I want to carry 2 motorbikes (combined weight 350kg) on/in or behind a Defender 110. It has to be a solid solution for fast road and also rough, corrugated piste.

We have good access to fabrication facilities so a designing a rear carrier or other solution is a possibility.

At the moment I'm erring towards converting a 1 tonne trailer (the larger GKN /Sankey type). But I thought I'd throw the question out to the venerable tech folk - any ideas?

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Pictures, Mauritania 2011

Hi,
IMHO I wouldnt even think about putting that much weight off the back end of a 110 - its a recipe for something going wrong - light front end, welds cracking over corrogations, and awkward to get into the rear...etc etc......the only way id carry them on the Landy is in the load bed - (if its a truck cab) and even then that would not be ideal.

Trailer wise the normal Sankey is way too short - the Sankey 1 ton Rapier Missile Supply Trailer is long enough - but its heavy and very tall for loading.

The best Trailer by far is the Ifor Williams GD84 -you can pick up a good used one for about £600 - The single axle would be best (less bounce, less tyres) with the uprated hubs and 16 inch rims - you can move the wheel arches up a bit and fit the same tyre size as the 110 - so spare tyres arent an issue.

My KTM Adventure fitted on mine with about 10 inches to spare at the back. - much better and stronger (and more useful) than any bike trailer IMO, with the drop down mesh loading ramp its easy to load/unload.

Its also alot lower than the Sankeys - lower centre of gravity and with the taller 16 inch tyres has enough ground clearance to be towed off road - The best hitch to use is the NATO 3.5 ton jaw/ring arrangement (one side locked- other rotating)- you can get the bits from Ifor Williams -or good trailer shops.

These may not be the cheapest but they are the best - thats why Land Rover used GD64's on there 50th anniversary global trek.(see link below)

http://www.iwt.co.uk/news/trek/index.htm


I looked at buying the running gear and welding up the body myself - ended up about the same price - easier to buy a good used one.

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Cheers
Grif

'11 KTM 450 EXC
'09 Suzuki DR650
'00 Discovery Series 2 V8
'95 Defender 90 300 Tdi Overlander
http://gipperstravels.blogspot.ca

I take 8 enduros to Mauri and Algeria every other year.

That's 4 behind a 110 and a 130 each.

I had Ernie make up trailers for me, un-bolt, use 7.50 R16 tyres same as the LRs. They took a real beating, and are solid as you need. I reckon with 4 big bikes (mostly old XR600s) the total is 750kgs. Perfectly balanced - fully loaded one guy can lift the hitch and push the thing around!

Look at the trailers on Ernie's site and give him a call.

http://www.overland-solutions.com/

Products box on left: Trailers then click on 4-bike...

Sam.

Sam, that's a fetching shade of pink you have on your trailer! Thanks for the suggestion, looks like a great piece of kit - although possibly outside my £ range.

Incidentally, how do you find towing that kind of weight long distance –*a chore, or do you forget it's there?
How does it affect your cruising speed?

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Pictures, Mauritania 2011

Grif, Good advice as ever. I've been looking at the 1 tonne GKN/Sankey trailer – which I think is the same as/similar to the Rapier one. Like you say it's on the heavy side, but tough and economical.

The ifor does look good. Had a phone around but no luck finding a used one so far.

I'm running 265/75/16's on steel 8 spokes would these squeeze on the GD84 ?

Is there a kit for the uprated hubs or is it just a matter of finding a trailer with the right specs?

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Pictures, Mauritania 2011

I asked Ernie for dark green, but of course with my colour-blindness...

Made no difference to cruise speed - we only do 90-100 kph anyway! Width is an issue in Europe, but in Africa you have the space!

May not be as pricey as you think, ask Ernie for a best-offer!

Sam.

Richard,
The GD84's wheel arches are quite narrow - so they would need changing for 265's - and the wider rims would be a squeeze on - also this size would give quite a bit of drag - 235'/85's would be better on the trailer (same height) less rolling resistance - an you could run them on the Landy in an emergency.
Some GD84's are fitted with 16 inch rims from the factory - but not many - though you can change the whole sealed hub unit to fit 16 inch rims.

I must say, having looked at Ernies trailer - It looks very well made and has all the right bits - Sam - does it run OK with no suspension when theres a lighter load on it - say 2 bikes ??? - that might be the only problem......especially over corrogations - though you could drop the tyre pressures down to avoid too much bounce.

If he could knock up a 2-3 bike trailer for 6-700 quid it would be good - and lighter than the Ifor - the lack of suspension is my only concern.
try and get the wheel track the same width as the Rover so it runs in the same ruts and is more stable than a normal 2 bike narrow trailer.

Even if you only need space for 2 bikes the extra space might come in handy for an extra bike or storage bins down the centre line of the trailer for bike spares/gear/fuel.

Cheers guys
Grif

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Cheers
Grif

'11 KTM 450 EXC
'09 Suzuki DR650
'00 Discovery Series 2 V8
'95 Defender 90 300 Tdi Overlander
http://gipperstravels.blogspot.ca

They have suspension! Each 'axle' has a 750kg limit swing arm suspension - so trailer can carry 1200-1300kgs of load in addition to it's own weight.

Sam.

Thanks Sam - couldnt see the suspension arms in the photos !!!

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Cheers
Grif

'11 KTM 450 EXC
'09 Suzuki DR650
'00 Discovery Series 2 V8
'95 Defender 90 300 Tdi Overlander
http://gipperstravels.blogspot.ca

Sadly, budget-wise it's still looking like an angle-grinder Vs. GKN job.
(I'll let you know which one wins)

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Pictures, Mauritania 2011