The Defender thread

Snake_Doctor

My understanding is that it is 3500 Gross. I have heard that some Isuzu Dmax have gotten their back springs upgraded to meet the criteria and qualify for the 50 Euro VRT. As far as I know it is the stamped gross weigh on the chassis or logbook? that counts, so I'd say you will qualify.
Saw a lovely 2500 Ram in Cork last week, the purr off that cummins is fantastic.

clocke08

hi snake doctor, i have been on to revenue in waterford, and i have been on to limerick (my local) tax office, VRT of a crew cab when being brought in must be payed at the private rate, then if you want you can convert it (provided its pre 2003) to a utility as i am doing. however, the 110 i have is an irish registered 1991 csw so i literally only need to do the work and get it inspected and that is it as its registration tax is already payed years ago. so basically you can convert it... you just cant get it vrt'd for €200 if you make it look commercial before you pay vrt

My question is, has anyone who has converted one of these had any issues with loadspace lengths??
reason i ask is ive seen this one on done deal and i can tell by looking at it that its bulkhead is in the same position as mine is and its commercial...

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/3070358

bumpydog

Sadly, the GVWR of a Dodge 1500 is 3017Kg. The Ram 2500/3500 are over 3,500kg so would qualify for commercial VRT (now €200 - I just registered one of my Sprinter 4x4 minibuses and paid €200, it was increased from €50 last May)

There's a nice 2500 Cummins (and RHD!) on Ebay in the UK which could be imported for €200 VRT.

Snake_Doctor

This is interesting, I suspect that as you say it will be down to who actually inspects it. If you actually apply your approach fully, there should be no 45% rule for it, as that rule came in 2003, and you are trying to acheive compliance with the legislation pre 2003. This being Ireland though...

Pigeon Reaper

Pigeon Reaper wrote: »

I've checked the solenoid and it's fine. The fuel filter is dry so the problem is in the line somewhere between the filter and the tank.

Found the problem fuel line and replaced it. I also cleaned out the fuel pump which was full of sludge. The engine is now running again but I also discovered a little leak in the radiator hose.

101sean

The rules and regs are as clear as mud but I thought the 45% only applied originally to new imports to get €200 VRT? Land Rover themselves tried to see if this can be done on a 110 Utility but admitted defeat. The rules have since changed anyway.

I don't think there is a loadspace length requirement for re-registering an Irish registered vehicle as a commercial.

Edit-Now I've merged the threads I see Snake Doctor has explained it well.

101sean

Didn't realise you'd started a separate thread and asked here Clock08 so I've merged and tidied them.

clocke08

sound for that sean, im relatively new to the site so still a bit lost

right so ive been back on to the motor tax office, and nearly had a heart attack, the woman i had spoken to previously and had told me everything i have mentioned above, she decided to change her mind about the whole situation, clearly hadn't a clue what she was on about, she told me that to re register it, the loadspace had to be larger than the seating area, that was the only requirement, so i had a panic attack as this would mean i would lose the second row seats! so i went and did a bit of digging, and heres what ive found, seems fairly definitive: (from wexford motor tax website) Hatchbacks/Landrovers & other vehicles which have been adapted for goods purposes since the date of first registration.
In order to ensure that it is being taxed in accordance with the Regulations, any of the above vehicles being presented for taxation in the following instances may require an inspection by a member of the supervisory staff of the Motor Taxation Office :
First taxation of vehicle;
Change of particulars from private to goods;
Change of ownership.
If the vehicle has been adapted for commercial use, the following criteria must be adhered to when inspected except in the case of Crew Cabs. (See 'Crew Cabs' below):
All seats to the rear of the drivers seat must be removed and the seat bolt holes welded over;
All rear seat belts must be removed and the seat belt anchor points welded over;
The goods carrying area must be greater that the seating area.



Crew Cabs
Normal commercial vehicles can only have two/three seats in the front of the vehicle and the rest of the vehicle is for goods carriage only. There is one exception to this rule and this is when the vehicle is used as a Crew Cab.
A Crew Cab is a commercial vehicle that is not only used for goods carriage, but also for transport of employees to and from jobs\sites etc.
Due to the nature of the Crew Cabs use, it is necessary to have more than just the front seats.
To qualify to use a commercial vehicle as a Crew Cab, the owner of the vehicle must have a minimum of three employees other than the driver.
When taxing a Crew Cab for the first time as a new vehicle or as the new owner of a Crew Cab, you must submit a Crew Cab Declaration Form containing the Names and P.P.S.N. numbers of at least three employees.
If you do not have three employees, then you do not qualify for Crew Cab status, therefore the rear seats must be removed from the vehicle if commercial tax is required, or else the vehicle must be taxed privately.
A Crew Cab can only have a Maximum of six seats (not including driver,) therefore, a maximum of six employees can be carried at one time.

So it seems it is definitely possible, but by the time i found this it was passed closing time at the tax office so couldnt call back and find out exactly what the requirements are for the load space... will update ye on that tomorrow, what are yere thoughts on this??

101sean

No problem, many newbies make the same mistake!

Keep us posted but it's one of those things where you get different answers even in the same office. Pretty sure you'll find there's no loadspace length requirement (hopefully!)

clocke08

Heres hoping anyway sean, will let ye know how it goes...

Snake_Doctor

Very Interested to know how this turns out...I would defo go the same road if it works out:D

clocke08

Well hopefully it does SD, otherwise theres going to be a 91 csw up for sale very soon

clocke08

Right, so far the word is that the load space needs to be 45% of the wheelbase, this is coming from the guy who inspects the vehicle at the tax office so im assuming he is correct, im waiting to hear back about blanking the windows

Snake_Doctor

clocke08 wrote: »

Right, so far the word is that the load space needs to be 45% of the wheelbase,

Is this a show stopper? The load area is short of the 45% by a few cm?

clocke08

ok, so it is do'able, loadspace has to be 45% of wheelspace, there can be no openings in the loadspace (ie windows have to be covered, removed or disabled).

Thems the rules folks

now, down to what you need as regards paperwork:

A 'Vehicle Owner's Declaration of Conversion' must be filled out by the owner, this consists of a form where you basically say what category the vehicle used to be and what it is now, and an engineers report, this is a form that a suitably qualified individual (looks like claims assessors are the only ones who do this) inspects the work, makes sure it checks out then signs off on the work (hopefully ).

You then send this information to revenue, who in turn send you back a certificate saying all's good, you bring this to the tax office and they change it to commercial for you once there inspector has rechecked the work...


then you need to tax it, which includes getting this: http://www.wexford.ie/wex/Departments/MotorTax/ApplicationForms/Thefile,5705,en.pdf

stamped by the fuzz.

Then your done!!

Hope this is helpfull for everyone interested

clocke08

No SD its not a show stopper i dont think, worst case scenario ill have to move the rear seats foreward a few inches by making a spacer, but more likely ill just tilt them foreward a bit and get over it

101sean

Interesting. I assume then that when Land Rover Ireland attempted it they were trying to do it without using non standard parts or chopping seat frames. Obviously not enough market here but they used to do some really strange ones for the Dutch market which had similar commercial rules.

They way things are going I'm going to have to throw some van sides and a bulkhead on mine then "sell" it to my brother-in-laws business and "hire" it back off him, been hauling trailers for him all week anyway :rolleyes:

clocke08

haha, sean, if it works out alright for me then i would definitely recommend it, ive a half arsed bulkhead in at the moment and in fairness i prefer this setup to having it straight through from front to back, it will mean less noise and less area to heat if i do it correctly so fingers crossed it works out as for 'selling' it to you brother ive the same issue to deal with too

sheesh

anyone get Army surplus landrover and how did they find it? I have seen some on sale there and thought it would be a good idea.

questions would be
where did you buy it?
did you drive it home?

101sean

I assumes you are talking ex British Army Land Rovers and looking for the current in service type ie 90/110 Defender? Irish Army ones were nearly all scrapped.

There's plenty sold privately and through dealers but they all originally came from Witham's who handle all MOD disposals. If you bought from them you could not drive it home as it wouldn't be tested or registered unless you paid extra and then it would be a UK registration.

Excluding the Wolfs (you need a lottery win for one of them), all the British ones were built in 86/87 and 93/94 I think and all have the 2.5NA diesel (apart from a few V8 110s) which is slow, noisy but goes forever. They have very basic trim and no power steering.

Loads listed here inc a few from Witham and private sellers - http://www.milweb.net/classifieds.php?type=14

clocke08

there are a few 300s as far as i know sean, cant remember where i headr this but im pretty sure.

101sean

That's the Wolf XDs from 1996ish. £15-18,000 is the going rate for them, even write offs are £8-10,000 :eek:

sheesh

101sean wrote: »

I assumes you are talking ex British Army Land Rovers and looking for the current in service type ie 90/110 Defender? Irish Army ones were nearly all scrapped.

There's plenty sold privately and through dealers but they all originally came from Witham's who handle all MOD disposals. If you bought from them you could not drive it home as it wouldn't be tested or registered unless you paid extra and then it would be a UK registration.

Excluding the Wolfs (you need a lottery win for one of them), all the British ones were built in 86/87 and 93/94 I think and all have the 2.5NA diesel (apart from a few V8 110s) which is slow, noisy but goes forever. They have very basic trim and no power steering.

thanks for all that!
Reliable but slow would be fine by me. I would be able to do something about the noise.

I have seen some for about STG£5k (+vat) that are as you described there and are winterised it looks like some insualtion and heating in the back with seats I might have a look at the rebuilt ones in the uk and see how they compare on price.

101sean

Considering their age, ex MOD Land Rovers are dearer than civvy equivalents but will have been looked after. It's been known for them to be cast with rough body but with new chassis, engine and gearbox underneath. There's even some Project Tithonus ones being cast now that were only rebuilt a couple of years ago and have soundproofing. Winterised ones are good buy if you can find one.

clocke08

Ok lads, still having trouble with this conversion, getting a bit annoyed with it all at this stage, but heres what ive just found, seems to be the most up to date version of the law. (SEE SECTION 3)

Looks like very good news

101sean

Lad over on 4xforum was having fun changing his 110 from a van to a Hi-cap pick up. Insurance company insisted on an engineers report which had to be in a standard form but couldn't say what the form was or provide it! He paid an assessor €100 to sort it and even he said the insurance company should have provided the form for him to fill out.

shaycoll

Sorry for changing the subject but has anyone tried/fitted the Alive Tuning ATRIC box to remap a TD5. I'd like to get a bit more out of mine but don't want to end up with either a poorly tuned engine done by some kid with a laptop, with lots of flat spots or shred random components not capable of dealing with the extra power. any thoughts? Thanks. S
PS Not that I'm suggesting that Alive Tuning do a bad job. By all accounts, they appear to be the best in the business. Just wondering what everyone thinks?

101sean

You can use a Nanocom or Hawkeye to import a map and they'll do diagnostics on the rest of the system inc alarm and abs as well.

You are better off getting a tune at a garage rather than by email as they can check your Td5 over and supply the tune you need (there's loads of different tunes). Alive Tuning are respected though, Bell Auto Services (BAS) also do remaps by post. I think most of the UK tuners have agents here now anyway.

What year is your Td5, if it's pre 2002 it won't have a flashable chip and you'd have to send your ecu away to get a new chip fitted.

shaycoll

Mine is a 2003. The only agent I can see for Alive is in the North which is a bit of a trek from Cork. Would a remap be tailored specifically to my td5 or just a general setting for any td5? I go to Paddy Buckley for any jobs but don't think he does tuning. The Alive one is tempting as they seem to specialise in LR but I'd prefer a garage to do the whole thing of there is an element of tweaking the remap to suit my specific machine.

101sean

You need to specify what you are looking for, just want a bit more get up and go, more bottom end as you tow a lot or an out and out road burner. A back street tuner will probably just have a single map that could be very poor whereas a Td5 specialist can customise to your vehicle and what you want. Doing it by post or email from Alive etc will get you good results but not quite as good as if it's done in a garage with a test drive.

I don't know who does it down south, most either go to the UK or up to Belfast.
Try contacting Alive, http://bellautoservices.co.uk/ and http://www.twistedperformance.co.uk/ and see if they have any one doing it here. I think there's a couple of posts way back up this thread where someone found a local who did a decent tune.