Last month I waffled on about how to prepare a standard 4x4 to tackle 90% of the UK greenlanes and the odd Pay & Play site, by keeping it as near standard as possible and only changing the tyres, suspension and adding good quality recovery points. If you were paying attention, at the end I also suggested getting some off-road training lessons to teach you about you and your vehicle's limitations, as well as recovery techniques. It’s always good to hear feedback, and some of you questioned the need for new suspension, which is fair enough. I included suspension because having had numerous 4x4s in the past that ran on original suspension, I learnt quickly the transformation fitting new springs, and even leafs made, not just off-road, but on-road, too.
As an example, I fitted new Pedders suspension to Deux Smurf before lock down, and not only has her on road handing been transformed, but she flexes better whilst green-laning which in turn means that all four tyres are in contact with the ground with less chance of wheel-spin and the loss of traction.
So, what’s next? Well, how long is a piece of string, as the saying goes, let’s begin with damage control.
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THE MUD LIFE MAGAZINE
