Name: Geraint A Jones
Nationality: British
Occupation: Group Dynamic Positioning Director / Senior Principal Engineer at Aqualis Offshore Marine Consulting LLC, Abu Dhabi
Ride: Land Rover Defender 110 Double Cab (2013)
In 2013, Geraint Jones’s dream of owning a Land Rover Defender finally came true. Read on to discover the modifications he has made, and to find out his future plans for the vehicle.
Tell us a little background story about the car…
I have wanted to own a Land Rover Defender for over 30 years, and in 2013 I was finally in a position where I could purchase one, and as such decided it had to be a new one. So in July I took delivery of a Land Rover Defender 110 Double Cab with the 2.2 TDCi engine. Although it was a bog standard vehicle, it did not remain that way for long, and all of the modifications have been done with a view to the vehicle eventually ending up back in the UK and used for green laning, camping and touring the UK, Europe and North Africa. It is still a work in progress…
Could you tell us about the modifications that have been made, performance and cosmetic wise?
So far the modifications are as follows:
• Front Runner roof rack
• LED light bars mounted under the roof rack
• Full support frame over the pick up bed and back to the chassis to support the clam shell tent, fabricated by Saluki Motorsports, Dubai.
• Pick up bed completely covered in Rhino Liner for protection and fitted with an aluminium lockable lid for security reasons, again fabricated by Saluki Motorsports, Dubai
• Front Runner draw system fitted to the pick up bed complete with 4 Cub storage boxes for all camping and recovery gear
• Built in Black Max III air compressor installed in the pick up bed above the driver’s side wheel arch
• Built in water pump installed in the pick up bed above the driver’s side wheel arch
• Two 20 litre Sceptre jerry cans for carrying water
• Two 20 litre Sceptre jerry cans for carrying spare diesel (giving the vehicle a range of about 800km)
• Britpart swing away spare wheel carry which allowed the relocation of the spare wheel out of the pick up bed, freeing up storage space
• Britpart tubular winch bumper complete with swivel recovery points and Hi Lift jacking points
• Britpart raised Air Intake
• Warn XE9000 winch complete with plasma winch rope
• Bling My Truck awning
• Front Runner wing mounted table
• LED lights all round (indicators, side lights, brake lights, reverse light and fog light)
• Tune My Defender NAS rear bumper complete with Hi Lift jacking points
• Front Runner Hi Lift jack mounts on swing away spare wheel carrier
• Dual battery system with split charging and Exide yellow top batteries
• Garmin Monterra GPS for off road navigation
• iPad mini running Motion X HD for on and off road navigation
• Huawei mobile WIFI hotspot with external antenna
• ICOM dual band (VHF/UHF) radio
• Five 12 volt power outlets permanently supplied from second battery
• 4 USB outlets permanently supplied from second battery
• 500Watt inverter permanently supplied form second battery
Do you have something that you would consider to be a “special feature” of your car?
The idea has been to keep all of the modifications as subtle as possible, and not to change the original classic Defender looks. I also did not want to make modifications for the sake of it, so everything that has been done has been done for a purpose and with a use in mind. Nothing on the vehicle is for the ‘bling’ effect only; it’s a working vehicle after all.
What were your other options before you bought this car?
If I hadn’t bought a Defender then I would still have bought a Land Rover, but probably an LR4. Being a die hard Green Oval fan, no other alternative would have been considered!
How do you spend time with the car?
The vehicle is used for all sorts of activities such as camping, sweep team trailer duties for the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, post marshal duties for the Emirates Desert Championship, kayaking, cycling, support vehicle for hiking and camping with the Abu Dhabi Scouts, support platform for photography, beach trips and the school run (although it tends to stand out a bit in the school car park!).
How often do you use your car?
The vehicle is my daily driver as well as all of the above. As my job takes me all over the UAE, based on the present mileage it has been averaging about 2100km a month and returning about 550km to a tank of fuel (about 7km per litre).
Modifications to come in the next twelve months are as follows:
• Replacement of all springs with standard Land Rover Springs and also adding ‘helper springs’ from a Defender 130 to the rear springs to aid with load carrying capabilities
• Replacement of the shock absorbers with a twin set up on each corner, to keep the shocks cooler when being subjected to harsh terrain
• Upgrade of the intercooler to a bigger Alisport one
• Upgrade of the turbocharger to a hybrid one
• Remapping of the ECU by Bowler in the UK
• Remodelling of the pick up bed / draw layout for camping to allow the fridge to be relocated from the cabin to the pickup bed
• Fitting of an Exmoor Trim canvas cover over the pick up bed
What 4×4 do you dream of owning?
I have the 4×4 I have always dreamt of owning. But if I had to choose another one then it would be a Land Rover 101 Forward Control. The trouble is, the fuel economy on them is appauling!
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