The customary intro

[Lawrence Freeman]

Hi all

Lawrence here.
I have a 2008 HZJ78 series Troopie. Quite a few mods, as the truck is only used for trips I have concentrated on the simple and practical additions.
I am a strong beliver of the KIS Keep it Simple principal. I do most of the work myself or with the help of some friends.

I originally overlanded with a Disco TD5 for many years but eventually lost confidence after the usual list of failures.

We wanted to get a Landcruiser and bravely went for a new import, spent a bit more than we originally budgeted, but I think the results were worth it.

I keep a small project site up to date with all the mods I have done as a reference for others and welcome any questions or suggestions.
Http://landcruiser.freeman.me.uk

 

[Paul]

Welcome, always room for a troopy

 

[Scott]

Welcome Lawrence, glad to see you on here. Hope your enjoying our seasonal weather. Will probably see you on the show circuit next year.

Regards to all,

Scott & Steph.

 

[Ecoman]

Hi and welcome aboard. Great looking truck

 

[Andrew Prince]

Welcome Lawrence

Good to have you join us I recall you from the old place - glad you found the new place

Cheers,

 

[Chris]

Hi Lawrence. I am sure that I have seen that truck before. About a year ago or so on the A1 near Stevenage. If not, it was it's twin. It's a minter for sure!

Stunning


Chris

 

[adrianr]

Great looking truck - enjoyed your bog write up.

Your storage drawers are excellent.

And now i know what to do with my ipad too. Thank you.

 

[24Seven]

This has to be one the nicest Land Cruisers in the UK Lawrence

 

[Chas]

Thanks Laurence, nicely prepared Cruiser, I like the web site, especially the project section.

 

[Bat21]

Nice looking truck Lawrence, enjoyed looking through the mods on your site too I couldn't find the one about the bog that Adrian mentions above though

 

[uHu]

Yes. Agreed, Great truck.
Looks like perfect for the job.
Do you also get the 78 troopie as a V8 diesel?
(I used to have a HZJ80 for use in the deserts in the ME, and the engine power was absolutely sufficient, both off and on road, so I'm asking just out of interrest)

btw: Tried to register on your site, but it said that my e-mail address was not valid. Tried one UK address and one foreign. Also the user name is restictive. Even with my full name I don't have 6 letters, but that's not a problem.

 

[Conrad-BJ70]

What can I say? Simply amazing! Well-done!!!

 

[SimonD]

Hi Lawrence. Welcome. If i remember rightly from the other site, you struggled getting insurance for your truck. Who did you go for in the end and would you recommend them?

 

[Lawrence Freeman]

Hi Lawrence. Welcome. If i remember rightly from the other site, you struggled getting insurance for your truck. Who did you go for in the end and would you recommend them?

Yes you right, the main problem is that more and more general retail insurance companies can/will only quote from a standard configuration as listed on the ABI Association of British Insurers database. If it is not listed there then they cannot quote you.

What was happening in the past was that I would ave a conversation with a sales person who put in the nearest match to get the quote out. In most cases this was as an Amazon4.2 the problem would be if I needed to claim the underwriter would simply use that as an excuse not to pay.

In the end I found Glynwood Insurance services who do a specialist vehicle policy from Chauser. this policy is for a 2nd vehicle used occasionally for recreational purposes and you have to declare the intended mileage. The insurance ended up being half that of NFU or Carole Nash who were the only others that we even interested in quoting.

I can currently recommend Glynwood as one few remaining "old school" brokers. 01384 214544