The win with the old defenders is as much their simplicity as the other stuff. Sure there are more reliable, more comfortable machines with easier to source parts but nothing beats the old Landies for ease of bush maintenance.
A few years ago I was volunteering on a project in Botswana when our accelerator cable disintegrated at dusk and we were several hours outside of radio contact. A few cable ties and old wire coat hangers later and we had a semi-functional hand-throttle. It wasn't ideal but it limped us back to radio contact. On the way back we also managed to put a branch through the radiator meaning we had to stop to cool down for half an hour every 10-15 minutes. That landy was only out of action for one day before being back on full duty. Easy peasy!
Personally my favourite ones are the long wheelbase ones - more space to sleep on the roof. :)
The win with the old defenders is as much their simplicity as the other stuff. Sure there are more reliable, more comfortable machines with easier to source parts but nothing beats the old Landies for ease of bush maintenance.
A few years ago I was volunteering on a project in Botswana when our accelerator cable disintegrated at dusk and we were several hours outside of radio contact. A few cable ties and old wire coat hangers later and we had a semi-functional hand-throttle. It wasn't ideal but it limped us back to radio contact. On the way back we also managed to put a branch through the radiator meaning we had to stop to cool down for half an hour every 10-15 minutes. That landy was only out of action for one day before being back on full duty. Easy peasy!
Personally my favourite ones are the long wheelbase ones - more space to sleep on the roof. :)