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Photo by Ulrike Hahnel, Rock Formations on the Lagune Route, Bolivia

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but it's on my list!


Photo by Ulrike Hahnel,
Rock Formations on the
Lagune Route, Bolivia



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  #1  
Old 25 Jan 2015
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Arrow Build Thread: The Ultimate Overland Land Rover Defender

Kermits Ultimate Overland Build

You can see the original article of this thread at
Kermits Ultimate Overland Build — The Overlanders

Welcome to our build thread of our Ultimate Overlanding Defender called Kermit. We are pushing the boat our here and have a very healthy budget to prepare him for a minimum of 2 years on the road. Follow our progress here in the next 9 months as we build and test it. If you are in the UK we will be featured in all of the upcoming shows in 2015 aswel as Arbenteur Allrad in Badkissing, Germany – come say Hi! We are also producing a video mini series which I will also post the links up on here when they have been created. Thanks for looking and taking an interest, lets get going..


Reliability, simplicity, security and storage is the aim for want we to achieve with Kermit’s re-build. We are investing a lot more into him and we hope it pays dividends when we go back on the road. Like anyone who embarks on a self-build and ships their vehicle to another continent we hope he’ll drive the distance and have as little issues as possible. We hope.
With this build we have avoided playing reliability roulette with getting products from eBay and instead opted for quality led companies who have guarantees and warranties on products for longer than we are expecting to be away. This has to be a winning formula… right?





The old setup was a little too lightweight to stand up to overlanding. With so much on the roof, including 70L of water it also compromised handling.

Reliability
Through Central America and part of our mini South American adventures we were plagued with reliability issues. As we had such a short time frame from having the idea to do this trip and to shipping the vehicle, we did not replace any of Dougal’s parts before leaving and were naively hoping for the best. Lesson learnt. This time with the help of Bearmach we are replacing most (if not all) mechanical parts. We have tried to keep things as simple as possible, so finding parts in any country in the continent won’t be a headache.

Why Have We Replaced So Much?
After being away and having the most obscure part fail on us we wanted to replace with some quality parts to reduce the chances of the vehicle being immobile. We have lost count of the amount of times we were stuck in a dangerous area with the stress of a deadline to meet.

We do not know the history of this vehicle at all (and the last owner just plain lied when we bought it). Having covered 100k miles we would like to take the opportunity whilst we have it to make the most reliable, leak free Defender as can be. Bearmach is a company I have been familiar with for a while, and I have always chosen these parts over their competitors. As a company they guarantee the quality of the products they distribute and sell. They do this through third party and in-house testing. They are also possibly one of the friendliest and most efficient Land Rover companies I have had the pleasure of working with. Throughout our adventures we will be posting about their products, which we have fitted to Kermit and how they are holding up and performing. They distribute to most of the world including South America – a massive bonus for us if something goes wrong.









Cooling System
We have upgraded the cooling system to include alloy radiators, double core intercooler, water pump, thermostat and silicon pipes. Hopefully this will keep us running happy through deserts and up steep inclines – places where we have run into cooling issues before.

Drive Train
We have gone a little overboard here, but we want longevity out of our vehicle. Teflon swivels, new stub axles, Bearmach wheel bearing kits, EBC disc upgrade, heavy duty wide angle prop shafts, heavy duty steering components, new hand brake components (as ours are oil contaminated), HD pan hard to mention but a few.







Suspension
We had already fitted a Terrafirma +2” Lift kit with heavy duty springs. This will enable us to carry an extra 500KG above normal load, which should give us a better ride when we are carrying all our gear. We have also fitted tubuar shock turrets to help us shed the mud we pick up along the way. We have upgraded to Polyurethane bushes all around, a heavy duty anti roll bar, castor-correcting and cranked trailing arms by Wild Bear.

Large Components
As we had no vehicle history, we have replaced the transfer and gearboxes with refurbished units. This will hopefully stop the dripping oil that contaminates the handbrake making it useless

Engine
We changed every gasket and oil seal. We are after the rare and elusive leak free Defender. A mission impossible? We also upgraded the oil breather and fitted new fuel pump, starter motor, vacuum pump, replaced the core plugs, glow plugs and gave it a thorough service. We have already fitted our turbo with a new wastegate and an upgraded turbo cartridge from NKK Turbos, which packs a bit more punch. We also fitted a second alternator kit to help charge our leisure battery and take the strain off our vehicle alternator.







Chassis
To stop the dreaded rust we will be treating the chassis to a steam clean, de-greasing and dinitrol chassis paint and chassis wax. We are hopping to apply a thick enough covering to last us a couple of years.

Electrical Systems
This time, everything is being re-wired. A new auxiliary fuse and relay box will be fitted in the seatbox. All old wiring by previous owners has been removed.
We are using 20A carling switches. Anything over 15A will be placed on a relay circuit. Whilst the vehicle is stripped, all wiring will be routed and covered in anti crush housing to ensure it is durable and sensibly routed. Connections will be crimped and soldered for added durability – no more Mr Scotchblock butchering!
Two 100W solar panels will be fitted to the roof to charge our leisure battery and to run our fridge during the day. This will be fitted to a quality solar controller. These teamed with a second 120A alternator will make us a mini power station.
All auxiliary lighting will be LED. This reduces draw from the battery and they also give a longer operational life than bulbs.

Simplicity
With overlanding in a Defender the space you have is limited. Everything has to have its place, everything must be as compact as possible, everything must have at least one use. The simpler the design, the less there is to go wrong. In Kermits first build though we over simplified the rear. It was too lightweight and didn’t last in the rigorous of overlanding.

One thing we have done to simplify our setup is to get rid of gas. In previous setups we used propane to heat water and to cook with. Although this is readily available in all countries we visited, every single country had a different regulator and gas bottle fittings. Not all countries had gas bottles small enough to fit in our side lockers either. In Chile the smallest bottle we could find was 13KG! This then took up a lot of space in the rear and meant we couldn’t have it connected to run our fridge whist driving. This time we have decided to heat and cook with Diesel. We have gone for a Webasto Dual top to heat both air and water, and a Webasto X100 diesel hob. Although this is pricier, this will save us a lot of space inside and means we only need one fuel to run everything. Although the systems we are installing are more complex than a propane bottle and a gas hob, the overall longevity and simplicity of only using one fuel source together with the space saved from carrying a propane canister prevails.

Where possible we have fitted intelligent systems, which are self-monitoring and self-regulating. This kit comes from National Luna. A smart solenoid and monitoring system takes care of our split charging, and their 50L weekender fridge keeps all our food (and more importantly our s) cool in a compact rugged unit.

We have opted for a pop-top system by Alu-Cab, supplied by UK importers - Extreme Sales. The Icarus system is simple in its build but is of great quality. There is much less to go wrong than with a RTT, and also it is far more secure for some stealth camping.

Security
Having been broken into in Peru, and attempted to be broken into every container crossing (that’s now a total of five), security is high on our agenda this time. We purposefully choose the 110 Hardtop Defender due to its lack of windows in the rear compared to other models.

Glass
We have partnered with Pentagon glass, who will fit their supaglass laminate. This means that the windows can still be broken but it will still hold the glass together. Watch the video. It’s impressive. This stops opportunistic smash and grabs, a major problem in South America. It also provides safety benefits whist off-roading. Find us at a show to see a demo of us trying to break the glass!

Check out the original article
Kermits Ultimate Overland Build — The Overlanders
To see the video


Locks
We have upgraded to heavy duty lock barrels and also fitted kasp hasps. These are heavy duty tamper proof locks, which fit to the outside of the vehicle, often seen on van back doors. We have one for each door.

All of our storage is in metal drawers that are also lockable.

Everything that is fitted externally to the vehicle is locked onto the vehicle using toughened locks.

Gps Tracker
We have a global tracker that alerts us if Kermit moves

Custom Dog Guard
A lockable dog guard fits between the cab and the rear making it impossible to get into the rear.

We also have steel window guards fitted to the rear windows

Storage
We are using every possible inch with clever storage solutions. We will be leveling off the rear load space in Kermit with a large pull out drawer, which will become our kitchen when pulled out from the back. Down each side of the rear we will have plenty of lockable storage that is custom tailored to the Defender. This will give us the maximum storage for our gear and food. Previously we have always struggled to find a place for our chairs and table to fit whilst on the road, and they always seem to take up so much space. This time we have a table made by Alu Cab, which is locked on the underside of the roof rack.





We have also removed the bulkhead behind the rear seats and replaced with a bulkhead removal bar. This makes access to the rear easier without getting out of the vehicle.

Without gas, our side lockers have become useful space for storage. We have also fitted a GMB wing top locker for a little extra storage, as every little helps.

We are fitting chassis mounted tanks to carry additional fuel and water. This will give us the following benefits: they are much more discreet than jerry cans on the roof and far less likely to attract thieves, and having the tanks mounted to the chasis will lower our center of gravity. Throwing everything out of the way on the roof is great, but it does make handling comparable to a boat. Thirdly, having the water tanks out of the way will free up a lot of space inside the truck. We will carry an additional 100L of fuel and 100L of potable water.

The Time-Frame
We have 10 months to get the vehicle finished. This is the longest time frame we have ever given ourselves to build and test the setup. We will be at Land Rover and overland shows throughout the year, the first starting in April. Ideally we would like to be 75% completed by this point, so if you are at the shows, come say hello and let us know what you think!


Over the next few months we will be posting our progress and photographs on here. Be sure to subscribe, check out our website The Overlanders and find us on Facebook www.facebook.com/theoverlanderspage
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  #2  
Old 26 Jan 2015
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Part 1 of our Land Rover Defender: Ultimate Overland Build Series.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnfpZcOw2u0

Remember to subscribe to the channel to keep up with our updates, and to find us on Facebook
www.facebook.com/theoverlanderspage



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  #3  
Old 1 Feb 2015
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Part 2 of Land Rover Defender : The Ultimate Overland build, is now up for you to keep up with our progress.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLQse9vZCUk

Hope you all enjoy, let us know what you think.
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  #4  
Old 1 Feb 2015
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for a Toyota man, I'm liking what you done there

whats the pipe tube/drain things along the sides of the rack?

opinion varies about the use of HD shocks and springs. They increase the stress on your chassis and cause it to crack. Using standard springs and shocks and replacing them when needed is cheaper and easier! On an expedition truck, you shouldn't need the extra load carrying capacity because you shouldn't be running at more than 75% of the design weight anyway.

having said all that, I'm running OME HD springs and routinely run over the quoted payload rate

(but it gives me 50mm lift letting me fit 235/85 tyres)
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  #5  
Old 2 Feb 2015
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the tubes are water tanks, and are in about the worst place possible, very common usage in Australia, i watched a hilux roll over at a fairly slow speed, as he had made a U water tank from tubes under the roof rack , and as he braked and turned the water rushed forward , and round the U , et voila over it went !!
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  #6  
Old 3 Feb 2015
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tacr2man View Post
the tubes are water tanks, and are in about the worst place possible, very common usage in Australia, i watched a hilux roll over at a fairly slow speed, as he had made a U water tank from tubes under the roof rack , and as he braked and turned the water rushed forward , and round the U , et voila over it went !!
Bloody Toyotas will fall over at anything! (i Joke)

we no longer have these water tanks. We will be fitting tanks to the chassis
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  #7  
Old 7 Feb 2015
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Quote:
Originally Posted by moggy 1968 View Post
for a Toyota man, I'm liking what you done there

whats the pipe tube/drain things along the sides of the rack?

opinion varies about the use of HD shocks and springs. They increase the stress on your chassis and cause it to crack. Using standard springs and shocks and replacing them when needed is cheaper and easier! On an expedition truck, you shouldn't need the extra load carrying capacity because you shouldn't be running at more than 75% of the design weight anyway.

having said all that, I'm running OME HD springs and routinely run over the quoted payload rate

(but it gives me 50mm lift letting me fit 235/85 tyres)
I would not be running standard springs/shocks with overlanding payloads. They don't work well with your max allowable payload. As long as you are within the GVM of the vehicle you wont have any problems. Airbags will crack your chassis but correctly rated springs and a vehicle under GVM will not (unless its rusty).

Another vote for Old Man Emu also.

Not bashing choices here so I hope you can take this constructively.

We have had great results with terrafirma springs and rate them quite highly. However I cannot say the same for their shocks I would highly recommend Old Man Emu and would consider Koni (even if we blew 4 shocks in 40,000km).

Also, not sure that going Poly is an upgrade in the bush department. Before we left the UK I did a lot of research on this and lots of people said they had no problems with Superpro (probably the better of the polys)even after over 100,000 miles, so I went with those. Well, again, after 40,000km of overlanding the radius arms and A frame bushes have gone. The few that recommended genuine were probably right and I think these would have lasted the course. I have since replaced the failed ones with genuine.

Your electrics look rock solid too and Im glad you are ditching those drainpipes! See them everywhere here in Australia. Fuel and water as low as possible

G
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  #8  
Old 7 Feb 2015
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GPS Tracker

Hi there

fascinating story !!!!

Interested in your tracker. Can you please advise make and model and how you deal with the data transmission costs associated (presume it has a SIM card ?) Am about to undertake an across Asia trip and want to enhance security

Look forward to your reply
raygrubb@gmail.com

Quote:
Originally Posted by TheOverlanders View Post
Kermits Ultimate Overland Build

You can see the original article of this thread at
Kermits Ultimate Overland Build — The Overlanders

Welcome to our build thread of our Ultimate Overlanding Defender called Kermit. We are pushing the boat our here and have a very healthy budget to prepare him for a minimum of 2 years on the road. Follow our progress here in the next 9 months as we build and test it. If you are in the UK we will be featured in all of the upcoming shows in 2015 aswel as Arbenteur Allrad in Badkissing, Germany – come say Hi! We are also producing a video mini series which I will also post the links up on here when they have been created. Thanks for looking and taking an interest, lets get going..


Reliability, simplicity, security and storage is the aim for want we to achieve with Kermit’s re-build. We are investing a lot more into him and we hope it pays dividends when we go back on the road. Like anyone who embarks on a self-build and ships their vehicle to another continent we hope he’ll drive the distance and have as little issues as possible. We hope.
With this build we have avoided playing reliability roulette with getting products from eBay and instead opted for quality led companies who have guarantees and warranties on products for longer than we are expecting to be away. This has to be a winning formula… right?





The old setup was a little too lightweight to stand up to overlanding. With so much on the roof, including 70L of water it also compromised handling.

Reliability
Through Central America and part of our mini South American adventures we were plagued with reliability issues. As we had such a short time frame from having the idea to do this trip and to shipping the vehicle, we did not replace any of Dougal’s parts before leaving and were naively hoping for the best. Lesson learnt. This time with the help of Bearmach we are replacing most (if not all) mechanical parts. We have tried to keep things as simple as possible, so finding parts in any country in the continent won’t be a headache.

Why Have We Replaced So Much?
After being away and having the most obscure part fail on us we wanted to replace with some quality parts to reduce the chances of the vehicle being immobile. We have lost count of the amount of times we were stuck in a dangerous area with the stress of a deadline to meet.

We do not know the history of this vehicle at all (and the last owner just plain lied when we bought it). Having covered 100k miles we would like to take the opportunity whilst we have it to make the most reliable, leak free Defender as can be. Bearmach is a company I have been familiar with for a while, and I have always chosen these parts over their competitors. As a company they guarantee the quality of the products they distribute and sell. They do this through third party and in-house testing. They are also possibly one of the friendliest and most efficient Land Rover companies I have had the pleasure of working with. Throughout our adventures we will be posting about their products, which we have fitted to Kermit and how they are holding up and performing. They distribute to most of the world including South America – a massive bonus for us if something goes wrong.









Cooling System
We have upgraded the cooling system to include alloy radiators, double core intercooler, water pump, thermostat and silicon pipes. Hopefully this will keep us running happy through deserts and up steep inclines – places where we have run into cooling issues before.

Drive Train
We have gone a little overboard here, but we want longevity out of our vehicle. Teflon swivels, new stub axles, Bearmach wheel bearing kits, EBC disc upgrade, heavy duty wide angle prop shafts, heavy duty steering components, new hand brake components (as ours are oil contaminated), HD pan hard to mention but a few.







Suspension
We had already fitted a Terrafirma +2” Lift kit with heavy duty springs. This will enable us to carry an extra 500KG above normal load, which should give us a better ride when we are carrying all our gear. We have also fitted tubuar shock turrets to help us shed the mud we pick up along the way. We have upgraded to Polyurethane bushes all around, a heavy duty anti roll bar, castor-correcting and cranked trailing arms by Wild Bear.

Large Components
As we had no vehicle history, we have replaced the transfer and gearboxes with refurbished units. This will hopefully stop the dripping oil that contaminates the handbrake making it useless

Engine
We changed every gasket and oil seal. We are after the rare and elusive leak free Defender. A mission impossible? We also upgraded the oil breather and fitted new fuel pump, starter motor, vacuum pump, replaced the core plugs, glow plugs and gave it a thorough service. We have already fitted our turbo with a new wastegate and an upgraded turbo cartridge from NKK Turbos, which packs a bit more punch. We also fitted a second alternator kit to help charge our leisure battery and take the strain off our vehicle alternator.







Chassis
To stop the dreaded rust we will be treating the chassis to a steam clean, de-greasing and dinitrol chassis paint and chassis wax. We are hopping to apply a thick enough covering to last us a couple of years.

Electrical Systems
This time, everything is being re-wired. A new auxiliary fuse and relay box will be fitted in the seatbox. All old wiring by previous owners has been removed.
We are using 20A carling switches. Anything over 15A will be placed on a relay circuit. Whilst the vehicle is stripped, all wiring will be routed and covered in anti crush housing to ensure it is durable and sensibly routed. Connections will be crimped and soldered for added durability – no more Mr Scotchblock butchering!
Two 100W solar panels will be fitted to the roof to charge our leisure battery and to run our fridge during the day. This will be fitted to a quality solar controller. These teamed with a second 120A alternator will make us a mini power station.
All auxiliary lighting will be LED. This reduces draw from the battery and they also give a longer operational life than bulbs.

Simplicity
With overlanding in a Defender the space you have is limited. Everything has to have its place, everything must be as compact as possible, everything must have at least one use. The simpler the design, the less there is to go wrong. In Kermits first build though we over simplified the rear. It was too lightweight and didn’t last in the rigorous of overlanding.

One thing we have done to simplify our setup is to get rid of gas. In previous setups we used propane to heat water and to cook with. Although this is readily available in all countries we visited, every single country had a different regulator and gas bottle fittings. Not all countries had gas bottles small enough to fit in our side lockers either. In Chile the smallest bottle we could find was 13KG! This then took up a lot of space in the rear and meant we couldn’t have it connected to run our fridge whist driving. This time we have decided to heat and cook with Diesel. We have gone for a Webasto Dual top to heat both air and water, and a Webasto X100 diesel hob. Although this is pricier, this will save us a lot of space inside and means we only need one fuel to run everything. Although the systems we are installing are more complex than a propane bottle and a gas hob, the overall longevity and simplicity of only using one fuel source together with the space saved from carrying a propane canister prevails.

Where possible we have fitted intelligent systems, which are self-monitoring and self-regulating. This kit comes from National Luna. A smart solenoid and monitoring system takes care of our split charging, and their 50L weekender fridge keeps all our food (and more importantly our s) cool in a compact rugged unit.

We have opted for a pop-top system by Alu-Cab, supplied by UK importers - Extreme Sales. The Icarus system is simple in its build but is of great quality. There is much less to go wrong than with a RTT, and also it is far more secure for some stealth camping.

Security
Having been broken into in Peru, and attempted to be broken into every container crossing (that’s now a total of five), security is high on our agenda this time. We purposefully choose the 110 Hardtop Defender due to its lack of windows in the rear compared to other models.

Glass
We have partnered with Pentagon glass, who will fit their supaglass laminate. This means that the windows can still be broken but it will still hold the glass together. Watch the video. It’s impressive. This stops opportunistic smash and grabs, a major problem in South America. It also provides safety benefits whist off-roading. Find us at a show to see a demo of us trying to break the glass!

Check out the original article
Kermits Ultimate Overland Build — The Overlanders
To see the video


Locks
We have upgraded to heavy duty lock barrels and also fitted kasp hasps. These are heavy duty tamper proof locks, which fit to the outside of the vehicle, often seen on van back doors. We have one for each door.

All of our storage is in metal drawers that are also lockable.

Everything that is fitted externally to the vehicle is locked onto the vehicle using toughened locks.

Gps Tracker
We have a global tracker that alerts us if Kermit moves

Custom Dog Guard
A lockable dog guard fits between the cab and the rear making it impossible to get into the rear.

We also have steel window guards fitted to the rear windows

Storage
We are using every possible inch with clever storage solutions. We will be leveling off the rear load space in Kermit with a large pull out drawer, which will become our kitchen when pulled out from the back. Down each side of the rear we will have plenty of lockable storage that is custom tailored to the Defender. This will give us the maximum storage for our gear and food. Previously we have always struggled to find a place for our chairs and table to fit whilst on the road, and they always seem to take up so much space. This time we have a table made by Alu Cab, which is locked on the underside of the roof rack.





We have also removed the bulkhead behind the rear seats and replaced with a bulkhead removal bar. This makes access to the rear easier without getting out of the vehicle.

Without gas, our side lockers have become useful space for storage. We have also fitted a GMB wing top locker for a little extra storage, as every little helps.

We are fitting chassis mounted tanks to carry additional fuel and water. This will give us the following benefits: they are much more discreet than jerry cans on the roof and far less likely to attract thieves, and having the tanks mounted to the chasis will lower our center of gravity. Throwing everything out of the way on the roof is great, but it does make handling comparable to a boat. Thirdly, having the water tanks out of the way will free up a lot of space inside the truck. We will carry an additional 100L of fuel and 100L of potable water.

The Time-Frame
We have 10 months to get the vehicle finished. This is the longest time frame we have ever given ourselves to build and test the setup. We will be at Land Rover and overland shows throughout the year, the first starting in April. Ideally we would like to be 75% completed by this point, so if you are at the shows, come say hello and let us know what you think!


Over the next few months we will be posting our progress and photographs on here. Be sure to subscribe, check out our website The Overlanders and find us on Facebook www.facebook.com/theoverlanderspage
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  #9  
Old 7 Feb 2015
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Griffdowg View Post
I would not be running standard springs/shocks with overlanding payloads. They don't work well with your max allowable payload. As long as you are within the GVM of the vehicle you wont have any problems. Airbags will crack your chassis but correctly rated springs and a vehicle under GVM will not (unless its rusty).

Another vote for Old Man Emu also.

Not bashing choices here so I hope you can take this constructively.

We have had great results with terrafirma springs and rate them quite highly. However I cannot say the same for their shocks I would highly recommend Old Man Emu and would consider Koni (even if we blew 4 shocks in 40,000km).

Also, not sure that going Poly is an upgrade in the bush department. Before we left the UK I did a lot of research on this and lots of people said they had no problems with Superpro (probably the better of the polys)even after over 100,000 miles, so I went with those. Well, again, after 40,000km of overlanding the radius arms and A frame bushes have gone. The few that recommended genuine were probably right and I think these would have lasted the course. I have since replaced the failed ones with genuine.

Your electrics look rock solid too and Im glad you are ditching those drainpipes! See them everywhere here in Australia. Fuel and water as low as possible

G
I (along with many others) would certainly argue against running consistently at GVM off road. Even manufacturers tend to recommend lower payloads off road. If your carrying that much weight for just 2 people, your probably carrying too much! But thats probably another debate for another day

funnily enough, I was just reading about polybushes on the Hilux forum where a guy has a thread on rebuilding his 80 landcruiser (still following!)

Apparently, they used to have mercury in them, according to a guy on there that makes them, but that's now banned which is why they aren't as good now, not as robust. he recommended going O/E rubber for the best durability. Not cheap but the best.

Also, while polybushes are easier to change in the field, when they fail, they fail totally and suddenly. rubber bushes fail over time so you get some warning, handy on an overlander. I used to have polybushes, but carried a spare set in case of failure but on the rebuild decided to go back to rubber.
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  #10  
Old 8 Feb 2015
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OME aren't the be all and end all, they certainly have had some QC issues over the years, the PO fitted them on our Disco 2 and for me they have been fine with light off roading and lots of washboard/corrugated tracks we have in the Rocky mountains. But in 2003/04 we travelled with Malcolm and Rona in a well prepared D110, (not overloaded, not driving too fast) in West Africa and both their rear OME HD shocks blew out, watching them pogoing along the pistes was not good after they spent a fair chunk of cash on the "best" shocks. I was running OE HD springs and shocks on the 90, we drove a lot further on rougher pistes with no issues whatsoever.

I do agree with Moggy re reducing the amount of weight on the vehicle, fitting very HD springs does put extra shock loading into the chassis - especially on corrugated pistes, heavy loading means the engine/cooling/drivetrain/brakes are working much harder and the vehicles off road performance is reduced.

If and when I get round to overhauling the 90, I will either stick with OE or fit Bilstein shocks if Im feeling spendy

Enjoying this build thread, as you guys are replacing the brakes, if you haven't already, consider fitting stainless steel brake pistons and using Silicone brake fluid - non hygroscopic, so no more corroded or seized pistons - great if you have to store the vehicle for any length of time, especially in a maritime climate.
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'09 Suzuki DR650
'00 Discovery Series 2 V8
'95 Defender 90 300 Tdi Overlander
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  #11  
Old 13 Mar 2015
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Episode 3 of our build series is up on YouTube.

find it at

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNMj8...MEhAQGp65lj2Yx
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  #12  
Old 10 Jun 2015
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Nice photos. i also checked the video links. Cool!
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Announcements

Thinking about traveling? Not sure about the whole thing? Watch the HU Achievable Dream Video Trailers and then get ALL the information you need to get inspired and learn how to travel anywhere in the world!

Have YOU ever wondered who has ridden around the world? We did too - and now here's the list of Circumnavigators!
Check it out now
, and add your information if we didn't find you.

Next HU Eventscalendar

ALL Dates subject to change.

2024:

  • California: April 18-21
  • Virginia: April 25-28
  • Germany Summer: May 9-12
  • Québec: May 17-19
  • Bulgaria Mini: July 5-7
  • CanWest: July 11-14
  • Switzerland: August 15-18
  • Ecuador: August 23-25
  • Romania: August 30-Sept 1
  • Austria: September 12-15
  • France: September 20-22
  • Germany Autumn: Oct 31-Nov 3

2025 Confirmed Events:

  • Virginia: April 24-27 2025
  • Queensland is back! May 2-4 2025
  • Germany Summer: May 29-June 1 2025
  • CanWest: July 10-13 2025
  • Switzerland: Date TBC
  • Ecuador: Date TBC
  • Romania: Date TBC
  • Austria: Sept. 11-15
  • California: September 18-21
  • France: September 19-21 2025
  • Germany Autumn: Oct 30-Nov 2 2025

Add yourself to the Updates List for each event!

Questions about an event? Ask here

See all event details

 
World's most listened to Adventure Motorbike Show!
Check the RAW segments; Grant, your HU host is on every month!
Episodes below to listen to while you, err, pretend to do something or other...

Adventurous Bikers – We've got all your Hygiene & Protection needs SORTED! Powdered Hair & Body Wash, Moisturising Cream Insect Repellent, and Moisturising Cream Sunscreen SPF50. ESSENTIAL | CONVENIENT | FUNCTIONAL.

2020 Edition of Chris Scott's Adventure Motorcycling Handbook.

2020 Edition of Chris Scott's Adventure Motorcycling Handbook.

"Ultimate global guide for red-blooded bikers planning overseas exploration. Covers choice & preparation of best bike, shipping overseas, baggage design, riding techniques, travel health, visas, documentation, safety and useful addresses." Recommended. (Grant)



Ripcord Rescue Travel Insurance.

Ripcord Rescue Travel Insurance™ combines into a single integrated program the best evacuation and rescue with the premier travel insurance coverages designed for adventurers.

Led by special operations veterans, Stanford Medicine affiliated physicians, paramedics and other travel experts, Ripcord is perfect for adventure seekers, climbers, skiers, sports enthusiasts, hunters, international travelers, humanitarian efforts, expeditions and more.

Ripcord travel protection is now available for ALL nationalities, and travel is covered on motorcycles of all sizes!


 

What others say about HU...

"This site is the BIBLE for international bike travelers." Greg, Australia

"Thank you! The web site, The travels, The insight, The inspiration, Everything, just thanks." Colin, UK

"My friend and I are planning a trip from Singapore to England... We found (the HU) site invaluable as an aid to planning and have based a lot of our purchases (bikes, riding gear, etc.) on what we have learned from this site." Phil, Australia

"I for one always had an adventurous spirit, but you and Susan lit the fire for my trip and I'll be forever grateful for what you two do to inspire others to just do it." Brent, USA

"Your website is a mecca of valuable information and the (video) series is informative, entertaining, and inspiring!" Jennifer, Canada

"Your worldwide organisation and events are the Go To places to for all serious touring and aspiring touring bikers." Trevor, South Africa

"This is the answer to all my questions." Haydn, Australia

"Keep going the excellent work you are doing for Horizons Unlimited - I love it!" Thomas, Germany

Lots more comments here!



Five books by Graham Field!

Diaries of a compulsive traveller
by Graham Field
Book, eBook, Audiobook

"A compelling, honest, inspiring and entertaining writing style with a built-in feel-good factor" Get them NOW from the authors' website and Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Amazon.co.uk.



Back Road Map Books and Backroad GPS Maps for all of Canada - a must have!

New to Horizons Unlimited?

New to motorcycle travelling? New to the HU site? Confused? Too many options? It's really very simple - just 4 easy steps!

Horizons Unlimited was founded in 1997 by Grant and Susan Johnson following their journey around the world on a BMW R80G/S.

Susan and Grant Johnson Read more about Grant & Susan's story

Membership - help keep us going!

Horizons Unlimited is not a big multi-national company, just two people who love motorcycle travel and have grown what started as a hobby in 1997 into a full time job (usually 8-10 hours per day and 7 days a week) and a labour of love. To keep it going and a roof over our heads, we run events all over the world with the help of volunteers; we sell inspirational and informative DVDs; we have a few selected advertisers; and we make a small amount from memberships.

You don't have to be a Member to come to an HU meeting, access the website, or ask questions on the HUBB. What you get for your membership contribution is our sincere gratitude, good karma and knowing that you're helping to keep the motorcycle travel dream alive. Contributing Members and Gold Members do get additional features on the HUBB. Here's a list of all the Member benefits on the HUBB.




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