W

Will2008

New Member
Hi all,

I am about to pull the trigger on a richards galvanised chassis for my 300tdi defender.

I have a question regarding options on the chassis:

1. Bolt on gearbox crossmember is a no brainer, right?
2. Should I get td5 rear fuel tank arrangement with td5 rear crossmember? what are advantages or disadvantages to this? I intend to get new rear tub for car as current one is shot and new one will likely be td5 or puma.
3. Front Strengthened shock mounts (£60) worth it or not??

Thanks for your help !!

Will
 
I went with a Marsland chassis with the crossmember and TD5 fuel tank brackets. Came to £1552 delivered or something like that.

I don't think there are any disadvantages of the tank bracket, but if you are going with a TD5 tank, you also need the TD5 exhaust. I also think that the TD5 rear crossmember needs a different tow bar (or an adaptor) to the 300 one.
 
Can you get them with a gearbox cross member already incorporated?
 
Richards galv cross member is expensive, I used my old one suitably treated with rust inhibitor and paint,:)
 
My old one was too far gone. Bought standard one, but like Landowner painted it well.
 
It was one of the reasons I went with Marslands, the cost was about £300 less, plus they are only 40 mins away, so delivery was cheap (£60 instead of £200). And they had one in stock.

No complaints on the chassis either, seems very nicely made.
 
not quite as thick metal now though, Richards are 3mm and they're 2.5mm (standard factory)

that said my series one is on a mars chassis but its 16 years old (too old for jimmy or rolf)
 
Dr_evil said:
not quite as thick metal now though, Richards are 3mm and they're 2.5mm (standard factory)

that said my series one is on a mars chassis but its 16 years old (too old for jimmy or rolf)
Click to expand...

The way I thought about it was that I have never seen a thread on here where someone has gone "hmm, I really wish my chassis was thicker"!

I guess if it wasn't galv then a thicker one would be better, but in my eyes I am not going to do anything that would bend the chassis, and thicker metal will just add weight and reduce MPG.

Plus I have read a couple of threads where people have complained about the tidiness of Richards' welds.
 
The marslands ones are strenthened in key areas anyway like the front outrigger joins and around mounts so that means theyre just as strong as richards, plus they usually have them in stock and come standard with the TD5 rear crossmember which in my opinion is better than the 300 one, and like james says the gearbox crossmember is included (why richards dobt include this I dont know ..)

Ive fitted a marslands one and was really impressed with the quality.

Get the TD5 fueltank mounts too gives you options for a long range tank in the future.
 
I had a Richards one and am very pleased with it. Marslands were good but they wouldn't do any mods to the chassis prior to galvanising and it seemed silly to damage the new galv. It's a shame Richards don't do the adjustable bar along the top of the rear Xmember though.

Things to consider (I didn't get all of these unfortunately :( )
HD rear Xmember
Rear recovery rings
Roll cage mounts
Trimmed dumbirons
Multiple engine mounts
Fuel tank arrangement e.g. TD5 vs standard
Tow bar
Rear winch mount
Anti roll bars
Rear mounted winch

Best advice is to ring them up and have a chat, they are a really nice bunch and very helpful.
 
Hi - thanks for all replies.

I have just yesterday ordered my chassis from richards (have gone for td5 rear crossmember) but am in a stew over a couple of things:

1. Richards asked me what mounts I want for tub on rear crossmember? I thought there was only one type and that was tabs on the inside that the tub bolts to. But they mentioned strip type that is a land rover only part??

2. Fuel tank arrangement. My truck is a 300 tdi but the rear tub is shot. So I am on the lookout for a rear tub and most good ones seem to be td5 or tdci. So I should opt for rear mounted fuel tank. However does this cause probs with other stuff - I know about exhaust and tow bar but is there anything else (arb?), and would it be easier to stick with standard 300tdi fuel tank setup and look out for a better 300tdi rear tub?

Thanks for help!

Will
 
Will2008 said:
Hi - thanks for all replies.

I have just yesterday ordered my chassis from richards (have gone for td5 rear crossmember) but am in a stew over a couple of things:

1. Richards asked me what mounts I want for tub on rear crossmember? I thought there was only one type and that was tabs on the inside that the tub bolts to. But they mentioned strip type that is a land rover only part??

2. Fuel tank arrangement. My truck is a 300 tdi but the rear tub is shot. So I am on the lookout for a rear tub and most good ones seem to be td5 or tdci. So I should opt for rear mounted fuel tank. However does this cause probs with other stuff - I know about exhaust and tow bar but is there anything else (arb?), and would it be easier to stick with standard 300tdi fuel tank setup and look out for a better 300tdi rear tub?

Thanks for help!

Will
Click to expand...

Good luck getting ya chassis
Ive been waiting over 8 weeks only to be told its ready but we can not deliver it to you for 2-3 weeks, even though they quoted me delivery
So cancelled it and ordered one from marshlands, which to be honest I should have done in the first place
 
4-6 weeks they quoted me. To be honest if it makes my Landy last another 20 years I'm not bothered about a couple of weeks.
 
My Marsland one with extra TD5 tank brackets was with me the same week!

Will, to answer some of your questions:

1) I was only aware of the tabs which bolt thorough, on my Marsland chassis that bit is removable.

2) If you go for the TD5 mounts as well you will need a TD5 exhaust (if you ever put a TD5 tank in), different tow bar, and a couple of different brackets for the ARB. I don't think you actually need to change the ARB itself, just the brackets that hold it on. I haven't tried it yet as the parts are getting delivered today, but I am pretty sure they are part numbers EGP1661L for the brackets and EGP1889 for the rubber mounts.
 
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