P38 Off-Road Equipment

Somebody should make a big plastic bag to put the car in and seal it, to protect the
electrics.

The mere mortals who assume the P38 is just a school bus aren't going to be interested in off road gear and that's up to them, but us in the know about the P38's, well I need not say more. It is them who will or will not end up buying stuff like a snorkel (be it for fording or dust) or a steering guard.

This topic is not about the merits (or lack of) of the P38's off road abilities, it's just a simply about if you would buy of road equipment for a P38 if it was out there in the stores.

O Bife said:

The mere mortals who assume the P38 is just a school bus aren't going to be interested in off road gear and that's up to them, but us in the know about the P38's, well I need not say more. It is them who will or will not end up buying stuff like a snorkel (be it for fording or dust) or a steering guard.

This topic is not about the merits (or lack of) of the P38's off road abilities, it's just a simply about if you would buy of road equipment for a P38 if it was out there in the stores.

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Exactly. i have yet to buy my P38, still waiting to get back to UK to buy it. but even i would risk going off road in it. take the family out for a weekend driving and off-roading, a bit of camping, then drive the car home and wash it all off ready for the working week. even a few simple things to protect, or make it look off-roady would be better than nothing. been looking for a roof rack that can hold spare wheels for when i eventually go, cant find nothing!

sas1810 said:

...been looking for a roof rack that can hold spare wheels for when i eventually go, cant find nothing!

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What about something like what's on the following page (the image is a link):

O Bife said:

What about something like what's on the following page (the image is a link):

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MMMMMMM now that does look good to me! raise:

I marshal the off road course at billing every year and use it for recovering other tricked up or standard land rovers it's more than capable in its own right but I must admit some front recovery points wouldn't come amiss , I had qt diff guards on my classic I'd like a pair of them on my p38 .

sas1810 said:

MMMMMMM now that does look good to me! raise:

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Here is the site of the guy who makes them, there are a lot more photos of that set-up too (photo is the link):

Lots of people offroad here in France with their P38, not the beginner green laning but some good offroad courses and it's funny to see the face of some extreme trophy trucks that did many challenges like Outback or Breslau when we go over difficulties in one attempt without any lockers or whatever but ETC, leather, wood and Harman Kardon audio

Vids there:

Range Rover P38 SRC au Forest Hill - YouTube
Range Rover P38 à Plailly - YouTube
Range Rover P38 à Plailly - YouTube
DAV P38 LANDRAUVERGNE2011.avi - YouTube
DAV P38 SAVOIE LAND HD - YouTube

kooky_guy said:

Doesn't 996Turbo do off road kit for the P38?

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Yes i do!! The P38 will put any Classic in the bin when i'll have relocated the BECM up to the roof

My p38 is going for her first off road trip tomorow I think as the prices of the p38 falls more and more people will start buying them for road/off road use hopefully the market for accessorys will increase with demand

I found the videos I remembered seeing many moons ago. Compared to the other vehicles there, I'd say that P38 was stock. It seemed quite capable until the silly placement of the BeCM caused problems. If the BeCM was better located and he had operating EAS, I suspect he'd never get stuck in the first place. Unlike the Patrol which got a lung full.

Part 1 Part 2

Have a look on eBay, there were some recent auctions for new rock/tree sliders, front winch bumpers and heavy duty rears

All my RR's have been capable off road (especially the 1978 on MT's ) but surely it's not beyond the wit of man (sanity maybe) to mount the becm in a waterproof enclosure under the seat? Hmmm... we have a 3D printer at work...

I'm sure it's not just the P38 that has the BECM in stupid places. I'm sure the Defender tractors also have something important in a stupid location that requires a loom extension to move it to the headlining or something in order that it can survive it raining.

That was from the days when I used to read Defender Monthly (LRO) in the vain hope that there might occasionally be something P38 oriented in there.
(Have a feeling I might have said this before somewhere... but can't be bothered to read back through the thread.)

O Bife said:

Here is the site of the guy who makes them, there are a lot more photos of that set-up too (photo is the link):

http://www.rockrover.com/rearbumper.htm​

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I almost like that. Shame it's so expensive. Also, I don't really follow what he means about the tow hitch - you have to remove it to fit the bumper but if you really need to tow, stick with the tow hitch...?

I could really do with relocating my spare - the lpg tank takes up the wheel well and it doesn't leave a lot of space in the boot, just sitting on the floor. Has anyone managed to fit one vertically without having to chop things about too much?

I think in the future I would buy some offroad equipment for the P38. I had the same problem when looking for offroad stuff for the unmentionable jap.

For me the p38 would be great for greenlaning, but in order to stop leaving bits here and there I think my first buy would be some bumpers and guards for the under carriage etc. I have seen so many disco's, range rovers trailing bumpers behind them its unreal. Sometimes they could have been a little more careful mind you. I also have some concerns with the air suspension with regards to serious offroading. You never know whats under the mud sometimes, only takes a stick pointing in the right direction to rip of a height sensor (or damage it) or puncture an air bag. Correct me if I am wrong I bet they are dam tough but still my own worry (I have had to untangle them from normal springs in the past. So I might consider changing out the air bags for lifted springs.

And Tyres! forgot about that, perhaps my first buy. Rubbish tyres will leave you stuck on a wet grassy slope, MT's AT's its a balance. Best muds I ever had where Special tracks (nosiey as hell on the road, enough to send dogs reversing into hedges).

At the moment I keep the old unmentionable, for the laning, people laugh at it. But the wife bought it in 2001 and apart from the mods never had anything, (touch wood) apart from me modifying it, go wrong. Also never caught the bumpers front or back. It is however very uncomfortable and I would prefer the p38 with this in mind for laning in the future. This is one of the main flaws with it, and the p38 excells at keeping you comfortable for a days laning I bet. I would be the same in a defender, 6ft4, aint enough room in most motors to be comfortable.

I don't think I have ever had more than a trickle of water come through the door seals either. Use the right method described in many a wading guide. If you have no common sense your screwed before you start.

My P38 had been dunked at some point and i an still suffering the niggles, all the bearings on the ancillaries have now been changed. Had some rusty connection problems. Plus I reckon that it had been hydraulic'd during the process.

I have been using my p38 on the tracks here for over 12 months now - most days and always weekends - so far the only item I have broken is a lower splitter on the front bumper. Removed my Warn winch off the front as it has never been used and it was cutting airflow to the rads a bit too much. It sits on 235/70x16 special tracks which have never let me down or if they lose grip TC cuts in and all is well. I only have 1 concern with mine and that is the ABS cutting in when traversing a very steep loose downhill (yes it is in low box 1st gear) - have now learnt to let off brake pedal and then re-stamp on it and it stops instantly, have thought about removing fuse 27 to disable abs but that means losing TC and bringing ABS light on permanent. Air bags are superb at coping with off camber stuff and the height gains in high setting have never had me wanting anymore height to clear obstacles ( in fact its very seldom on high setting)

I've been looking around a bit since starting this poll and here are some prices I have found. The only items I have found for our P38s are those from a French store (FR), all the other stuff (from the UK) are for Def's, Discos and RR Classics!

Steering Guards:

• UK - Guard with steering damper relocation bracket, built in recovery points & Hi-lift Jacking tubes. £175.20 (€218.00)

• UK - Guard with built in recovery eyes for LHD vehicles. £151.20 (€190.00)

• FR - Bog standard Steering Guard Bash Plate for Range Rover P38 LP RHD £190.00 (€299.00)

Tank Guards:

• UK - Tank Guards for Discos, Defenders and RR Classics £130.00 (€160.00)

• FR - Range Rover P38 LP Fuel Tank Guard Skid Plate £190.00 (€299.00)

Diff Guards:

• UK - Slider diff guards Avg. £70.00 (€87.00) or Extreme diff guards £54.00 (€68.00)

• FR - Rear P38 Diff guard £160.00 (€199.00)

• FR - Front P38 Diff guard £135.00 (€169.00)

Have you tried 996 turbo on this site for off road gear? IMO a snorkel on a P38 is pointless, never mind the BECM, on the diesel the FIP electronics, transfer box motor and connections, EAS ECU, transfer box ECU, auto box ECU would all be vunerable to water ingress.
If LR were serious about all round off road ability, all that stuff bar the FIP would have been mounted in the dash cavity.

Datatek said:

Have you tried 996 turbo on this site for off road gear?

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What site is that?