Sirocco

They are American based. Thats a RoverRacks rack and looks like either an ARB or Hannibal RTT. http://www.voyagerracks.com/ roverracks have changed their name and are the same as the link above! G

Its either Allisport or Safari Equip both had them at shows last year. The Allisport one was going for IIRC £450-£500 G

Or you can get an awesome Canvas one from this guy: http://www.globeroamer.co.uk/ well priced, good customer service G

I understand what your saying Mike, you can only do so much. Im not going into that much detail or carrying a spare turbo! I just want to make sure the big stuff is tip top before we set off. G

Ok, its things like that I needed to know cheers. It was originally owned by a women to take her dogs for walks, (I have the original receipt of purchase) that was from 1996 to about 2002 with full dealer service history, it then passed through 3 other people who did not put much mileage on it, then I picked it up in 2008. I fully believe its had an easy life hence why I snapped it up at the time. This is only the 2nd vehicle I have owned so I have no experience with vehicle longevity etc. Im just trying to mitigate now what can be avoided in the near future. when we relocate in Aus I cannot imagine anything Land Rover is going to be cheap either, so better now than in 2 years time! G

He didn't tell me that Clutch is deff on the list now then. Thanks guys. any thoughts on injector servicing etc?

Jason - That is basically my thinking. Clutch slave and master have been done, forgot to mention it. I have a new 100a alt to go in and a 100a alt to take as a spare. Clutch I was thinking of replacing, engine seems very strong, gearbox gets a little rattle in 4th under load but otherwise very good. I was just wondering if there were any mileage intervals 'normal' land rovers need things looking at. Thanks for your input. G

The stove does punch out some heat. The rails are box section aluminium. I was going to look at clipping it over the rail. Si - nice idea. I could use one of my Zarges boxes G

Ok, big can of worms, yes its very subjective. As a bit of background the vehicle is a 1996 300tdi 90 on 109k. We are leaving next year and driving to Siberia and then onto Aus (hopefully not returning to the UK!). We are going to cover some 15-20,000miles in the 11 months we will be on the road. So, vehicle background. I am confident of the vehicle overall, it has never let me down, regularly serviced and well looked after. Within the last 3 years (from 86k) it has had a new radiator and all pipework, new front propshaft, all wheel bearings, tires. more recently all bushes, a Frame joint, front disks/pads and before we go all new springs/shocks, rear disks/pads, timing belt. Other little things have been done also but its the bigger things that concern me. The reason for this post is I am unsure when I should be looking at things like clutch/gearbox/engine/injector pump/caliper rebuilds/injector refurb etc. we will be taking plenty of spares and will be well prepared so most things dont concern me other than the above items! Can anyone give me a guide on what mileage I should be looking at these things? Yes I know I could do everything/do nothing and go but I will weigh this up and prioritise when I have a little info. Money is tight also but if it needs doing it needs doing I dont want to be swapping out an R380 on a logging road in Yakutsk (I laugh now...). any help and/or suggestions appreciated Cheers, G

The ST's were always said to be 'somewhere between the AT and MT tyre' so I assume an AT will give you reduced performance in the mud/better on road. Saying that I know shed loads of people who greenlane, commute, motorway, overland etc on ATs and are very happy with them. If your happy with STs why not stick with them? 235/85 gets you as near to a standard 750r16 as your going to get. If you wanted narrow and tall the ST (use to) come in 255/85r16 which my KM2 MTs measure in over 33". Its all a compromise whatever you do as you say you want something 'more road bias' then in the next breath 'any good in muddy fields'. Trust me if there was a do all tyre we would all be running the same one! G

Why didn't I think of that! It would be easy to attach the metal arms of the hannibal awning to... Genius. Is Aluminium better than SS for heat conductivity? I have some SS laying around. G

thats the flashing kit I will likely use. thats good info to have, thanks for that. G

finish the trailing arm bushes then do the radius arms. I have just done the trailing arms bushes, radius arms bushes, panhard rod bushes, A frame bushes, A frame ball joint, track rod ends and drop arm ball joint... ... made a huge difference! painted the chassis to G

Are you talking about the drop arm ball joint? or all ball joints? I use the castel nut and pin on the ones ive used G

looks good, like the finish. My ARB bumper would look good like that. Did you use a galv primer on the bumper 1st? For my rock sliders I used grip tape. 5m roll is cheap on Ebay. lasts well and you can always cut another strip. done the ladder rungs to G

mine is cut at a slight angle, still draws and works fine. I guess its the same as anything, you just try to reduce airflow as little as possible. For your/our needs I wouldn't go for anything 45-90 degrees. <45 you shouldn't see any negative effect (especially with thw flue damper open and the door wide open.) Wrapped it in exhaust wrap to reduce heat, but it still gets too hot. My hannibal is hook and loop not zip like later ones so I can undo 2-3 bits and poke it out of the top. I have been resting it on a piece of wood, not ideal but its as far as I have got. Probably going to cut a hole in the front panel, to the side and fit one of their cowl things. G

yes, use a paint scraper 1st, wire brush/wheel 2nd. then degrease, sand down to give a key and paint. I wouldn't bother with the waxoil. G

Wouldn't a tough closed cell foam do you? There is a guy at the shows who sells all sorts of this stuff. I bought a big sheet off him at the Sodbury before last to fit my trailer out with. Its good stuff. G

Agreed - D2 (if you can afford a good well looked after one) for a few weeks in Europe/North Africa, 300tdi D1 if not. If your ventureing anywhere else outside the EU or modern world a 300tdi Defender (if you wanted to stay with the 'green oval' that is). G

Also swivel housing... G

have you tried to earth the gauge? later defenders have a daisy chain of earths across the gauges, the fuel reads full if its not connected. Not sure how it works with older models but worth a shot if not all ready considered. G

I run the same as Mike ( - the Eber) and my 65a does a good job of things looking at my twin voltmeter. I will put a 100a unit on as I have one around here somewhere. Its the AC thats sucking things on your TD5 and as long as you use the Eber to heat yours when in Norway I dont think you will have any issues with the normal electrics running. G

Looks good Jason taking ideas for my trailer drawer. G

yer I found it after I posted up. cheers. G

6" perfect. Like the 2" receiver. where did you get that? My hitch is direct to the X member so probably as close as yours would be if it was mounted the same. G