RichardAllen

Martin, Did you go for a self-adhesive pack ? Do you use Treadmaster smooth or diamond ? Regards Richard

As someone who generally dislikes the chequerplate look, I am reaching the conclusion that I need bonnet and wing chequerplates for added stiffness , so I can climb up and get at stuff on the roofrack. I am an insignificant 16st / 100kg and have 3 questions: 1. Are there any obvious alternatives to chequerplate (pre formed, pre-cut etc, as I do not have the tools to make my own), preferably in a long-lasting black non-slip finish 2. Are they all rivetted on ? 3. Will 3mm chequerplate (or alternative) do the job on its own, or do I need to put in some extra brackets between the wings and the chassis/bulkhead somewhere 4. Any recommended suppliers ? All help received with the usual gratitude Apoplogies if this is covered in depth elsewhere and I did not spot it Regards Richard

I use a pressure pump from vehicle wiring products to transfer fuel from a rear TD5 tank to the front on my 90. It's not quick, but it does transfer fuel a good deal quicker than the 300TDi uses it. Incidentally, In the winter snow I had to use a Shurflo water pump to transfer heating oil in an emergency. It worked for a fair while, but I completely knackered the valve diapragm and had to by a replacement. Regards Richard

Great food for thought

Er, standard practice: welding a diesel tank, cleaning with solvent, heating tank with acetylene torch to get rid of solvent. I may be only an occasional welder, or got the very wrong end of the stick, but is this guy not very lucky that he had not blown himself to kingdom come in a gas explosion long ago ?? Richard the soap and water cleaning person who hates hydrocarbons in any confined space.

A couple of weeks ago I bought 4 ex-army black jerry cans off a certain auction site for £20 used (still had army unti ID's painted on one or two), but definitielt very serviceable. As a devotee of both fish tanks and Tom Sheppard I second the algae question. If you get it on the glass of a fishtank, it is a b****r to get off with a scouring pad. Also see Godlykepower's recent thread on this.

Martin, Pinged. Regards Richard

Does anyone out there know who does wing/bonnet plates that have a black non-slip coating instead of the chequer plate ? I think I saw some at Billing ? And will they make the wings/bonnet stiff enough for 16st of english fatboy to clamber up and stick stuff on a Defender's roofrack ? Regards Richard

On mine, there is a circular hatch which comes out quite easily to access the sump plug, and a cutaway to get at the oil filter. I have not yet got around to binning it. It probably helps a good deal with noise while motorway commuting. Regards Richard

I have done a bit of work tidying up my water system design. I put it onto Powerpoint, which cannot be uploaded here, so I have converted each slide an include the set below. For my requirements, the system must be able to: 1. Load water into on-board storage from : High and low pressure mains water taps near vehicle Water sources, such as wells, lakes and ponds, streams and rivers 2. Provide ambient temperature safe water for drinking/cooking, 3. Provide ambient temperature water for : Personal hygiene and showering, laundry vehicle servicing. from: On-board storage High and low pressure mains water taps within 10m of vehicle Water sources, such as wells, lakes and ponds, streams and rivers within 10m of vehicle up to 3m below vehicle ground level 4. Discharge stored water 5. Back-flush pipes, connections and filters for cleaning 6. Function using manpower, water pressure and 12V DC only. Attached are the slides setting it all out. I hope they are readable and useful Regards Richard PS If you want the Powerpoint original, pm me.

Martin, When I did the calcs for the electrical system, the biggest power requirement, oddly, was a hair dryer! I reckon that with a wife and two daughters, it was sensible to assume that I needed a system that could cope with the hair dryer. It is also great when doing electrics as I can run a hot air paint stripper locally for doing heatshrink. As for the pipework, I agree with the potential for having pipes everywhere. Hence my thoughts are to fit the pump out of the way underneath somewhere with easily accessible brass garden hose type connectors, one for suction and one for discharge. The default configuration would be water from jerrycan through filter to water tap. Other configurations as noted to Kev earlier in this thread would be achieved by swapping around using the connectors. This is early days, but I have done a few tests to prove the feasibility. The main permanent connection will be from filter to water tap, so there is no chance of getting unfiltered water out of the tap. When I have done a bit mor thinking here I will post up the design. This is proving to be an awesome thread. Regards Richard

Peter Sounds like a great system. When I kit out the 110, I will need the second row of seats for the kids, hence mounting 4 jerry cans behind the load space bulkhead. otherwise it looks like you have road-tested something pretty similar to what I have in mind. Thanks. A pic of your frame would be very helpful. I like the idea of the wine rack, rather than mine of just strap[ping them all tightly together. Regards Richard

Kev, Regarding the plumbing your setup seems to be what I have in mind. I will be assuming that the water in the jerrycans is good clear water but not necessarily safe to drink Using interchangeable push pull garden hose connectors and in-line taps, it should not be too hard to rig the pump up to: a) push water from an on-board jerrycan through a filter and out through a drinking water tap b) push water push water from an on-board jerrycan straight to a shower head c) pull water up from a source, river etc through a coarse filter (fishpond type to keep leaves and grit out) and into a jerrycan d) push water push water from an on-board jerrycan through the coarse filter to backflush it e) push water push water from an on-board jerrycan or from a water source into the engine coolant header tank. I have tested the shurflo and it will pull water up 15feet from my neighbour's well, over the wall and 10 yards down the lane no problem. Regards Richard

Martin, Mountain Safety Reseach kit came out well in the US Army report too. Regards Richard

Martin, I think we have had the same idea. Not brilliant pic here. Unfortunately the view is somewhat obscured by the two seats, with two baby seats on top. I could have taken the baby seats out for a clearer pic, but they are a b****r to get back in tightly. Note that at the moment, on the bulkhead on the left is a 2kw inverter, which overhangs the space between the wheelboxes quite a bit, making the jerrycans in the mockup pic lean to the right. When I have turned the inverter 90deg, the jerrycans can be stowed properly upright. I might make a steel frame a bit like the Patriot roofrack ones, or just fix in cargo loops (like the Disco ones, but chunkier), and have two 50mm or 75mm ratchet straps, one holding the cans into the bulkhead and another through the handles holding them down on to the floor. Regards Richard

Martin, I have not yet built the setup properly (framing and fixed points for ratchets etc) but I may be able to mock it up this evening and post a pic (entertaining in-laws !). On another water track, I looked into purification, and particularly checking out some of the manufacturer's claims. I found a 2006 664 page report from the US Army Centre for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine into Individual Water Purifiers (IWP's), in which General Ecology's purifiers come out well. Quote:"Develop IWP Recommendations. Due to the narrow spread of scores among the MCDM analysis top-scoring IWPs, there will likely be several acceptable low-risk IWPs for any situation. Users should consider the characteristics and required tradeoffs of their unique situation to select a low-risk, useful IWP from the MCDM top scorers. Even with the noted MCDM results limitations, consider the three IWPs below as generally recommended, based on their described strengths. (1) Consider the SweetWater® Purifier from Mountain Safety Research, Inc., as the highest-scoring overall filter-based IWP. It is commercially packaged as a combination filter and disinfectant. It removes all four pathogens of interest. For use in conditions requiring a very small and lightweight IWP, however, the filter’s size and weight make it an unsuitable option. (2) Consider the Micropur MP 1 Tablets from Katadyn North America, Inc., as the highest-scoring overall disinfectant-based IWP. It removes all four pathogens of interest, and is very lightweight. However, it has a detrimental effect on the taste and odor of the water, and it has a long purification time. Both of these weaknesses are common to the disinfectant-based IWPs considered in this Project. (3) Consider the First Need Deluxe from General Ecology, Inc., as the highest-scoring filter-only IWP. The Project Team rated this IWP, based on technology, for expected removal of all four pathogens of interest. Protocol-based test data is required to confirm this. It is the smallest and lightest device of the General Ecology, Inc., family of IWPs. For use in conditions requiring a very small and lightweight IWP, however, its size and weight make it an unsuitable option. (4) Consider device combinations as an option to increase pathogen removal capabilities and reduce risk in using IWPs. Combinations were not evaluated in this study, but this concept would have the potential to provide a greater range of capabilities. " The study covered 36 purifiers and is comprehensive as the military often are. It also came out with a neat database. Unfortunately the report and database have now been taken offline. But I have a copy of the report (3.4MB) which I can pm to anyone interested. It is notable that with water filters, a crucial bit is how fine the filter is, therefore how many bugs and viruses it removes. General Ecology quote 0.4 microns, or 400 nanometers as the size of the holes in their Nature Pure filter. Tom Sheppard quotes the smallest viruses (polio etc) at down to .02-.08 microns equating to 20 to 80 nanometers. So the NaturePure won't get rid of all of them. Lifesaver quoted above give their virus removal spec as ">99.999 %". How these therefore compare I don't know. Maybe there is a grown-up who does. It may be safe to say that the Lifesave is newer technology and may be better at filtering. However, for an expedition with a number of people, you might need several Lifesaver bottles as the rate at which you can get pure water through it is quite slow. Also General Ecology do a unti which is intended to be built into a vehicle with a tap (and is used on Airbus 380's apparently). The Lifesaver bottle is a backpacker style filter. Tom Sheppard also offers other wisdom on making water safe to drink, the best being boiling it, and a Kelly kettle seems a good bet. For me I am looking seriously at General Ecology's Nature Pure filter system. It will be some while before I need one in anger so I did not shell out the £165 asking prioce at Billing on Sunday. Regards Richard

Pursuing the set of jerry cans instead of a water tank option. I have four ex-army black plastic water jerrycans (off that auction site £20), which I have just tried and fit neatly across the load space by the bulkhead with about 100mm to spare (closer dimensions are: height 450mm, including handle and screwtops, depth 340mm, width 4 x 180mm = 720mm. ) Each jerrycan holds 20 litres and weighs about 2kg giving a total water capacity of 80 litres weighing 88kg all up. We will have 2 adults and 2 children, so i suspect 80 litres should be plenty for most routes. Regards Richard

My concern is that declaring mod's in advance would be seen as bad as not declaring them. Potentially if they find out I had not yet fitted the winch when my truck got knicked (heaven forbid), they could take the view that I was fraudulently trying to claim for the the winch and then refuse to pay up anything. For those of us who put in mod's one after another through the year while keeping the vehicle on the road, this admin fee thing is becoming a serious irritation. I will certainly be bringing the issue up at my next renewal. Regards Richard

I second that most heartily. For expeditioners/overlanders it might even be worth joining the RGS just to gain better experience than internet diaries, especially if you are going to places other than crossing Africa. Regards Richard (not yet a member !)

Martin, Just seen this at work. Tom Sheppard mentions some silver (iodide?) product for restricting algae growth, but I don't have the book to hand. I do know that algae on a fish tank is a b*****d to scrub off with a scourer, and you can see it easily through the glass. Given the seriousness of dodgy water, and the difficulties of cleaning, if your bulk tank does get algae, your only option might be to bin the tank and revert to cans. For jerry cans, I reckon you can get 4 between the wheel boxes next to the bulkhead (I'll try it tonight), so that would be 80 litres. Not masses for crossing the Sahara, but enough as a starter for 10. Regarding the free surface bit, I don't think it will be a massive issue on its own. However, once you think about roof tents (70kg high up), fuel tanks on a roof rack (25kg each, again high up), spare wheel on the roof (20kg ?) you easily get to see why stability becomes an issue, uprated suspension is needed and Tom Sheppard recommends roll-cage style stiffening between chassis and roof rack. I am therefore constantly looking to get weight removed, necessary weight lower down and every little bit helps. Stiffening the suspension to reduce the roll does indeed reduce the effect, but at the cost of a harsher ride over already harsh terrain. As a for instance, I have a 65litre auxiliary fuel tank on my 90, and have kept the anti-roll bars with standard springs/dampers which have now done 95k. The ride is noticeable different when fuelled up (say 110kg low down) from when empty. It is by no means dangerous, but still noticeable. I would really really recommend getting onto the Royal Geographical Society and buying a copy of Tom Sheppard Vehicle-dependent Expedition Guide. (Link on here somewhere) It is simply authoritative and encyclopaedic. Regards Richard

Lee, On my 90, the power to the alarm goes through Fuse 20 (bottom right) in the passenger compartment fusebox, (I got this from the wiring diagrams in the RAVE electronic manual set available as a download) so you could start from there or the equivalent on your vehicle. Regards Richard

I'd love to know the uses you can put a hacksaw frame to, other than tensioning a hacksaw blade of course.

Martin, Regarding tools to take on an expedition, there are quite a few interweb expedition diary type sites with lists of tools / spares. Some give a view on what was actually used. I have not sorted my list yet, however, I do have some principles (I work on similar things but for submarines) For any maintenance job you need to know how to do it, the skill/time to do it, the necessary tools and the necessary spare parts and consumables (oil/grease etc). If you do not have all elements, there is probably no point carrying the required tools/parts, since you will not be able to use them. You then need to have the space and spare weight capacity to carry what you want. You might then also think about 'mission-criticality' whether if such and such breaks you are stuck, could you bodge it, or actually leave it to the next town/garage. For knowledge: on an expedition, you can easily get the Land Rover manuals in electronic form (Rave), and I have found these pretty good. For skills: a bit of practice at home and a feel for how things fit together and with a manual you can tackle most Land Rover jobs (possibly excluding ECU based electrics). That leaves spares and tools. It is then worth looking at maintenance tasks resulting from routine servicing and stuff wearing out/breaking, which you might reasonably be able to fix. So 3 examples: Definitely do it, no-brainer example: the spanner to fit your sump plug, oil filter remover, together with spare oil, oil filter and plug washer is a simple choice to cover the routine job of changing the oil. Often required, easy to do, no heavy bulky bits - probably a no-brainer. Except than almost any garage could do the job, it is not that time crucial, so depending on where you are going you may not bother carrying the bits. Definitely don't bother example: A set of tools for replacing gearbox internals and spare syncro's gears etc might be more questionable on an expedition. Nasty job to do in the wild, gearboxes are pretty tough things, but if you break one you are stuck. Maybe maybe not example: The steering track rod can be vulnerable on off road travel and might get bent by a rock, wrecking the steering. A spare track rod could be easily lashed to a roofrack. It needs a spanner or two, pliers for the split pins, and rod end splitter to replace the bent rod. This then becomes, perhaps, a more marginal choice. You might dispense with the spare track rod if you reckon you could rig up something to straighten the bent one, with a hi-lift perhaps, and if you need heat to get a stubborn rod end off, you have a cooker. So depending on where you are going, you may decide that it is worth carrying tools/parts to be able to do this job The main point is to concentrate on which maintenance jobs you want to be able to do without outside help and then making sure you have all the necessary elements. That gives you your list of tools and spares to go out and buy. There may be other considerations. The 90's R380 gearbox has a TORX filler plug. Going somewhere remote, you may decide that you don't need to carry spare gearbox oil as a top-up/refill can always be done at a local garage. However, they may not have the necessary TORX socket. It is not big or heavy, so you might decide to take one anyway (I am pretty sure that this example is cited in Tom Sheppard's Vehicle-dependent Expedition Guide, but I cannot find exactly where). Likewise I recall someone carrying a spare head gasket in the roof lining. No weight, no space taken up, he might not carry all the tools to replace a blown head gasket (not actually that hard on a 300TDi), but a garage will. However, they may not have the part, and it might take days to be delivered, so carrying the spare is no big deal, but might get him on his way several days quicker. So there may be good reasons to carry tool without spares, or spares without tools. I expect the experience of other overlanders would be the best guide here. Another point is dual use / bodging. A correctly sized socket can be used for removing/replacing bearings and seals in place of a special tool. A breaker bar can be used for all sorts of levering as well as on a socket. A camping penknife can be used for cutting and stripping wires for electrical repairs. A book could be written on the bodges you can do with a handful of cable ties etc etc etc So don't take a wire stripper if you need a camping knife for cooking etc anyway, and I van think of no possible reason for not taking a handful of cable ties. This is largely a purist approach which we use in a peculiar military setting. However, the principles, with a good deal of Land Rover common sense, and experience from others do still apply, I believe. Apologies for the grandma lecture, I hope it's helpful Regards Richard

Each time they re-issue the paperwork to me, so I guess the £17 covers that. If I put on new mod's at renewal, there's no fee, however that means doing mod's between expiry time and renewal time, not much chance to get work done with a full-time job and young family. I may be being a bit fanatical about declaring stuff to the insurer, but I have had some past experience with them.

I insure through Lancaster Insurance and get a sensible annual premium. Being a good boy, every time I put in another laning/expedition modification to the 90 (snorkel last night), I ring up the insurance broker and tell him. Every time they confirm that there is no change to the premium and for a while now they have then charged me a £17 admin fee each time. As I have a done number of mod's, these admin fees are mounting up and I would rather spend my £'s on bits of aluminium and steel than bits of paper. I questioned this today and unless I take the vehicle off the road , do all the mod's and put them together when I put the vehicle back on the road, I am going to get hit by a fee for each mod. This is not an option for me. If I don't tell them about a mod, tell them too late or too early, and have an incident, then the vehicle will not be as described in the insurance and they can duck out of paying up. Does everyone else get this reaction, if not, which broker/insurer should I go to next time ? All wisdom appreciated. Regards Richard