Hi there,

From the 5th July ( this year ) we are departing to Ulaanbaatar and back via the stans and the gobi desert in a 110 hardtop TD5.

We are looking for a specialist preparation company and considering our current location Keith Gott seems to be the obvious choice.

Has anyone here had any good ( or bad ) experiences dealing with this company? We are looking to spend a maximum of £4000 on preparing the vehicle with most of the additions fitted by the company we use.

Thanks

What sort of preparations have you got in mind?

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Well I see they (from their website) help Bowler with their support so they must know what they are on about when it comes to LR. But IMHO if you can assemble IKEA furniture you can do most of the prep for overlanding yourself - thereby saving a ton of cash. I would assume that for 4K quite a lot of that is going to be labour bills which 'could' be avoided... Of course I am a fanatical tinkerer type so feel free to point out that you have no interest in lying under vehicles sweating and swearing for relaxation

That is a big relief to hear! Clearly the budget counts, so much of the tinkering will be done ourselves. Being our first trip it seemed sensible at the time to go for this company we'd heard of, particularly when coming to spares for our 110 and what we should take etc....

Incidentally, how many should we looking to take? This is clearly a 'how long is a piece of string argument' but in terms of the essentials, prop shafts etc what could be considered minimum?

In terms of the mods themselves, the 'essentials' go something like:
4x OME Shocks
4x OME Springs..... not fitted by us!
5x BF Goodrich All terrain
4x WARN Lights
Window Grills
Additional Optima Deep Cycle Battery
Hi Lift System
Raised Air Intake

This, we reckon should cover the brunt of the prep, with room for jerry cans etc & a renovated rear section when the time comes. But please feel free to critique and elaborate if necessary!

My ideal would be buying and adding all the stuff ourselves, and it seems for the most part plausible... just with our inexperience and with such a big trip in mind, initially a overland prep company seemed wise...

Cheers,
Tom

If you're in fine fettle health wise, and have a drive and a couple of spare weekends, all the gear you've listed below is a pretty straightforward installation job, and should cost about £1800 if you shop right.

Shocks and springs are much easier than you think - I can change a full set in about 2 hours, and you don't need any special tools (maybe spring compressor from Halfords to help with the OME's)

Obviously you'l want to get tyres fitted by someone, but BFG's are sold all over.

Raised air intake is very straightforward

Lights - plenty of info on the net on how to rig up a simple relay and switch

Optima battery - simple enough, and installation kits with split charge relays can be bought off the shelf.

Window grills - easy enough with a drill and some self tapping screws

Hi-lift jack - buy it, stick it in the back or get a kit the mounting kit with it to attach it to spare wheel or roofrack.

I would say it's a good idea to get stuck into as much maintenance as you can now while there is loads of help available to you and you're in a good environment. Knowing how your trucks put together and having some basic skills will be a relief to you when your miles from anywhere.

Why not start of with something simple like the raised air intake, and see how you go, ask on here for advice or try LR4x4.com

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While you are under there doing springs and shocks I would suggest you check out, and if there is any doubt change the suspension bushes. I see it’s aTD5 so I guess it’s not that old though.

Just my 2 cents worth and I would suggest people on LR4X4 will offer more (not a LR owner myself but have been)

Andrew already pointed out that most stuff is just waste of money on your case.

If your car is on good condition you can well do the trip on stock car. No mods required.

If your car is heavily loaded then perhaps take a spare rear shock and spring.

4x WARN Lights -- why? If you manage to drive every day with standard setup, why need to aux lights now?

Window Grills -- no need. Defender locks can be opened with screwdriver anyway. Just don't keep any valuables in sight.

Additional Optima Deep Cycle Battery -- if you have freezer then maybe yes, otherwise not needed. Be sure your original battery is in good condition.

Hi Lift System -- Hi Lift is nice to nave. I have mine mounted horizontally on rear bumper.

Raised Air Intake -- For such short trip on mostly dry climate no needed. Take a few spare air filters.

Especially if you intend to sell the car after just this one trip.

I'll show some images of my Defender 90. If I bought this car in stock form, then aded some stuff for overlanding. Boxes in rear (extends to bed) I made of plywood, these help to keep all stuff out of sight and avoid grab and run situations. However, as I said before, this trip can be as well done in bone stock car, but yes, some lockable compartments give some more peace in mind.







Now I have nice overlander but the problem is that I have got infected by motorbiking bug!

Hi... Save yourself a ton of hassle and just get a standard Toyota Landcruiser Amazon Diesel.
The '94 - '96 model is bullet proof in its std form.
You can pick these up for the price you have put aside for the mods alone !
Reliability, strength and comfort leave the LR in the dark ages.
Good luck

... .

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Hi Tom -
re the cargo barrier there must be various suppliers for 110 Hardtops, maybe try the LR overland prep folk; Brownchurch, Mantec, Safety Devices etc. Alternatively Milford (Oz) are one of the largest manufacturers of proper rated cargo barriers and they are available in EU. But I am unclear if your Defender is a Hardtop or Station Wagon... I don't know if you have bought suspension, but you might like to investigate the airsprings that people like Matt Savage sell - cheap good alternative to heavy duty springs, and the beauty is the vehicle can ride like standard at home.
Cheers, Gil

timktm - there is even a special thread for the LR Vs LC debate.

I've just read this post with great interest as I've just bought a 110 300Tdi for my new exped vehicle, it'll be driven to Kenya, at least, in about 5 years, so I have some time to get it all sorted.

A couple of my experiences that relate to comments in this thread.
I had the cambelt changed on my 200 Discovery before going to Tunisia in 2004, the water pump was changed at the same time. In the desert 5 months after these items were changed the waterpump failed.

Spot lights are not necessary if all goes to plan, however they are extremely useful if you do get caught out. In many countries other road users don't have any lights on their mopeds, cows, donkey carts, children, etc, and more often than not they'll be on the wrong side of the road, you do not only need them to see the road ahead.

Mate of mine, with me on the 2006/7 trip, dropped behind on a desert piste, his back axle was loose. He had his regular garage change some standard bushes for poly's before leaving for the trip, unfortunately they didn't do the nut up properly on the lower link and it dropped off somewhere. Not an easy sized nut to find.

Same trip another car, 110 1988, shock had been changed for an "after market" brand, unfortunately one of the shocks shed a bottom nut, I had a good selection of spares, all from Land Rovers, none of them fitted. We did manage to force one on in the end, didn't do the trheads much good though.

Following my waterpump experience I always carry one as a spare (the one supplied to replace the failed one under warranty). That said, on both the 2005/6 and 2006/7 trips, both around 4000 miles, I had no issues at all with my Discovery. Last trip we left the UK with 187,000 on the clock, bounced around the dunes, and have now clocked up 221,000, hence the new Defender, that's only got 157,000 on.
www.4x4-travel.co.uk
Kevin

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Hi ,
Lots of good advice above, most of which we would endorse .
Before our last Euro tour, 2007, we spoke to mike Creighton who has done two world trips in a Disco. His advice was have the car serviced, make your own internal fixings etc, and dont spend a fortune unnecessarilly. We did just that, and had no problems.Infact we are going to refit the car just the same for next year. We met a couple, who are now friends who had a 110 built by one of these Expert Overland companys. The stuff was so crammed in, they coulnt use half of it !!
Plus if you have made it, you know how to fix it.
Also, more importantly, make sure your partner knows how it all works, cause if you get sick/injured, they will need to still function.
Dont jack up the susp if you have a roof tent and your partner is only 5'4" ! because you will be erecting it on your own !!
Get the car kitted and go camping in UK first, its too late to find things dont work when you have set off.
As well as the good spares list above, Gotts said we needed only 2 things; their phone no. and a credit card. It worked for us, a new alternator to our campsite in Romania in 48hrs ! now thats service.
Sounds like you are in Hampshire, so feel free to e mail us.

REALLY!!!!
Faults