Driving 1700 miles Altrincham to Estepona Spain in 90 2015

Hello LandyZone Readers,

My wife and I are driving our land rover defender 90 commercial from our home in Altrincham to Estepona at the very bottom of Spain in April, approx 1700 miles. The longest trip we've done so far is to Buckinghamshire (around 200 miles).

We bought the Defender in 2020 and have not made any modifications to the vehicle. All the non-standard elements you see in the images were done by the previous owner, it's been raised very slightly, larger wheels, soundproofing, replacement interior seats and probably others that I can't really tell as a relative novice to the Defender world.

I've been told it's very quiet for a Defender due to the soundproofing and as comfortable as they get. I've not driven another one so I can't comment, but I'm 6ft 2 and found the Bucks trip hard going even with it being just 200 miles.

My question is, based on the pics / existing modifications and the journey that we are preparing to do, is there anything I can do to make it more comfortable or what would you do to prepare it for such a long journey?

Thanks!

As preparation I would change the engine oil and filter, fuel filter, change oils in gear box, transfer box and front n rear differentials. For the trip take spare hoses from turbo to intercooler and from intercooler to throttle body, and a spare intercooler. I have found these to be the most likely cause of breakdowns, leading to limp mode and a pig of a journey. Even if you don't have the tools or skills to fit them when needed, a friendly mechanic could get it rolling again if you've got the parts.

Quite an adventure then! For tall people there is a seat lift kit that can give extra legroom. Other obvious stuff - Toolkit, breakdown cover, USB outlets to charge phones. Do not see any AC so depending on time of year a dash fan and or coolbox/fridge. Headlight deflectors. Would also buy a proper paper road atlas in addition to using a GPS sat nav. Finally a service and look over from your local garage beforehand.

Let us know how the trip goes.

Everything he says..... we drove to Spain in a 92 110, didnt skip a beat tbh, Make sure you have the basics, UJ's etc and get some rescue tape, its a quick fix for any hoses which burst rather than trying to take all the hoses. Take it easy and stop lots...

ER1C said:

Everything he says..... we drove to Spain in a 92 110, didnt skip a beat tbh, Make sure you have the basics, UJ's etc and get some rescue tape, its a quick fix for any hoses which burst rather than trying to take all the hoses. Take it easy and stop lots...

Click to expand...

Tape is a good idea. But I would recommend taking spare hoses as well. The hoses are very awkward to get at, especially turbo to intercooler and the one at the throttle body, which would have to be removed to get tape on. Might as well replace while they are out. I did make a temporary repair on my intercooler with some builder's sealant while waiting for a replacement, but suspect it wouldn't have lasted more than a couple of hundred miles. The plastic end boxes like to separate themselves from the alloy middle part, that's why I would have it on my spares list for a really long trip.

I have driven down to and around Morocco twice which includes the 1500miles trip to Algeciras to get the ferry. I did this in my 200tdi 110, so yours will be far more comfortable at motorway speeds than mine was as a starting point. I would follow the advice of the above who are more knowledgeable on the newer ones but you want to make sure everything in good order with a full fluid and filter change, a good go through all of the suspension components and generally make sure the vehicle is in fine fettle overall.

In terms of your comfort issue there are a couple of things you can do, there are seat risers available, and there are bulkhead replacement bars which allow the seat to move further back. Both of which others have claimed to be the best thing they did to the vehicle but neither are something I am familiar with. I am 6ft so not as tall as you but I have no issues with comfort driving mine for long distances. However I have owned mine and had it as my daily driver since I was 18 (best way to spend your student loan regardless of what anyone else says!), I am very used to the seating position and find modern cars uncomfortable with reclines and low seating position. I adjust my wife’s bmw to be as close to a defender seating position as possible when I have to drive it much to her annoyance. So I would also recommend driving it as much as possible so you get used to the position. It may feel like a church pew in comparison to any other car you drive but it is a comfortable driving position for the vehicle.

Thanks for all the great advice. Extremely helpful and interesting to read.

As per @dag019 - seat risers ..

Other makes are available

Couple of more extreme suggestions that go in the opposite direction of what lots of others do with there vehicles. If you revert back to the series/military style doors you gain about 100mm of additional width each side in cabin space. You loose some of the unnecessary "mod cons" people like e.g. central locking, windows that go up and down, but it makes a huge difference to the internal space and comfort. This is the setup I have on mine.
To increase the comfort levels inside the vehicle you also need to adopt the correct positioning of your right arm, with the window open and your elbow resting outside the door, this is advisable regardless of the weather and your clothing is then made climate appropriate to compensate. Once again the earlier model doors with the sliding windows have a slightly higher level when the window is open so increase the comfort vs the up and down windows. Again I have this setup in mine and have then also "clocked" the steering wheel one spline to increase comfort levels with an arm out the window. This means that with the wheels straight the steering wheel is slightly offset to the right making the top spoke the perfect height for my hand when resting out the window!

Need a roof rack