getting started

ive just got myself a defender 110lwb and want to get it ready for off roading but not sure wot i need,
and where to go with out ****ing people of i live near rotherham so if any one can help please let me know.
and if any one has any off road bits for sale let me know please

dont fall into the trap of thinking you need to go and spend £100s on "off road" parts - dont forget that yer depender is designed to go off road as standard - get a good set of ATs and save some money for running repairs untill you have figured out exactly what you need as opposed to what you think you need

were's the best place to get a good set of AT's and how much r we looking for them

crag said:

were's the best place to get a good set of AT's and how much r we looking for them

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Ah there yer go straight in, give me a set of AT's please. What if you want something a bit more serious MT's, coz if I had the choice that's what I would go for.

Take your time google, and search the posts.

I have waffle boards, hand winch, high lift, and steering guard with the recovery and lift points, shackles and straps, ones a heavy duty ratchet strap to take up play when winching, can of tyre weld, tool box, angle irons to pound into the ground for anchors coz there's never a tree around when you need one, torch and spare batterys, spade that folds and has a pick on it, gloves and rags, made tree and rock sliders, and a rack to mount all the kit. everything is strapped down including the bottle jack since the velcro thing is useless, also made a new clamp for battery in case it goes upside down, winch it back over and way we go, but if battery falls out yer fooked. And recently made a tank guard coz although tank is plastic it was getting battered.

I took the fan off and fitted a kenlow, various opinions on this but I felt it wasted energy and it chucks all the **** all over the engine, and I fitted two big spots.

Probably other bits and bobs but I go out on my own to cut trees and when I get stuck, and I do, I need to recover myself. But it's fun and more so when you know that if you **** up yer stranded, so I walk some bits just in case and place markers but it's like golf, everytime you go out the weather changes everything, particularily so if you use the same route several times.

I also carry a first aid kit, chain saw injury's are nasty, but stick all the bits in one of them plastic containers bit like a water bottle and tape it to somut.

thanks alot mate will take that all in mind, all advice is welcome more the better. even tho am ex army we never got that into off roading that much.yer flying over a desert and in a wood but never swimming in one

crag said:

thanks alot mate will take that all in mind, all advice is welcome more the better. even tho am ex army we never got that into off roading that much.yer flying over a desert and in a wood but never swimming in one

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We were the same, shown fokal, all we were told was that the one tonies tended to fall over a bit. Lots of training with a shovel tho, mortor platoon, everytime we stopped we dug fookin holes.

Anytime you are thinking about doing something or buying kit bounce it off the guys on here first, they kept me safe. Ready for anything and all that pish as they say.

Oh and if you go off road still put yer seatbelt on, if it rolls it keeps you in the seat, but keep a knife handy since some seatbelts wont release. Been upside down in a seatbelt for fun in the brigade and its a coont getting out. I remember a girl in a car who didn't and she went through the sun roof and was dragged down the road trapped between the road and the car, took all her skin off.

As long as the Land Rover is in good condition it will cope just fine with 99% of greenlaning situations, but what about you? If you are new to off roading it would be a good idea to get some off-roading mates to show you the ropes or get some off road driving lessons.

I don't think many people go greenlaning without a high lift jack. A guard for the front diff could save you from time consuming and/or costly repairs if you hit a rock on a river crossing or in deep mud and they don't cost much. Some front recovery points are a good idea e.g. Jate rings

Don't spend bog all till you've bin to Tong. If you get stuck there'll be plenty of folk queing up to pull you out.

The most essential land rover add on for laning.... your mobile phone and a couple of phone numbers for other landy types in the area! Its saved my bacon a few times!

Ryder said:

The most essential land rover add on for laning.... your mobile phone and a couple of phone numbers for other landy types in the area! Its saved my bacon a few times!

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More importantly, never go alone in the first place.

Spyderman said:

More importantly, never go alone in the first place.

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I go alone all the time, and come back loaded to the roof, but I am well kitted out for when I get stuck. When it looks iffy I walk it a bit with a prodder to test the depth of the mud and if it's all mud or solid below it. I place markers to guide me and go nice and carefull, once I have established a route I power through the mud, but because I need to visit that area several times I often mush it up and get stuck. I have an advantage of a couple of chainsaws with me, so a tree gets attacked for to build a track.

A major mechanical failure is going to be a disaster tho, in the bits I go to I have doubts another landie could pull me out, and it will have to be a farmer with a tractor.

But that adds a bit of fun to it.

david451 said:

I go alone all the time, and come back loaded to the roof, but I am well kitted out for when I get stuck. When it looks iffy I walk it a bit with a prodder to test the depth of the mud and if it's all mud or solid below it. I place markers to guide me and go nice and carefull, once I have established a route I power through the mud, but because I need to visit that area several times I often mush it up and get stuck. I have an advantage of a couple of chainsaws with me, so a tree gets attacked for to build a track.

A major mechanical failure is going to be a disaster tho, in the bits I go to I have doubts another landie could pull me out, and it will have to be a farmer with a tractor.

But that adds a bit of fun to it.

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well said dave a bet your family line goes back to all them (ENGLISH) EXPLORERS WHO RISKED IT ALL TO PUSH THE FRONTIERS FORWARD and bo hood the naaa sayers keep up the good work

thanks alot guys but the buyer that was buying my xr2 turbo hasn turned up with the money so have to wait until thats goes

Alright Craig,

I'm no expert, but I've only had my Disco for 18 months or so, so can well remeber what it is like to be a newbie to all of this.

I'd say that the most important thing first is to make sure that your vehicle is tip-top, mechanicly wise. No point going out in summat thats going to break down. It's also wise to make sure that any major rust damage is sorted out, although with a Landy, this could take a lot of time / money to sort.

The problem with geting more off-road biased tyres is that you will be likely to go on more extreme terrain. The first time I took my Disco off-roadm to a pay and play site, it was tottaly bog standered. So long as you are sensable, you should be alright for a while.

Bumpers will get damaged. No point in replacing them with the original items, you might as well go for something more rigid and with more ground clearance, but that will all come later.

Personally, I'd go for at least a front diff guard. Piece of **** to fit, and it's likely to set you back between £15-£20 for a new one. Try Paddocks in Matlock. Google them and you will find their internet site.

I also went for a set of all terrains, but in my opinion, they were crap. Neither an on road tyre, or an off road one. If your going to be doing a hell of a lot of on road miles, but still want off road capability, then buy yourself a used set of rims from ebay and stick a new set of mud terrains on them. If your doing less than 20'000 miles a year, then just stick the mud terrains on and be done with it, as their not that bad as road tyres.

If you can buy used bits such as steering guard, bumpers, rock sliders, tank guards, etc, then do so. Ebay can throw up some bargins, as can the classifieds on sites such as this. If your after new stuff, then I would reccomend Guardian Off Road, based over Lincoln way. They advertise on Ebay, and in my experiance, the owner is a decent bloke, who makes decent kit that fits first time and chages fair prices.

I'm not a million miles from you, (based between Sheffield and Chesterfield), so if you fancy a run out one evening / weekend, just give me a shout.

And if you do go out on your own, then it's better to be cautious than crash / wreak your motor. Always walk the bit your going to be driving on, just so that you can get a better idea of all potential hazards. If you are in any doubt that you cant manage a certain bit, then dont bother doing it, especially if your on your own.

Better safe than sorry.