1996 Land Rover Defender 110 300 TDI

Being built on an enormously strong chassis gives the Land Rover a huge advantage över other off- roaders. The chassis imbues massive strength to the entire structure, it reduces under-body vulnerability, it gives uniquely strong mounting points for the suspension, and it facilitates the addition of winches and recovery points with ruggedness impossible in monocoque structures. Heavy duty vvinches are essential for extreme off- roading, and for much expedition work. To fit one to a Land Rover Defender you can, ifyou wish, bolt it directly to the front bumper, a sol id steel affair which is, in turn, bolted to the main chassis frame. Consequently a winch recovery with a Land Rover passes the stresses through the chassis withoul any of it affecting the body. it is, in fact, possible to suspend a Defender on a suitably strong cable vvithout any risk of damage – televısion advertising some years ago which showed a Defender being winched tıp a neaı-vertical dam retaining vvall at a Welsh reservoir involved no trickery, just some unseen safety measures.

The most dramatic way to recover a stranded vehicle from impossibly deep mud, or a bog, is to use the kinetic energy recovery system. This involves a stretchable but very strong rope being attached to the front of the stranded vehicle and to the rear of the one doing the recovery, which is positioned with its rear just a few feet from the one which is stuck. The rope is loosely coiled between the two, the recovery vehicle takes off as rapidly as possible, and the energy stored within the tightly stretched rope yanks the stuck Land Rover clear. it’s ali very dramatic, and not a little dangerous, bul would be impossible with vehicles not possessing the chassis strength of the Land Rover. To do this, the recovery rope must be attached to a strong point on the front of the first Land Rover, which is usually a pair of recovery attachments known as JATE rings, first developed for military use. These are bolted to the main chassis legs and the incredible stresses involved pass through the attachments and into the chassis. Usually, the rope will be attached to the recovery Land Rover’s towball or pintle, although this can only be done when the towball is in line wilh the forces involved, and the tow bar is properly attached to the rear crossmember. Provided there’s no deep rust on the crossmember or rear chassis the vehicle has no problem with the forces involved.

İt’s because of its chassis, and the way the towing equipment is connected directty to it, that a Land Rover can tow incredibly heavy loads. Naturally, there are strict lavvs governing towing in normal circumstances, but it is not unusual for Defenders to be called on to tow fully loaded heavy trucks for short distances. Poliçe patrols do it regularly with Defenders, Range Rovers, and

Discoverys when broken-down HGVs need moving urgently. For more normal towing workwith caravans and horseboxes Defenders are ideal. The torque of the Tdi or V8 engine copes easily with this şort of work, while the size, weight, and design of the vehicles makes them just about the best tow cars imaginable.

By 9ekim gorup..