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As we discovered, choosing the best vehicle for an overland expedition is no
easy matter. Listening to the advice of experienced overlanders is helpful
but unfortunately there is no single answer and like most things it comes
down to common sense and personal preference. Our priorities were
reliability, easy maintenance, availability of spare parts and something we
could live in. Four wheel drive and high ground clearance were also a
pre-requisite as the vehicle has to be able to cope with long distances to
be covered on a great variety of road conditions ranging from modern
metalled highways in Europe to snow covered mountain passes in the Himalayas
as well as rutted, heavily pot-holed tracks and muddy, washed out roads.
We eventually decided on a Land Rover Defender despite the much greater
presence of Japanese vehicles such as Toyota in many of the countries we are
visiting. The defender is a remarkably easy car to work on, an exceptional
workhorse and can be customised like a mecano set! We bought a 12 years old
ex-MOD Rapier 130 (see below) as our basic vehicle and, with Foley
Specialist Vehicles, set about designing a whole new body and interior fit
for our purposes.
The V8 petrol engine was removed and a brand new 300 Tdi diesel engine and
gearbox fitted. A second fuel tank set under the passenger seat takes our
total fuel capacity (excluding jerry cans) to 140 litres, and two other
tanks were installed to carry 60 litres of water. We also had a second
battery fitted with a split charge to ensure our electrical gadgets cannot
flatten the main battery. Other additions include a raised air intake
(snorkel), metal guards to protect the steering and axles, a bull bar, light
guards, electric winch, two spare wheels and a small roof rack at the front.
The new box body includes a lifting roof allowing us to stand in the rear
and to sleep inside the vehicle (much safer than a roof tent if we need to
make a quick getaway when camping wild). Other home comforts include a
fridge, sink, in-line water filter, eberspacher heater, and external shower.
Further modifications have been carried out with the help of David Halliday
from Atlas Overland. These include an uprating of the suspension with Old
Man Emu shock absorbers, a strengthened rear anti-roll bar, a fuel
sedimenter, K&N air filter, and replacing any items likely to cause problems
on the expedition such as wheel bearings, bushes and ball joints.
And thus our Land Rover is complete! Our thanks go to Foleys for such an
ingeniously designed and exceptionally well built vehicle.
Servicing and Maintenance
Given our relatively basic mechanics skills, the emphasis for us is on
maintenance in order to prevent any major mechanical problems. Again Atlas
Overland have been extremely helpful by advising us on critical checks to be
carried out daily as well as more lengthy checks for both weekly and monthly
intervals. In addition we will be regularly servicing the vehicle on the
road every 6000 miles in accordance with Land Rover recommendations.
Tools, fluids, lubricants and spares take up much of the Land Rover’s
storage space. Our selection of tools is fairly comprehensive and should
allow us to tackle most tasks we’re likely to face. Our selection of spare
parts was put together on the advice of various sponsors and other
individuals experienced in overland expeditions. We’re also taking top up
oils for the axles, transfer box etc, fluids for brakes, clutch, radiator
and power steering, and enough engine oil for one oil change in case in case
we can’t buy the right oil locally. As an extra precaution we are also
taking fuel additives and extra low viscosity engine oil to cope with the
very low temperatures in Tibet.
A full list of modifications, spares, tools and equipment will be added to
this site in due course.
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