M&S

Looks like a lot of work, well done, you should have an awesome off-road machine B) Great to see the pics also, really encouraging. I really can't understand why for the sake of £1 (the cost of goggles) you'd want to go blind. It's NO different in a private environment. It's bloody stupid anywhere. And the only reason people are having a go is because hopefully next time you might stop and think about it for a second, and put some goggles on. It's not just the sparks (that you shut uour eyes for), your eyelids won't offer any protection should the disc shatter. I don't know you, but I couldn't see that and not comment either, it really is an accident waiting to happen. PM me your address and I'll send you some goggles in the post for free if that's what it takes. Anyway, nuff said, enjoy your truck

Van hire...the problem with that is you have to return the van to the place that you hired it from (unlike cars where you can do one way rentals), and they'll also try and screw you on insurance. If you don't have a local van hire place then I've used Enterprise a few times and found them to be ok. An LDV pilot would do the job no problems, so I think you'd be looking at any medium sized van. You'll be looking at about £45 a day. Where's it going from and to?

Well you couldn't have picked two different vehicles As the vehicle is going to be under warranty it would probably make sense to stick with genuine parts for at least 3 years? As for the electrickery, well it depends what you are wanting from the vehicle? These are both different beasts (and I know which one I'd choose to live with as a daily driver...) I have a D2 commercial and for green laning, even on road tyres, it has proven very capable. If it goes wrong? Well yours is going to be under warranty I think that you are asking the wrong questions to be honest. I think that you need to ask yourself which vehicle will suit your daily needs in reality That should help your choice more than worrying about the electrics and spares.

Wow, that just looks wrong (the pic of my Disco).

Thanks for the pics, great job! I especially like the D44 front bumper.

Looking at the wiring diagram in the Haynes manual, the Pink/Orange and the Purpl/Grey wires both go to the BCU. The Red+Brown wire that you might be getting the positive feed on is for the light? If you need the circuit diagram I could scan and send it to you if that would help. But if it's all wired in correctly then it would suggest that the BCU needs programming. As a side note, the heated front screen has two elements, a left and a right. Didn't know that.

Thanks Mike, will take a look. Now where are those pics from Sticky we are looking forward to seeing them!

Mike - it was done on the tricky section on Stanage I think. I didn't notice any damage at the time, but it was sat pretty heavily on a rock Considering what was done over the weekend I don't think that's too bad. I've just ordered som tread plate, a bit of which will be ending up paited black and repairing the underside of my bumper B) Any idea what to stick aluminium and plastic together with (that will take outdoor abuse)? I'll be popping a few rivets in but would like to stick it on also.

Hi Andy, sounds the same results as mine, and as I say, the stuttering has gone also. I did try cleaning mine but it made no difference. I shall try some contact cleaner perhaps and keep the old one as a spare if it works. Just ordered a new one from Duckworth in Market Rasen. They used to be my Dad's local dealer and have so far proved cheaper than my local dealer, even with postage Plus my local dealership isn't very helpful! £80 plus £2 postage. I looked elsewhere but by the time you added postage and VAT they were more expensive - even for the none genuine ones! If my fuel economy improves that will be great, but as I'm getting 27-28 anyway I don't expect any higher. Hope you get sorted and be sure to report back!

Try disconnecting the MAF sensor. I've had problems with mine causing stuttering (like missing). Unplugged the MAF and it runs lovely. Just need to order a replacement MAF now as I've just been to our dealership and it's closed for a 3 day stock take! Grrr. Seems to be running fine without it though and so I'm happy to run like this for a while.

No problems, we didn't do anything wrong so why not. Now get them posted

I heared that the Disco 300tdi linkage and bits will fit, but I haven't had the chance to look at either my vehicle or the bits from a 300tdi yet. I'd be interested to know more about it. If not I'm going down the socket set route.

Thanks all, I shall try locking with the key (did that after the alarm went off twice with the hailstones the other night!) and see if the fridge still sets it off. With the lamp I'll add a diode to the charging lead, hopefully that should sort that problem out. Easy when you know how Will report back when I'm done Cheers, Martin

We tracked them on or Garmin GPS. I haven't loaded them to the computer yet,and have no idea how I could share them with you. I'll read the manual and get around to it unless someone else can help you sooner!

Great, can't wait to see them!

Thanks Adrian, I think that will be what realistically happens so hammerite might be the best bet. Has anyone tried that plastikote paint in similar situations?

Glad you enjoyed it, it was pretty exciting from where I was sitting too The rest was cleared without any drama I'm glad to say. If you notice in the video, the front bumper got crunched was because the pile of rocks under the front left collapsed forward when I stopped on them I don't think a crack to the underside of the front bumper was too bad considering what we put the truck through that weekend... B)

Hi all, I've done a search and found the items I need to make a snorkel kit. I'm going for the Mushroom top from Matt Savage, my own pipe and brakets, and the Southdown molding for the wing. I just need to know a couple more things please: 1) I'm going to buy a Southdown molding for the front wing. What diameter tube slides into it nicely? 2) How do I connect it to the air filter box? 3) What's the toughest way of coating the pipe to withstand lane scratches - I'd like it black if possible. Erm, that's all. Nice and easy and cheap-but-not-drainpipe...I hope rolleyes: Cheers, Martin.

Looks like we are the last ones home - and it's too dark now to wash the truck (that and the hail stones are that large they are setting the alarm off - it can wait!) Firstly I'd like to say a big thanks to whoever did/didn't organise the weekend. From our side everything ran smoothly. Many thanks to John for a varied trip - great views and a few challenges thrown in! Super stuff Also thanks to Reddy for opening and closing all of the gates whilst maintaining a smile. Buy that man some wellies John has covered most of our groups events but here are a few of our highlights. Despite most of the groups deciding to rough it in the Quality Inn, we decided that we would accept the kind hospitality of Johns parents and pitched our tent accordingly. It looked very scenic covered in ice and snow in the morning and we were toasty warm John booked a table for us at the Knockerdown Inn and the food was great - just what we needed after a cold day on the hills - as was the port infront of the fire later . Stanage Edge was brilliant and left us grinning all afternoon. I've always said that the spotter is the one in control, the drivers just observing really so the damage to the front bumper when John ran into .. well, Derbyshire, that wasn't my fault at all. Both days were a good mix of chat, driving, scenery and banter. Well paced and well worth the drive down from "oop-north". The Sunday was lovely, the mist and frost on the hills with some gentle lanes made for more great views and we stopped to watch some buzzards out for breakfast. A quick pint in Bakewell and we were ready for the off. But John and Sticky tempted us with "just one more lane (but not the last one...) before hitting the motorway. I'm looking forward to seeing the photos when Sticky gets them posted, but lets just say my heart was in my mouth throughout! Stanage was exciting, this one was, well, you could say a bit tight! I let Sticky go first just so I could judge how much room there actually was - my excuse been that the Disco is a bit larger than the 90, so if it gets stuck I definiately would I'll admit that I still wasn't 100% sure when I got behind the wheel, and neither was Stephanie so she opted to walk this one! Anyway, all went well and it really finished the weekend off on a buzz!! I think it was great to see a standard D2 on road tyres managing to follow the 90's and Mikes 110 wherever they went. We might have needed a different line and a slower pace but we got there B) The only stutter was when the dashboard lit up on a slippery descent - I think it thought it was Christmas. First the ABS, then the TC, then the ride height, then all of the others. No worries though, at least I still had low box and I shouldn't need to stop before the bottom John likened it to Windows "just turn it off and on again and it'll be alright". And it was We did 520 miles of driving in total, getting 25mpg (and that was with the heaters at a comfortable 24'C ). Great stuff, thanks again, and here are some pics from the Saturday (the battery died by Sunday - something to do with the cold...)

Hi all, The 12v sockets in the D2 go off with the ignition which is great, I can leave my rechargable lamp, cool box, everything plugged in and don't have to worry about killing the battery...or so I thought. It would appear that this actually causes the alarm to go off a few seconds after you lock the truck I think what's happening is that the 12v lamp is discharging back into the system? The cool box alone isn't a problem, I can leave that plugged in and it goes on and off with the ignition, no alarms, all is good. Does anyone know if the alarm system would detect the lamp (which has it's own internal rechargable battery)? Also, I'm using a double adapter on the 12v socket and the lamp is actually powering the fridge (well, the fan is turning very slowly) when the ignition is off (that's how I know it's discharging). Is there some sort of electrical non-return valve available that I can pop in the lamps charging lead? Cheers, Martin.

Hi, I'm pretty new to the forum myself, but welcome. It's odd to me that you are finding the disco bouncy and feeling all of the bumps...you've obviously never driven an LDV van Ours is on 18" wheels without ACE and I think it handles really well (there's so much grip!). Yes it leans , or wallows, a bit in the corners but that's to be expected (although I would have thought your would be better with the ACE). What do you mean by bouncy and feeling all of the bumps? When you say bouncy, does it settle down straight after a bump, or does it bounce for a while? And when you say feeling the bumps, are they harsh thumps? My thinking is that you might just have a worn/leaky damper. Easy enough (and free) to check.

I would, we have put the down jackets and sleeping bags in! I've got the cool box in the back, don't think we will need it plugging in though

I'm here Just finished loading the truck for an early drive down tomorrow Looking forward to getting on (or off!) the road.

Hi Oggie, I recently had my Disco2 waxoyled. It stinks for weeks, but seems to keep the underside very clean. After a laning trip at the weekend there was a lot less mud than normal stuck to the underside, and a quick rinse with the hose and the rest just falls off! Well worth getting it done in my opinion. Not only to prevent corrosion but to make cleaning easier Which EGR kit are you thinking of using? I looked at the Bearmach one (got it in my hand) and wasn't very impressed. The best looks to be from IRB as it contains replacement pipe rather than plugs and all of the bits needed I think, plus it looks better made. But so far I've had no reply so couldn't confirm this

Not courses, but we recently made our own first aid kit up for the truck. We also topped up our cycling/hiking kit and made a household kit up also. If I'm allowed to mention them, try www.firstaid4less.co.uk and a couple of items such as survival blankets were purchased of Ebay from ANGELSFIRST. I have no association with these, just found after lots of shopping around that these were the cheapest if you are buying in bulk. Between the two we managed to build ourselves three comprehensive kits for £40. We then bought some tupperware boxes for £2 (a 4.5litre one lives in the van under the passanger seat). MUCH cheaper and much more relevant than anything I saw, even so-called "expedition first aid kits". Ours just needs a new sterile kit packing before we leave. My first aid and survival courses have all been done through work.