Above is a collection of my invoices, and thats excluding all the recent big invoices from Rovers North..... Only had the truck since 2012 and already Ive invested so much into it. But the things I have done and will get done before April 2015 will count for something because Im relocating to Alaska and during the 2 week 4,700 mile overland trip I will come to depend on this vehicle. Essentially it will be my life line. On another note I justify the money I have spent on this truck in that I really do not like how any of the new cars look (Land Rover included). The age of big boxy capable simple minded off road 4x4's is gone. The iconic Defender will be replaced, the Discovery will be rounded down, the Range Rover will continue to go up in price tag, the Nissan Pathfinder was transformed into a mini-van, the iconic Jeep Cherokee was first transformed into the Liberty then into an abomination..... The Hummer H1 was turned into a Chevy and today Toyota Prius is the latest trend. My Disco is the last of its kind, of one of the last so might as well keep it, enjoy it and Rover on.

The build continues. Ill add to this thread as I get more work done. Have some more work coming up soon as mentioned in the first post. Stay tuned and let me know what you think. In case your wondering she has 146,000 and counting. Original engine, original head gaskets.

 

What's your plan for the Engine/HG's prior to setting out on the drive to Alaska?
I'm going to do the Dalton Highway in springtime with my 3 year old and can't decide whether to proactively change the Head Gaskets before hand or not.

 

Well I have 3 options. Have not decided for certain which option I will take:

Option 1: Dont worry about the head gaskets. By the time I depart in April I will have new cooling hoses and new radiator and considering the other cooling system parts already updated it may be solid for the trip.

Option 2: Pay a local mechanic buddy $1,300 to do the job for me. More expensive this way but the job will get done the right way in 2 days. Wont have to worry about heads on the trip to AK. But wont have enough cash saved up to get this job done until early 2015.

Option 3: A fellow member on this site had hinted to the possibility of him helping me do the head gasket job myself and save tons of money on labor. Im open to this but getting in touch with the guy has been hit or miss and he has other priorities that are more important than my Disco ^^

 

Similar dilemma to mine then.
I have a couple of questions about your future build plan for the drive.

Roof rack flooring, containers up top?
Where are you going to carry your extra gas?
Are you adding a winch ? If so are you going to stick with the one battery or add a second?
Are you going to carry a significant amount of drinking water ? If so, where are you planning on carrying it? (Inside the truck, with the rear seats down?)
Just a few of the things I'm thinking about at the moment.

 

I plan on adding flooring but not sure what materials I will use yet. Ive been told that chicken coop flooring works really well. I will be investing in 3, 5 gallon Jerry gas cans that will be mounted on the roof. No water cans this time around. i dont drink much water anyways and I will be sure to keep a good supply of bottled water and soda in my truck. No winch for this trip sadly. I will be on paved roads for the majority of the trip and because money and time is limited i cannot afford to do any cross country off-roading. I wont install a winch until I add a dual battery setup to my truck. Probably marine batteries or something that works really well in extreme cold weather. But again that is for down the road. The above mentioned to do list only reflects the upcoming things I want to do in prepreation for the trip. Afterwards once I get settled in I will continue with the build and focus more on the overland systems.

Are you planning a trip or something? You said your in a similar situation. Cheers

 

Good looking truck! Those 235 Treadwrights look a lot skinnier than my 235 Duratracs. Are those wheels 7" or 8" wide?

 

Yes! I'm going to take the Dalton highway up to Prudhoe Bay, ideally in late Spring. I may take the Ferry part way up, then drive back, it's 2600 miles each way from Seattle and i'll have my 3 1/2 year old son along for the trip as co-pilot so I'm having to be a little more zealous in my trip preparation.

+1 on the farmtek flooring for your safety devices rack. I picked mine up last week but need to find time to finish off installing it. My biggest concern is too much weight on the roof with all the extra fuel, water, spare wheel, spare parts etc that i'll be carrying because I have a passenger in the rear seat inside the truck.

I am going to pick up a hi-jack lift and ideally set up the dual system if i get time. If not, i'll carry a spare battery for emergencies (I have one on the shelf at home i can carry in the truck)

Where's your end point in Alaska?

 

I forget what the weight limit is for the roof but ive seen some people on here load the roof right up fully. Tent, gas cans, shovel, axe, hella lights, flooring etc and do just fine. So your going up in the Spring? hmmmm my final destination is Seward Alaska. But when I get to Anchorage I want to stop by Far North Rovers and introduce myself ^^ in any event is there any potential for us to join up part way and conquer Alaska together? Two vehicles is better than a solo vehicle traveling a remote region.... I will be bringing all my tools and spare fluids such as engine oil, coolant, power steering fluid, gear oil, driveshaft grease, brake fluid etc. Personally I would feel safer and more confident if I traveled with some companions. Plus it would give us the opportunity to take some dirty pictures of our trucks! Let me know. If your open to the proposal then we can chat on the phone.

 

The biggest challenge in a convey would be the logistics of your journey path compared to mine, plus my time off work constraints and that i'll have a toddler in my truck.

Are you entering Canada via north dakota?

What might work is if i take the Ferry to Whittier from Bellingham once you're already in Seward, meet there and then do the drive up to Prudhoe Bay.

 

Some minor updates on the build. I ordered a "Gizmo 40" 240W Watts LED Light Bar" complete with wiring harness. I've never installed a light bar before and I have barely any experience working with electrical wiring so though this is probably a simple job for most, it may be a challenge for me. Next in line is a DIY blackout kit for the hood. ArmyRover and others suggested using PlastiDip so I will give it a try. Also I ordered some stickers for my truck.

- 2 English St. Georges flag stickers
- 2 Land Rover: Decade of Discovery stickers
- 2 Shell stickers
- 2 Birmabright Brotherhood stickers

Will take some pictures when they arrive in the mail and are installed on the truck. I intend on installing them in the same spots as the original stickers fitted to special LR vehicles. I have a couple ore stickers I want to order in the near future, one of which is a genuine Discovery sticker that has a outline of mountains in the background. I believe it was used on the early Discovery 1 models but I love it so I will be adding it to my truck on both sides. I'm also working on a couple sketches for custom vinyl decals that I want added to showcase the upcoming overland trip in April. So far the only thing set in stone is a navigation compass and the words "Far North Overland". Ill keep this updated.

Expect some pictures of the light bar and the stickers in the very near future.