One of the final upgrades for the hybrid before we take on this road trip is the installation of Air Lift 1000 helper air bags that fit inside the rear springs. This kit that I ordered is for the Defender 90 on standard springs. I have Defender 90 HD rear springs on the rear that are approx 2" taller than the standard springs. I was concerned that these air bags might not fit but I had to remember that the HD rear springs are dual rated, with a fair amount of compression before they enter their HD zone. With that said the air bags fit perfectly inside the springs with no issues with the height differences.

I installed the air lines so that they are using a t-fitting which fills them both at the same time with equal air pressure. The inflation valve is mounted below the rear door. 

First tests have produced a firmer ride all the same time providing a lift in the rear. This weekend I'll begin mounting the rooftop tent and packing the camping gear so that I can set the final ride height. 

Reading the various Land Rover forums I see that there are more threads about break-ins to overlander vehicles. So I've taken a few measures towards making my hybrid more secure. First I install an immobilizer so that it can only be started with a key in the ignition.

Next I made a set of window guards for the sliding rear windows and to the rear door. I'm finishing up on the 2 guards for the small windows on both sides of the rear door.

After what seems to be a long list of things to do to the hybrid I think that I'm nearing the start line in better shape, til that is a few weeks ago when the turbo began making angry noises. Thinking that I solved the problem with a leaking pressure hose, the sounds only got worst. In the end I ordered a new turbo cartridge which I replaced last week. 

The cartridge in the foreground, the bearings are worn to the point where the middle shaft was vibrating around so much that it began destroying the fins on the exhaust side of the cartridge. 

With the turbo rebuilt, the hybrid is running much better. 

Knowing that the hybrid is going to have a lot of weight in the rear with the roof top tent and the camping gear I made a mount for my Hi Lift jack so that it is as forward as possible on the front bumper. This is not a position that I intend to use all the time especially when offroading but rather just for long camping trips so that I can "try" to get to grips with better weight distribution. Also when we hit the road, the spare tire will be move from the rear door to the bonnet.

Another month has passed with more work being done to the Hybrid. Literally we are weeks away from this trip with everything is falling into place.

I hit on the brakes in an earlier post, I wasn't planning to doing this upgrade but on a local "for sale" page these drilled/grooved disc's came up for sale at a great price, I just couldn't let them pass. At the same time I repacked the bearings, changed seals that needed replacing and replaced the brake pads. Even though I have new brake pads on the hybrid, I have new sets for both the front and rear in my reserve parts container.

Next came the awning that I made which clamps onto the roll cage of the hybrid. Using light weight square steel/aluminium pipes I created a frame which I can place a tarp over. The frame uses a simple attachment that is clamped to the roll cage as a sturdy mounting point. The awning is 1.8m x 2.8m which is plenty enough for 2 people to have a table and chairs under for protection from the elements. Not in the photo below I have several guide lines with storm spikes that I will use to keep the awning firmly planted.

By going this route using an inexpensive tarp, if it does get damaged, it can easily be replaced by stopping to any hardware shop along the route.

The past month the order of spare parts has come in and I began changing older parts in advance of the trip. The list of parts that I've ordered and will be carrying with me are as follows: Front brake pads, Rear brake pads (2 sets), Grooved front & rear brake disc's, Track rod ends 2 of each RH & LH threads, One shot swivel grease (2), Pinion seal (2), Wheel bearing kit (2 sets), 300Tdi motor service kit (basically filters), 300Tdi Radiator coolant hose, 300Tdi Fuel lift pump, Series Universal joints (4), Hub gasket (4), Hub driveshaft cap (2), Series wiper arm kit, 300Tdi serpentine belt (long version 1595mm), Air Lift - Suspension Aid, Defender V8 rear drive shafts both RH & LH sides, Clutch master cylinder, Fuel tank sender gasket (2).  Below is an image of just a few of the parts.

Knowing my hybrid I think that for me that I've ordered the necessary reserve parts for any road trip. It's an unknown to guess what your going to need but with the parts that I will have with me and a full tool kit, I should be able tackle any issues on the road. The brakes are already changed over to the crossed drilled/grooved disc's which has improved braking. With the weight that I expect from all the kit during this trip, braking was a priority plus I will be carrying extra brake pads if they need changing along the way.

Even though I have Defender 90 HD rear springs I ordered the Air- Lift 1000 helper air bags to compensate for the extra load. The 90 HD springs are dual rated, which means that they compress a lot before they get into the HD range. By using these air bags the hybrid will keep a better posture on the road and will improve handling. These will be installed the week before my trip as I have an offroad event just before that.

This month I did a few more updates on the hybrid. The first is that I had a local glass company cut a pair of front windscreens. The windscreens in the hybrid were the hardened glass type which I would venture a guess were still the originals as they were heavily pitted/scratched. The new windscreens are laminated safety glass.

Due to having the roll cage on the hybrid I had to remove the windscreens from the inside. It was relatively easy to remove the top panel to the dash then all the retainer plate screws were easy to remove. I would recommend this way to replace the windscreens to anyone, I had them done within 2 hours with a few simple tools.


Next I moved onto storage in the rear. When ever I go camping it's usually a collection of boxes in the rear which are unorganized at best. Searching the internet I see that many invest in storage drawers and platforms stretching from side to side. Not being able to afford these setups I use them as the inspiration of the what I made. The plan is simple a platform that created a floor from wheel house to wheel house. Now this being a Land Rover built back in 1980, the tolerances are hit and miss. Where I'm leading with that comment is that the wheel house on the left was 5mm taller than that on the right. If I had left is so, the plastic containers would not be able to slide in under the platform as they would catch on the right hand side. Therefore I overlapped the steel on the right which gave me the clearance that I needed.

With the support brace to the right of center it gives plenty of strength to the platform that I'm able to get on top and there is no movement. The plastic box to the left is 60cm x 40cm x20cm which I can fit 2 under the platform. Then to the right the smaller boxes are 40cm x 30cm x 15cm and there to I can fit 2.  Also on the left side I made the frame so that it's possible to place the 20L reserve diesel tank forward of the rear axle. It's well protected there and doesn't bump around when I'm driving.

The final thing that I'll do is add a felt over the aluminium to keep the boxes and gear on the new platform from moving around.  

I've been considering buying new AT tires for this trip. With the cost of new tires I decided to take another look at my normal everyday tires that I've had on the hybrid for the past 7~8 years. The BFG MT's still have plenty of life in them, with a tread depth of over 11mm on each tire. They have been great tires so far and their road manners is predicable but in the rain they are less impressive. Searching the internet I've found that many have had high praise for sipping the MT's so I bought a tire grooving tool on which you could flip the cutting blade so that it sipes the rubber. In all it took approx an hour per tire to sipe every thread block at a depth of approx 6mm.

I've driven with the sipped tires for 4 weeks and I have noticed an improvement in grip, especially in the rain. The landy feels more planted and with the tires recently balanced it tracks perfectly.

With a cooler in the back of the landy which will be running 24/7 I've been looking at solar panels to help keep a charge when we are camping wild or gone from the landy for the day hiking. I've settles on a 80 watt panel that will be connected to a 30 Amp Solar Charge Controller. It'll be placed just behind the front hoop from the roll cage securely mounted at each corner. The solar panel is lower that the roll cage pipe so I'm hoping that there will be no increase wind noise. The charge controller will be mounted as close as possible to the battery as per recommendations that I've read.

After enjoying a wet camping season last year I decided that there was going to be change to the sleeping arrangements this year. I've view several different rooftop tents and came to the conclusion that Longroad Camp rooftop tent would suit my needs and wallet best.

Last fall I imported this rooftop tent myself which gave me the freedom to "spec" out the tent as I wanted it and still at the same time saving a healthy chunk of money. On my rooftop tent I specified the color that I wanted (Green) vers the standard color (grey/blueish).
I upgraded the internal tubing from 16mm to 25mm, the better all alloy swivel joints replacing the plastic joints and replaced the standard zippers to the heavy duty YKK zippers.

Once the rooftop tent was sorted then it was onto how I was going to mount it to the Hybrid. For years I've only used one of the supports for the roll cage behind the front seats. With only front seats I didn't need any other protects but the time has come that I needed to install the complete roll cage so that I have some wheres to mount the rooftop tent.