[Bill Burke, Frutia, CO, is one of America’s foremost off-road instructors through his Four-Wheeling America program. For more information, contact Bill at 970-858-3468 or at www.bb4wa.com – ed ] Text: Bill Burke

As I spend over a half of the year on the trail in my Land Rover, I have great practice at deciding which stuffto take along. I strive to take only the most useful and essential of trial gear; you can assume that if I’m carrying it, it must be useful. To help you decide what stuff to take on your trail missions, I’ll break down what I carry front to back.

People say I can put 5 pounds of stuff in a 2-pound bag! All too often my D90 is very close to the 6000 GVW. It does boggle the mind as to how much I really can fit in the Defender! Client safety and comfort dictate that I must carry an oversized first-aid kit, a PETT portable toilet, common spares for field fixes, as well as all the paperwork associated with being a Guide/Outfitter. I carry an extra fire extinguisher, fire-fighting tools and 5 gallons of water just for emergencies. Already the Defender 90 has become stuffed, and I haven’t even started to list my regular gear.

Let’s start with the kit on my D90. At the front I have the ARB bumper with a Superwinch EP9 with 90’x3/8” Amsteel Blue line. The 60” Hi-Lift Jack Extreme is attached on the top bar of the ARB using the HLJ bumper mounts. My headlights are IPF 90/140; the driving lights are the IPF 130W. The small IPF fog light above the winch is strictly for seeing the winch during night operations. I use the radio mount tabs on the ARB for the CB. I have the Rovers North diamond plate wing-top and bonnet protectors in black; I tend to set gear like pulley blocks and shackles on the bonnet so the protection is important to me. I made a custom winter weather cover for the front of the windscreen area. It stretches across the front roll cage and covers the windscreen vents and wiper arms. It keeps the wipers and windscreen from icing up in the nasty Colorado storms. I also sewed my own “behind the seats cab” cover as well. Since I don’t have the back windows in anymore I try to keep the little passenger compartment toasty that way.

On top of the roll cage I have two KC Daylighters 130w, now 20-years-old. Behind the lights on the roof part of the roll cage I have mounted half of a lightweight, low profile Yakima Basket Case. I usually carry MAXTRAX sand ladders, and sometimes firewood or my dry-bag. I still have the OE Bestop to keep the sun and rain off (mostly), but the back windows don’t even remotely fit anymore.

Bill Burke with his Defender 90 loaded with stuff.

Under the hood I’ve mounted a Premier Power Welder, 160 alternator, Mantec snorkel, and standard air filter element. My 3.9 L, 180,000 mile engine runs like a champ, thanks to good, original parts from Rovers North and attention to the standard maintenance schedule.

Inside the cab area the dash tray is full of stuff like tire gauges, Staun deflators, squeegee (yep, the windscreen gets nasty from back wash with no windows in), winch gloves, winch controller, radiator front cover (water crossing and winter), sun and rain hats, and door top window nut-bag. I mounted the CB radio on the right side under-dash with two 25-pound extension magnets stuck to it — easy to find and helpful for broken half-shaft removal. A bicycle shift lever attached to the gearshift serves as a throttle control when I need it for winching, welding, or compensating for a client’s nervous throttle foot on White Knuckle Hill.

I retained the stock seats and between installed a Tuffy 10” Security Console stuffed with random things like GPS, original owner’s manual, gloves, Black Diamond Headlamp, small tool kit, a stereo and lots of miscellaneous stuff jammed inside. Under the seats: on one side, I’ve wired up two Yellow Top Optima batteries in parallel — no isolator, just clean wire looms, relays and aux fuse panels. On the other side sits the ARB compressor for the lockers, air hose, spare parts and the tire changing jack. I moved the ECU up to the firewall and waterproofed it. Usually on the passenger floor board I stash the winch accessory kit and, if it’s snowy, the RUD snow chains.

I customized the back load space by creating a bulkhead a la the Series Land Rovers. On the bulkhead I mounted the rifle rack and first-aid kit, just behind the center console and the seat backs. The trough area just behind the seats has the torque wrench, jack tools and miscellaneous spare parts packed in plastic waterproof containers. This also includes wheel nut socket and a couple larger special sockets for the suspension nuts and steering arm nut.

I enclosed the rear load space by with a board across the “gunwale” of the rear tub, securing it with aluminum angle bars and fasteners with oversized washers. A 12-year-old, trouble-free ARB refrigerator rests on top of the right side wheel well which gives easy access from the outside. I use Hi-Lift’s Slide ‘n Lock for front tie downs and I drilled 1” aluminum angle at the rear for added strength. For easy access with the tailgate open, I mounted my CO2 tank just behind the ARB. I customized a mount for the door top windows on the left side so the windows lean against the roll cage and the studs go through a piece of wood; a ratchet tie down strap holds them in place.

Bill Burke instructing out in Leadville, CO.

Most of the soft gear — sleeping gear, tent, dry-bag with clothing, Roll-A-Table — is also secured by a ratchet tie down system. The hard gear goes underneath, again, tied down securely. I still use an ancient Coleman two-burner stove (purchased when I was 15) and carry kitchen utensils in Rubbermaid containers. I also store Wedco gas and water cans, spare parts kit, tool kit [see the last issue of the Rovers North News -ed ], first aid kit, welding gear, HLJ base, the MAX-Tool heads, bag of spray lube and cleaners, tire repair, spill kit, fire poker, extendable marshmallow forks, extra water and food items as needed.

Hanging on the back spare tire rack is a swivel work light, shovel, Max-Tool, Pull-Pal 11K anchor, and my gargoyle. Inside the tire cover — a Joey Pack from BoomCo products — I have my recovery straps, winch extension, tri-fold NATO shovel, limb saw, butt wipes and TP, and trash bags. Finally, on the rear of my 90 are two IPF clear fog lights, for backing up or setting up camp. My recovery bracket sits inside the receiver. There you have it! Over the years I have tried to keep the amount of stuffminimal. It doesn’t always work out that way and indeed, the D90 does get loaded to the gills… with stuff.

See you on the trail!

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