Really should get a spare Ian before you go any great distance, because the chances of getting a nail are slim but the chances of ripping the sidewall are high! Not to mention blowing a bead off, damaging a rim, or just needing a handy beer bucket/camp seat/ground anchor etc etc!
Off roading is fun if you want to blow off some steam which I find the need to do every 6 months or so, but the real excitement for me (like you say) is getting out there and actually depending on the vehicle.
That's when the hard work really pays off, because you built the vehicle that can take you to some wonderful places, and also it gives you a great sense of achievement when you use that work light that you sweated away at to fit, or plug a lamp into a rear power socket that you spent ages fitting, or use the heated screen that you nearly broke your own fingers trying to fit into the aperture, and so on.
This will sound a bit gay/geeky/loser/weirdo but getting out into the nowhere with your mates and your vehicles and allowing that home made machine to transport you, your food and camping equipment over some extraordinary terrain is the absolute dogs bollocks for any outdoorsman land rover enthusiast.
Plus there is the navigation part of laning which is interesting, again using the in car technology you fitted to help you guide yourself or sometimes even find yourself!!
Its all about getting that bond with the vehicle, I mean tbh I have done SO much work and spent SO much time in the garage, usually alone and often late into the night/morning fettling away at something I feel like the car is my best bloody mate.
My other best bloody mates can't understand why I spend so much time and money in the thing but I guess I just really like my land rover and do enjoy a fettle!
