Pioneer I
- 11,171
- First Name
- Dave
- Last Name
- Spinks
- Member #
-
3057
- Service Branch
- Royal Navy Veteran
A friend asked me to assist resolving some issues on a Russian customers Defender 110 Double Cab. He had been to Germany and without any real research or thought booked his Defender in to get upgraded.The job at first glance was looked great however I was asked to look at an issue with the Aux Battery going flat very quickly. Now admittedly the Defender is not a daily drive and sits for weeks at a time. But the Aux Battery was failing. The Russian was on his 3rd Aux Battery in less than 6 months when I looked at it.
First indications were the battery monitor was in alarm on the aux battery only and I measured it at 3 volts. Recovered the battery to 12.2 Volts and started troubleshooting. The wiring was not labelled with no information from the installer on what was feeding where and the connection on the positive terminal did not tighten fully and the crimps fell off.
Cables were run out of the seat box through holes that were not rubber grommeted. And switches in the rear were wired incorrectly so they permanently illuminated.
I have rewired the switches, resolved the rubber grommets issue to protect the cables and tidied up the seat box battery cabling to make it neater and easier to troubleshoot. So now I'm hopeful he will not have the same excessive drain on the Aux Battery.
So now to get back to why I called thus thread "All the gear no idea".
With no experience the Russian took the word of the installation company and added air suspension, roll cage, rear tub, fridge and pull out slide, air lockers, heavy duty prop shafts, underbody protection, rock sliders, sand ladders, high lift jack, Aux Battery install and many many more items dusting over 10k euros.
All of which he has no idea. He thought the sand ladders once installed on the side of the tub and fold down was a table. He has no idea when and when not to use lockers. Has no understanding of the risks of using a high lift jack. His fridge and slide is mounted centrally in the tub meaning he has no access to anything else in the rear tub.
And finally he has never driven off road so is now scared of everything.
So my advice is don't fall into the same trap and if honest I did similar many years ago but not to the same extreme. If you go to a supplier and say what do I need they will see dollar signs and max you out.
So Join a club, go out with experienced people and see what you really need and what works for you and even more importantly learn how to use the equipment such as a high lift jack or a winch safely as both are killers to the inexperienced.
Does he really need air lockers,I would say no unless he wants to go extreme rock crawling etc and right now due to lack of experience he is more likely to damage something because he used them at the wrong time.
He had a standard Defender and it was more than capable for all his needs but by joining a club he could have learned and understood the modifications and then proceed and purchase them with knowledge and experience.
Sometimes we rush too much when time and patience is a better option.
I'm sure some will agree and some disagree but that is what this website is about. To discuss, debate and ultimately from that we all learn and hop fully improve.
