Advice for a novice off roader

[godzilla84]

Just bought my first 4x4 (1996 discovery 300tdi) with the intention of taking it green laning around the north west and im after some advice about what modifications I need to make and prioritise so that i can tackle anything more than a muddy field.

Also does anywhere fun (legal) to go green laning near liverpool?

Any advice will be greatly apreciated!!

[signia]

I'm not in your neck of the woods, but the Disco is pretty much adequate as standard.

To go normal green laning, you need nothing. First mod would be some all terrain tyres though - for those times you're going up rocks/mud etc.

Under body protection is probably next - steering guard. If you're on rocky ground diff guards are reassuring.

Get some jate rings on the chassis to help recover if you get stuck. If you go out as a single vehicle, you don't need a winch, but just take less risks as far as getting stuck is concerned. (Some people will always say never go out alone. I do all the time, but depends where you're going I guess.)

If you're likely to get stuck, get a high lift jack and base, some waffleboards/sandtracks and a shovel. Just be careful where you jack from if you don't have jackable sills.

Hi lift jacks can also be used as hand winches, so can move you a few feet clear of the sticky stuff.

However, you might find you just get the bug, and you end up doing what I've done... Just a lift kit to do now....

[godzilla84]

im saving the cash for tyres at the moment, im budgeting about £300. glad you mentioned underbody protection that was one thing I had overlooked.

Im not likely to go alone, my mate just bought a dico "monster truck" ready made but he is just as much of a novice as me so i thought i would get some advice from people in the know before hand.

[signia]

make sure he goes first then

[jon811]

For around £300 the best thing you can do is m/t tyres, in that budget you could go for 235/70 insa turbo's (pick a patton to suit your needs http://www.paddockspares.com/scp/WHEELS_AND_TYRES/... ) they are the cheapest decent tyres about.
Also good recovery points are important, be carful of the eBay cheapy jate rings as some of them are fing rubbish and can fly apart when given a good tug trust me not good.
diff guard (front and rear) is the next thing to go for particularly if you are going down rutted lanes flints can puncher the casing leading to lost fluid and you probably wont notice until the diff goes PING!
for green laneing avoid to much off road 'garnish' (light bars, snorkels etc) as it will only get ripped off keep the landy nice and slippery particularly if the lanes are overgrown like the ones down this way.
also don’t forget some decent recovery gear Halfords tow ropes are not strong enough to safely recover a well stuck 1800kg disco, best go for webbing strops (2ton minimum swl) and good quality shackles (crosby are good 3-5 ton swl is enough) because if a rope/recovery point/shackle fails under load they ping with enouth force to smash winscreens/people, been there, my brother still has a dent in his hd disco rear bumper (3-4mm plate steel) from my dodgy eBay jate ring .
not much more you can do with that budget except have some fun
Jon

[Syd knee]

Remember a 4X4 only alowes you to get stuck further from help.

[DaveCavRS4]

Syd knee said:

Remember a 4X4 only alowes you to get stuck further from help.

ha ha

[cpas]

The best thing to do would be to see if there's any local off-road clubs and join one of these. They normally have green-land advisors or committee members and maps etc. I would also venture out a couple of times and see what you need when you've got stuck - a cheaper way than spending loads of money on stuff you don't need. Our local club sells decent tow-ropes for about £20 and make sure you add decent recovery points. Diff guards are handy and also very cheap (£20 each) and protect the lowest and most vulnerable parts!!!
Also buy a magazine (LROI etc) which gives details of local off road events and adverts for suppliers.
Happy off roading.