Monthly Archives: March 2012

Waiting for the roof tent…

Went up to the Yorkshire Overland Gathering at Trek Overland today and had a look around some of the goodies available. No sign of our roof tent yet unfortunately, although it was a slim chance anyway – we ordered it in November last year and it is due in end of March/beginning of April. Would have been nice to have tried it out there but not to worry we should be able to give it a good shakedown for our wedding anniversary trip in May.

It was a small but interesting “show” with a few of the local overland specialists and suppliers getting together for the weekend. Brendan and Barbara (4×4 Overland) were there and as ever had lots on display to give us plenty to think about.

Not really done much on the 90 in the past couple of weeks although, as usual, lots of plans made on paper and in our heads ! Things are kind of on hold until the roof tent arrives.

Roll cage fitted

normal_cage1Well, the roll cage is now fitted apart from one bolt on each side that will need the rear and the sides of the cage to be removed before I can drill the holes.

It took some fitting but I think the end result is worth it, giving us a mounting system for the tent and anything else we want to put on the roof, supplying separation between the passenger and luggage area and increased safety should the worst happen.

While I’ve certainly saved some cash by fitting it myself, I would strongly recommend anybody fitting one to a “shiny” motor to get P&P to do it – a LOT less stress that way !

normal_cage2normal_cage3

Roll cage fitting

normal_cage902Spent today at Maddison 4×4 fitting the roll cage and getting the 90 through it’s MOT.

I have to say that when P&P gave me a quote for fitting the cage I immediately thought, “how much !”. Having spent the best part of the day fighting with the cage I now think the price they quoted was a bargain.

The cage itself is fine, it all fits beautifully but the stress and pain involved in checking and double checking every measurement before drilling holes in the body work and then fitting and refitting the cage sections without scratching the paintwork is something you don’t appreciate until you try it.

normal_cage90Still, MOT passed OK and with the occasional help of Patrick, Izzy and Terry at Maddison 4×4 it’s mostly fitted now and tomorrow should see the last bits fitted. Pictures courtesy of Terry’s phone 🙂

Chequer plate… over my… oh, wait

normal_90wingtopsDespite spending years completely failing to understand the appeal of chequer plate on Defenders we’ve finally succumbed !

In part it’s because the wings that were replaced a few years ago have holes in them for mounting the chequer plate, as does the back body. There are also practical reasons as we suspect that chequer plate on the wings will give us another option for accessing the roof.

The roll cage arrived a couple of weeks ago and I should be fitting it this weekend if all goes according to plan.