Load carrying

[simon1959]

All, I am going to need to do some local collection of bricks for various home projects. Can anybody give me an idea of how many bricks I could safely carry in the back of my 88"? I really don't want to do any damage.

A rough calc tells me I have space for about 250, but at circa 3kg a brick, that would be 750kgs, which seems a lot for the old girl to carry and probably multiple of its capacity (when new).

[TimV]

Have you looked in the handbook?

[Wittsend]

There's a nice little Land Rover Technical Details booklet - available to browse in the Technical section of the website.
You need to see page 25 re payloads.

The book figure for a SWB on the road is 3 people plus 1,000 lbs (454 kg).

However ...

How good are your springs
After 60 years they could be rubbish.
How heavy might you and your passengers be

Your 750 kg would suggest you are going to be "on the limit"
Put some extra air in the tyres. Be warned that if the front lifts up a bit your steering will feel lighter.

The other question is:- how far are you travelling
On quiet roads where you can take it "easy" ?

Better to be safe than sorry and make it 2 trips.
It will certainly be a good work out for your suspension. Consider painting the spring leaves with a mix of sump oil and diesel - before and after.

[simon1959]

Wittsend,

Thanks for your response. I have the handbook - 450kgs or circa 600kgs if its just me and no pax seems a lot, especially when you consider the springs are original (as is the chassis etc). I was after some real world experience.

These will be local pickups. I will, as you suggest do a number of trips to be safe and limit the load to about 250kgs

[Wittsend]

I can tell you now that a 1 tonne bag of gravel in the back of a SWB will lift the front wheels 6" off the ground (parabolic springs) much to my embarrassment. I had to pay to have the stone delivered 

 

[g6anz]

I loaded mine up to seat level with second hand house bricks. It gave a softer ride but otherwise no change.

[edwardatherton]

I've had about 650kg of stone flags in the back of my S1 88".  After unloading it had risen 9" so must have been on the bump stops.  A gentle ride only a few miles home - wouldn't have done that on country bumpy twisty roads!

[simon1959]

I limited the load to 250kgs and kept off the really bumpy roads and all was well. 2" of sag, which for old springs seems ok.

I calculated that I will need 4,000 bricks in total which is quite daunting when I can only carry 80 a time!

[GHOBHW]

the trick to keeping it from riding on the bumpstops is jamming big pieces of oak between the axle and chassis rails...

they can handle quite a lot of weight though, driven carefully of course, I do have the heavy duty springs on my 88" and have had quite a bit of weight in the past.

[Old Hywel]

The law takes a very dim view of overloading. To start with it'll cost you the towing fee, followed by penalty points and fines.

[Dopey]

I have 2 pallet loads in here, made a BBQYou cannot view this attachment.

[Exile]

But if you really want to cart bricks, V8 One Tens don't even know they are there......

[Peter Holden]

When we loaded our S1 107 past its capacity we had the earlier mentioned oak blocks and tyres inflated 5o 70 or 80 psi so that it looked normal.

Peter

[Gerty]

OP I think you have had the right guidance now so the thread can digress.....?

Summary below - 88" loaded with the springs on the bump stops to the French Alps and back without problems encountered.

My love of Land Rovers started in 1994 when me and a few mates bought 1969 SWB with a V8 in it.  Tilt, no door tops.  Fabricated a roof rack over the tilt to carry 4 mountain bikes and a carrier off the back for another 3.  7 of us headed down the M1 from York on our way to the French Alps fully loaded with bikes and camping gear.  Suspension on the stops. Tilt rolled up.  Passed the rozzers on the motorway with a thumbs up, no seat belts, 3 across the front, 4 in the load bay on top of the camping gear.  They smiled at us. 

Fast forward 30 years and I bought a 1969 109" SW and it too has been on the bump stops on scouting camping trips - particularly when sweeping the injured, lost and lazy off forest trails with a personal record of 15 scouts and me and rucksacks in it and roof rack 6' high with gear!.

For all the above, I am glad there were no weigh bridges in sight.  And I would not and did not overload with Scouting on the Public Highway. They seem to take a lot of abuse without apparent complaint.  But I second the recommendations of not exceeding the handbook for the sake of hefty penalties if the rozzers rightly take exception. 

Paul

[Theshed]

Recently shifted a large amount of York stone with my SWB with little effort.
Steering was a little light but local roads at a quiet time, it took it in it's stride.
It did give rise to a question which I will ask at a later date.
With regard to permissible weight does the Series 2 have a weight plate anywhere ?
Some years back, leaving Dover in a Transit after a 'booze cruise' we where pulled in for a weight check.
Driving was my job at the time so I knew the weight was spot on. Whilst we waited our turn, several cars struggled past, obviously overloaded.
I asked the Man from the Ministry why they didn't pull them ? He replied that as they don't have a weight plate then they cannot check them.
The Police could stop if it was deemed dangerous.