British based Land Rovers

[Umnak]

My wife and I spent most of July in England. A good chunk of that time was spent walking Hadrian's Wall Path and around Dartmoor Park. I noticed that Land Rovers were most often used as farm vehicles in the north and around Dartmoor. The Defenders, 90s and 110s were fun to spot. A friend tells me that the Land Rover Defenders are in the country and the Land Rangers are in the city.

So, here are a series of Land Rovers from England; some built and pretty and some rusty from their time on the farms.

110 Defender whose owner said he's planning on replacing the doors this year. Dartington Manor, Dartmoor


Series 3, Dartington Manor


"Built" Defender 110, Corbridge



"Built" Rover Defender, Brampton


Farmer's Defender 90, Two Bridges, Dartmoor


Rover pre-Defender 90, Eswick


Farmer's 2012 Defender 110, Princetown



And the Ranger's Rover in Dartmoor Park




My trip narrative for our 3 year road trip is here: http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/150556-2-3-Years-Around-North-America

 

[Cupboard]

The two you've listed as "built" seem to just have a load of parts from the Land Rover Overpriced Accessory Catalogue. The roof rack was about £1200 ($1600 since our currency lost all its value, $2000 a month ago!) and is really not very good apart from its good looks, the round rear work light you can see on the rear end photo was something like £240 including fitting. I bought mine second hand and it came with the roof rack and three of the worklights and the wiring job was terrible.

The Mantec plastic jobbie RAI is OK but on the later Defenders the airbox isn't sealed very well so it needs lots of sealing if you want to use it as a snorkel.

We're not allowed metal bull bars anymore which is why you see lots of the rubber A bars for people that want to make the vehicle look more macho. I'm not sure if it serves any useful purpose other than that and mounting lights.

That 90 truck cab is a very pretty little thing

 

[Kgh]

Umnak- Thanks for the photos and info. Nice to see Defenders in their homeland.

Cupboard - It seems to me that ALL Land Rover parts and accessories are overpriced... You must consider the market for D90s and D110/130s in the US is very robust. Parts are very expensive.

As this is an overlanding and expedition portal, not many would pay 240 for a work lamp, and pay to have it fitted. DIY is a lot cheaper.

 

[Paddler Ed]

The blue 88" with the 3/4 Canvas tilt isn't a Defender, it's a Series 3.

The "built" 110's Defenders are just Defenders 110's with the van spec rear; basically a double cab van.

 

[Umnak]

The blue 88" with the 3/4 Canvas tilt isn't a Defender, it's a Series 3.

The "built" 110's Defenders are just Defenders 110's with the van spec rear; basically a double cab van.

Thanks for the clarification on the Blue one. I thought I wrote pre-defender 90. Now changed to reflect your input.

Is it true that the majority of snorkels are in place to increase air intake for the turbo, rather than use in water and on dry fields?

 

[Umnak]

A couple more Rovers from England
Farm Rover, Brampton


Old and New Rovers, Princetown, Dartmoor


and a G-Wagon with a great license plate


http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/150556-2-3-Years-Around-North-America/page8

 

[Kgh]

Thanks for the clarification on the Blue one. I thought I wrote pre-defender 90. Now changed to reflect your input.

Is it true that the majority of snorkels are in place to increase air intake for the turbo, rather than use in water and on dry fields?

No. There is no ram air effect from snorkles. Cooler air than tarmac heat through engine compartment, maybe in the desert.

Whats cool is you are Defender-spotting. Thanks for the pics. The Orkney (?) grey van cab is the same in both pics...winch, rack, snorkle, and yellow fir-tree scent thingy on rearview.

Our non-US readers prob don't realise that the old 110 is a 12-16K dollar truck in the US... Prob pay 3000GBP or less in UK for one like that.

 

[Umnak]

No. There is no ram air effect from snorkles. Cooler air than tarmac heat through engine compartment, maybe in the desert.

Whats cool is you are Defender-spotting. Thanks for the pics. The Orkney (?) grey van cab is the same in both pics...winch, rack, snorkle, and yellow fir-tree scent thingy on rearview.

Our non-US readers prob don't realise that the old 110 is a 12-16K dollar truck in the US... Prob pay 3000GBP or less in UK for one like that.

Hey, good eye on the two pictures of the same Defender. They were spotted 4 days and 40 miles apart while walking Hadrian's Wall. Guess it adds meaning to "they all look alike to me" until you get to know them. I was surprised to see the Defenders being used for heavy duty work in both Devon and Northumbria, so different to what we use in North America.

 

[Kgh]

I was surprised to see the Defenders being used for heavy duty work in both Devon and Northumbria, so different to what we use in North America.

You mean:
1- 95K Hamptons beach buggys
2- Compare crank size on defendersource
3- Use as tool to show hipster factor in Boulder or Portland
4- "Yeah, when the new RN catalog gets here, I can finally finish" - (after 9 years of parts floating around garage)
5- Actually use as a platform for vehicle based expediton/exploration

 

[ProvinceOverland]

The main reason you will see lots of Land Rovers on farms in the UK , is that Farmers use thier vehicles for work and get a tax break on them. Also some years ago Land Rover made financing easy for Farmers .
Also Farmers get discounted (Red) Diesel at a cheaper than pump price too. So there are quite a few benefits to owning a Land Rover in the UK .

97 D1
01 D2
94 RRC

https://www.facebook.com/provinceoverland

 

[Paddler Ed]

The main reason you will see lots of Land Rovers on farms in the UK , is that Farmers use thier vehicles for work and get a tax break on them. Also some years ago Land Rover made financing easy for Farmers .
Also Farmers get discounted (Red) Diesel at a cheaper than pump price too. So there are quite a few benefits to owning a Land Rover in the UK .

97 D1
01 D2
94 RRC

https://www.facebook.com/provinceoverland

But they can only use Red diesel in vehicles registered (and used) for agricultural purposes; VOSA (or whatever they are called this week) will join forces HMRC and dip tanks looking for red diesel and will impound vehicles that are illegally using red diesel on the road. If registered as ag vehilces they are often limited to a slower road speed (technically) and a limited operating radius.

Of course, if the vehicle is only used on the property and not public roads, then it's not a drama.

Lastly, ever wondered what the hole was for on the rear cross member of the Series Land Rovers? It was for a PTO; they were really designed as an agricultural vehicle first and foremost, everything else is incidental.

Farmers are shifting to the Japanese utes/pick ups though rather than the LR; LR's got too expensive and complicated, whereas a dual cab pick up (Hi Lux/Navara/L200) was more reliable (on the whole....) and less agricultural. The only reason the LR's stayed in favour was because they could tow 3500kg whereas the others are limited to 2500kg-ish to 3000kg - which isn't a lot with a twin axle stock trailer on the back with a load of sheep/cattle in it... Most farmers around my parents (Shropshire/Welsh borders) run Japanese pick ups rather than LR's, although some still have a LR on the property.

 

[Umnak]

Farmers are shifting to the Japanese utes/pick ups though rather than the LR; LR's got too expensive and complicated, whereas a dual cab pick up (Hi Lux/Navara/L200) was more reliable (on the whole....) and less agricultural. The only reason the LR's stayed in favour was because they could tow 3500kg whereas the others are limited to 2500kg-ish to 3000kg - which isn't a lot with a twin axle stock trailer on the back with a load of sheep/cattle in it... Most farmers around my parents (Shropshire/Welsh borders) run Japanese pick ups rather than LR's, although some still have a LR on the property.

I did see a few Nissan and Toyota pick ups around Dartmoor, and they looked a lot newer than the LR's. However, the truck mania of north america seems to have not yet hit the UK.