Newbie Questions

[Chainlinephil]

A few questions from a new (now broke given prices😂)  2004 xs 29k mile Td5 owner and new forum member.

things to do once I’ve secured the doors and other security (I had no idea they were soooo theievable and stripable)

wheels/tyres - when I drive it I’ll always be heading off road, winter and summer to camp. Some will be big road trips but still off road destination. Q is mild MT KM2? or AT e.g K02 and what size, 235/85 or 255/85. 
(The Grabber TRs are original 2004 😳 29k mls) so need to change them!Any advice? 

what workshop manual? Haynes or alternative. I’ll be doing the work and maintenance myself. Not new to restoration/mechanical work totally new to Defenders.

I will be converting it to ‘overland light’ so pop top and minimal camper build inside, to travel/ sleep 3 to 4 with power and water but not massive fixed storage with usual external mods. Some engine work but focussed on reliability/useability.

lastly, I tried to get as rust free an example as I could afford so I am bolting and drilling solid body/chassis! One thing that is rusty is this below the heater box? It has aircon ( is this due to condensaton draining?)

Is this a replaceable part/a tray (heater box bracket since galv ones appear to be a thing!), see photo.

Thanks for any help.

oh, do i need to upgrade suspension to HD if I add pop top/roof rack/batteries etc? 

ta 

Phil.

Edited September 21, 2023 by Chainlinephil

[Escape]

Welcome to the forum and congrats with your purchase! I think you've made a good choice with a TD5, I loved mine (until I fell for V8s).

My 2 cents:

- tyres: 255/85R16 is a nice size on a Defender, just a bit more ground clearance than standard. Downside is there are only a few tyres available in that size, like the BFG MT. Nothing wrong with 235/85R16 if you prefer ATs, they will be better on the road of course.

- workshop manual: you want RAVE, as found here for example. That has pretty much every info you need to do your own maintenance and repairs. And of course there is a lot of info and expertise on here as well.

I don't do camping, I just sleep in the back of my Range, so I'll let others who know what they're talking about comment on that. 😉

Filip

[bishbosh]

Welcome! Sleeping 4 in a Defender is going some I would suggest, even with a pop top. It can be done (there is a family on youtube that do it) but will be expensive (£7-£10k for a pop top for starters) so it will be interesting to see how you go about it.

If you are doing big trips abroad then you may be better off with 235 /85 just for spares availability. In the UK there are I think only 3 manufacturers doing the 255's. Not sure abut further afield though. Also, for "overlanding" you aren't likely to be hitting the really rough stuff where bigger tyres come into their own.

If that is the only rust on your truck you have already become Mr Unpopular around here! 🤣 Everything can be replaced - sometime there are aftermarket parts, sometimes you have to start with a sheet of metal and make your own. Hopefully you have a welder on your list if you don't have one already - makes Defender ownership far less expensive in the long run! Check out YRM for parts, they do pretty much everything that you can think of... I think!  

I would wait until you have "finished" (nobody is ever finished with LR mods!) your conversion before looking at the suspension. Depends how much weight you add and where as to what spring / shock combination you may or may not need.

 

Oh, and we demand pictures of your rig we don't even know if it is a 90 or bigger yet!

[FridgeFreezer]

13 hours ago, Chainlinephil said:

wheels/tyres - when I drive it I’ll always be heading off road, winter and summer to camp. Some will be big road trips but still off road destination. Q is mild MT KM2? or AT e.g K02 and what size, 235/85 or 255/85. 
(The Grabber TRs are original 2004 😳 29k mls) so need to change them!Any advice? 

what workshop manual? Haynes or alternative. I’ll be doing the work and maintenance myself. Not new to restoration/mechanical work totally new to Defenders.

I will be converting it to ‘overland light’ so pop top and minimal camper build inside, to travel/ sleep 3 to 4 with power and water but not massive fixed storage with usual external mods. Some engine work but focussed on reliability/useability.

lastly, I tried to get as rust free an example as I could afford so I am bolting and drilling solid body/chassis! One thing that is rusty is this below the heater box? It has aircon ( is this due to condensaton draining?)

Is this a replaceable part/a tray (heater box bracket since galv ones appear to be a thing!), see photo.

Thanks for any help.

oh, do i need to upgrade suspension to HD if I add pop top/roof rack/batteries etc? 

Welcome!

For mild off-road AT's (BFG, General Grabber, Continental) will probably suffice - BFG AT are almost a default "do everything" and last forever.

Workshop manual use RAVE as Ben kindly posted, also the parts book is very useful for the exploded diagrams, most of which are available to browse on https://www.landroverworkshop.com/

Camper pop-top I'd stop and think seriously about - it's major surgery, it's big money, and 4 in a 110 is going to be supremely "cosy" and a whole heap of compromises no matter how you shuffle it. It's not as glamorous but just spending that money on a 4-berth caravan you can drag round could be by far the more practical solution. If you want it to be a bit more purposeful you could always emulate Miketomcat's latest project...

You get no sympathy for having luxuries like Aircon hopefully it's just the bracket that's rusted (parts diagrams etc. are at the LandRoverWorlshop link I just posted ) but I'd want to check & probably re-paint that bit of the bulkhead if it's going to get dripped on all the time.

Suspension - "heavy duty" is mostly a marketing term (much like "extreme"), usually for massively hard springs that lift the vehicle and make it worse to drive / worse off-road... get the vehicle to the spec you want, weigh it, and then look at good quality springs and shocks matched to the vehicle -  there's a whole table of stock & aftermarket springs here: http://www.red90.ca/rovers/springinfo.html just be aware that 110 rears are larger diameter than the rest so your choices are slightly limited (but plenty of good options are out there).

[Chainlinephil]

Thanks guys, much appreciated.

in terms of the ambitious ‘4’ sleep. Min is 3, i wondered if 4 could work with 2 rear seats,the extra bed width from 1 folded.

I can do 3 easily with a pop top and sensible rear layout I think, still cosy I accept but ok just for sleeping and the odd brew. Its a 110. I am fortunate to have a 4x4 van for space, this is more about maintaining it myself, modding it and then getting offroad for fun and to remote places for 1-2nights at time. Having now sat in the space as opposed to seeing the tardis like pictures on insta/utube i have no ide how these peeps live in it full time ‘overlanding’ that is deffo camper van territory for me!

rig pre purchase and home after a 150ml baptism of fire. pic attached complete with 20yr old tyres.

100% original and unmolested (so far😏). So nothing mega exciting to look at but nothing beyond surface chassis/running gear rust (that i have found so far😳 i’ve knocked an picked at wverything I could touch, youtube made me paranoid😂) assessment aided by having only the factory finish to chassis/ underbody, no other treatments and easy to look, a few minor paint bubbles to check out,  and no repairs, was garaged and serviced death for the few miles driven, guy had loads of cars to pick from hence the super low miles.

How would you guys categorise mild vs more serious offroad? I am definitely going to find myself in muddy, rutted and low traction hilly terrain where there is no track, I am not going to be rock crawling extreme angles or big rock obstacles.

Because of the van I already have recovery gear and compressor etc. I have only ever used BFG K02 on the van but mostly muddy fields and farm tracks. 

Much to think about. 

So I also need to learn to weld🤔

[Peaklander]

We have the older 300TDi 110 and it is a station wagon so originally had 2nd row seats and the bench seats along each wheel box.

There’s only two of us.

Initially I temporarily removed the 2nd row and the rear seats but could put them back in a moment. Now the rear bench seatbelt bars have been removed (for more space) so it wouldn’t be as quick.

We used to camp in a tent but sometimes also slept inside, on a platform at bottom of window height, with boxes underneath.

With time we wanted a bit more autonomy and went for the lifting roof, Icarus from Alucab. The only major surgery is that you unbolt the roof and after checking seals, you bolt on the new one, with a bit of work on the lighting and low power outlets. If I had storage space I would have kept the old roof.

Now we have a true upstairs/ downstairs arrangement with what is essentially two rooms.

We don’t have a professional conversion, just homebrew that works. No sink but a removeable gas cooker, two way fridge off solar and a small Porta Potti that slides along the 2nd row floor and under the fridge.

The space for four to travel ‘seat-belted’ would compromise the interior downstairs anyway but maybe you could find a way.

I could go on but that’s probably quite enough.

[Junglie]

3 hours ago, Chainlinephil said:

Thanks guys, much appreciated.

in terms of the ambitious ‘4’ sleep. Min is 3, i wondered if 4 could work with 2 rear seats,the extra bed width from 1 folded.

I can do 3 easily with a pop top and sensible rear layout I think, still cosy I accept but ok just for sleeping and the odd brew. Its a 110. I am fortunate to have a 4x4 van for space, this is more about maintaining it myself, modding it and then getting offroad for fun and to remote places for 1-2nights at time. Having now sat in the space as opposed to seeing the tardis like pictures on insta/utube i have no ide how these peeps live in it full time ‘overlanding’ that is deffo camper van territory for me!

rig pre purchase and home after a 150ml baptism of fire. pic attached complete with 20yr old tyres.

100% original and unmolested (so far😏). So nothing mega exciting to look at but nothing beyond surface chassis/running gear rust (that i have found so far😳 i’ve knocked an picked at wverything I could touch, youtube made me paranoid😂) assessment aided by having only the factory finish to chassis/ underbody, no other treatments and easy to look, a few minor paint bubbles to check out,  and no repairs, was garaged and serviced death for the few miles driven, guy had loads of cars to pick from hence the super low miles.

How would you guys categorise mild vs more serious offroad? I am definitely going to find myself in muddy, rutted and low traction hilly terrain where there is no track, I am not going to be rock crawling extreme angles or big rock obstacles.

Because of the van I already have recovery gear and compressor etc. I have only ever used BFG K02 on the van but mostly muddy fields and farm tracks. 

Much to think about. 

So I also need to learn to weld🤔

Nice Landy, and welcome aboard...

But is that also your Mike Hailwood Rep lurking behind it? Or is that at the dealer? (And if the latter, who is the dealer, please because I'm after reacquainting myself with a bevel drive Ducati)

[Chainlinephil]

2 hours ago, Peaklander said:

We have the older 300TDi 110 and it is a station wagon so originally had 2nd row seats and the bench seats along each wheel box.

There’s only two of us.

Initially I temporarily removed the 2nd row and the rear seats but could put them back in a moment. Now the rear bench seatbelt bars have been removed (for more space) so it wouldn’t be as quick.

We used to camp in a tent but sometimes also slept inside, on a platform at bottom of window height, with boxes underneath.

With time we wanted a bit more autonomy and went for the lifting roof, Icarus from Alucab. The only major surgery is that you unbolt the roof and after checking seals, you bolt on the new one, with a bit of work on the lighting and low power outlets. If I had storage space I would have kept the old roof.

Now we have a true upstairs/ downstairs arrangement with what is essentially two rooms.

We don’t have a professional conversion, just homebrew that works. No sink but a removeable gas cooker, two way fridge off solar and a small Porta Potti that slides along the 2nd row floor and under the fridge.

The space for four to travel ‘seat-belted’ would compromise the interior downstairs anyway but maybe you could find a way.

I could go on but that’s probably quite enough.

Similar, I am looking Alucab because of the ability to reverse it. Your approach sounds similar to me I just don't know how compromising it would be. I think 4 probably much more than 3. Experiments to be made. 

[FridgeFreezer]

3 hours ago, Chainlinephil said:

How would you guys categorise mild vs more serious offroad? I am definitely going to find myself in muddy, rutted and low traction hilly terrain where there is no track, I am not going to be rock crawling extreme angles or big rock obstacles.

For me;

Mild off-road / overland / green laning = you're going on roads/tracks that are not necessarily paved, could be muddy / lumpy / loose / wet / snow etc. but you're not pushing the limits of the truck, should not need much gear and no major/expensive mods or gear. AT or MT tyres in a regular size should be fine.

 

More serious off-road = you're pushing the limits of the truck, bigger more aggressive tyres, more likely to be getting stuck or doing damage, more mods/upgrades needed...

 

 

Personally I'd join a club and go along to a few things to spectate and get a feel for what's what, see what sort of thing you might want to do or not and what (if any) mods look like they might be worth doing - a lot of people just buy gear for the sake of buying gear, don't get suckered in - you'll be broke, the truck will weigh 3 tonnes and it will be no better at going camping than the vehicle you started with.

[Chainlinephil]

28 minutes ago, Junglie said:

Nice Landy, and welcome aboard...

But is that also your Mike Hailwood Rep lurking behind it? Or is that at the dealer? (And if the latter, who is the dealer, please because I'm after reacquainting myself with a bevel drive Ducati)

Many thanks. Much as I would love that to be mine (as a fan of old 2 wheelers also) , it is at the 'dealer' It was a storage company that don't really sell cars except where customers are changing, main business is dry storage and maintenance of  super expensive lovely bits of kit, Bently's, Ferrari's,Shelby GT Mustangs etc etc! I think the Defender, whist pricy, was worth about the same as some of the panels on the other cars😂

[Snagger]

For expedition and overland type use, definitely stick to 235/85 - not only will they be easier to replace everywhere, but they will give better performance, economy and handling and will put less stress on the steering, suspension, axles and brakes.  I would have recommended ATs, especially with significant road miles, but since you said you’d be driving a lot of muddy field sand hills with no tracks, MTs may be more appropriate.  The suggestion of going to a club’s trials and seeing how different tyres cope with different surfaces is a good one.

I’d suggest leaving the suspension well alone (other than repairing anything worn out) until you have driven it a bit on road and mild off road in its laden trip state.  110 Station Wagons were built to carry up to twelve people or significant cargo in extremis, so you may well find that it drives well as standard.  HD is mostly inappropriate tat well marketed to those who don’t understand machinery.  Not only will tall springs adversely affect handling, HD will be more uncomfortable and may reduce off road capability.  You may find you need something stiffer than standard if your mods work out heavy, but try standard first and only change what is necessary.  That’ll be both cheapest and best.

[Chainlinephil]

@FridgeFreezer Thanks, I'm certain I'm in the former camp and would conclude regular size tyres will be fine. Couldn't agree more on avoiding bolting bling to it for the sake of it looking 'ard.  Since I need tyres as a priority maybe go with a steel/ MT tyre package as we head into winter that then allows me flexibility with my existing alloys if I feel the need for a more road centric AT/ 3 peak tyre later on.

Joining a club and seeing what works for mods a good shout.  I Was sceptical about HD hence the question, the roof only adds about 70kg an thats less than a typical person.  Many helpful comments so far👍🏻

 

Edited September 22, 2023 by Chainlinephil

[FridgeFreezer]

Where in the UK are you? That might help us steer you toward a helpful club.

[Chainlinephil]

Leicestershire. Smack bang between Cov, Leicester and Brum

[Chainlinephil]

Any club suggestions? I’m super central right between leicestershire/warwickshire/stafforshire in easy reach.

pop too is a goer now.

steel wheels 235/85R16 and leaning towards cost effective muds (Falken?)given coming season.

o offset or std wold 20mm🤷🏻‍♂️ struggling to find much beyond (subjective) looks advantage to O offset.

does anyone know the height from rear load bay of a folded Exmoor premium rear seat and the rear centre console?

In the minimalist interior approach I have opted for an Anker 767/400w portable solar package so the only electrics needed for fridge and portable induction hob is a split charge system and dc-dc to charge while driving.

if I can find a 1/3 rear mech guard I think I can make up to (cosy) 4 work for sleeping with outdoor cooking and plenty of molle storage inside with a roof rack/outdoor box.

outdoor water via jerry can/or chassis tank.

This is very much intended as a halfway house between ‘bikepacking) style camping with added warmth an motive power.

height of folded exmoor seat and cubby (or I make something) key to a rear bed with the right height foam on-top of built-up rear arch storage behind the seats.

Mechanicals all seem fine, ride is quiet and sound. Security now on.

Debating waxoyl treatment or similar.

 

 

[FridgeFreezer]

10 hours ago, Chainlinephil said:

the only electrics needed for fridge and portable induction hob is a split charge system and dc-dc to charge while driving

If you've got a split charge that's already charging while driving isn't it? What would a DC-DC be doing?

Waxoyl was good in the 1970's, now we have far better stuff - I prefer Dinitrol, others use Bilt Hamber and other things.

[Bowie69]

DC-DC actually manages the charging of the battery, I'm not sure why you would need a split charge in addition to this?

[FridgeFreezer]

1 hour ago, Bowie69 said:

DC-DC actually manages the charging of the battery, I'm not sure why you would need a split charge in addition to this?

So does an alternator... admittedly it will just hoof as much current in as the battery will take but that's unlikely to be a problem unless you're running a special sort of battery that needs charge management.

Either way, you only need one or the other surely?

[Bowie69]

32 minutes ago, FridgeFreezer said:

So does an alternator... admittedly it will just hoof as much current in as the battery will take but that's unlikely to be a problem unless you're running a special sort of battery that needs charge management.

Either way, you only need one or the other surely?

It does, but not if the batteries aren't matched.

But yes, one or the other only.

[FridgeFreezer]

1 hour ago, Bowie69 said:

It does, but not if the batteries aren't matched.

Unless something's gone very wrong (or very flat) the two batteries are unlikely to be very far apart, and a modern alternator has enough power at its disposal to drag two batteries up to 14v and get a good charge into both.

I think the most I saw ours managed about 60A sustained into the house battery after it got very depleted, but that's an AGM stop-start battery that can accept a lot of current.

[Bowie69]

With one very flat battery, and one fully charged battery, a DC-DC charger will charge the flat one at full rate without overcharging the main battery.

[FridgeFreezer]

1 hour ago, Bowie69 said:

With one very flat battery, and one fully charged battery, a DC-DC charger will charge the flat one at full rate without overcharging the main battery.

How would an alternator over-charge a main battery if you linked them by a regular split charge though?

It will just try its hardest to drag the system voltage up to ~14.4v while running and the charge goes where it goes.

[Snagger]

I get that DC-DC chargers are very good for protecting and efficiency managing dissimilar batteries, like a lead acid main and LiFePo domestic battery, but two similar types, even of different capacity should surely be fine with a dumb split charger (as long as the batteries are rated at the same voltage)?  I can’t see why having two lead acid 12v batteries, even of different size and brand, should need expensive management systems, nor two 12v LiFEPo (which tend to have internal management systems anyway).  I can’t see what is wrong with having a cheap MPPT solar controller connected to the domestic battery without any extra controls or connections to the main battery.  I may be missing something, perhaps both big and obvious, but it seems to me that a lot of the stuff the industry is pushing is simply expensive gadgetry that is utterly pointless and merely takes up a lot of space and the contents of your wallet.  Rather like most suspension mods or super-duper stereos, really.

[hurbie]

i thought that DC-DC chargers are there to boost the charging voltage to a usefull level if you use long cable's (to load a battery in your trailer wich is 6 meter's away using "thinner" cable ...)
but i might be way of in my thinking ...

[Bowie69]

1 minute ago, hurbie said:

i thought that DC-DC chargers are there to boost the charging voltage to a usefull level if you use long cable's (to load a battery in your trailer wich is 6 meter's away using "thinner" cable ...)
but i might be way of in my thinking ...

It's part of it, a very useful part.

Then.... with a flat house battery, the DCDC will raise the charging voltage (allowing higher current input) so it is able to charge the house battery faster than it would do otherwise.