Blanco

(Quote function not working for me)..... Mikey that must be one hell of a dissertation, most people get away with a couple of ring-binders

It is a rare pleasure when it all goes to plan.... great effort :i-m_so_happy:

I am in Lot et Garonne, which is a bit closer ..........

Watching with interest..... agree about the sound,.... but wonder too about the expat dragon??

Hmmmm, would I like to take someone to court in China??

Can't quite visualise how the (very?) short front prop could be fitted in, wouldn't you end up sitting next to the engine? during the day I wondered about transverse as well, but I was thinking FL front end into small neat transfer box, taking away the full time 4WD and maybe giving scope for a pto? With much reduced weight and no viscous failure the IRD might last quite well?

I love this idea, although my take on it would be slightly different, I think an 80" S1 inspired farm 'mule' or lightweight ute would be a great tool, right back to LR roots and as the price of S1's is now getting out of reach what a great way of achieving it. Crunch comes down to that lightweight engine and box combo, I too love the VW 1.9 but don't know if its fitted 'in line' in anything? I confess to never having been under the wife's Golf 3 to see how the sump and transmission are handled in the transverse configuration (never had a problem in 13yrs!). Keeping it simple and achievable has to be a prime consideration. Years ago I looked under a Lada Niva and was struck at how neat that little transfer box was; I know now it has a reputation for vibration, but that seems to be fixable, and it might open up other small engine and box combos? Any one used the Niva transfer box for anything else?

The best article on it is on... www.discovery2.co.uk there you have everything you need to know about checking it out and (if you want) fitting the right type of lever.

I guess the answer is probably not, trailers of only 500kg, and up to 750kg (behind a Landy for example) tend to attract (rightly or wrongly) much less attention; on the plus side the file would be smaller, no brakes or brake actuation to consider.

I have never had a diesel heater, but faced with a similar dilemma a few years ago I put a simple electric water heater onto the wife's Volvo and it worked brilliantly, timer and everything, just had to be plugged in at night. Of course that may not be possible for everyone, but heating the coolant was a great way to go, if I ever go back to Scotland it is the first thing I would do!

Thanks for the heads up, ..... now I get it, ....

Just to clarify, its not so much the standard of the components that is changing (Knott KFG35 hitch for example has been going for 20 years to my knowledge and will continue), but the fact that the components used and the structure of the trailer is demonstrated and documented to perform/conform to the legislation. Older components will be fine so long as you can get there respective test documentation and certificates of conformity to include in your file for the iva..

I can't help wondering if there is any news from down under and left a bit? .... (if I left gears on the bench for this long I would never be able to re-assemble it! )

It is one of those things that you can do, and I have done it, but will it be worthwhile? If you need something truly 'bespoke' then maybe it will be. The key thing is that the key components need supporting paperwork for the iva/sva, that (usually) means using established industry standards (eg Knott, or Peak ) for at least the brakes and coupling and probably the axles. Drawbar you can do yourself more easily but you will need to supply calculations to show that it is within the strength parametres, but if you don't fancy it then even standard drawbars are available. There was a guy on a certain well known auction site advertising sub 500kg plant trailers for 3 ton diggers at around £2300 with the iva which I reckoned was a bargain, knowing how much admin is involved, never mind building the trailer! Here in France it is even worse as class O2 trailers have their own vehicle registration documents and vehicle insurance as well, all of which may come to the UK eventually.

Welcome, .... in my experience it has little to do with the condition of the bearing, and for what it's worth it won't go away after a few days. The noise indicates (for me, in my identical vehicle) wear in the DMF. It will be annoying for a while but will eventually make gear selection difficult. As with all things it depends to some extent on the way it has been driven, but anything up around the 140,000 miles and I would press to get a clutch job done. Do the spigot bearing and rear main oil seal at the same time. You will doubtless get more experienced help along shortly, but I am sure that was what caused mine. Good luck with it anyway..

Thanks Chris, I think an armoured version probably represents too many hard to dispose of unwanted accessories! On the army gvw's in general I am not worried about how applicable they are in civvy street, more just expanding the pool of vehicles to look in to find my next 'heavy duty' truck. Military ones do seem dearer in general though so you have to be very selective. (not sure I get that entirely, I remember when ex-mod stuff could be had at a great price if you happened to be at the right auction once in a while)

Is the new x-member going to bolt on as well, or just be welded in ? (Having a ramp has to be more of a priority when I next move house!)

Also I know there isn't much room but I have had some success hammering in the next size up, eg if T27 rounded out then T30 might still grip,

Welcome.....

Excellent question, if it is quite straight forward there could be a few of us with the wall space

Isn't 'hydrogen assist' just so much hot air?

Thanks for the replies, just to clarify, I am not thinking of swopping chassis, just what to check to verify I am looking at a genuine HD chassis. Now a 4t gvw would be even better!, .... what vehicle was that please Chris

I've been looking to change my CSW for a pick-up or tipper for a little while now, just trying to find the right vehicle. I have just been googling this morning (and on here) trying to determine what the differences are between the standard 3050gvw vehicles and the heavy duty 3500gvw ones, I have a crane to fit, and the difference gives me back some legitimate payload. The obvious difference is the double springs at the back but I am assuming it isn't enough just to swop springs, it seems obvious the actual chassis must be reinforced but I can't seem to find anything in writing. Similarly military chassis are often described as heavy duty, but no-one quotes gvw's for them. The only vehicles that seem to be originally 3500kg chassis are some ex-utility vehicles. So does anyone here know how to tell a genuine 3500kg chassis by visual inspection? were any ex military vehicles so equipped? how common are they I wonder. Any one out there know a bit about it please?

Very nice, ..... I like the fact that he did in with one vehicle the progression that I am just arriving at after about ten

Must be a big relief though....