building a expedition ready rig what would you do??

[Momo]

If you are a real spartan, you can do it all with a stock truck and little else.

I know a guy in his early seventies who drives a soft top 109, and quite literally carries little more than a blanket, a piece of foam, and some white bread and water. But most of us are just not that ascetic.

To the current suggestions, I would add dual fuel tanks, a roof rack to free up interior space, a winch and a good set of basic recovery gear, & a strong heater and wiper motors. Well, at least strong as the factory units can be made to work.

But as others have said, the most important thing is to know how to fix broken stuff. All alone. In the Styx.

I know another guy whose gearbox broke somewhere in the Yukon. He hiked to the nearest town, ordered a new one to be sent by Greyhound bus, then hiked back to tear into the truck. He returned to get the gearbox, drug it to camp lashed to a skid made of branches, and made the repair. It was a week or two out of his time but ended up being a great experience.

I agree heartily that organization is key. You can waste a lot of frustrating time looking for a fork, a wrench, a pair dry socks or whatever... as well as packing and unpacking. Try to develop a storage and container system that works for you. Spending hours to make and break camp gets old!

[SafeAirOne]

I think the following video pretty much sums up the MUST-HAVES for "expedition" travel:

http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/7348071/

[AU_88]

What will you be doing?

[mongoswede]

I think the following video pretty much sums up the MUST-HAVES for "expedition" travel:

http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/7348071/

In the words od Duran Duran: "Everybody needs tire rotators"

[Lalo88DK]

You don't really need to change anything at all, other than make sure your Series Land Rover is well maintained. today many of us like to improve things, but it is possible to use a standard Series Land Rover. I have seen many "improvements/modifications" putting other parts on Land Rovers under big strain, which in the end resulted in failures and a stranded truck.

[solihull109]

I think KevinNY summed it up rather well. The tools and skills to repair in the field are truly invaluable.

Greg, keep it well maintained and she'll do fine. Remember, upgrades are like the domino effect, and in the end you'll have so much money tied up into the truck, you can't afford to go anywhere. Just my .02

[yorker]

Seasons greeting to all
Wondering if you had to improve things on a land rover what would you do to upgrade to make these rigs as reliable as possible for long range travel
using the 2.25 engine .
thanks for the ideas
Greg

These vehicles and other primative 4X4s like them went all over the world reliably for years without any extensive modifications. They have also been used for so long that the problems they do have are very well documented and easy to contend with. Keep it as simple as possible, be proactive about maintenance and be a sympathetic driver. Buy the basic spares, buy the tools you need to change them and save the rest of your $ for gas to get out there and see the world. Otherwise you'll get bogged down in the world of never ending "improvements" and dreaming.

If you want to read an interesting basic travel "expedition" read "Herman the German" by Gerhard Neumann. His journey was in a WWII Willys jeep but it is a great read.

http://www.amazon.com/Herman-German-.../dp/0688016820

[luckyjoe]

I know a guy in his early seventies who drives a soft top 109, and quite literally carries little more than a blanket, a piece of foam, and some white bread and water. But most of us are just not that ascetic.

I know another guy whose gearbox broke somewhere in the Yukon. He hiked to the nearest town, ordered a new one to be sent by Greyhound bus, then hiked back to tear into the truck. He returned to get the gearbox, drug it to camp lashed to a skid made of branches, and made the repair. It was a week or two out of his time but ended up being a great experience.

OK, is it just me, or do these two individuals sum-up Series ownership! I'd gladly buy them both a beer/cup-o-joe for a few minutes of their tales. Heck, I'd buy them dinner for a decent recollection...

[Momo]

OK, is it just me, or do these two individuals sum-up Series ownership! I'd gladly buy them both a beer/cup-o-joe for a few minutes of their tales. Heck, I'd buy them dinner for a decent recollection...

Right you are. The older guy made a few trips around the world in Land Rovers in his youth including the Darien Gap. He's owned his 109 for around 40 years. He has a story for every ding and nick on that Land Rover.

[TeriAnn]

A comfortable working knowledege of how to change an axle,change a bearing, adjust your valves, set your timing and troubleshoot a simple 12V circuit. That and the spares and toolbag to do it will get you pretty much anywhere.

I agree with everyone else that knowledge is the core. But condition is king. All knowledge will do for a worn out unmaintained vehicle, is to get the vehicle repaired WHEN it breaks down on the trail. I've always been a strong believer that the best breakdown is the one you prevented through proper maintenance before you leave home.

My suggestion is to go through the vehicle as best you can to make sure that it is within factory specs.

But they do have a few weak spots it never hurts to address once you are assured that you are within factory specs. The 2 pin carrier and 10 spline axles were fine for the much lighter Series I but is marginal for an 88 and pathetic for a heavier yet 109. You didn't say if you had an 88 or a 109. Both would be lot more reliable with a 24 spline rear axle upgrade. With an 88 you buy a stronger aftermarket carrier set up for 24 splines and a pair of aftermarket hardened 24 spline rear axles. For a 109 you want to do a bolt in swap with a Series III 109 rear Salisbury axle and SIII 109 rear propshaft.

If you are using a 109 in the mountains where you might find yourself trying to hold a 109 nose up on a steep incline front disc brakes would be a very good idea as the stock 109 front drum brakes have 2 leading shoes that provide very good stopping in the forward direction and almost no stopping power in the rearward direction.

Frankly For a basic reliable Series truck that will get you out and back That's about all you really need. Knowledge on how to maintain and repair your truck, the truck within factory spec, the ability to properly drive your truck with the least amount of stress to the truck and an upgrade in the rear carrier and axles.

Anything else is just add ons for increased comfort and robustness for extreme situations.

If you want to take a little step more:

Since the stock engine does not put out a lot of power, fitting an overdrive is highly recommended for driving in the mountains. An overdrive is a two speed gearbox that splits the ratios between all gears. The additional gear ratios allow you to find the right gear for just about any driving condition.

The Series body flexes off road, especially the long wheelbase versions. This can cause doors on early Series trucks to pop open. Defender anti burst door latches solve this problem. They require a hole to be drilled in the door skin for the lock but are otherwise a bolt on upgrade.

The Series door seals are not very good. Defender door seals are better and can be used in place of the Series seals. There is an outer door lip used to hold the Series seals in place that needs to be removed to fit the Defender seals. Heated windscreens are a late model IIA option and can be retrofitted to the Series II with a little rewiring and a relay.

For additional modifications you can write a book. But basically you need to define the basic platform, your intended use and the terrain you expect to be traveling in before you can know how far to push the vehicle parameters and in which directions.

Depending upon what you might want to do there are some suggestions in my web site.

Personally, I'm all into camping comfort so I drive a class B RV that is Land Rover based: