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To
undertake the trip a 4x4 was the obvious choice, and with a bit of research,
the choice was narrowed down to either a Land Rover or a Toyota Land
Cruiser. We decided that the romance of
exploring the world in a Land Rover out weighed their sometimes questionable
reliability, anyway part of the fun will be breaking down in some remote town
and having to mime to the local mechanic what the problem is (or so we tell ourselves). After
looking at the high second hand price and very basic interior of the Defender, my
wallet and backside decided on a Discovery 1 and its more comfortable seats. This gave us good levels of space and off road
ability but with a bit more comfort for the 25 000 miles we would be covering. Of the discoThe 300tdi engine is the last to
come without all of the electronic control so After
a couple of months of looking we eventually bought a 1996 Discovery 1 300tdi
Commercial with 101k on the clock. We
decided a commercial would suit us best, because, being only two of us, we
don�t need the extra seats and the lack of rear side windows gives us better
security, helps maintain the vehicle interior temperature and reduces weight,
as well as severely impairing visibility (only realised after the money had
exchanged hands). The
vehicle I bought has, what must be very unusual combination of options for a
commercial, a diesel engine, an automatic gearbox with ABS, cruise control and
the all important air conditioning! The
overall condition of the vehicle is very good. To
turn our standard Discovery into something capable of driving round the world,
that is tough enough to withstand poor/no roads and is comfortable for us to
live out of for days at a time, a few modifications had to be made! If you are
interested, below is a list of the modifications and why we decided to fit them. All the modifications were done ourselves to
save money, get familiar with the car and, despite it being frustrating and scarey at
times, is pretty good fun! Modifications Additional seats - Two standard Discovery
fold-away seats in the rear, this is to makes the vehicle a four seater and a
bit more practical for the six months I will be using it before the trip. Safari Snorkel � Raised air
intake allows the vehicle to not only travel through deeper water but is a big
help on dusty roads and will hopefully extend the life of the air filters Front and rear Diff. guards - Being the lowest part on the
underside of the car it is susceptible to damage. The guard, guards it� Steering guard - Protects the rather
exposed steering components from damage from obstacles in the road Winch bumper- Pressed steel bumper can withstand
greater impacts and has higher ground clearance the standard so larger/steeper
obstacles can be overcome. It also makes
the car look a bit meaner so people are more likely to get out of our way! Winch - Fitted to the front
of the vehicle to be used if and when we get stuck. Can also be used to help out locals if their car/horse/yak
gets stuck. Heavy duty springs Stiffer springs to cope with the extra weight of all the equipment and and dampers - luggage for thetrip. Also gives 2� lift, improving off road ability and reduces body roll on
road. Bigger tyres can also be fitted.
Upgraded Headlamp bulbs - Replaced the standard bulbs with
much brighter halogen bulbs. Car safe - Mounted inside the
vehicles to keep expensive electrical equipment and important
documents locked away. Air Horn - A very loud horn to
help get vehicles, people and animals out of the way as we drive along. The car now sounds a bit like a train,
excellent! Off road tyres - A set of six
off road tyres on steel wheels has been fitted to replace the road tyres and
alloys that were on. (Kumho KL71, 245/75
R16 for the technical people) Sleeping platform - In the back of the
Land Rover we have built a platform on which we can sleep. This rests around half way up where the base
of the windows would be. As the Disco is
a three door the front seats fold forward allowing the platform to extend. Overall the platform is a little bigger than
a double bed and, with the foam mattress on top, a lot more comfortable than
some of the beds I have slept in when travelling previously! It has the advantage that we are not solely
reliant on guest houses and hotels and can be set up in around ten seconds! New battery - A new higher rated battery
was fitted to replace the standard one.
The battery is designed for boats and RVs and will power the winch and
other electrical bits with no problems. Air compressor - The thinkingmans method of pumping up tyres. Mounted
underthe bonnet and hard wired in, it is heavy duty so wont take too long to
inflate the big tyres. More importantly
it comes with an adapter for a football so we can ensure the ball never goes
flat!
Accessories Spade - To dig us out if we
get bogged down and to �dig a dunny� if we get caught out in the wilderness! Tow rope - Primarily to tow us but
hopefully will be used more to help other people if they get stuck. Waffle
boards - Can be used in the sand or mud
or to bridge gaps High lift jack - Used as an
off road recovery device and as a regular jack.
Not surprisingly it lifts higher than a standard jack! Jump lead - For if we get a flat
battery or encounter anyone who does. 2x20 litre jerry cans - Will give us a diesel
reserve of around 200 miles giving us a total range of around 700 miles. Haynes Manual - Helped with the
modification and should help with any road side repairs that may need doing. Tool kit - To carry out road
side repairs and to regularly service the vehicle. Spare wheels � To replace punctured
tyres. One wheel is left mounted on the
rear door and the other is on bars on the roof. Roof bars - Although we are trying to
keep the centre of gravity as low as possible, the second spare wheel and the
waffle boards will be stored up here.
Spares
Things
we decided not to take Obviously
this list is infinite but there are a few things that many people take that we
have decided against. We may be proven
wrong in our choice on the way round and if we find we are missing something
then we can hopefully buy it on the road! Roof
tent � Apart from the high initial cost we decided that , given there was
enough room, sleeping inside the car would be the better option. One of the biggest positives was that it does
not attract the same level of unwanted attention. Better safety was another deciding factor. Split
charge system & two batteries � Again, extra cost was a factor as well as
unnecessary work and the extra weight of carrying another battery. We have no power hungry devices that will be
run when the engine is switched off. Fridge
� Quite an expensive item, especially when you add the cost of the extra
battery into the equation. We plan to
eat the local food as much as possible, the only thing that will be missed may
be a cold beer. We will have to count on
the cool box for that!
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