The little jobs
Pat is getting ready for a summer of camping and off-roading
Iwon’t lie. For someone who likes to travel, the last year has been… let’s call it different. With the gradual easing of lockdown rules on the horizon, I have slowly started to get ready for summer. I’ve booked a campsite for mid-april. The same one we featured in the Winter 2021 issue when we went greenlaning in Shropshire. I think hiding away in a private forest with a select few mates is a great way to avoid crowds, enjoy nature and avoid keyboard warriors. With restrictions on travel currently still in place, I have zilch to report on the travel front.
Last week I had to go to Eastnor Castle to drive the 21MY Discovery and Range Rover Velar. It was a round trip of 300 miles and never before have work road trips been so satisfying. In fact after finishing at the castle, I spent an hour doing a hike in the rain before driving home. It was good to exercise somewhere else for a change. Read my 21MY Discovery driving impressions on page 8. I also think it was good for my Defender’s BMW M52 engine to get a nice run out.
Then last Friday I made my way to the nearby Twinwoods 4x4 where Tom Cross and Andy Wise helped me to install Optimill’s impressive high-pressure washer jet system onto my 110. It was one of those jobs that was only supposed to take three hours, but ended up taking a little longer due to the fact that the system was devised for a Td5 or TDCI Defender. You will be able to read more about the installation in the tech section of a future edition of LRM.
As part of my getting ready for summer preparation I have been doing bits and bobs to my Defender. My roof rack gets used loads and has a few nicks and scrapes so I used a black rattle can to sort that out. It looks news again. Then I wanted to buy a new axe and my friend Harry Shipton (who is fairly handy with an axe) recommended a Husqvarna wooden forest axe. It’s a Swedish brand but I could not find one in stock anywhere in the UK. A perk of Brexit perhaps?
I considered asking a Swedish mate to send me one but then I looked on good old Facebook market, where I found someone fairly local to me selling a similar style Darlac axe for only £20. According to the post he had 100 of them. Had they fallen off a truck? Some quick research showed that this British-made axe is pretty highly rated. So I bought one, told a mate about the deal and he bought the last two.
When going to shows or camping I want to mount my axe on my rack for easy access. A Frontrunner axe mount is £56 so I instead purchased some Quick Fist rubber clamps off Amazon for just £14. To install them I had to drill two small holes into the rack and use two 10mm screws and nuts to secure them. Works like a charm. Won’t be long till I am able to show my Land Rover mates my latest additions. I bet they too have made some. How about you?