Especially so with recovery gear.
Any fool can be uncomfortable whilst travelling. What will last/be bearable for the odd week or two away can easily fall apart when you are travelling for many months. Also think of what will happen if you break or lose a bit of kit and its effect on your safety i.e. leave your wheel brace in the long grass when changing a wheel then next time you need to change a wheel you could be in serious trouble for the lack of a 27mm socket!
Work out your budget and then treble it!
Regards
Brendan
-
i cant see there being a major problem with the axle unless you have very recently bent it.
afterall, it survived 25k miles around the outback and didnt bust a shaft! Then the new shaft breaks within 500 miles back in the uk? Sounds like a duff shaft or user error
It could be either option Nick
What I am trying to do is eliminate any possible problems before go off on next long trip. As you know I am no mechanic
but want my vehicles well maintained and reliable.Regards
Brendan
-
Cargo barrier/Dog guard - Yes, am looking at one now.
Window grills - still not convinced, easy enough to get past the locks as it is, surely just making more of a "break into me statement"?
Fire extinguishers on seat boxes - I don't fancy 7000 miles with them in that position, it's annoying but I'd want another location and it is tight for legroom anywhere in the passenger compartment.
Cheap plastic boxes - fit well and are considered disposable but Really Useful Box Co. is great admittedly. These were free, scrounged...
Ally boxes are lovely but there is a budget to consider, much of what you see was free, begged, borrowed.
cheers
Mark
Mark, cargo barrier is an essential bit of kit. Keep hard/heavy stuff away from the valuable bits, i.e. the occupants
Window grilles are not important security items but are useful as window protectors/storeage places.
Have done 60,000+ miles with fire extinguishers on seat boxes which includes trips of 8,000, 16,000 and 25,000 miles with no problems. They are very conveinient sited there.
Cheap and Land Rovers do not go togerther. Buy cheap pay twice over! Get good quality kit and it makes your trip more comfortable and safer.
Regards
Brendan
-
Hi Mark, the things in the back of your 110 are very loosely secured!
Get a cargo barrier/ dog guard fitted. If things go badly wrong on road then most of that kit will become missiles and your heads will be the targets. Keep only soft stuff in the passenger compartment and hard stuff in a secure rear compartment. Internal security guards on back windows are useful not only for security but as a storage place for safe items such as first aid kits. Fire extinguisers can be fitted to the front of both front seat boxes and sre accessible whilst not impeding on comfort of driver/passenger.
Get hold of some cargo rails and clips and use ratchet straps. Bungees on plastic containers can rub through the container.
Cheap plastic boxes do not last well especially the cheap ones from the sheds. The really useful box company does stronger boxes and can be obtained from Staples.. On my travels have destroyed many plastic boxes. Wolf boxes are much stronger but I have managed to do slight damage to one of those. Look at aluminium boxes available from exmilitary hardware stores.
Land Rover do a light weight wire cage which fits at roof level in the rear. Good for lightweight stuff.
Find owners/vehicles which have travelled abroad on long trips and have a good look at the vehicles.
Regards
Brendan
-
Thanks Les, will have a look next week as I am away for the weekend.
The replacement shafts were OEM so I am surprised one went so quickly
I only use difflocks for short distances, so do not think that is the cause of problems
Thanks for your comments
regards
Brendan
-
Is your axle bent?
Les.
No idea!
How easy is it to check for a very small amount of bend in rear axle?
Am trying to work out if I have a problem with rear axle/diff or if I am just experiencing normal wear and tear.
The main thing about my 110 is I need reliability as it is my overland vehicle and does long trips with no supporting vehicles.
Regards
Brendan
-
Am having slight problems with the rear drive train on my 110 overland vehicle. The 110 is a 96 model with salisbury axle and standard half shafts and drive flanges.
Last weekend I broke the rear offside shaft whilst driving a greenlane in the Lakes. It was a rock step up/cross axle when the half shaft went bang. Was not being too gung ho and heavy with the right foot. These shafts were relatively new, less then 500 miles. The last shafts were replaced after my Australian trip as there was signs of slight twist in the shafts used there.
In Australia the a replacement rear UJ on the rear prop lasted about 500 miles mainly on tarmac. Initially thought this was due to a badly installed UJ.
Before Australia I have had wear in the rear drive flanges, twice.
The rear diff has an ARB air locker fitted.
Now is there a fundamental problem with the rear axle or is this acceptable wear and tear?
Have had to get chassis and front axle replaced due to a rather 'vigouros' ditch crossing at about 50 mph. Some minor damage to the rear axle.
Any comments/ideas folks?
Replace axle? Diff? Fit Ashcrofts shafts?
Regards
Brendan
-
Tracking devices are not cheap but could be useful in retrieving your valuable assets.
A device which has 3 year battery life is available from Venture Overland. Look HERE
Regards
Brendan
-
The RGS was selling the VDE guide for £35 at the recent Overland meeting which they sponsored in Yorkshire.
Yep I got my copy there
Regards
Brendan
-
Just a thought
Nylon ropes and webbing is used in climbing for extension and shock load abilities
Polyester ropes are used in rope access work and prussiking where minimal extension is required and shock loading is avoided
Polyester webbing is used in seat belts. Stretchier nylon seat belts would not be so popular due to great risk of head butting the wind screen/steering wheel.
Regards
Brendan
-
There is a big difference between towing straps and recovery straps.
The major difference is the material the strap is made from.
Polyester straps are towing straps and are not recovery straps. Towing is defined as slowly taking up the slack. The limiting factor on applied load will be traction, i.e strength of the ground below the wheels and friction between the tyre and the ground.
Nylon straps are recovery straps. Recovery is defined as taking up the slack at a reasonable speed. The strength of the ground and friction between the tyres and ground is not such a limiting factor as in a towing situation.
It is 'odd' that we refer to 'nylon' towing ropes and no one would consider the use of a polypropylene or a polyester rope in the 4 x 4 world
Nylon ropes and straps have more extension then polyester straps and are more suitable for recovery situations
Polyester straps have less extension then nylon and is more suitable for towing straps, tree strops and winch extension straps.
All straps should be clearly labelled with material as well as length, date of manufacture etc. If a strap is not clearly label as nylon the chances are that it is polyester, or worst still polypropylene (highly unlikely though). Many companies, websites etc fail to clearly state what material the straps are made from.
Nylon = Recovery straps, KERR etc
Polyester = Towing straps, tree strops, winch extension straps
Regards
Brendan
-
a lot of the folks on Islandrovers speak good English
Agreed.
Met some of their members at the Swedish National meet three years ago. They were very friendly and some of their vehicles were awesome.
On a quick look at their website I could not find an English section where TJ could ask questions. I do believe in trying to get local information whenever possible
Regards
Brendan
-
Hi TJ
I had a quick look at the Iceland Land Rover club site. I could not find an English language foroum section there but did find THIS You might it a good read.
Regards
Brendan
-
Sounds in similar vein to THIS
Now we might have to be careful that Si does not get toooooo complacent and let his service standards start to slip.
So who is going to prod Si to ensure it doesn't happen???
Regards
Brendan
-
-
The chassis was replaced about 2 1/2 years ago due to an 'over enthusiastic' ditch crossing at about 50 mph due to pilot error.
Currently in the Iberian Penisula in the Disco so can not examine the 110 further at the moment. Will certainly keep forum informed of future findings and corrective action taken.
Regards
Brendan
-
The problem has become apparent only very recently. Have altered the rear suspension after the vehicle returned from Australia as the shocks were shot to put it mildly. Noticed the offside crack on Thursday and the nearside crack appeared mid day Saturday half way through setting out a trial.
I do not use a roof rack on overland trips. There is a lightweight wire cage fitted at roof level inside the rear which carries light stuff, say 20 kg max.
Will get the 110 on a lift and ensure a thorough inspection in the near future. Will report back on what is found.
Have people seen this sort of problem before?
Regards
Brendan
-
My 110 CSW is used as an overland vehicle. Last year it did 25,000 miles in Australia with about 20,000 miles on non sealed roads.
As an overland vehicle it carries a lot of weight. It has been back in the UK for a couple of months. Last week I noticed a crack on the offside rear panel. This I decided was due to the weight of the spare wheel carrier and decided that a purpose built bracket would help to support the lower bracket.
At the weekend set out a RTV and midday notice a crack had developed on the nearside.
The rear winch is set well back into the rear cross member and we had to cut out the first 50mm of the floor.
Some photos showing the damage
Rear of the 110
Crack on offside
Crack on nearside
Suggestions to solve this problem most welcome
Regards
Brendan
-
Just a thought.
Companies who look after their customers are more likely to look after their staff and their suppliers. OK the 'caring' companies may not make as much money in the the short term but will make bigger 'profits' long term. Personally I think that the more 'caring' companies are more likely to survive the current economic climate as their customers will probably be loyal to them. Karma etc
Regards
Brendan
-
Had cause to contact two small 4 x 4 companies recently with great results.
Ordered some bits from Devon 4 x 4 one weekend. Was busy the following week so was not concerned that it had not arrived. The following Monday I phoned them up and asked what was happening to my order. Their response was give us a little while and we find out what has happened. 15 minutes later they were back on the phone saying we are trying to track your order and will phone you back later today and they were apologetic. A couple of hours later they phoned up and said they were sending another consignment out which arrived the following day. They were very apologetic about the non arrival of the first consignment and dealt with it politely quickly, professionaly with no BS. So a big thumbs up to Devon 4 x 4.
Three years ago fitted X springs to the rear of my 110 overland vehicle since then it has done about 50,000 miles abroad including 25,000 miles in an 8 month period in Australia last year. 20,000 miles were on non bitumen roads which included lots of heavily corrugated roads. The corrugations caused both rear brake stone guards to fail, the bracket holding the bonnet stay cracked. the bolts holding the top of radiator frame together rubbed a hole in the top of the rad, a 12 bladed fan become a 5 bladed fan and I lost count over number of self tappers I had to replace.
The rear shocks were shot and on stripping down rear suspension found the bottom retaining plates on the X springs had suffered from fatigue. I emailed X-eng informing them of the history of my vehicle and what had happened. I got a quick response saying if I sent a photo in they would send me a replacement pair of retaining brackets. Duely sent a photo and got a replacement pair the following day. Since these brackets were 3 years old X-eng could well just say tough, out of warrenty replacement brackets will be £X etc They didn't which shows the high quality of customer care X-eng has.
A mark of a really good company is how they deal with something when things go 'wrong' On this front both Devon 4 x 4 and X-eng are great companies. A big thumbs up to Devon 4 x 4 and X-Eng. Will happily buy from both companies again and recommend both of them
Regards
Brendan
-
Agree with both Ralph and Nick. My GPS aerial is within about 6" of 20 watt UHF aerial on the light bar and I have a 100 watt HF aerial at back of the 110 and no problems with interference.
GPS is only as good as the mapping data it uses and if the maps are out of date then you can appear to be in a field rather then on a road. Also early mapping used in the UK and mapping abroad is not always 'accurate'
Also just because a 'road' appears on a sat nav does not mean it is a sealed road and is passable. Delivery driver coming to our place turned right onto the continuation of a nearby road which has a street sign on. Luckily he phoned up to ask if it was correct as it was a 'muddy track' otherwise known as our local green lane. A pleasant drive in a LR but not in a lorry.
Sat nav is for the guidance of the wise, not for the obedience of fools!
Regards
Brendan
As sent to LRM magazine
in International Forum
Posted
So a vehicle was presented for a MOT with two known faults which are cause for a straight failure. Now IF she had charmed a MOT certificate for an unroadworthy vehicle then she would have real cause to complain. Maybe she harks after the days when MOTs could be bought in the pub for £10?
OK the MOT tester did not know that Series LR did not have a rubber pad on the brake pedals. Somehow I would not expect the average MOT tester to know the finer details of changes in the specifications of all vehicle ranges over the last 50 years.
Surely this all points out to a poorly maintained vehicle which should not be on the road until the defects have been sorted? Who's opinion is more valid the MOT tester or the disgruntled owner?
As for the rust holes in the inner wing and the front panel/front crossmember I have not got a clue how important or otherwise to the physical integrity of the vehicle. As for not tapping the newly welded patches if he could clearly see that the patches had been welded on properly what is the point of tapping them?
Sounds very much like that he makes a habit of presenting vehicles for MOT which are not capable of passing a MOT without having defects corrected. Certainly shows that he is not prepared to maintain his vehicles to a high standard.
In both cases the MOT testers did their jobs properly in failing both vehicles on defects known to their owners. Maybe the MOT tester knowledge on minor details about Land Rovers is lacking but the cavalier attitude of both of these journalists to repairing known serious defects to their vehicles is appalling. Then for the pair of these journalist to whinge in a national magazine about the MOT is disgusting.
Regards
Brendan