Land Rover Defender hunting rig?

[Mountain Man]

Has anyone used a 25+ year old Land Rover Defender as a hunting rig? I’m starting to get intrigued by the idea, but nobody has posted about this topic yet so it doesn’t seem to be very common. Just wondering if anyone else has gone that route and if they had any feedback.

 

[Beignet]

I’m imagining they’d be pretty common rigs in say African hunting country. They’re certainly capable 4x4 machines and are very aesthetically pleasing. They’d also make more sense for cruising narrow old forest service roads than some giant superduty rig or something. I’m partial to my 25 year old medium sized pickup (so I can sleep in the rear under the topper). But if you can afford to keep up with maintenance needs of an older British vehicle I’d say go for it (and color me envious).

 

[kansasdad]

The land rovers of my childhood had no heat (Kenya). On the equator, that’s not an issue. Most hunting places in USA, I’d wanna know it was heat capable.

 

[devon deer]

If you want to go into the bush take a Land rover.
If you want to come back again, take a Land Cruiser.

 

[Carl 9.3x62]

What size? 90, 110, or 130? Pickup or wagon? Always been a fan of the older defenders, especially the 110s and 130s. I used to live close to guy who had an old four door series 2 with the safari roof. I dreamed of wheelin around the hills and mountains in that thing. I would assume getting parts for any of them would be a pain though.

 

[Carl 9.3x62]

If you want to go into the bush take a Land rover.
If you want to come back again, take a Land Cruiser.

Seems like toyotas are the better choice, from what I watch on YouTube, haha.

 

[SFC B]

I was seriously pursuing this idea when I did my last stint in Europe as a civilian. The issues were 1) finding a matching numbers truck (a large portion of the UK models had engine swaps) 2) Finding one that wasn't rotten through and through......they are pretty bad for rust and 3) Cost-especially once they announced the demise of the old school LR in favor of what it has become. My price limit at the time was $7000 (not including shipping) for a 110 and the closest I came was a drive to York that ended in a freaking attempt at a bait and switch and me exercising my swear vocabulary on a rural, LR specialist "dealer". When you add to $$$$ for parts and accessories, as well as known issues, and I would say that other than it simply being a vehicle that you want there are better options. If you want an older serious off roader from Europe I would look for a older gen G Wagon. M2CsW

 

[Beignet]

If you want to go into the bush take a Land rover.
If you want to come back again, take a Land Cruiser.

Love an old Toyota. Don’t want to jinx myself, but I put 6000+ miles (many of them Baja’ing around like an idiot) on a 25 year old truck with about 230k+ already on the ticker this summer, and didn’t need anything more than oil changes and a single spare tire.

I believe old Brit 4x4’s need their valves adjusted at the equivalent of what Toyota considers regular oil change intervals?

Nevertheless, would still love to see an old Rover rig cruising around in good shape here in the old US of A, and encourage OP to chase his dream and make a beaut out of it.

 

[devon deer]

I was seriously pursuing this idea when I did my last stint in Europe as a civilian. The issues were 1) finding a matching numbers truck (a large portion of the UK models had engine swaps) 2) Finding one that wasn't rotten through and through......they are pretty bad for rust and 3) Cost-especially once they announced the demise of the old school LR in favor of what it has become. My price limit at the time was $7000 (not including shipping) for a 110 and the closest I came was a drive to York that ended in a freaking attempt at a bait and switch and me exercising my swear vocabulary on a rural, LR specialist "dealer". When you add to $$$$ for parts and accessories, as well as known issues, and I would say that other than it simply being a vehicle that you want there are better options. If you want an older serious off roader from Europe I would look for a older gen G Wagon. M2CsW

My mate (I shoot deer on his land) created this business, https://www.dartmoor4x4.co.uk/for-sale they are sought after these days, he can't get enough to restore.
The chassis on them are terrible, but he has found a place in Ireland that do a galvanised one at a fair price.
He can create it to anyones specification....but I will stick with my Toyota Hilux....it just works!

 

[Mountain Man]

What size? 90, 110, or 130? Pickup or wagon? Always been a fan of the older defenders, especially the 110s and 130s.

I haven’t really sorted that out yet. I’m at the outset of my journey researching options. Initially I am drawn to 110 or 130 wagons.

 

[Mountain Man]

I was seriously pursuing this idea when I did my last stint in Europe as a civilian.

This is exactly why I am asking the question. I am stationed in Europe so have a two year window when I could find a 23-24 year old Defender that would turn 25 before my PCS. This would save thousands of dollars compared to buying one already imported to the US. As you stated in your post, the difficulty seems to be finding one that can be imported that is in reasonable condition. The future maintenance headaches may not be worth the effort but I at least wanted to explore the possibilities. Thank you for sharing your experience. Seems like we had a very similar idea.

 

[Mountain Man]

The land rovers of my childhood had no heat (Kenya). On the equator, that’s not an issue. Most hunting places in USA, I’d wanna know it was heat capable.

Great point and something I will definitely have on my checklist!

 

[Mountain Man]

The chassis on them are terrible, but he has found a place in Ireland that do a galvanised one at a fair price.

The chassis cannot be galvanized. That will make it impossible to import to the US. It is one of the reasons importable vehicles are hard to find, many of them have been altered over the past 25 years.

 

[Mountain Man]

Thanks everyone for chiming in. It is helpful to hear different perspectives and experiences. To add further context, this idea is a long shot and mostly just a day dream activity.

 

[devon deer]

The chassis cannot be galvanized. That will make it impossible to import to the US. It is one of the reasons importable vehicles are hard to find, many of them have been altered over the past 25 years.

In part you are correct, they are available in galvanised, but to import from outside the US if they are after 2004 model that is illegal, your rules.
Look where I am posting from, the home of the Land Rover

 

[Beignet]

In part you are correct, they are available in galvanised, but to import from outside the US if they are after 2004 model that is illegal, your rules.
Look where I am posting from, the home of the Land Rover

Why the heck can’t someone galvanize a frame? Does that somehow weaken the structural integrity? More than than the tons of salt they dump on roads in the NE of the US? Very curious to know why this is a mitigating factor for import.

 

[stk]

This is exactly why I am asking the question. I am stationed in Europe so have a two year window when I could find a 23-24 year old Defender that would turn 25 before my PCS. This would save thousands of dollars compared to buying one already imported to the US. As you stated in your post, the difficulty seems to be finding one that can be imported that is in reasonable condition. The future maintenance headaches may not be worth the effort but I at least wanted to explore the possibilities. Thank you for sharing your experience. Seems like we had a very similar idea.

Had the same idea but gave up on it due to maintenance/reliability concerns. I love the look of them but I'm not a "car guy" and I'm not trying to become one. I gave up on the idea of keeping a dedicated hunting rig. I have a 2012 Nissan Pathfinder that does everything I want it to and only gets stuck when I take it places I probably shouldn't, which is once or twice a year.

I'll be looking for a replacement of a comparable size in the next few years. Need something big enough to sleep flat in but not so big it's unwieldy. There aren't a lot of body-on-frame SUVs that aren't behemoths anymore.

 

[devon deer]

Very curious to know why this is a mitigating factor for import.

It isn't, maybe I didn't make it clear, it's to do with emission's, and the Land Rover defender's manufactured since 2004 are not permitted to be imported into the US as it fails US standards, any Defender built prior to 2004 is considered a 'classic' and is exempt.

My mate who restores them always gives me stick for owning a Toyota Hilux, and frequently states that Land rovers are still on the road after 50 years and the same can't be said for other 4x4's, well I often refer him to this sketch, think about it

 

[Kiwi]

It isn't, maybe I didn't make it clear, it's to do with emission's, and the Land Rover defender's manufactured since 2004 are not permitted to be imported into the US as it fails US standards, any Defender built prior to 2004 is considered a 'classic' and is exempt.

My mate who restores them always gives me stick for owning a Toyota Hilux, and frequently states that Land rovers are still on the road after 50 years and the same can't be said for other 4x4's, well I often refer him to this sketch, think about it

Haha, great show. I also have a hilux

 

[Mountain Man]

any Defender built prior to 2004 is considered a 'classic' and is exempt.

This statement is different than what I have been told so far. My understanding is that the vehicle needs to be over 25 years old (to the day) from the date of manufacture to fall under the “classic car” exemption. I think if you tried to import anything manufactured between 1998-2004 right now you would be denied and potentially get into trouble. I believe Land Rover lost the visa to import new vehicles for sale in 1998.