Series III 109 as an overlander? Yay or nay?

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MikeV8SE

MikeV8SE

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OK, I’ve been fairly set on getting a 300Tdi Range Rover Classic as my first expedition vehicle (see my other thread), as I really like them, have had a V8 one before so am familiar with them, and think it’d do the job well.

HOWEVER, I have just seen a lovely looking Series III 109 truck cab for sale (2.25 petrol), within budget, that could do the job. The reason I am considering it is they’re very simple to work on, and you can fix them pretty much anywhere in the world! Also, there’s loads of space in the back, and it’s very much a blank canvas. However, I am concerned that the very basic interior will make the long journeys uncomfortable, and the basic engineering make them very slow too!

There’s 3 overland trips I want to do over the next 3 years – firstly across the Pyrennes, another down to and around Morocco, and finally one to Iceland. The car will also be used for UK greenlaning weekends and the odd pay & play day, as winter transport and for tips runs, etc.

Will the Series III be a suitable vehicle? Or will its obvious flaws be too much for my requirements? How similar are they to the later Defender 110’s, which seem to be the Overlander’s vehicle of choice?

Cheers!
 
Looking at the other vehicles you have a series would be quite a culture shock! They are quite capable of going anywhere , as they were quite often the first vehicles to go anywhere. You need to drive it to see what your first impressions are. I have many years ago used such a vehicle ( with a diesel engine) to travel all over Europe, as far south as Morroco . They are fine if you can get your speed expectations down , think of them as a road going canal boat. IIRC , its a long time ago, my cruising speed was 50mph ish . I had headphones (over ear type) to plug in to listen to radio and cut out the noise as it can be quite tiring . The petrol engine is better but not a lot . The ride is rugged to say the least , but they can carry a lot of gear . MPG with a petrol is similar to an early petrol RRC , the disel version is about 24mpg .
 
Go for it, I took my S2A to Algeria and back and then Morocco and back - with a LWB you will have tons of room.

Fit a decent pair of seats. Fit a stereo to drown out the noise if you dont like it and I would recommend overdrive to get a better cruising speed.
 
Nothing wrong with a 109, as above, fit comfy seats and overdrive.

Drove a S111 109 2.5 n/a around Western Europe a couple of times and some trips to France, loved it.

Now have a 110, says it all, but still miss the series.
 
If your doing Africa, a Series is easy to get fixed, agree with what others have posted, but go for a 2.5 diesel, or even a 2.5Di conversion from a 200tdi disco, but remember to fit good engine mounts and plenty of sound proofing, and a set of Parabolic springs ! And don't be in a hurry ! Go forth and enjoy !
 
Aye, have covered about 3k miles in the last three months in a S3 109 with OD.
No Parabolics, just good condition springs, some sound deadening matts and early defender seats. Son loves it (everything rattles inside), wife loves it (loads of space), dog loves it (he can lay down wherever he wants), I love it (I just love it)

BUT, as tacr said, you have to get your speed expectations down, even with OD. But then, I have a 200Di and covered about 250mi with a seized (like solid) PAS pump (belt slipped fortunately, so water pump worked)
 
Muddy4x4 said:
If your doing Africa, a Series is easy to get fixed, agree with what others have posted, but go for a 2.5 diesel, or even a 2.5Di conversion from a 200tdi disco, but remember to fit good engine mounts and plenty of sound proofing, and a set of Parabolic springs ! And don't be in a hurry ! Go forth and enjoy !
Click to expand...

I have seen a few discussions on the use of parabolic for expeditions...many say it is not a good idea, as fully laden the parabolics can sag quite a bit as they are softer. Am yet to see a fully laden series on parabolics so hrmm - would be nice to see it proved either way!

My thoughts r.e parabolics was this...if I fitted parabolics to my landie, and they snapped, would struggle to get a replacement... but chances are you will find someone with a regular series spring. And besides that I find the ride of regular springs quite comfy anyway!
 
I'm gonna say it.


I think defenders/90's are the landy you **** about with, add bits from discos, get various mods done, personalise it...

Whereas a series should be left as original as possible...i'll go as far as putting a tdi in it if its going to be used for serious overland adventures, for the extra horses and economy...but thats it...keep the damn thing as nature intended..tis a beautiful thing.
 
Yeah those :) and non-standard wheels, non-standard shocks, additional battery, electronic ignition (coming soon), snorkel and other bits and bobs bolted/etc to it to make it better for me for overlanding.

Or is there a fine line somewhere? :)
 
Nothing wrong with the series bit, not sure about the truck cab bit though :rolleyes: It's nice to be able to lock stuff up, some bikers recently did Morocco and had bandits run alongside them and nik bits out of their bags :D

Unless you plan to put the rooftent on the back to make a "streamlined" :hysterically_laughi series..
 
When im in Australia i use a series 3 SWB for desert trips and sometimes im off road in the desert areas for 6 months at a time and usually do about 2 000 km on sealed roads and the rest on unsealed roads and desert tracks.
The longest one at the moment in Australia is the Canning stock route which is about 1900km without services but you can get 200 lts of fuel dumped half way.and if you think you are going to get good fuel consumption think again and work on half what you normally get.
Having said that the vechicle is ideal for that sort of trip as your average speed is about 10 mph and the hazards are the camels and kangaroos.
I am running the vehicle on duel fuel and can carry 160 lt LPG and about 120 lt petrol and then have 6 jerry cans on the roof rack so space is limited in side but for two of us its OK.
 
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