UdderlyOffroad
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Posts posted by UdderlyOffroad
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I may be going slightly do-lally (been sniffing the EP90 again), but I wouldn’t mind that cloth…on a pool table in my ‘games room’ – trouble is games room = garage which is full of Landie bits…
But yes thanks for the pics. Not sure I’m a fan of the Audi’s ‘skirt’ either…
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Defender: I'll ignore the 'ergonomic' issues (nowhere to put your right/left arm) as these are hangups from the original series vehicles...
Worst piece of LR Design has to be the 'value engineering' (AKA knowing the cost of everything but the value of nothing):
- Gear box filler plugs, deletion of
- Mixing of metals and omission of galvanic isolation/protection
- Varying trim levels (ok) but no noise insulation on base spec (not ok).
- Lack of difflock (on Disco 2s)
But worst culprit of all has to be:
Value-engineered wiring and connectors!
- Gear box filler plugs, deletion of
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Stickers are incredibly subjective...but really your choice, just don't leave them on to win friends....
My current favourite: linky
But then
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Nice tip, thanks Jason! Just ordered my 'Watersaver kit' from Wessex Water which includes the aerator thingy. For nowt.
The grumpy old miser in me wants to point out that of course 'free' is subjective as we've all paid handsomely for our water already...but I won't
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Here it is, took slightly longer than my lunch break to do, but it was a good exercise, made me think about all the connections, what gets connected to where, etc! The schematic isn’t complete yet, I still need to add cable sizes, lengths, etc…
The numbers in ovals are usually Durite part numbers, catalogue available here (PDF, large!). Switch part numbers are Carlings Conturas, from Dun-bri. Cable-wise, I’ve tried to follow the Land-Rover diagram convention, as well as the BS-standard wiring colours.
As you can see, the isolator switch is placed where one would normally expect to find it, I.e. linking the two batteries to allow for self-jump-starting, but with the winch and jump-sockets connected to the ‘output’. I have tried to draw the isolator switch electrically as I think it should be, hopefully it makes sense. The split charge relay itself is designed such that it should allow me remove it and drop in a ‘proper’ intelligent split charge controller should I feel the need to.
The dash-mounted switch might be a little complicated to follow. To save dash space it serves two functions
- To turn the split charge on and off
- To select which battery the voltmeter is ‘seeing’
With split charge on, in sees battery 1 – which of course is linked to battery 2, thus the voltmeter should read ‘system voltage’. With split charge off, it sees battery 1 on its own (as long as the ignition is on). Position 2 energises the voltmeter change over relay and the voltmeter sees battery 2. The idea being to enable me to keep any eye on battery 2 level without the ignition switched on, e.g. when camping. Of course, because of the way the switch is wired, it will also engage the split charge, but only with the ignition on.
The sparkies and engineers amongst you will point out that I have managed to create some bar-steward-hybrid between a single-line-diagram and a ‘proper’ electrical schematic. This is of course true, but it means I think about how many cables I have running between each ‘area’ (battery box, dash, rear, etc)
Anyway, have a look people, let me know you think…
Matt
Edited to add: Sorry, just realised those p/n balloons are totally illegible in yellow, as well as some of the cables (line thicknesses) have got thinner, something to do with the DWG->PDF process, will try and fix later
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A 101 won't be walk through, more of a clamber through over the engine cover.
Still nice to be able to arrive at wherever you're kipping for the night and not have to pitch a tent in the rain, just clamber over a hot engine cover into the back and get a brew on...or am I just going soft in my old age??
A 101 radio would be 'my' ideal camper conversion, and I've seen a couple of nice conversions, but sourcing one for below £5k (say) looks nigh-on impossible...and the Withams' Vampire price is eye-watering!
That said they appear to have some snatches for £1.5k...but they look like they've been uhhm, well used!
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Happyoldgit, the ambulance isn't a bad idea, however I'm really after something where the cab and body are joined, so that I can walk through. The reason being that I want a multi purpose vehicle, that I can camp in, carry my toys (bikes, kite surf gear etc etc) and transport family and dog (12stone Newfoundland), maybe not all at the same time.
I could do with 3 seats up front or 2 in front +1 behind, room to lie down folding bed or such like, but not fitted out as camper with a sink and all the junk that goes with them.
Not forgetting the 4wd bit to do a bit of greenlaning etc which would make a smaller body like the LDV ideal.
A 4wd Tardis might just do the trick
When I first started looking for a Landie, I had a similar idea in mind, but in the end rejected it as an ambulance body was just a bit too bulky for 'everyday' use as well as off-road, but that's just MYHO. In the end I ended up with a (project) 110 utility, (which should fit with most 'everyday' requirements, especially accommodating family and pooch) and a sankey for bulky stuff. For kipping in I've accepted that the simplest thing to do is use a tent, but with some luxuries in the truck, i.e. split charged fridge, 12v kettle, etc.
But I digress...Withams currently have this for sale:
Looking at the pictures, it is possible to access the load area from inside the cab. Bit pricey though, and would probably need LPG/Tdi'ing to make it usable daily. Then again, the 127 Marshalls aren't exactly pocket money these days either, if you can find a tidy one...
Matt
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Excellent stuff Dan/DirtyDiesel, some useful inspiration pics there - even for those of us who have coilers...
All cut to length on rage255 that disappointingly doesn't cut that square on stuff this big
Although I haven't used to cut stuff 'that' big, I've struggled to cut stuff square with mine too, but I guess spending some time with the square is the answer
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I've painted mine purely for the less-attractive-to-thieves reasons, not for any form of protection. And this was mainly because it's sat on my drive being built, as opposed to locked in a shed. If I had the luxury of being able to accommodate the chassis undercover, the only thing to be treated to paint would've been the rear x-member!
Galvanising may be a sacrificial coating, but it should nevertheless last the lifetime of the truck.
I used 'Hammerite Direct to Galvanized' paint - does exactly what it says on the tin, sticks like s*** to a blanket. Treat your brushes as sacrificial...
My guess is if they are stealing it for parts the chassis is one bit they don't want anywayTrue, but have you seen the price of scrap? And how easy is it is to 'delete' the chassis number from a chassis?
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I know you asked for a web-address, but longer term it's definitely worth finding someone good locally, usually an agricultural supplier will keep most sizes in stock. It's painful to have to stop a job half-way through because you need some odd-size bolt or nut.
G R Fasteners in Avonmouth, in case anyone's reading this is this Bristol area. Might be a bit far from Glasgow though.
Failing that as has been said Screwfix and Toolstation are reasonable on price and delivery is usually free...
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I used fatmat which came from ebay, I can not tell you how good it is as I have not finished my rebuild yet.
Easy to cut and fit and it realy sticks.
Regards
Frax
I've seen a couple of people on here using Fatmat, but I don't think anyone's actually finished their truck yet!
The thing that annoys me is that in the UK it appears to be double the dollar price compared to the US. Was hoping work would send me to Texas this year and I could use up my luggage allowance on a roll...Ahh well there's always the tightwad's option...
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Thanks for the responses guys, seems I’ve got some thinking to do re batteries.
Jason, I think I might have added to the confusion by not drawing a diagram of the circuit, will try and knock something up on Autocad during my lunchbreak at work tomorrow but in the meantime, let me try and explain myself better...
Drawing loads of power (ie CCA) from a deep cycle battery is not good for its longevity so using the jump start option is not good
Agreed.
starter Solenoid relays are less than £15 (Linky)That's exactly the kind of relay I was going to use as the basis of my system.
You would have remember to switch and isolate the batteries otherwise the second one wouldn't charge/over time damage each otherThere would be an indicator light on the split charge switch (N/C) to indicate split charge was on, as well as a warning light (one of the spare ones on the instrument binnacle warning cluster) to indicate that the winch/andersons are live. To be clear, the battery switch would be wired 'in parallel' to the split charge, and would only come into play during winching, jump-starting or self-jump-starting. Again, a decent diagram will help here!
The charge between the two would not be controlled so when you flicked the switch the batteries would try to equalise potentially causing damage to the batteriesBut surely this is the same with all 'dumb relay' type split charge systems (inc those factory fitted by land rover)? It seems to work ok for other folk? As long as the 2 batteries are healthy, that is.
Without a charge indicator how would you know the state of the second batteryI forgot to mention that there would be Voltmeter on the dash, selectable between batteries 1 and 2, so would enable me to keep an eye on the various voltage levels. I just don't like these lights that illuminate red, green or amber when they think the battery has reached a certain voltage level; far better to know.
I think perhaps it would help to know my requirements/wish list for a split charge system:
- Winch driven off battery 2 (isolatable)
- Aux circuits driven off battery 2
- Jump sockets driven off Battery 1 (Isolatable)
- Self-Jump-Start-ability
- No need to access the battery box for any of these operations, as the standard Land Rover seats have been replaced with something more comfortable...
The awkward part about this setup is though that it would require 3 battery isolators! The beauty of one of these 'Marine' style battery master switches is that I can use one switch to control them all..
- Winch driven off battery 2 (isolatable)
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Sooo, split charging. My truck will eventually have a winch, and Anderson jump sockets front and rear. I’m in the “preserve the starting battery for starting” camp, I.e. winch off battery no 2. But, I’d also like to run a fridge/worklights when camping; so is there a battery that is a reasonable compromise between deep-cycling leisure jobbie and a mahoosive truck battery that will fulfil both roles?
I’m not a fan of Christmas-tree light split chargers on the dash, nor do I like voltage sensitive relays, mainly because (apparently) it’s easy to accidentally cook them, and ones rated to a suitable current are mega-£££. So an old-fashioned, aux-circuit switched high-current relay it is, with a battery isolator switch to allow for self-jump-starting. A switch on the dash will allow me to manually turnoff the split-charge should I deem it necessary.
So far so conventional.
But I have seen one of these:
The idea is to connect the winch and jump sockets to the output, so that I can select either battery 1, 2, or both to power these. In ‘both’ mode I can self-jumpstart. Does anyone forsee a problem with this? In particular, this solution involves ‘commoning’ up all the negatives onto one busbar, I have read (somewhere) that it could cause problems? Can’t for the life of me find the link though. If it does, should I run dedicated negatives for all the fridge/lights/aux circuits etc run off the 2nd battery? These circuits will not be switched via the isolater but connected directly to battery 2 via a suitable fusebox.
Final question: when winching, should the split charge remain connected? I.e. would it cause funny effects such as attempting to drain battery 1 (assuming I’m winching off battery 2, engine running). I don’t believe it should, provided battery 2 is healthy.
Note: The winch will not be for competition use, it will be a recovery/self-recovery only unit.
Anyway, apologies for the slight rambling, please let me know your thoughts.
Matt
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Ouch! was it 'smokey' (classic electrical fault diagnosis...does it smell bad?)
Were you self-jump-starting using the relay or a jumplead?
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That's the way I thought they were supposed to work but the original owner of Ross's Landy has only the starter wired to the main battery and everything else to the 2nd battery which in my mind seems to defeat the point somewhat as it won't start when the second battery is flat, I was just wondering if there was any reason for this other than a mistake.
The only thing I can think is that it prevents you from being unable to start the truck should you accidentally leave the headlights on or the door open. (Not withstanding the headlamp kill relay recently discussed in this forum). To my mind, this could still cause funny effects, however, as you need a healthy (but admittedly not much current) 12v from the other battery to drive the coil (or fuel stop solenoid in a diesel).
The good thing is though, that if Ross doesn't like the setup, it being a Landie he can change it back to a more 'normal' split charge arrangement (1st battery to run the vehicle, 2nd battery for additional functions and/or winch) with relative ease!
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I cant remember, but I dont think I checked the charging voltage of the batteries.
Anyone know how to check if the X charge relay has failed?
Just that; Check that you've got 14.4v at the terminals on both the red top and the Numax with the engine running. That way you know your split charge is working and that the alternator is charging as it should. To double check, Crazywabbit’s test will confirm all is healthy with the X-charge unit itself.
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- Alternator isn't charging properly
- Wiring fault? (Earth?)
Those are the first two to check. Are you getting 14.4v or so with t'engine running at both battery terminals (with split charge engaged?). Whilst you've got the seatbox lid up, take the opportunity to clean the earths too...
- Red top running the starter motor (roughly 12v without engine running)
- Numax running everything but the starter.
Whem you say everything, do you literally mean all the other vehicle circuits (headlamps, indicators etc) or just auxiliary functions (worklights, fridge etc) on a separate fusebox? If the former, how have you managed this? My (limited) electrical trainings tells me that you would need a seperate, dedicated negative (not the chassis) for at least one of the battery systems to prevent problems with the batteries trying to 'balance' each other, which could be the problem here, if the charging system is fine. I.e. do you have a dedicated negative cable from the starter motor to the Red top?
Disclaimer: I am by no means a sparkie, and very much an armchair split-charge general (in that mine hasn't moved out of bag-of-fag-packet-sketch stage yet).
- Alternator isn't charging properly
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The fuel economly is awful. I clocked it once at about 28mpg and haven't done it since. This is with muds and a roofrack.
Engine issues aside, I guess it depends on how far your daily commute is Mav, whether it will cause significant pain in your wallet to have run a thirsty 110 compared to your modern Focus...
Personally, because my commute is relatively short, I'm planning on selling my faithful Eurobox if/when I finally get my truck on the road. For long journeys to see family there's always SWMBO's Eurobox...
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Mark,
Was planning on doing the same thing myself. I took some (bad) pictures of the rock sliders fitted to MikeTomCat’s truck when I was down his place earlier this year. Will post them up but they are a bit, well, rubbish.
I suggest you do the same, lie underneath someone else’s truck and take some pictures/measurements. And then post some details in your build thread :-D
Essentially though, all they are is a bit of suitable box section with some flat plates welded on perpendicularly to acts as mounts. These plates bolt to the front and rear outriggers. Anything else is just ‘dressing’. The hardest thing will be getting the scaf-tube which will act as the tree-slider bent to such a tight radius.
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Quiet day, but did meet a few people from here...
I agree, some people were definitely asking silly money for scrap, but did manage to find a NATO hitch for £20, as well as a TD5 dash/loom for £20...After promising myself that there was nothing wrong with my clocks and if they were dim I would simply eat more carrots...damn you Retro and your easy-to-follow write up!
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Old thread, but another thumbs-up for Pete from me.
For what it's worth, I've found his prices to be competitive with Paddocks and the like, especially by the time you've taken postage and VAT into account, plus no waiting...now if only he was open on a Sunday!
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I think the 'clue' is the fact that the graphics on the TFL website show a representation of a Defender; they are after us as a group and seemingly have free reign to make up the rules as they go along.
My reg comes up as exempt from the LEZ, but that's only because the DVLA still think my 110 van is a petrol (it's not back on the road yet) - and the DVLA want reciepts from a garage to prove the conversion (see other thread on here).
Whilst it's tempting to just leave the V5 as is, I won't as if I have a crash, it could provide the insurance company with an excuse not to pay up.
Honestly, I hate to sound like a Daily Mail Website forum poster, but slowly we are becoming slaves to rules & procedures un-elected beaurocrats think up at the behest of politicians with a 'green' agenda. They work for us, not the other way round! /rant
Volvo TGB13
in Military Forum
Posted
Not what you asked for but, given your location if 6x6 is your thing, an ex-Swiss army Pinzgauer could probably be sourced? The current direct disposal for sale listing (linky PDF) doesn't have anything, bar a couple of unimogs, however...