We have compiled the list below after 13+ years with Land Rovers, of which nine years with our trustworthy Defender 110 Rafiki. Although this list might not be complete for everyone, we believe these are 7 essential upgrades for your Defender if you plan to start overlanding.

Seven essential upgrades for your overland Defender:

1. Drop arm conversion kit
2. Heavy-duty steering rods
3. Auxiliary fuel tank
4. Custom suspension
5. Wheel bearing conversion
6. Aluminum header tank (coolant)
7. Heavy-duty clutch

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1. Drop arm conversion kit

Many older Defenders (300tdi for example) have to deal with ball joint replacements at some point. Especially the drop-arm ball joint is prone to fail. The drop arm is part of the steering system and connects your steering box to the steering rods. Unfortunately this drop arm holds a ball joint that is prone to wear and fail, and unlike the others, this one is hard to replace due to the need for special tools.

Gwyn Lewis offers a Drop Arm Conversion kit that provides a new drop arm, steering rods, and track rod ends. This conversion kit will replace the original ball joint with a standard track rod end, making it much easier to replace if necessary. The kit comes with high-quality track rod ends, and so far, we’ve never had to replace them – and we installed the kit 75.000 kilometers ago.

2. Heavy-duty steering rods

The original steering rods of our Defenders are quite okay and capable enough for standard usage. However, as soon as you start to outfit your vehicle, the increased weight will put more strain on the entire system. If you notice any slack in the system or want to improve reliability when venturing into remote regions, the Gwyn Lewis heavy-duty steering rods are worth your consideration.

We installed their Drop Arm Conversion kit, heavy-duty track rod bar, and track rod ends, upgrading the full steering system.

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3. Auxiliary fuel tank

Depending on the vehicle model, your fuel capacity will roughly range between 65 and 75 liters. This is quite a lot and more than enough to travel comfortably in Europe. However, as soon as you travel to more desolate regions, you might come in short. Ideally – if you venture deep into Africa, South America, or Central Asia – you’d want to aim for a 1000 – 1500 km range. Our travels through Africa have shown us that we don’t need more than a 600 km range 95% of the time. But, fuel shortages are common, and there are incredibly large stretches without fuel stations, hence we have come to an ideal range of 1000-1500 km.

We installed an auxiliary fuel tank of 45 liters to come to a total of 110 liters on our vehicle. This provides us with an on-tarmac range of 1000-1100 kilometers, which we can expand to 180-200 km by filling up our 20-liter jerrycan. We needed this range more than once, mainly during our Nigeria to Cameroon crossing, our travels through Southern Angola, and our exploration of the river beds in Northern Namibia.

Although jerrycans are great to have, an auxiliary tank is a once-off installation, making it a far more practical and comfortable solution.

4. Custom suspension

From the factory, a Defender is very capable to tackle any track that comes its way. However, although it might be capable, it isn’t the most comfiest of vehicles. Especially when you start to outfit your overland build you need to consider upgrading your suspension. Your standard suspension is probably not going to cope with the added weight, resulting in a very unpleasant ride, bottoming out and excessive wear and tear. You want to opt for heavy-duty or progressive springs to cope with the added weight, and you want to look for higher-end shocks to deal with the bouncing effect and vastly improve comfort in your heavy truck on corrugated roads.

Often – when not receiving the proper advice – doing it right is a matter of trial and error. Something that not only takes long, but can also cost you a lot of money. Three main factors to consider when upgrading your suspension are weight distribution, road conditions and suspension techniques. They directly impact  the way the vehicles handles and impact comfort and reliability with it. If possible, you want to find a specialist and do it right the first time.

Over the years we’ve installed various shocks and springs but never reached the comfort levels we hoped for. Since driving in Africa we’ve noticed the impact of our choices on the wear and tear on our entire vehicle as well. Investing in a good suspension setup will save you money and hassle in the long run. Our latest decision has been to upgrade to the oleo-pneumatic suspension from Nimbus Suspensions, to reach optimal results on the tracks including enhanced comfort, reliability, and overall longevity of the vehicle. This type of shock is naturally adaptive to the road conditions, and Nimbus properly adjusts it to deal with our overland setup. Even though we still have to wait a little longer before we can install them on Rafiki, we’re very much looking forward to this upgrade.

5. Wheel bearing conversion

Our Defenders are true icons that haven’t changed much in their 29-year history. Land Rover’s biggest adjustments for the Defender came in the form of newer engines, gearboxes, and a dashboard design. The basic bodywork, chassis, and axles have only seen minor improvements.

One of those improvements, or so they thought, was the wheel bearing setup. Somewhere around the switch from the 300tdi to the TD5 engine they switched from a dual nut to a single nut design. This improvement made it much easier for the factory and workshops to set the correct wheel bearing tension. However, the older setup is in our opinion much more suited for us overlanders.

If we look at this older setup, you’ll see that it lacks a spacer and comes with two locking nuts and a washer to set up bearing tension properly. With this setup, it’s up to you to set the bearing tension properly instead of having it pre-done in the factory. To do so, you can use a torque wrench or do it manually and feel the friction that’s being applied to the system. It might look less reliable, but it all depends on the mechanic (or you) to do it properly.

The biggest advantage of this older system is that you can torque up the nuts if the bearings develop play. You will therefore be able to adjust the bearings, taking out play and with that prolonging the life of the bearing. It is a great setup to have when traveling in remote regions and less-developed nations as it eliminates the direct need to replace the bearing and its spacer. It can save your trip. Do note that there will be a moment when you need to replace your bearings. Don’t run the risk of driving on a knackered bearing which might result in a sheared-off wheel.

Various parts brands are available on the market. We are happy to order at Euro4x4Parts cause they carry out the quality control and offer fair prices. Besides wheel bearings, they also offer kits that include the right oil seals and other miscellaneous parts that are essential when overlanding.

6. Aluminum header tank

The plastic header tank of the older engines (300tdi for example) is prone to fail. Most overlanders we know have had problems with this coolant reservoir once or more. Whilst a failed head gasket might overpressure the system, causing it to crack, it also happens the other way around, where a cracked reservoir causes the engine to overheat due to a lack of coolant. Nonetheless, they are notorious for cracking, and can be hard to replace in remote regions. An upgrade to a newer version, or an aluminum type, is advisable. We installed the AlliSport aluminum header tank to fix it once and for all.

7. Heavy-duty clutch

The standard clutch of the Defender has been designed with average use in mind. They do their job well for the general vehicle and can last for years. However, they’ve never been designed to meet the quality and strength necessary for intense overlanding.

While a clutch upgrade isn’t essential for everybody, it makes sense to carry one out if you are starting an intense or long-term overland trip. Pulling a trailer, driving hard off-road tracks, or hauling your heavy overland vehicle up a mountain all stress the system, including the clutch. This is where an upgrade can make all the difference. We did our first two Europe expeditions on average quality clutches, but have decided to upgrade to the LOF 2.8 TGV HS POWERspec clutch since our old clutch started slipping prematurely due to the road conditions. We are confident this upgrade will last us for years. Besides the new clutch, we also got the improved MWM Crankseal.