Namibia & Botswana 2004

The Good, the Bad and the Useless

Most of the things done to the Defender worked very well. There were some things that were unexpected. We both discussed what was needed and then came up with a list of jobs including some repairs.

EXCESSIVE HEAT FROM THE SEATBOX - The excessive heat from the seatbox was temporarily cured by fitting one of those silver windscreen silver sun shades. The interesting thing being that the transmission tunnel wasn't hot. So when I had the time I contacted a firm called Agriemach. Taking their advice I ordered some of their Thermo-Guard FR. I made a blanket from this that fitted over the seatbox to the edge of the under seat lockers and down the front of the seat box. The heat problem was made worse by the fact that I'd fitted a Range Rover handbrake lever and had covered the original hole with a piece of aluminium sheet. At the same time a gearbox oil cooler was fitted. Now the Defenders delivered in Europe don't have these fitted as standard. The Rest of the World Defenders do have them fitted. Mine was made from a 13row oil cooler radiator using Wolf pipes and gearbox adaptor. These items were joined by hydraulic hose. The oil radiator fits to the front panel at the bottom which has been cut away like the first TD5 panels. All gear oils were changed to synthetic at this time.

FRONT WINDSCREEN WASHER JET - Whether I caught this with my foot or one of the fuel attendants cleaning the screen did I'm not sure. I did manage to fit it back on until we got the car back. I ordered a new one from the dealers and at the same time I fitted that I also fitted jets to the wiper arms. The wiper arm jets worked off the original, washer pump. I removed the rear wash/wipe system and used the rear pump on a switch fitted to the dash for the center jet. They both work a treat. The center jet can wet the screen before the wipers are switched on.

WATER TANK - We had a 20litre plastic water jerry can and a Norwegian box for water. Neither were ever used. Both were a pain. The Norwegian box came in useful to hide meat at the vetinary fences when the coolbox and freezer were checked for meat. We found that 5 litre bottles of water did the job. This year as we are crossing the Kalahari we will need fresh water for six days. That's too many bottles to carry and find room for. So I asked Andy at Allisport about a water tank. No problem he said. So he made a water tank to fit in the rear footwell that would fit between the seatbelt mountings and still let the seats be fitted. Normally this tank would go in the left rear wheel arch. I have a locker there. Under the tank I fitted an insulation blanket. While the fridge was out new mountings were made and the fridge move back two inches. At the same time the cargo lashings were removed each side of the fridge which allowed the fitting of the electrical consumer unit.

MUDFLAPS - We left a rear mudflap in the south of Botswana. The rear wing where the bracket fitted was also damaged. As I have rear side lockers like a series vehicle I decided to move the mudflaps forward and fill the front part of the rear wings/side panel. Aluminium sheet did that bit of the job. I purchased a pair of light plastic rally car mudflaps, turned them 90 degrees and fitted them to the aluminium panels I'd made .Hopefully the rear light wires will now stay dry.

SIDESTEPS - We have the original fold down steps fitted. I managed to bend one on a low sited post. I did like the large diameter one fitted to the Britz Defenders. Try as I might I still haven't found a supplier of these in the UK. Yes the TD5 XS model has them fitted. There's no part numbers available yet either. So I ordered a new step rubber and straightened the step.

iPAQ - We used this for the T4A maps of Namibia/Botswana. So much better than any up to date paper map. We first had problem in the last week of travel back to Walvis Bay on the gravel roads. The iPAQ would switch off for no reason. On the journey back from Solitaire it stopped working all together. We returned the iPAQ under warranty when we arrived home. Then the Garmin cf QUE which is the GPS for the iPAQ started to give trouble. We had that changed under warranty. I then thought that the cradle for the iPAQ could be causing problems. I threw the cradle and fitted a plug. Everything seems fine so far.

SECURE DASH BOTTOM RAIL - Another GPS thing!! The GPS mounts I had made bolt to this bar along the bottom of the dash. Well I've tightened things up and fitted a bracket to the instrument panel side. It seems better.

WIDEN LOCKER UNDER DRIVER'S SEAT - What I thought would be an easy job wasn't. Next time I'll take the seat box out. I did manage to widen the locker by about six inches. I can carry some of the spares in there which is a big help. I also hope this will reduce some of the heat coming through.

RAISE BOTH FRONT SEATS - Simply by getting longer bolts and fitting washers. Half an inch I lifted them. We both like the new seating position and it makes putting the carpet over the locker easier.

MAINS ELECTRICITY - To run the fridge/freezer on campsites saving the second battery. The battery lasts 27 hours on the fridge alone so it's a useful saving. As I have military rear bumperettes fitted with a checker plate cover on them the inlet plug went under the left side one. The consumer switch fits just behind the left center row passenger seat. A double socket fits to the outside of the seat on the floor.

WHEELS - I had standard Defender wheels fitted. They were very good but I felt that a slightly wider wheel in sand would have helped. I now have Discovery steel wheels fitted. The bonnet fitting for the spare had to be modified .A new longer "U" piece was made and fitted to the original ring.

LADDER RACK - We both found that the bedding in the back was a pain. It was light but took a lot of room. A roof top box was decided on. When I had the roof rack made I asked for a ladder bar so I could carry long lengths on the top if necessary. I thought I had nothing else to do but to get the ladder bar from the same place to the same pattern .I rang to ask to find that he'd closed down. Panic. I really thought what was on offer including the Land Rover ones were either over priced or flimsy or both. Billingham Autoparts came to the rescue with a set of Paddy Hopkirk bars. They look awful!! I think they will do the job though.

INTERNAL/EXTERNAL TEMPERATURE GAUGE - When we were melting both of us wanted to know the temperature. A search of the internet came up with SPA-UK. Don't look at the price. It is nice to know it's minus 4 outside on 27 inside. The rev counter was fitted at the same time. The clock moved to a plastic panel boy racer thing on the top in the center of the dash top panel. Both the clock and the temperature gauge fitted into it. The holder was held in place with number plate adhesive tape.

OTHER BITS - Alli-sport also made me a rear ladder which meant the flood light had to be moved. As the light had to come off I took the opportunity to fit a new one that didn't have an H3 halogen bulb fitted to save the strain on the second battery. The light looks like a Defender reversing light which is what it is except that it's fitted with two LED bulbs. These are the type that the boy racers use for under car lighting. A short test shows it gives enough light to flood the inside of the back door and the ground. At the same time LED interior light bulbs were ordered [www.ultraleds.co.uk] and fitted .It's hoped that there's now no need to switch off the interior lights. In Botswana it was dark at 7pm and we both found it difficult looking for things in the car. One thing you tend to do is leave the two side doors open at the side your at for easy access but you don't want a flat battery in the morning. The rear wiper was removed and a new checker plate panel fitted [I still have the old one] a deeper fold down shelf fitted and more elastic net pockets fitted. These pockets should hold all the crockery which releases space in the Mobile Security Systems drawer.

Alli-Sport also made me two aluminium boxes to fit in the sides in the back. This is a dead area when the Wolff boxes are loaded. The boxes have to clear the interior trim and they leave a gap between them and the side of the Defender. These two boxes are filled with the spares that a Wolff box and more would normally hold.

So with these mods in place you might gather that the Big Trip is going to be repeated. This week sees the packing done and the 110 is off to the docks on Friday 8th July and we follow on August 3rd. As well as returning to Namibia and Botswana we are also visiting South Africa to make the most of the sun down there. We will return to the UK on November 4th so see you then.

Mike & Margaret

Disclaimer: Please Read
Google