Basic Off Road Prep

[=jon=]

Hi All,

After having great fun driving round the off road course at the Abingdon 4x4 Festival at the weekend, I quite fancy doing a bit more in the way of green laning and offroading in my trusty 3rd Gen (Intercooled KZN 185).

In terms of basic prep for some mild off road, what kind of thing should I be looking at doing? So far on my list:

Diff / Gearbox breathers - seems fairly easy

Snorkel Kit? - won't be going to deep as it's my everyday car so don't want to get wet feet! Looks like you could go reasonably deep without getting water up near the air intake as standard?

Tyres - I've got AT2s which seemed to cope OK with Mud etc at Abingdon. I'll maybe look at a second set of wheels if I get into it..

In terms of sump guards / underbody protection etc, is the standard stuff OK to start with? Looking underneath it looks like the fuel tank guard etc sits slightly below the chassis rails - does this cause a big issue if you do beach it?

Any advice appreciated

Only saw one other Surf at Abingdon (but there were loads of pickups) - I was followed round by a 2nd Gen for a bit

Cheers

Jon

[Purple Pixie]

Basics to me are:- Jack it up (body and suspension), throw away the hideous side steps and stick BIGGER wheels/tyres on the beast!

[slobodan]

Recovery points front and rear. And some good straps.

And a camera.

[Bibbs]

The first two offroad days I did, I used road tyres in my 3rd gen.

The first thing I bought was a CB radio, to call people if I got stuck.

For my 3rd day (this weekend), I've just got some AT tyres (on spare alloys), a tow rope and some shackels.

[Calos]

P.O.W.D.E.R

(P - Petrol/Derv
check that there is sufficient fuel in the vehicle
O - Oil
check all fluids including engine oil, brake fluid, steering fluid.
W - Water
check both coolant and the windscreen wash; in muddy conditions being able to wash/wipe the windows is vital for safe driving.
D - Damage
check for loose bits that may fall off, damaged components that might fail, get under and check joints and bushes, check light lenses etc.
E - Electrics
check that all the electrics work including the wipers, lights, horn and screen wash
R - Rubber
check the tyres for tread depth (minimum 1.6mm) inflation, cuts, and abrasion; check the wiper rubbers )

Then...... better tyres AT's or better yet muds, side steps off, suspension lift/body lift, then BIGGER tyres. CB is a good idea nice to chat and also for if your stuck

peace
cal

[yoshie]

P.O.W.D.E.R

(P - Petrol/Derv
check that there is sufficient fuel in the vehicle
O - Oil
check all fluids including engine oil, brake fluid, steering fluid.
W - Water
check both coolant and the windscreen wash; in muddy conditions being able to wash/wipe the windows is vital for safe driving.
D - Damage
check for loose bits that may fall off, damaged components that might fail, get under and check joints and bushes, check light lenses etc.
E - Electrics
check that all the electrics work including the wipers, lights, horn and screen wash
R - Rubber
check the tyres for tread depth (minimum 1.6mm) inflation, cuts, and abrasion; check the wiper rubbers )

Then...... better tyres AT's or better yet muds, side steps off, suspension lift/body lift, then BIGGER tyres. CB is a good idea nice to chat and also for if your stuck

peace
cal

tread 1.6mm lololololol where you offroading? ASDA carpark

[blackpoolsparks]

Don't forget to take someone with you.
Not a passenger, I mean another truck.
NEVER off-road alone.


BTW - where do you reside?

[Apache]

tread 1.6mm lololololol where you offroading? ASDA carpark

I'm sure the '.' was an accident - surely he meant 16mm

[Calos]

tread 1.6mm lololololol where you offroading? ASDA carpark

Oooops! yes 16mm, thanks Yoshie was a lot of typing the more I type the greater the margin for error. hehe

peace
cal

[sv1000spilot]

Don't forget to take someone with you.
Not a passenger, I mean another truck.
NEVER off-road alone.


BTW - where do you reside?

Or if you do go alone and get stuck stand by for large amounts of pi55 taking when we find out..........

[Maverick]

tread 1.6mm lololololol where you offroading? ASDA carpark

Leaving my tyres to almost that depth, was what allowed oll windy butt to get me stuck (twice)

[yoshie]

I'm sure the '.' was an accident - surely he meant 16mm

Hmm that's an almost new set, of fairly aggressive muds, I don't understand how he then needs to upgarde to ATs

As the original OP states mild off roading I would suggest a decent set of ATs would more than adequate. If he really wants muds, I would go BFG as they are not to aggressive, have good road manners, cover huge mileage before they are done.

[Wolfracer]

What length recovery straps are best? there's somew 10m ones rated at 5tonne break strain on 3bay for 16 quid. are these too long?
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...m=190363623897
And shackles, what is a good diameter for the strength? 10mm?

[si tate]

What length recovery straps are best? there's somew 10m ones rated at 5tonne break strain on 3bay for 16 quid. are these too long?
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...m=190363623897
And shackles, what is a good diameter for the strength? 10mm?

Doesn't matter about length really as you can shorten them by doubling them up to make them stronger.

Think these shackles would be fine.



Acctually i think these would be better.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Green-pin-Bow-...item5637276a5c

[=jon=]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I've already got some ATs (General AT2s)

From the mechanical point of view, if most of it is checking everything is in good nick then using common sense it sounds like I'm not going to have to pay a fortune to start with

I was actually really surprised how well the surf did on the 4x4 course - apart from touching the nose down (just) coming off a downhill and catching the towbar drop plate going up it coped with everything I dared chuck at it - including stuff that discos and other more 'agricultural' stuff struggled with