THE TIPPING POINT
Trevor discovers how the little things on his Defender 130 Tipper make a big difference
My old Defender 110 Tipper used to go through long periods of inactivity, only to be brought into fairly intensive use on various tasks. By this time, often the blue paint was turning green with moss and such like. The replacement Land Rover – my Defender 130 Tipper – hasn’t been laid up for quite as long, because it is a little more versatile and can therefore carry out additional jobs, which the 110 wasn’t up to. It is also more lively on the road, so it is a comfortable everyday drive in modern traffic. It did sit idle for a few weeks recently however, but as the cab has green paint the effects of nature did not manifest itself so obviously on the body.
The 130 was initially woken from its rest recently to carry out some firewood/ logging duties. My local tree surgeon had worked his magic on an unruly conifer before last winter and had finally come along to log the cut limbs, creating a large pile of firewood for me for next winter. The Land Rover was in its element – its natural environment – hauling the logs and firewood and tipping them in my chosen location for seasoning. This was so much easier than using a wheelbarrow and hand-balling the firewood. It was a great workout for a very good truck.
On the theme of the garden, there was also a very large pile of hedge cuttings and bamboo in the back garden that needed to be taken to the local recycling centre. These days, the problem is that my workshop was built in the way of getting a vehicle or trailer near to the natural loading area of the back garden. So a lot of awkward carrying was in store, until I realised that an unusual window of opportunity had opened up – both of the ramps (workstation areas) in my workshop were clear. Two recent Land Rover projects had been finished and delivered to their homes on the same evening, so there was a one-off opportunity to clear the cuttings through the back door of the workshop, which opens out onto the back garden. The Defender 130 was carefully reversed into number two ramp area, beside the back door and soon had a massive pile of cuttings aboard. Job done in double-quick time!
I always enjoy delivering this type of material to the tip, because invariably there will be two or three cars and trailers there, backed up to the vegetation pile; their owners shovelling or pulling material out of the trailer. I am able to back the Tipper into position, remove the back door and tip the load straight out. Smart Alec eh? However this time one of the local professional gardening guys had the last laugh – his load of grass cutting tipped straight out of his small lorry, while my load had become snagged within the tipped body and I had to do some pulling myself.
With a fresh MOT, oil change and a general service the 130 is about to become a commuter truck for a week or so. My friend, Robert Kiss, is booked into my workshop over the Bank Holiday weekend and following week to have his Discovery 2 rebuilt by the two of us. As his D2 will be off the road during this time, Robert needs a means of transport to commute to his home in Co Armagh – so I have insured him to use my Land Rover. I guess we will take the drop sides off and the chassis-carrying ladder racks to make the truck that little bit more streamlined and fuel efficient…