Our vehicle

Our vehicle “Tin Can” is a 2009  2.4l Puma engine Land Rover Defender 110.

There has been some conjecture about the the degree of electronic wizadry in a modern vehicle  – which means fixing engine problems without diagnostic computers,fault codes, ECU’s etc and a degree in electronics could make repairs in “Darkest Africa” open to even more conjecture, but what the heck! Its getting harder to find a simple old 300Tdi model in reliable order these days and hopefully the relative newness of the vehicle will assist reliability? Besides somebody in Africa has to be able to fix all those complex new Mercedes and BMW’s the politicians ride around in and the new  Landcruisers of the UN and aid agencies?

“TIN CAN” is quite awesome in her 4 WD abilities compared to other 4 WD’s we’ve had in the past and has been fitted out with:

  • A Warn XD9000 winch on a First Four “Shadow” Bull bar.
  • Safari snorkel.
  • Piranha dual battery system with an Odyssey 1700CCA auxilliary battery to run the winch and fridge.
  • An Engel “Powerfilm” 60 w folding portable Solar Panel to charge batteries
  • A 2400W inverter to charge phones etc at 240V
  • A Garmin GPS running “Tracks for Africa” mapping
  • An ARB front Air Locker diff and compressor to run it (plus pump tyres)
  • A Hanibal full aluminium roof rack.
  • A Hanibal rooftop tent and awning.
  • Self made rear drawers, fridge slide etc behind a cargo barrier after the front seats ( the rear seats have been removed)
  • 2 x “space case” plastic water/dust proof boxes
  • An Exmoor Trim Loc Box glove box for more security of small items
  • A 40 l  12v Engel fridge
  • GME UHF radio
  • Front Runner rear wheel carrier, gas bottle carrier and gull wing doors.
  • A Front Runner 45 l water tank under the rear wheel arch.
  • Dolium  1200 x 450 stainless steel table that clips on the side of the vehicle
  • 2 x  50 litre Long Ranger auxilliary fuel tanks giving 175 litres of diesel all up.
  • Maxtrack sand ladders
  • A Hi Lift jack (mounted on the rear bumper)
  • Other spares and bits and pieces too numerous to mention.

Let’s hope it all eventually makes it back to it’s Aussie home…………….

https://picasaweb.google.com/110392977689469430264/TinCanAtPlay