This is the first in our three part series on winching, with this part dealing with how to choose a winch for your Land Rover. Winches are useful additions to get you out of the most sticky of situations. If you're thinking you want to add a winch to your Land Rover, there are a few questions you first need to ask yourself....
As a bare minimum in the expeditioner's arsenal, the following items should be included as standard. Naturally it's a matter of opinion, but I wouldn't find myself without any of these items if venturing further afield off road. A two ton vehicle won't much listen to a single human being unless he has some tools up his sleeve....
There are three options available to you to fit a Winch depending on your skill and budget involved. This article brushes across the first two options, as this is primarily a guide for doing it yourself....
An expedition Land Rover needn't be an overly expensive beast. The stock version of the Defender performs very well in harsh environments, but a few select additions can turn the well designed Defender into a more reliable and useful vehicle. You could go all the way with modifications to make sure there is a piece of equipment added for every eventuality, but if you're on a budget (as most of us are), what are the most important additions to your Land Rover to get the most from your expedition?...
My choice of tyres were 235/85 R16 BF Goodrich All Terrains. I've had experience of using these in Ghana. They have a good reputation and a lot of people use them on expedition. They're more versatile than mud terrains, being good on surfaced road (as the vast majority of my time spent I will be driving these)...
With my first Land Rover, I had the unenviable experience of having my radiator burst on the motorway. The week before I had been wading through muddy water at a pay and play site, clogging the radiator fins. I had attempted to clean them out afterwards, but now it was the hottest day of the year at 30 degrees, as I pushed towards 70mph on the motorway. On this bright, blue sky day, the windscreen started accumulating water drops...
Winching is a fairly technical discipline, and takes from practise to work effectively. If you don't do it right, you could end up damaging the vehicle or yourself. This article is a rough guide to Winching techniques....
And if you do, is it easy to get to? It's one of those things you don't really think about, but a fire can take your vehicle with it in a matter of minutes. Some cars have a reputation for catching fire, but not so much with Land Rovers. That is unless it's a V8...
