Chris Tomlinson

New Member
Yes mines called Landie too (not Landy) - I drive to and from Morzine (French Alps) in it every ski season, despite it being a 1196 Tdi 110 . With (now illegal) bench seats in the back it's the perfect vehicle for ferrying skier to/from the lifts. It's not so good for driving 800miles up and down French motorways.

Got MT terrain tyres - great when the snow is deep - but lethal when the roads are icy.

'They' tell me I cant get winter tyres for my 235/85 x 16 on 6.5" x 16 HD Wolf rims ?
Any thoughts ?
11219020_606762352799206_4196619469691784865_n.jpg
 
Hi Graham - well you might have guest I'm not much of an expert on Defenders ( or anything).
but I though seat transverse to the direction of travel were now banned by UK 'Elf & Safty' - as mine are original, I guess they are OK.
Chris
 
Thought this forum might like this extract from my book ( Skiing With Demons) - lots of Landie action in it!

..... over the last two seasons, like many Defender owners, I’d developed an emotional relationship with mine – a blue and white 110 TDi almost as ancient as me. Equipped with old-fashioned bench seats in the back it can accommodate up to ten adults in a tolerable amount of discomfort for short trips. There are few vehicles that make me anthropomorphize, usually motorbikes and boats, but Landie is one of them and despite being a pile of junk by modern standards, Landie has a soul.

Whether it’s a female or male soul is still up for debate. Despite its ruggedness and unrefined strength, Landie does have many female qualities. Landie always plays up at just the wrong time and definitely hates the cold. It regularly needs money spending on it, which soon amounts to more than its original value, responds to pleading and needs to be told she is loved before and after every ride.

Its male attributes include making unusual noises and unpleasant smells from time to time. It’s scruffy and unkempt and belches toxic fumes in the morning when it’s first woken up. It also drinks a lot. But men always refer to the vessels they love as ‘she’ so ‘la’ Landie it is.

She is superbly suited to the job of running skiers around mountains and superbly unsuited to crossing a continent on motorways. I’m often asked why I don’t sell her and buy something more modern that would do both jobs but nothing can do the former in such patriotic style. There’s nothing that symbolises Britain’s former engineering prowess and our nation’s stoic traits better than a Defender – with the exception of a Spitfire perhaps but that would be less practical to park and would have significantly less room for passengers, although the machine guns could prove handy.

Many of my guests feel the same. Especially men, of a certain age it has to be said, who enjoy jumping in and out of ‘the beast’, chests swollen with jingoistic pride. I’m usually wearing wellington boots, another great British invention, and a cloth cap, to complete my man-about-Yorkshire ensemble. In any case, Landie and I have been through too much together, both good and bad, to part now. For better or for worse, in sickness and health, we’ll stick together – ‘til death do us part.

Let e know what you think ?

If that entertained - you can read more sample chapter here www.skiingwithdemons.com

Cheers Chris
LandieCoveredInSnow.jpg
 
I don't think you're illegal with the seating. It's seat belt laws that changed. Are you a ski instructor? My son works in Verbier as a ski instructor. Would love to visit him in my landy but at 32 years old it would take two weeks to get there or it will die trying .
 
I am a ski instructor - but I don't teach in France. I run a chalet there which involves running guests around in my Landie.
Mine is 20 years old, but I still make the commute in it to the Alps - I call it the Bacon Run as the main cargo is - you guest it - English bacon, hard to get hold of in France. In fact one of the chapters in my book (Skiing With Demons) is about my pilgrimage to the Alps in Landie - I do usually break down though :)

So I wouldn't recommend taking yours unless you do so on the back of a lorry. I might know your son ? Which Ski School ?
 
He's with Warren Smith Ski School. Appreciate the bacon run, you cannot get decent bacon in France. I think my engine would just die if I tried such a trip.
 
I am a ski instructor - but I don't teach in France. I run a chalet there which involves running guests around in my Landie.
Mine is 20 years old, but I still make the commute in it to the Alps - I call it the Bacon Run as the main cargo is - you guest it - English bacon, hard to get hold of in France. In fact one of the chapters in my book (Skiing With Demons) is about my pilgrimage to the Alps in Landie - I do usually break down though :)

So I wouldn't recommend taking yours unless you do so on the back of a lorry. I might know your son ? Which Ski School ?
Hi, just to say the 'Introduce yourself' thread is there for that purpose i.e. introducing yourself not general conversation, and certainly not for selling your book! If you wish to advertise your book you should do so in the 'for sale' threads once you have exceeded the required 50 posts.
 

Similar threads