To accessorise or not

Iam always intrigued by the array of camping and off-road accessories that people fit to their four-wheel drives. Are they necessary or can they actually inhibit your vehicle’s ability? What are the essential items? First up, winches. Are they worth the expense and the added weight they bring? When I drove to Uluru a couple of years ago, I was in the only vehicle not fitted with one. We covered several thousand kilometres on unpaved tracks, but did anyone need one? Not once. I am not dismissing the virtues – certainly if you are travelling in remote areas without a team of winch-wearing vehicles then you do need self-recovery gear and a winch is likely a very sensible idea.

Next, sand ladders. Should we all have these strapped to our vehicles at all times? I think a good idea when you head to the beach, but perhaps unnecessary when heading into town.

Rope wrapped around your front bumper. Surely having it exposed to the elements all year round is not going to do the rope any good. I think this is purely a vanity fitment.

Roof top tents. These seem to range in design from low slung clamshell designs to huge cumbersome affairs that leave your vehicle top heavy and inaccessible to all underground car parks (as opposed to just most of them). I am really not sold on them; they seem to take people ages to put up and take down and, as I say, make your Land Rover an absolute pain to navigate in urban environments. I’m calling them unnecessary – use a regular tent that you can leave at home when not needed.

Snorkels. Rather like the rope-wrapped bumpers, I think most people fit these for aesthetics. Are the stock wading depths really that inadequate? Okay, I know some folk fit them because they provide added protection from dust, but I think the large majority are for reasons of vanity.

Jerry cans. I have these fitted to my V8 and with my fuel consumption I am going to call them a necessity.

I almost forget, the high-lift jack. How many of these do we see strapped to a Land Rover? I see them as heavy and dangerous. Am I missing the point?

There are, of course, many other accessories that people fit to increase off-road performance, but I think for the vast majority of us, there is no substitute for driver skill and common sense. Spend time planning your route, watch where other people have come undone. Also do not be afraid to not attempt something – there is no shame in picking a safer alternative.

Thinking about it, perhaps it can be argued that I too am a little guilty of fitting something slightly unnecessary – I just got a new set of tyres for my 109 Series IIA. They are Maxxis RAZR Mud Terrains. Do I see much mud? Well in all honesty, no. But they do look good. Okay, guilty as charged. In my defence, I am planning more muddy adventures and I desperately needed new tyres – my old ones were over ten years old. Who knew that tyres have a limited shelf life? I am slightly ashamed to admit that I had no idea. It makes sense now that I think about it, over time the rubber deteriorates (especially so in the Australian sun). Putting your trust in ancient, perished tyres really is not a good idea.

I shared an image of my new wheel and tyre combo on my Instagram account (@ jackuar_land_rover). It received more comments and likes than any other post this year. Why are we all so interested in wheels and tyres? It seems that everyone has an opinion on what constitutes a good tyre set up. I enjoyed the debate.

In other news, I continue to work frantically getting a Series III ready for a client (surprise Christmas present for his wife). As I write this, I have just one week to get the thing finished and it has been fighting me at every step. My biggest headache seems to be interior trim (it used to be wiring, and before that, brakes). Why did Land Rover choose to move away from the nice simple Series IIA dash? Presumably the introduction of cheap plastics was meant to make things feel more modern. Much like ancient tyres, the flimsy plastics used on a Series III really suffer after years of baking in the Australian sun. You only have to look at a plastic fitting and it will disintegrate. The plastic captive nuts in the floor of the bulkhead seem particularly vulnerable. Well, in a nod to the IIA, I have been retro-fitting metal fasteners – much stronger and they look better.

The seats in the Series III project are tan and cream, a brave choice! Place your bets on how long they will remain free of stains. I am terrified to go near them whilst I finish off the remaining oily bits. This Land Rover will certainly be quite different to your usual Series vehicle. Within the motorbike fraternity you have the Café Racer movement, I think this one falls into the Series Latte movement, if such a thing exists! Series cars have definitely become cool and people want to be seen cruising about in them picking up their coffees and smashed avo.

“There are many accessories that people t to increase o -road performance but for the vast majority of us there is no substitute for driver skill and common sense”