A friend of mine has spoken to me today about his brake pad issues and as i don't have an answer i said i would ask the question.
He has a 86 defender 90 pickup which normally has a bed full of grain then a loaded trailer and spinner on the back and he is going through front pads like there's no tomorrow.
He is a gamekeeper doing about 20miles a day with 19.9 of those miles off road and this time of the year where the ruts in the tracks are up to the axles, he is going through a set of pads every couple of weeks.
We have tried a several different brands of pad and cost but it doesn't really make a noticeable difference.
There's nothing wrong with the braking system itself, every muddy season it does the same thing then it will last all summer on one set and they don't normally start wearing again until the ruts are at full depth in the tracks.
I have a feeling the disks are getting covered in wet mud while deep in the ruts and that's what is wearing the pads, not hitting or riding the pedal itself as you will all know, when driving in low box in deep ruts and mud you don't really need to touch the brakes.

At the end of each day he gives it a good blast with the pressure washer to get all the mud off
I can't see any way around it but wondered if anyone has encountered this before or know of any products/mods to increase the life while its being used in these extreme conditions?

"I have a feeling the disks are getting covered in wet mud while deep in the ruts and that's what is wearing the pads"

In my experience that's exactly what is happening. One of my yearly trips is to a mud covered area of botswana - about 2 weeks and about 1500 kilo's covered and I will go through half a new brake pad on My D1. I had the front's redone with new seals and the four pot cylinders replaced. Helped a bit , about 50 percent or so

If his truck is still fitted with the original early Ninety size calipers/pads he could fit the later larger so called "One Ten" calipers/pads. [ done this on mine] This is just a nut and bolt job and while it likely will not cure the problem will extend the time between pad changes.
Also some pads have a tapered end to them, mud trap so avoid if you can. Larger choice of pads available for the one ten caliper.

tottot said:

If his truck is still fitted with the original early Ninety size calipers/pads he could fit the later larger so called "One Ten" calipers/pads. [ done this on mine] This is just a nut and bolt job and while it likely will not cure the problem will extend the time between pad changes.
Also some pads have a tapered end to them, mud trap so avoid if you can. Larger choice of pads available for the one ten caliper.

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The pads I’ve tried are for a 86 90 and fit so I assume there the originals.
Would I just look for 110 calipers from the same year? Are the discs the same?

The calipers I used for my 1990 Ninety came from a rotted out Defender 200tdi and fitted straight on with the original discs. Land rover fitted all models of Defender tdi with the larger calipers when the more powerful engine was introduced. Ones to avoid are those for vented discs which are wider.

marc.postle said:

The pads I’ve tried are for a 86 90 and fit so I assume there the originals.
Would I just look for 110 calipers from the same year? Are the discs the same?

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tottot said:

The calipers I used for my 1990 Ninety came from a rotted out Defender 200tdi and fitted straight on with the original discs. Land rover fitted all models of Defender tdi with the larger calipers when the more powerful engine was introduced. Ones to avoid are those for vented discs which are wider.

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Any non vented front brakes post '89 should all be the larger "110" callipers. they are cheap enough to buy new and should be very cheap to buy second hand (I picked up a pair for £20 at malvern spares day this year). With either new or used I would recommend rebuilding with stainless pistons, especially given the usage you have described, before fitting. it is a very easy job to do, and if new ones are used you don't even need to split or replace seals.