The 1998 Defender 110 County Station Wagon

The Changes, Improvements, and Additions

Full Length Roof Rack

This stores the roof tent, three jerry cans and the Primus tent.

Sleeping Quarters

We have both a ground tent and a roof mounted tent on our travels. The Howling moon 2.4 tourer roof tent is a two room tent that can sleep four adults on top of the car. It also has an extra room under the tent overhang that can be used for sleeping more people and keeping out of rain and sand storms. During the colder camping months this is a cosy area that we can keep warm. Extending further is a shade area for sitting outside. All the windows and doors are fitted with mosquito nets and give good air flow. The beds have "real" mattresses so the feeling of damp camping is gone. However when we are out in a storm the roof tent feels a little exposed. The solution to this for us was to have a ground tent that we can place near the car for shelter.

The tent we have chosen is the Primus Bifrost H6. It is large, light and easy to put up. It is perfect for camping without the car or using as a base camp when we need the car. It sleeps six adults and has a communal room between the two rooms (3 persons each).

Kitchen and Cooking

Our kitchen is built on the back door (but is easy to remove for cooking elsewhere) and has been made by Primus. It consists of two Omnifuel burners. These can be used with any fuel around, from gas to diesel. We have a 50l water supply through an on-demand pump and Nature Pure water purification unit and a Waeco CF35l fridge. The fridge is a compressor type that can keep to below -15 degrees. It will keep the fresh food good, the medical supplies sterile and the beer cold.

The food boxes are all easily accessible from here. Along with our custom made "chopping board shelf". Naturally we have many BBQ's so we have a small grill plate too. For the times we are not connected to the car Primus has supplied us with a another Omnifuel and a small micro stove that runs on gas. All of our pots, pans, and cutlery has been supplied by Primus.

We have made our own Awning to cover the rear door and cooking area. It will provide shade and shelter from the weather when cooking or accessing the boot.

Suspension

The suspension needed to be upgraded to heavy duty springs to deal with the weight. With this we added Old Man Emu shock absorbers and an Old Man Emu steering damper with a Defender relocation kit. This has made a difference in performance and now the damper is hidden behind the steering guard.

With the weight on our roof rack we need to increase the stability of the roll. To do this we fitted the Scorpion Racing 28mm Anti Roll bars front and back. This has improved cornering but it does reduce axle movement. They are also in a bright orange color.

Wheels and Tires

We have chosen to use BF Goodrich All Terrain 235/65 R16 on Steel Rims. These All Terrain tires were chosen for their well known performance all over the world. This size is the same as the other Defender. It will save us taking two spares each on our long trips. The Steel rims are standard original Defender ones. Alloy is easier to crack and not so easy to fix if they get damaged, the steel rims can be banged back into shape if necessary

Lighting In and Out

We have mounted four Lightforce E240 Blitz light which are very bright indeed. These really do show you the way at night. In addition we have two 170 Striker light mounted on the nudge bar. On the rear and sides of the roof rack are mounted additional "work" lights. Inside the car we have taken the standard "door connected" lights away as to not drain the main battery and replaced them with independent fluorescent lighting for the kitchen and interior. We have also installed led lighting for map reading.

Navigation and Communication

As well as paper maps for all regions we travel our navigation is aided by two devices. The first being the Magellan Crossover GPS. This is the first GPS that can be used for both road, water, and walking. Together with the SD card maps the Crossover has everything we need for our adventures, all the road maps of Europe, the Topographic maps for hiking and geocaching, and the capability for Bluechart navigation. The device is small, has a clear screen, light and easily put in your pocket with an 8 hour battery life. It even has an MP3 player and photo storage for the dull moments on the trail.

The second device is the Bluetex Tracking GPS device by FYM. This device will update our website on our trip to Australia almost in real time. It uses GPRS to upload the data from our movements. When not in coverage it stores the data until signal strength returns. A further bonus of it having Bluetooth built in gives us the additional GPS for using maps on the computer. It will keep the family with peace of mind knowing exactly where we are.

For communications we have both a Thuraya satellite phone, which has both GPS and GSM capabilities, and a standard GSM phone. These devices will be used not only for making calls and keeping in touch but also to upload and update our website while we are on the move. Connected up to a laptop with an external 300GB hard drive.

Between the cars we have a Zodiac Radio with two handheld devices. This will be our main means of commuication for pit stops along the way.

Vehicle Protection and Recovery Gear

Overland travel is demanding on any vehicle, We have added a few protective devices that will give the car a little protection from what we might put it through. Firstly, Diff guards we bought quite cheap and are easy to install. The tank and steering guard was made by us at a vastly reduced cost. The Nudge bar is welded on the front which protect the radiator if we unfortunately hit any animals. All the lights have a metal guard around which both help protect them and put off any unwanted thieves.

For the water and dust we have installed a snorkel and a Mantec wading kit. This puts the air intake for the engine up high and the breather points for both axles, the gearboxes and the fuel injection pump up high too.

To get out of those sticky situations! we have a number of things that might help us. Sand ladders are easily used in mud, sand, crossing small ditches, and can also be used for protecting against break in from the side windows when we leave the vehicle for longer periods of time. We carry a VIAIR Compressor 400 small and compact compressor that can inflate and deflate the tires. It can also be used for small power tools if necessary.

Our recovery equipment includes, Hi Lift jack (used for lifting and winching), 8M of heavy duty pull rope, 2 Jate rings on the rear and a Chasis mounted recovery point on the front, along with a shovel.

Security and Safety

We have installed a Waeco remote locking alarm. In addition to this we have added heavy duty padlocks on all doors, a steering wheel lock and a Full Metal Jacket to lock the pedals. To protect the majority of our belongings in the boot area we have installed Mobile Storage Systems window bars for all the boot windows as well as mounting two safes. As mentioned above the sand ladders are mountable across the side windows to add further protection against thieves.

There are two fire extinguishers, a glass breaker as well as panic button installed on the Bluetex GPS for emergencies. There are two safes for our documents and important things.

Power and Electrics

Our power is provided by three Optima Yellow Top batteries connected to a National Luna Split charge management system. We have monitors for all batteries so we can see when we need to top up the batteries with the Solar unit. Our other means of measuring the battery power is the Battman dial that lets you know the amp hours that have been used up.

A 300W converter is installed inside the car. This is mainly installed to power the iBook and the Camera batteries so that we can update our site and keep in touch with friends and family.

Diesel Heater

The 3500ST Webasto Diesel Heater is a God send in the colder months. It warms up very quickly and can also heat the tent. We keep a nice temperature with the external sensor in the tent. We tested in -8 degrees and we were nice and warm.

Storage of our Stuff

To store our clothes and personal belongings we have used a collection of Peli cases. These are dust, water and animal proof. Our medical kit is also a specifically designed Peli case in orange. All of our electronic equipment is stored in these cases so they are protected well in foam, even the iPod. Our food is also stored in one of these boxes which will keep the bugs out.

When we are traveling without the cars we have the 65l Fjall Raven Rucksack along with the Kids ruck sack. The children have their own Primus ruck sacks.

In-Car Entertainment

Our onboard Entertainment is VDO Dayton system with a CD, Radio, MP3; DVD stereo with two flat screens built in the back. The system alows the fron seat passengers to listen to music while the rear passengers can quietly watch a DVD on wireless IR headphones.

The children have a toy box between them on our trips so they can reach and change their entertainment choice.

Shower

We have a basic shower with its own pump that will clean off the kids. It can be attached to a water bag on the roof that will be warmed from the sun.

 

There are always more improvements and modifications going on, after all it is a Land Rover.