Best mods for long distance motorway drives in a defender?

Yeah unless she is a stoical type of girl the 200 isn't going to win her over.

SWMBO is okay in mine but I think it's more of a 'resigned to her fate' than any kind of enjoyment.

If the weather is nice I might drive from Brighton to Ipswich sans roof

Oh not exactly landrover but you'll need
Amazon product
It's the best thing for keeping the midges off, if it's not windy or raining, the midges WILL eat you alive without protection!!

neilly said:

Unfortunately, You will not be able to hear the "sounds of the forest" soundtrack due to the 200tdi rattling away.

Cheers

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Fit plenty of lead flashing tape over all exposed metal surfaces,, much of it then covered with camping mat. The partitions I mentioned before. And you can hear " sounds of the forest "

Some form of cruise control, and set it about 62mph this will be a bit faster than the trucks , but not fast enough to get you into the rat race with all the cars , whose speed variance makes it hard work , and you find that you will keep seeing the same vehicles as they roar off to the back end of the next slow convoy . With a 300tdi or td5 , any extra sound deadening will be a plus. I have always found the long landrovers very comfortable on long journeys overland and on European Autobahns the last long stage was Hamelin to Oxford with a short break for the ferry in september last year. O forgot a towing trip to collect a car from Penzance last month 600 miles with 1/2hr to load the car .

TheQ said:

Oh not exactly landrover but you'll need
Amazon product
It's the best thing for keeping the midges off, if it's not windy or raining, the midges WILL eat you alive without protection!!

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Yeah TheQ ain't making it up, if you aren't used to them they will drive you round the fing bend, but if you are used to them they'll also drive you round the fing bend and no you can't just ignore them

we used to do family holidays when I was a kid in a series landrover to the south of France towing a caravan. Slow and steady is the order of the day

I must admit the difference between a 90 and a 110 on the motorway for a period of time is noticeable. I found a 110 less skittish, less 'tramliney' - maybe the longer length?

Probably my 90 has knackered shocks or something

One of the best things I have done to my 200Tdi 90 was fit citroen BX seats, easy to do and so much more comfortable, the foam even gives a new level of suspension. Cushty.

frog hopper said:

One of the best things I have done to my 200Tdi 90 was fit citroen BX seats, easy to do and so much more comfortable, the foam even gives a new level of suspension. Cushty.

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You got a photo or any deets on what's involved? Please!

frog hopper said:

One of the best things I have done to my 200Tdi 90 was fit citroen BX seats, easy to do and so much more comfortable, the foam even gives a new level of suspension. Cushty.

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Like these chap ? <giggle>

In all seriousness check out https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/what-seats-fit-in-a-defender.89170/

Mazda RX-8 seats in mine. They are pretty much the same width as the standard ones and fit without too much grief. Only negatives are I couldn't retain the centre seat and they are a bit more of an effort to get in and out of. Also, if you want to get to under the seats you have to take them out, though I have found I can still get to the batteries by sliding them back.

This is my latest overland build.

I have soundproofed it a bit,fitted decent seats,stereo,(though you can't hear it at much over 50mph).
I try not to use motorways unless I have to,then stick to about 60mph.
Just come back from a 2500km trip to the Pyrenees.With no problems at all.most days doing between 8 & 10 hrs driving,on tracks.
Marc

frog hopper said:

One of the best things I have done to my 200Tdi 90 was fit citroen BX seats, easy to do and so much more comfortable, the foam even gives a new level of suspension. Cushty.

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That takes me back! Fitted those to my 109 many years ago, the bases lift up or out (can't remember which) for access. I fitted the seatbelts too cos the bx seats have the stalk bit built in.
Very comfy. iirc acess to the battery is good but not quite large enough to remove the battery.

Got no photos of Citroen BX seats I'm afraid, I needed to use lengths of 1/2 x 1 box section to rearrange fixing points which took a couple of hours total, the plus points with BX seats (at least the ones I got) the seat squab is removable for access to battery box etc, I also took them off the scrappy myself so only cost £20 the pair and I kept the original hex head fixing bolts. I also made my own cubby box as I thought I could design it better for what I wanted and there is no way to retain the centre seat. The box I made has a double layer of exercise foam mat on top covered with a scrap of leather offcut, just the right height for an arm rest while steering with the left hand. I also left a tray on the front part filled with 3 layers of foam cut out to give 2 deep grippy cup holders, being foam one size fits all.

Disco transfer box works really well IMHO. I have a Disco 2 box in mine, and it's even more relaxed than a Disco 1 box (by a teeny amount). You do need to swap some bits over to allow the speedo drive to work, and you lose the rear PTO but hardly an issue for me. I don't even bother getting into 5th until north of 50mph and it does cruise in a relaxed way at normal traffic speeds.

I have heard some say "yes but it makes it sluggish", well I have a standard 200Tdi in mine and it's more than adequate, and it pulls better than my old 300Tdi Disco did. I will concede that sometimes in town you're in 3rd rather than 4th, but it's a small price to pay for relaxed cruising and better fuel economy everywhere else. I've towed a couple of tons with it too and it's fine. And it gives more scope for overtaking on A roads etc too.

On the subject of seats, my other car is a Boxster and I'd be very tempted to see if the seats would fit...they are reasonable from a breakers now and very comfy, whilst still fairly compact.



On that subject, can you remove the rear passenger grab rail from a CSW for more room behind the front seats, or is it structural in any way?

My 110 is fitted with a 300Tdi and she is fine on a long drive.

She also has Range Rover P38 seats fitted which makes it very comfy, leg room is fine (I am 6'3") although the seat bases are a couple of inches higher so a smaller steering wheel was fitted....but is plenty comfy enough...they also have the side armrest which I adore.

james6546 said:

Mazda RX-8 seats in mine. They are pretty much the same width as the standard ones and fit without too much grief. Only negatives are I couldn't retain the centre seat and they are a bit more of an effort to get in and out of. Also, if you want to get to under the seats you have to take them out, though I have found I can still get to the batteries by sliding them back.

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Yep got those in mine aswell but in leather and they are great for long distance driving, since fitting them i have replaced the cubby box with a new one but raised it so i can rest my arm on it like you can in disco's