The adventure vehicle transformation continues
As mentioned previously in my blog “It’s a Land Rover Thing” (16 May 2017), having foolishly sold my 1999 Defender 300tdi back in 2012, and then deciding to make up for it by purchasing a 1999 Discovery 1 300tdi in 2015 with the intention of transforming her into my ultimate off-road adventurer, when time allows the transformation continues … slow progress, but progress nonetheless.
The two blogs posted on the making of my custom roof-top tent, “A couple of poles, two planks & some canvas” (18 April 2017) and “Planks, poles & canvas in one” (23 April 2017), actually jumped the accessory add-on queue. She came with a few bits ‘n pieces that qualify for the “good” list and shortly after purchasing her I added a few other necessaries, and some “boys’ toys”. It’s probably a good time then to backtrack a bit and catch up with covering those before we head forward with the still-to-do list.
I bought the vehicle with a Nudge front bumper already fitted by the previous owner, as well as 2” medium Terrafirma springs, TuffBack shocks and new suspension bushes and rubbers all round.
The first thing I did was to replace the transfer box casing with a cleverly extended one made up by Mike of Mikes’ Mechanics in Pietermaritzburg (KZN, South Africa). This means an extra litre or so of liquid helping to keep your cogs cool when traversing hot spots, such as the Kalahari in South Africa and Botswana, generally all of Namibia and in fact most of Africa for that matter.
Then it was on with a Front Runner roof rack (onto which said roof-top tent is bolted) and snorkel; the latter mainly for reasons of a higher and therefore slightly cleaner air intake. Both of these items I purchased through Rugged Africa in Hillcrest (again in KZN, South Africa). Travis and Natasha are incredibly helpful and it’s then up to you if you want to go the DIY route or have them professionally fit for you. After carefully figuring out what would be required I opted to build the roof rack myself (I’ve had practise as a kid with Meccano) and let Rugged Africa deal with cutting holes in side fenders to fit the snorkel.
Long-range fuel tanks are a must for me as I don't enjoy having a lot of weight in the form of fuel containers riding high on my roof-rack, but trying to find suitable examples for a Discovery 1 proved to be a challenge. Fortunately the 4x4 forums are a great place to inquire and I managed to find a good second hand set made up in aluminium which, after more inquiring, I managed to fit myself.
Two x 40 litre tanks … a couple of simple 12 volt fuel pumps … some plumbing … left and right switches mounted and wired into my dashboard and there you go. Sounds simple, but if I did harbour any desires to do this full-time I certainly can’t find where those feelings are hiding now!
Cold beers? Goes without saying, especially when traversing mentioned “hot spots” and to make that possible you need a good fridge … which in turn requires a good dual battery system. As I wanted to do the installation, in order to know and understand the system for reasons of future maintenance, I once again sourced all the necessary parts through Rugged Africa. Battery, isolator switch, the correct fuses and the appropriate electric cabling and we’re good to go.
A few Hella plugs strategically placed around the vehicle are always handy to have.
And when stopped at camping sites that provide plug points why not be in a position to take advantage of the generosity. You can buy the socket and plug shown here at most caravan and camping and outdoor shops and then it’s simply a matter of wiring a short extension on the inside. There’s a 900 watt inverter wired and mounted in there somewhere too for charging up batteries, etc when said “generosity” doesn’t extend to those wild places we love to visit.
The drawer system was thrown in by the chap I bought the long-range tanks from and has served me quite nicely so far. Of course the more one overland’s about and figures out one’s natural tendencies, likes and dislikes the more inclined one is to want to custom create and build one’s own storage system – it's on my still-to-do-list.
... which reads as follows:
* Gull-wing side access doors
* Storage boxes behind gull-wing doors
* Custom drawer/storage system
* Rear bulkhead storage
* Second fridge slider (besides the one shown I also have another 30 litre fridge … The logic? More beers equates to being able to visit more hot spots)
* Rear door storage/flip-out table/kitchen?
* Side and rear awnings
* Rear custom bumper
* Decent recovery points
* Water storage
* Comfortable sitting space behind the driver seat – being photographers it’s great to both be able to shoot from the driver’s side of the vehicle.
Um! … And maybe a steering guard, some rock sliders and a winch would be a good idea too.
Of course there will be the minor aesthetic repairs and replacements along the way which are all important towards contributing to the overall comfort and functionality of the vehicle.
I’ll be sure to keep you posted as we progress with this awesome project. In the interim please feel free to ask questions and share ideas, advice and input with me via email, or message me on Facebook.
Cheers,
