Got the RTT installed a few weeks ago, so I figured I’d do a build post as the vehicle is a bit non-standard for the North American overlanding crowd and some folks might appreciate that.
- 2005 Land Rover Defender 110 SE TD5, LHD, 5-speed manual w/ stock 1.410 gearing
- 265/75R16 BFG KO2
- Stock alloy wheels
- Stock coil springs
- OME Nitrocharger shocks and steering damper
- Air Lift 1000 Spring Helper Kit on the rear coils to keep things level when laden
- Replaced as many of the stock plastic parts as possible with black anodised billet aluminum. Things like door handles, grab handles, vents, fuel cap, license plate light, etc.
- Snow/rain cowl (not a snorkel), stainless and powdercoated
- Headlight brush guards
- Front steering guard
- Raid steering wheel. It’s a way more reasonable diameter than the bus-sized stock offering.
- Stage 2 remap from Storm Tuning
- EGR delete
- Demand Engineering straight-through stainless exhaust incl cat delete (this adds too much noise for my liking, but removing the cat and silencers was a requirement for the Stage 2 remap)
- Dual battery setup incl Redarc BCDC 1240D, Renogy 100 Ah Smart LiFePO4 battery
- Solar plug-in for external Lensun 200W folding solar panel kit
- Planar 5SD-PU27 Diesel Engine Preheater
- Full soundproofing kit (NK Group) + additional Kilmat deadening where needed. A classic Defender will never be quiet, but this did help.
- Nakatanenga spare tire carrier
- Onboard ARB Air Compressor CKMA12
- Front Runner Load Bars…which are apparently too wide for the GFC strap-mounts, so we had to use the aftermarket rack mount kit. Not super happy about that as it does add some height and weight. It is what it is for now, but will be looking at having a custom bracket made.
- GFC RTT #688
- Oztent RV3…if the trip calls for a basecamp tent
- Dometic CFX3 45
- Partner Steel 22" stove
- 4x Front Runner Wolf Pack Pros store pretty much our entire camping kit aside from clothes and bedding
~23 mpg (US gal) on average
Next steps for the truck:
- Debating between a 270 deg Awning such as the Kinsmen vs. something lighter and more modular
My wife and I have spent every weekend in the tent since it was installed on Sept 10th. It’s awesome, but we are now thinking about some improvements.
- The stock mattress is quite firm. I added a 1-inch foam topper and that did help, but being a side sleeper there is still room for improvement. Maybe ditch the stock foam altogether and replace with a GFC Puff Pad or something similar? The Exped mattress looks nice, but I fear it is slightly too wide.
- You really need an in-tent storage solution for stuff like phones, glasses, etc. We added a cheap clip-on organizer from Decathlon to get us by for now until Overland Softgoods releases their organizer.
- Would like to figure a way to mount our camp table to the Beef Rack Crossbars
- I added a little handle on the rear T-track which I can attach a strap to just before popping the tent up. This allows me to close the tent without tugging on the fabric sides and feeling like I’m going to fall backwards.
- As mentioned above, I want to have a set of custom brackets made for mounting the tent to the vehicle so I can get rid of the crossbar sandwich I’ve got going on now.
- Nitpicking, but I wish there was an option for a black ladder.
