All posts by BrandonEngel

I did a thing.

Land Rover, , , , ,

landy1 landy2

Introducing my new to me 1998 Land Rover Discovery One. It’s old, leaky, problematic, and I love it. I picked it up a couple weeks ago and have been working to get it road worthy. I think it will make a nice addition to the car family.

The problems are as follows:

  • Loud squeaky noise from rear drivers side wheel well.
  • Seven check engine lights.
  • Leaky motor.
  • Leaks windshield washer fluid whenever you fill it past a certain point.
  • Mirror was an auto-dimmer that broke and leaked fluid to the mirror portion.
  • High pitched squeak coming from drivers side front wheel well, that couldn’t be heard until after fixing the problem in the rear.
  • Rear windows didn’t work.
  • Front windshield is cracked.

landy3

Here’s what I’ve fixed:

Rear windows have a common fault on the Discovery I window control board, where one of the circuits becomes de-soldered and looses the connection. This was a relatively easy fix after figuring out what caused the issue.

Rear wheel noise was fixed just by replacing the pads, there wasn’t any material left on the brake pads, and now it’s whisper quiet.

After routine maintenance I’m down to one check engine light, for an O2 sensor.

Blue Sea Systems – DC Voltmeter

Gear, , ,

I’ve been a fan of Blue Sea Systems gear for a while now, they make things that are built for the marine environment. My thought process is what works out on the open ocean will surely perform in our vehicles. I bought one of their brand new Mini DC Voltmeters. This will be my first impressions of the thing and general info.

From the Packaging:

Blue Sea Systems

Mini OLED DC Voltmeter

Monitors DC Voltage

Bright, waterproof, daylight readable screen.

Features

  • Reverse Polarity Protected
  • Mounts in a common 1-1/8: (29mm) hole

Specifications

Nominal Voltage 12V / 24V DC

Voltage Range 8V-36V DC

Voltage Accuracy +/- 1%

Maximum Operating Current 15mA

Resolution 0.01V DC

Cutout Dimensions 1-1/8″ (29mm) Diameter

Regulatory

Meter face is IP66-protected against powerful water jets.

The Blue Sea part number is 1733.

A 2 AMP Fuse is required between the positive leg of the meter and incoming positive.

This can either be directly wired to your batter with a cutoff switch for easy off on use. Or wired inline with your ignition voltage. I have a house battery on my system so I’m using a ON – OFF – ON switch so that I can check my Main or my House with the flick of a switch.

1733
Dimensioned Drawing

It’s not overly bright at night so I believe it will work well in a car as well.

bluesearealworld2

https://www.bluesea.com/products/1733/Mini_OLED_DC_Voltmeter

Overlanding News Reel – Volume 3

News Reel

This is a weekly news round-up of the going on in the overlanding world as of today. As well as inspiration from other sources that could be useful for your everyday overlander. I hope to publish this once a week on every Sunday morning for you to enjoy with a fresh cup of coffee.

Volume Three.

Gear

We can become so focused on gear sometimes and I believe it’s for a couple main reasons. First and foremost the possibility that exists in a new piece of gear, clothing, or vehicle. We see ourselves using that shiny new piece of gear on some extreme expedition somewhere. The other thing is that gear makes us feel comfortable, that shiny new tool won’t break when we least expect it to. That new stove will be so much easier to use and make cooking so much easier. With the focus so strongly on gear we can loose sight of the main goal and that’s to get out there.

Outside’s list of the best car camping gear for $25 or less.

Tepui Kukenam rooftop tent first impressions.

Other

The backup guy.

Always good to know Map and Compass Skills

And the follow up article.

Pack it up, pack it in. A packing report.

Overlanding News Reel – Volume 2

News Reel

This is a weekly news round-up of the going on in the overlanding world as of today. As well as inspiration from other sources that could be useful for your everyday overlander. I hope to publish this once a week on every Sunday morning for you to enjoy with a fresh cup of coffee.

Volume Two.

Gear

We can become so focused on gear sometimes and I believe it’s for a couple main reasons. First and foremost the possibility that exists in a new piece of gear, clothing, or vehicle. We see ourselves using that shiny new piece of gear on some extreme expedition somewhere. The other thing is that gear makes us feel comfortable, that shiny new tool won’t break when we least expect it to. That new stove will be so much easier to use and make cooking so much easier. With the focus so strongly on gear we can loose sight of the main goal and that’s to get out there.

With that said here is some gear to drool over.

Outdoor 2016 Gear Preview.

Front Bumpers Buyers Guide.

For the incredibly wealthy overlander who wants a trailer straight out of Jurassic Park.

Stories and Interesting things.

The Expedition Storyteller.

Why the Pacific Northwest Coastline is so fascinating.

On writing your adventure book.

Overlanding News Reel – Volume 1

News Reel

This is a weekly news round-up of the going on in the overlanding world as of today. As well as inspiration from other sources that could be useful for your everyday overlander. I hope to publish this once a week on every Sunday morning for you to enjoy with a fresh cup of coffee.

Volume One.

Gear

We can become so focused on gear sometimes and I believe it’s for a couple main reasons. First and foremost the possibility that exists in a new piece of gear, clothing, or vehicle. We see ourselves using that shiny new piece of gear on some extreme expedition somewhere. The other thing is that gear makes us feel comfortable, that shiny new tool won’t break when we least expect it to. That new stove will be so much easier to use and make cooking so much easier. With the focus so strongly on gear we can loose sight of the main goal and that’s to get out there.

With that said here is some gear to drool over.

Cadac a modern Skottel.

Shaker Siphon, get one or two.

Other

On travel writing…

Vanagon Air Controls

Vanagon, , , ,

20151230_092543

I ended up making a little reference plate for my Vanagon’s Air controls. For those of you who don’t know the controls that the Van has can be a bit cryptic and this little reference plate simplifies the matter. I got the idea from a post on The Samba and have included it in the references section bellow. The CAD file as well as a pdf of the nameplate can be downloaded as well. You just have to find a nameplate engraver and you’re good to go.

20160103_153600

Before

20160103_153748And After

Downloads:

AutoCAD File

PDF Drawing

References:

GoWesty’s Article on Ventilation: Heat and A/C in the Vanagon Explained

The Samba Forum Post about Heater Controls

Old Blue’s Blog – Originator of the Cheat Sheet

Gear ideas.

Gear, , ,

For some reason gear becomes an obsession to a lot of people, I’ve fallen into gear obsession from time to time. I believe the obsession comes from what an object represents and what it can possibly do for you in the future. My advice is to try not to fall to far down that rabbit hole that is gear obsession.

With that being said, here’s stuff to feed your gear obsession.

Overlanding can learn a lot from what other people are doing in other ventures. I find sailing blogs to be a particularly useful resource to follow. They have to go out to foreign places for long periods of time with nothing to rely on besides what they bring with them. Just like overlanders they tend to have very limited space as well.

Here is a great place to start with sailing gear blog: http://theboatgalley.com/

Master Cylinder Replacement

Vanagon, ,

Did you know that you’re supposed to bleed a master cylinder? This is one of the things I’ve learned in my refreshing and updating of my Van’s brake system.

To do a Vanagon master cylinder properly you need to buy two of the bleeding kits as you need two of the exact same size fitting and every kit I’ve ever seen only comes with a single fitting for every size imaginable.

 

Here’s the current shape of my master cylinder, as I said in a previous post I went to drive it and found the master cylinder bone dry. I ended up filling it up again to try and chase down the leak.

20151023_171359 20151023_171429

 

References

http://www.vanagonauts.com/Brake-master-cyclinder190.htm