 | Home > Expedition & Overland > Suitability of Defender for European overlanding? |
 
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| GUM97 Member Since: 05 Feb 2012 Location: Cheshire Posts: 3555   
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A Defender is perfectly suitable...but so is a Prius! It depends if you want to travel on all tarmacked roads etc. If you take a Defender, there plenty of 'off the beaten track' driving to be done! An engine to TDi for!
"Land Rover- Proudly turning drivers into mechanics since 1948"  |
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29th Jan 2014 5:00pm |
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| leeds Member Since: 28 Dec 2009 Location: West Yorkshire Posts: 8580
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Brendan |
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29th Jan 2014 9:06pm |
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| THF Member Since: 18 Jul 2012 Location: Sunny N Hants or Pompey Posts: 83 
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Samblers,
To Echo GUM97's answer...Yes 
My (then) girl-friend and I headed put of our first bit of landrover travelling in Aug 07. We headed out for our own Tour De France. 3500miles in 32 days reaching as far down a Monaco and up in the French alps before heading back home over the beaches of Normandy. Things were basic and we cooked off the back door of the 90, with a ground sheet and a couple of tent poles as an awning. We befriended Tim & Claire from Trek overland, and they helped us on future travels. But she returned as my fiancee and we've never looked back! Click image to enlarge Second trip was to Norway Jul 09, (up through Denmark from Blighty) as far North as Alesund, then back down the west cost to Oslo. Again over 4 weeks and it was truly amazing the perfect way to travel. Again in a 90 with an inflatable boat on the roof with a little outboard engine for exploring the fjords. Travelled in company with my brother and sister in law in their FL2. Click image to enlarge in '12 with the expansion of a family to +1, we sold up on the 90 and got a 110 XS in Oslo Blue (wonder where in colour inspiration came from?). We travelled back down to the French alps, at a slightly more leisurely pace and stayed in Chamonix for a week. Brilliant for us, not so good for the neighbouring campers as our 10 month old girl went through the teething process. Thanks God for day old french baguette, the perfect teething aid. Click image to enlarge And the plan this year....... Head down to Les Contamines, with the Brother in law in his 90 and us in our 110. and do it all over again, but this time with 2 girls! So the short answer to it is its definitely the vehicle to do a tour. The Landy Wave is as friendly in Europe as it is in Blighty, its fixable nearly anywhere and you'll probably find a forum member somewhere near when its not! All the very best in planning your travels, enjoy it in a Defender! |
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29th Jan 2014 9:48pm |
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| deplec Member Since: 21 Aug 2012 Location: Yorkshire Posts: 152 
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Hiya - in short : Yes, totally suitable I reckon.
But I suppose it depends on your outlook as well. Like many folk I see the journey and driving on hols as part of the fun. Windows down, tunes on, enjoying looking at the 90 when parked up. And for that, and the ability to venture away from the tarmac means I would choose a vehicle I enjoy driving, my 90. Sure my works BMW would chew up the miles more quickly, has a better stereo, is more efficient but I don't enjoy driving it nearly as much. And it can't detour up that rough track just to see where it goes. Others no doubt like to get from A - B quickly and chill out at the destination and there are better cars than a Land Rover to do that quickly. But I wanna enjoy all of the road trip, when on hols, even the driving! And I agree with the above, there is something about a Landywave in a foreign country that is a little bit awesome! 
There is a couple on here who have shipped their 90 to Oz for a big trip. Respect to them I say. Doing it in their own vehicle will be special. EDIT to answer one of the OP question : Touring set up for me was a 90 hard top with a couple of tents in the back for me and my brother. So nothing special at all kit wise. The worst bit was the £££ on the fuel. |
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29th Jan 2014 10:11pm |
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| Samblers Member Since: 29 Jan 2014 Location: Perth, innit Posts: 63  
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Perfect. And great pics, great inspiration …
Should’ve stated I am a 110 owner here in Aus and we use either a canvas tent or a rented off-road (heavy duty) camping trailer for our travels. This works well (particularly the trailer) for stops of 3 nights or more when you can leave camp set up and go off exploring for the day, but would be painful for quick overnighters, especially with the kids (and the associated clutter). That’s where the campervan would be King. Very quick to set up/down. We did a 6-month lap of Aus in a VW Campervan (another cliché!) which was perfect except for not being able to go off-road. This was before kids too… THF – what camping set-up will you use with 2 kids for your upcoming trip? Pics of your touring rigs greatly appreciated! Sam |
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30th Jan 2014 12:51am |
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| THF Member Since: 18 Jul 2012 Location: Sunny N Hants or Pompey Posts: 83
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Sam,
Started off with a G4 pop up tent, then evolved as the family did. Then we got a Side awning and walls as a wedding present. Now we have a large poly-cotton tent (Nomad Bantu 6 Air), and generally pitch in one location for several nights and explore off in different directions from there. That'll be the same for this summer.  |
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30th Jan 2014 7:17am |
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| Samblers Member Since: 29 Jan 2014 Location: Perth, innit Posts: 63
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Yes, tent camping.
I can see I’m going to have to get out of Aussie mode (‘more is more’) and back into English mode (‘less is more’) Most Aussies wouldn’t leave the house without a 3t trailer full of household appliances! |
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31st Jan 2014 1:02am |
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| Samblers Member Since: 29 Jan 2014 Location: Perth, innit Posts: 63
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Is it possible to ship my 110 from Aus to UK for the duration and then return with it?
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31st Jan 2014 7:07am |
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| leeds Member Since: 28 Dec 2009 Location: West Yorkshire Posts: 8580
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YES
No problem shipping vehicles out of Australia. Problem is shipping them into Australia 
To clear Australian customs, your vehicle has to be cleaner then clean otherwise they will clean it for you at 200 AUD a time. Back to inspection not clean enough? That is another 200AUD please 
We have done it, some friends 90 is on the high seas at the moment somewhere between Sri Lanka and Australia. To be road legal in Europe you can temporarily import it, must have road tax and valid Australian mot. Will need motor insurance, probably best done in UK, but you will need a UK 'address' and then see what cover you get for Europe. Also need a Carnet proving that you are going to take vehicle back to Australia. Check with your version of AA/RAC. Most of Australian authorities are not used to the concept of temporary importing/exporting vehicles 
Drop PamW a pm and ask them what shipping agent they are using. A GOOD shipping agent makes life a lot, lot easier
Brendan |
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31st Jan 2014 8:51am |
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| Samblers Member Since: 29 Jan 2014 Location: Perth, innit Posts: 63
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I suspect this might be a cheaper option for an extended trip. Cheaper than going overseas, buying a car, getting it trip-ready, selling it again…
Means you can take your time getting the vehicle ready also. And fill it full of stuff for the crossing, presuming this is allowed (?). Would still love to see pics of peoples touring rigs!  |
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4th Feb 2014 3:57am |
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| SteveS Member Since: 05 Oct 2010 Location: Devon & Berkshire Posts: 388  
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I run a 110 with roof top tent. It is ideal for Europe - don't forget that Morocco/Sahara is easily accessible. Plenty of off-roading - e.g. Pyrenees, Picos, Eastern Europe, Iceland etc. Lots of places that the camper vans won't get to. I've looked at taking my truck to Oz in a container and it is pretty expensive - roughly what you'd expect to lose on buying/selling a truck locally in UK I reckon. You have to get all your gear over here though - but some companies hire out the bigger items as an alternative. Have a look in the member galleries for pictures of rigs
Click image to enlarge |
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11th Feb 2014 9:00pm |
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| Samblers Member Since: 29 Jan 2014 Location: Perth, innit Posts: 63
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Thats awesome
Presume just the two of you? |
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12th Feb 2014 2:25pm |
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| Tiger Member Since: 06 Jul 2012 Location: Wales Posts: 2265 
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Do you know you appear to have run somebody over
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12th Feb 2014 2:27pm |
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| SteveS Member Since: 05 Oct 2010 Location: Devon & Berkshire Posts: 388
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Yep just me and the missus. The awning and the tent overhang both have side curtains which add another 'room' so 2 more could be accommodated if needed
The "Hit & Run" victim is me doing end of day checks after a long trawl across Spain in one hit |
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12th Feb 2014 10:15pm |
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