900 Club Forum

The Forestry Commission Land Rovers were prone to getting stuck on rutted forest tracks and were hampered by fallen trees in cross-country use. So they tried to solve the problems by sticking on tractor-type 10 X 28in wheels which showed potential but required further development.

They enlisted the help of Roadless Traction Ltd who made a redesigned and properly engineered conversion using a combination of components to make the machine functional: it retained most of the original Land Rover components, with the main change being the axles, which were replaced with a pair of Studebaker axles with GKN-Kirkstall planetary hub reductions. The 4 ft tall tyres required that the front axle was 14in wider than the rear in order to give sufficient steering lock and the normal Land Rover front wings and rear body were removed in order to accommodate the large wheels.

The Special Projects Department of Land Rover thoroughly tested the conversion for a couple of years which resulted in Roadless Traction making some further modifications, including strengthening the chassis and altering the axle clearances, before Land Rover approved the conversion. This approval meant that the converted Land Rover could be marketed as the Roadless 109 from 1961. In December of the same year the 2.25 litre petrol engined model retailed at £1558 and the diesel variant at £1658. Only 9 (including the 2 prototypes) are known to have been made, with 6 surviving to the present day.


This vehicle was the 1st of 2 that were ordered by the Institute of Hydrology in Wales and used daily in upland research catchments for 35 years.


It moves quite well
http://s677.beta.photobucket.com/user/1 ... sort=3&o=4

William

Very interesting post. I have not seen the comparison pic with the Series 1 LWB before. The LWB itself is unusual in that it looks to be a factory hardtop. That six of the nine built survive is an excellent survival rate, far higher than for most types of Land-Rover.

Nice write up, I learned something too.

22900013A wrote:Very interesting post. I have not seen the comparison pic with the Series 1 LWB before. The LWB itself is unusual in that it looks to be a factory hardtop. That six of the nine built survive is an excellent survival rate, far higher than for most types of Land-Rover.

They probably survived well as they didn't get driven for many miles due to the fact that they're a bit of a pain to drive. They're pretty wide when trying to get through a gate, and make normal LWB landrovers look like they have small turning circles!
The number built (9) comes from people who worked in Roadless Traction Ltd, whereas Dunsfold seem to think 20 were built. Also, some people disagree that the axles were studebaker, as no-one can find studbacker axles that look similar to them.
william

I think I read they were off WW2 trucks, some of which were Studebaker but they were all copies of a GMC design I think. Perhaps that is the "real" origin? Kind of like how "Ford" Jeeps were copies of the Willys version. The oversnow version has different axles anyway as it does not have the reduction hub droppers.

I think this may be a topic I can offer information on..!!

Yes, six of the nine built, do still exist; the demonstrator, last known-of in the Doncaster area, the CEGB one at Dunsfold, a Hydrology Institute one is in Northern Ireland & the other one is in Brasil, another is languishing somewhere on a Scottish estate, (possibly not running) & there is one in the Falklands (ours)..
The axles/wheels & a few other parts from the one-&-only LHD, sent to America & on to Canada, have turned up, & plans are afoot to do a replica/restoration on another base vehicle..
The BBC one was scrapped in Scotland many years ago & the prototype was broken up at Telford in the early '80's..

Dunsfold are sort-of correct with the figure of twenty, in that there were about that many axle sets made.. But not full vehicles.
(Those not fitted to vehicles, went to the Hydrology Institute as spares; & in the mid-80's, someone decided that it would be a good idea to scrap them, so with the exception of a rear axle saved & sold on for rebuilding the demonstrator (which had just been rescued from a Welsh farm field), that is sadly, where the rest went.. in a skip..!

The axles are NOT Studebakers (or GMC's)..
They are Kirkstalls, made by Kirkstall Forge Engineering in Leeds, & appear to be modified versions of the short ones fitted to Matbro V50 forklifts in the 1950's.
I was lucky enough (after 35 years of searching) able to stumble on one of these extremely rare, & venerable machines right here in the Falklands, & after acquiring it from the owner who was about to dump it, found that it does indeed have the same differential, brakes & planetary hubs as the Roadless 109", & also, in Stuart Gibbard's book on Roadless Traction's history, a photograph of the works yard in Hounslow, with a V50 showing up in it..!!
More in due course, but happy to answer any queries if I can..

Hi Nick,
Thanks for the very interesting information, especially about the source of the axles. I did get a spare set of axles with my Hydrology Institute truck, but they weren't complete. E.g. One of the rear halfshafts had snapped in the truck and been replaced by the spare.
Thanks
William

Hi William..!! Good to have a connection with you again.. ( I lost your emails & address in the same computer crash..!!)
I'm investigating a possible scource of parts for V50 axles, although 109" length halfshafts will be one thing not available; possibly only the planetary stub shaft..

For the definitive Roadless 109 write up, see
LRM October 2021.
Good work Nick.
William