Michael Foreman
At ages 37 and 30 respectively, Michael and Jeannie Foreman, Flemington, NJ, feel, “We need to start traveling while we’re still young.” Jeannie wants to see more of the world and Michael “loves driving anything.” As they told me in an interview, “We don’t have kids yet, so we’re going to get as much done as possible over the next few years. We can forgo showers, comfortable hotel rooms and the like while we’re younger. Our idea is that it will be easier to replenish the bank account now rather than later.”
Professionally, Jeannie works for Bank of America and Michael manages Exoticars, service and restoration specialists for European cars. Jeannie shared,
“I had travelled much of Europe before I met Michael, and I’ve always wanted to see more. I prefer independent travel as opposed to public transport, so a camper was of real interest”.
As a mechanic, Michael said, “I see what breaks every day. Field repairability would be a plus, as would a reasonable weight to reduce the chance of bogging down in a remote area” [which ruled out a Unimog for him]. “Self-sufficiency meant that a diesel drivetrain would be the best option, but I wanted one without electronics. The strength and torsional rigidity of the Land Rover box frame would be essential for longevity.” Jeannie wanted the vehicle to fit into normal parking spaces and did not want to tow a trailer.
The Foremans have embraced Land Rovers for many years (an ’08 Range Rover L322 and a ’16 Range Rover L405 are their latest), and their choice of this ’97 Defender “Pulse” 130 with its 300 Tdi seemed perfect to them. “We actually read about the Pulse variant in Rovers Magazine. Coil springs appealed to me, as did the beefed up XD chassis, 300Tdi, Wolf axles, permanent 4-wheel drive with the center differential lock and 4-wheel disc brakes. The alloy box is made by Marshall, engineered from scratch to be light, strong and repairable.” Their search seemed interminable but they’re thrilled with their find.
Upon receiving “Lance,” Michael refreshed the 300Tdi with new silicone cooling and heater hoses, installed a new brass radiator/intercooler and larger transmission cooler, a finned sump for the transfer case, an alloy coolant tank and new fan clutch. For the winch, he chose a PTO-driven Superwinch, and included all new wheel bearings. He converted the stove to run on smaller, easier-to-fill, propane tanks and replaced the water heater tank with a heat exchanger “that works far better than we expected. The stainless steel wood stove doubles as a baking oven. A 500w inverter, 24v to 12v converter and 2x 100amp-hour lithium batteries supply our living-quarter needs for now.”
Michael noted, “The X-Deflex rear swaybar is one of our favorite handling upgrades and is always disengaged for gravel roads and gnarly trails. The 255/85/16” BFG MTs feel a bit heavy and have changed the gearing, so we might go back to 265s to regain some of the ‘pep.’ Looking ahead, I’ll have to replace the shocks and suspension bushings. I’d like to install front and rear diff locks and maybe consider a Getrag MT82 6-speed transmission as pulling away on an incline in high range is tricky — flicking between low range and high ranges in traffic is not fun. That upgrade would allow me to change the final drive ratio also.”
“Lance” has a pop-up roof large enough to sleep two adults although the Foremans find that they elevate the roof more for headroom than sleeping. The kitchen consists of a medium-size refrigerator, a two-burner propane stove, a stand-up shower room and toilet. The dinette converts into a sleeping area, which has become their preferred arrangement. There is an overhead area designed for a children’s sleeping area; for Micheal and Jennie, it’s more suited for clothing storage.
Since their purchase, the Foremans have made one grand voyage in “Lance” — a trek from New Jersey to the Rockies. “We left New Jersey on a Wednesday night and headed west. Kansas was hellaciously windy and 102 degrees. We clearly weren’t tackling Hell’s Revenge in a Pulse, so we headed towards Pikes Peak. With a 14,000 ft climb, we had to travel in low range, between 3rd and 4th gear. Reaching the summit was very emotional.”
“We left Colorado, camping in different locations, and wound up visiting Jackson Hole, WY. We attended our first rodeo, hiked the Tetons, jumped from cliffs into freezing Phelps Lake [“Jeannie that is, not me,”said Michael], watched grizzlies and bison, saw Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park, visited the the northern states, and came home through Chicago. When in Chicago, you cannot pass through without a deep dish pizza. That carried us all the way to New Jersey. For that entire trip, our 300 Tdi used no oil, nor did we have to add any fluids.”
This fall, the Foremans hope to spend time in Vermont, but their ultimate goal is to “circumnavigate the globe” in “Lance.” We can’t wait to read about their future adventures.
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