Just how bad is a Defender 90 in the desert? I have a 200Tdi and it runs ok, I wanted a Land Cruiser but they are so expensive I ended up with a Defender 90, its got a lot of kit but has limitations of space and fuel tank capicity,will it be a liability? or can I live with the limitations,as it has kind of grown on me.

you should be fine in the desert with a 90. Depends on how many people / how much kit but if there is only 1 - 2 of you then you should have plenty of space. Given the small standard fuel tank you may need to make some arrangement there but it will be lighter than a 110 so will go well on the sand.

If thats what you`ve got and like why not keep it, everyone has different ideas of the perfect vehicle, a 90 is`nt my first choice, but if thats what I had thats what I use. It just means you wont carry half the crap you would with a 110.

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An aussie escaped from london, now in Dubai.

The 90 is great in the Sahara...yes you are limited in your carrying capacity, but you carry what you need and not loads of crap...the performance off road is exceptional and with some thought and good preparation they are an excellent vehicle.
The fuel tank is too small, I carried 2 jerrycans on roof rack - not ideal, for the next trip I will be fitting a rear tank where the back exhaust box sits (allisport uk) I did 6 months and 25,000km with my girlfriend to West Africa and back no problem.
Go with what you have and adapt it to suit you will be suprised how good they are...take sensible spares and plenty of filters (oil/fuel) on a long trip
If you would like a photo of how I fitted mine out for 2 people let me know.
Cheers 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

I'd like to hear info on how to maximise the space in a 90.Got ideas of a folding dog guard allowing you to sleep in the back.Are two jerry cans on the roof ok?, hoping to fit three or more on the roof,or maybe on rack at the back next to foot of the roof ladder.
Theoretical question, if you have a roof rack bolted to the chassis does this mean loads are transfered down ie a low center of gravity. Read that standing on a trail bike lowers your center of gravity,ie transfering weight to the pedals,if true does this idea transfer to a chassis mounted roof rack?
The fundamentals seem to be simmilar.

Think your logic is misplaced re weight transfer. I have a roof rack on my 110 mounted straight onto a roll cage coming down to the chasis and I don't think it lowers the center of gravity at all. What it does do is take all the strain off the body work which is useful given expedition loads.

Two ways to maximise space - have a cargo barrier and a racking system and sleep on the roof or in a ground tent. 2, did see a 90 set up with two pop out comparments on each side and a pop up roof - meant head went in one pop out side and feet in the other and gave a 6ft bed across the vehicle. Looked like a lot of messing round. Got to be much cheaper and much easier to put a roof tent on a roof rack / roof bars if you going to that expense.

One thing I found from sleeping in the back of a similar sized old Nissan Patrol for 4 months travelling in Aus is that you end up doing lots of messing round trying to get kit in and out. I made a platform in the back to put kit below and sleep above but it involved lots of moving kit around and wasn't particularly comfortable.

Re Jerry cans on the roof, I have 4 as standard and up to 8. I don't worry about the weight to much as I very rarely need to run at full capacity - only in very remote parts so its not a general problem and its a good place to store them the rest of the time when they are empty.

[This message has been edited by Toby2 (edited 23 August 2004).]

Toby,very interested in your comment regarding cargo barrier and racking system.When travelling in OZ I had some of my recovery gear and other bits lashed back to a cargo barrier and found it very useful in keeping the back tidy.Could you expand a bit on your racking system.
Also had a slide out drawer with cooker and sink but found that I couldn't get back into the rear cargo space for my Engel chilled wine once I'd started cooking so I gave up on cooking!

Grif,

Can you mail me a picture of your 90 please? We are wondering wether we should buy a 110 or a 90. It should take 2 persons and a dog. I find the 110 simply very long and it is an open invitation to carry extra's. The 90 is shorter, lighter,... If I am correct there is only one type of enginge supplied by landrover. So that would also mean that with a 90 you get more power per kilo.

But I would install a roofrack from front to end.

Pieter.

Pieter, yes will email you some pictures, no problem, if you have a big dog then I would say the 90 is too small, if small then maybe, have you considered a Discovery ?
They have a 100 inch wheelbase, so between the 90 and 110 are very capable off road and if you can get the 'Commercial' model, it has no windows in the rear - saving weight on glass, letting less sun (heat) in, and better secutity, you get plenty of room (much more than a 90)in the back and you can sleep in there with some thought and preparation, they are more comfortable than a 90 and smaller than a 110...maybe worth considering.
Cheers, 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

Off-road, a 90 will eat the opposition, whether it be TLC, 110, Disco etc. They are light and agile (short wheelbase). There was a post somewhere (was it you Grif?) that said 90s skipped over dunes where 110s and TLC stuck.

Your limitation is payload but with clever packing you could get round that. Land Rover suggest I think 4 jerries max on the roof (how about a roof tent?). Tom Sheppard did a lot of Saharan overlanding with a 90, look in his book. Now, after a squabble with LR, he uses a similarly short wheelbase G Wagen.

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'91 LR 110 Def/Disco hybrid "Elsa"
Bring me the horizon....

Gipper.... do you have any info on this tank? was it a one off designed by yourself or do allisport make them for general sale? (i'm inly about 45minutes down the road from them so it would be handy to pick one up)

how does yours plumb in? separate filler or "T"'d into the existing fuel lines?

cheers

jamie

Ive dug out the cutting from a LR mag from a few years back that has the 90 adapted to sleep two plus overland kit (by means of a fold-out extension - sounds naff but it works)

Ill post a reference and summary in a bit

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'91 LR 110 Def/Disco hybrid "Elsa"
Bring me the horizon....

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Toby2:
I spent three weeks travelling with my dad in a suzuki sj413, landrover 90, luxury!!!

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1990 Landcruiser H60. Full rebuild completed 2014

Jamie, sorry been away for a while
Yeah Allisport make them to fit 90's about 55/60 litres or so - the way I would do it is to have a second filler on the same side at the rear and then use a small fuel pump to transfer fuel from second tank to running tank - thats how we do it on overland trucks - keeping things simple !
I think thats how allisport reccomend too - though alloy is not the first choice for a fuel tank -and they are not cheap either.
Im currentlyy looking for a second hand Td5 90 tank and fittings - they are plastic, and ill fit an alloy guard over it.

***Pieter could not email you a photo - do youa have an alternate email address ?
Cheers Guys
Grif.

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Ex Drago Driver, LRE Instructor,
LR 90 300 Tdi Overlander
Suzuki DR650 Overlander
..and Bloody Nice Bloke!

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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