Defender MY 2022 overland build that become an LR4 :)

[leeloo]

The boot floor is ready. The guy did a great job.
As you can see from the pictures below, the floor is divided in 2 section, in case I need to access the spare tire mechanism I don't have to unload everything. The top part has 5 supporting custom legs, the lower 2 and it also rests on the solid plastic lip found the car.
The wholes are for fingers, to remove it with ease in case it is need it.
The whole thing feels really solid, I am very happy with it. Most likely I will install a couple of airline rails and get some tie down points that I can move on the rail, so it will be easily adjustable.

 

[leeloo]

Got the parts need it for the installation of the auxiliary battery system. had most of it from the previous car, but I wanted a different format battery to make use of the space better and also a few more small bits like ring connectors, fuses and additional cables.
Instead of the 50 amp Lifepo4 I had before, I am installing 2x 20 amp smaller batteries.

As you can see, makes a bit difference in the places I can fit them
Another option, but it would require some custom brackets


a 30 amp would have the same size as the 20 amp I got, but I don't need that much. The 50 amp I had never went below 75 % on my use case. I like this format because it is modular, I have other hidden spaces where I could add more capacity in time if I need extra.

I plan to start working on the week end on the wiring. I got a Redarc DC to DC that will go on the left compartment, I want to be able to access it easier in case I need to check on the status LED's or modify something.
Curently looking for a solution for the charge status and amp monitoring . Most them are expensive and I don't see a lot of options out there.

 

[Mike W]

I am installing 2x 20 amp smaller batteries.

Looking forward to seeing how this ends up. I can't exactly point to my system as being a reasonable way to do it. I went overkill, but I plan to experiment with several power hungry things including heated blankets, little space heaters and just generally being able to go much longer in cloudy/cold situations without any worries. I also have 150 watts of battery heating setup. Each battery is setup to heat itself with a 45F on , 65F off thermostat. Each pad pulls about 6 amps, runs for a couple seconds at a time and shuts off. I have been running them a lot lately as an experiment. It's been -5 or more outside and below freezing in the garage and the batteries stay above freezing pretty well. (measured from the positive battery terminal with my Victron SmartShunt temp sensor)

The space under my drawers allowed for a bit more than 6" of clearance at the very back and something like 4" closer to the middle of the car. Mounted a board to the floor bolts for the compontents and the batteries are strapped down using center seat bolts and the two bolts on the outer walls. I put eye bolts and used tie down straps. I ended up with 340 ah, or 4,200 watt hours. haha.

 

[leeloo]

I put eye bolts and used tie down straps. I ended up with 340 ah, or 4,200 watt hours. haha.

wow - you can run induction cooking and a gaming center there.. :) Plus it is a very good use of dead space.
My needs are not so great. With only 27 days off / year, I don't travel as much as I would like yet. Plus I tend to change vehicles often, so I like modular non permanent things.
I don't intend to have drawers any time soon, for the limited time I am traveling, some boxes will do fine. In 4 years when the kid will fly the coop, hopefully I will try to have some kind of sleeping platform inside the car, nd in that case, some drawer system will be part of the setup for sure.

 

[leeloo]

So now I need to make room for a new member of the family .
Finn - a Labrador puppy :)

 

[FirenzeForza4x4]

How’s the build coming? Fellow LR4 Disco owner here!

 

[FirenzeForza4x4]

Looking forward to seeing how this ends up. I can't exactly point to my system as being a reasonable way to do it. I went overkill, but I plan to experiment with several power hungry things including heated blankets, little space heaters and just generally being able to go much longer in cloudy/cold situations without any worries. I also have 150 watts of battery heating setup. Each battery is setup to heat itself with a 45F on , 65F off thermostat. Each pad pulls about 6 amps, runs for a couple seconds at a time and shuts off. I have been running them a lot lately as an experiment. It's been -5 or more outside and below freezing in the garage and the batteries stay above freezing pretty well. (measured from the positive battery terminal with my Victron SmartShunt temp sensor)

The space under my drawers allowed for a bit more than 6" of clearance at the very back and something like 4" closer to the middle of the car. Mounted a board to the floor bolts for the compontents and the batteries are strapped down using center seat bolts and the two bolts on the outer walls. I put eye bolts and used tie down straps. I ended up with 340 ah, or 4,200 watt hours. haha.

Are those the FrontRunner drawers?

 

[leeloo]

How’s the build coming? Fellow LR4 Disco owner here!

So I started to install the electrical cable from the engine bay to the trunk. Took me a while to find a passage, and I was not happy with the route under the car. I had a suitable size cable, good even for 100 amp that I had on my Hilux, a longer car. For some reason, to my total surprise it was not long enough :) . So after I worked for like more than 2 h - it was all for nothing.. :) . To try to patch it or extend it was a no go for me. I never imagined that a cable from a significant longer car will not do for the LR4. Truth is for the LR 4 the route is much more convoluted, even under the car there is almost no room for anything, every ware you have friction points, mine is a V6 with 2 exhausts, so you need to stay clear of those, and so on..
Now I ordered another cable, I have the rest of the bits and pieces, new fuses, etc. and make another attempt next week, I have a couple of days off and I hope it will not be very cold..

 

[leeloo]

So I studied the issue of running a cable from the engine bay to trunk. Again this the SDV6, which is a 3.0 liter twin turbo engine. Because of this the engine bay is extremely crowded, there is no easy access to pass a cable from the engine bay to the gromet on the firewall, it is buried under a lot of stuff. Initially I look a YouTube video with an installation, the guy had 2.7 TDV6, and where he had a large empty space with a cover, mine was chuck full of stuff, and I am not comfortable dismantling things, I am afraid I will screw up something.
If go under the car , to tuck the wire nicely, I need to avoid the wire being exposed to either heat from the exhaust , and to do that, I need to cross at some point the chassis rail and I can only do it under it, meaning the wire can touch the ground at some point.
So i decided to ditch the whole thing with the dc to dc and get a eco flow power station.


I got an eco flow river max. Biggest drawback on this type of power stations is the slow charge time. Most of them connected to a 120w cigarette plug will take maybe 60 w, not even close to what the plug can supply . On solar is not much better. Adding more solar panels will not help, they just won't accept the curent.
Eco flow products are the only ones to my knowledge that can draw close to the maximum it can be supplied, via solar or 12v cigarette plug.,
I did some test charging it at the 12 v and with a 100W Wattstunde solar panel, a good quality one.
- 12v cigarette plug - it is pulling consistently 104 W - this is consistent with the stated specs, on a Disco 4 this plugs are rated at 120W
-100 w solar panel connected straight to the internal MPPT controller of the River max - around 11.30 a.m . sunny day, but still winter sun, pretty low angle was giving 74-76 W ..
This should be more than enough to keep my 40l Engel fridge and charge some phones and a tablet.

The red arc I will keep, just in case my needs will increase. ( not likely for a few years ) And the lithium batteries I already have, there are plenty of other applications I can use them for.
Real life test will follow in my first trip, in less than 2 weeks.

 

[leeloo]

Preparations for this year camping season continue.
I managed to find a site that delivers to Europe and I ordered a Gazelle T4 tent. I am hoping the Custom Authority will be forgiving, in Luxembourg at least, it is a coin toss.. you never know, I got 800 $ stuff ordered from US, no duties applied, and for the overland badge and patch they charged me 80 euro... :(

I have now a 2 person swag, a Darchee Dirty Dee 1400 , but with the dog will be difficult and I wanted a bigger tent anyway.
I replaced the air compressor for the suspension on the Disco 4 with a new AMK unit. I was told they are the best, and I hope they are, they are bloody expensive. The current one lasted 6 years and 160 k km, but in freezing temperatures it would refuse to go to off road height.
It throws a code - air reservoir filling to slow , and the compressor goes up 100 Celsius and stops.
I am pretty sure nobody changed the little pellets and filters in the air dryer. The one I took out still works, but needs a rebuild. A rebuild kit is available for a about 80 euro, and I will keep it as a spare. Rebuild is pretty simple, easy DiY . You replace the pellets in the dryer unit, some o - rings and the piston ring, even an IT guy like me can do it.. :) .
Removing it is another story, like all things on the Disco, you need extensions, dentist mirrors and so on..
I ordered a new one just be sure in case this one is too far gone, but looks like it is salvageable.
After I replaced it, the pressure in the reservoir is now nominal and the compressor tops at 75 Celsius - much better, and the car goes up much faster.
I was planning a small shake down trip this week-end but looks like it will be raining... maybe next week.