Overlooked Tips

Many people maintain their own vehicles and prepare for most conditions, many also ignore smaller jobs which could save them other problems, i will list a few of those jobs for others to share or add to.

Clean and polish the bodywork, a simple task and one which is often overlooked by many people, applying many coats of a good quality polish protects the vehicle and makes it much easier to wash off mud after a good day off roading, it also makes vehicles less liable to being stopped by the Police.

Prepare your windscreens, windows, and lights, clean thoroughly and remove all the debris, apply several coatings of a water repellent such as Rainex or similar, apply several coats over many weeks and watch the water drop off and save your wipers. It is fantastic when operating on high speed roads such as motorways or dual carriageways when you normally have several seconds of non visibility when passing lorries, this is reduced to a fraction of a second. Apply it to all exterior glass surfaces including lights, and see how much longer it takes for them to become dirty and how much quicker it is to clean them.

Lubricate and clean all door locks, a simple job but those using jet washes to clean their vehicles will have frozen locks during the recent cold spell, spray WD 40 or similar water displacing fluid into the lock using the attached tube, this will displace the water and clean any debris from inside the lock, lubricate by filling with copious quantities of engine oil. This will lubricate the locks and stop them freezing, just oil them again before winter.

Lubricate all door hinges and catch mechanisms, use grease or heavy oil, grease is better; and ensure it is well worked in as it will prevent wear on the hinges and mechanisms.

Clean your door seals where they meet the door, during freezing weather many doors stick or freeze shut due to water collecting on top of the seals, by cleaning the face you will prevent this, simply use a silicone based dashboard or interior cleaner and clean the face of the seals. This also rejuvinates the rubber seals and often stops a lot of squeaks during summer.

Good list to start Assassin.

My tip:- Unless you really have to, don't apply the handbrake overnight. Leave in in gear and use a brick or two - bricks are known to us Land Rover owners as 'handbrakes' anyway 'cause half the time the damn things don't hold!

Many a 4x2 vehicle's handbrake has frozen solid, obviously better with 4x4's, but again if you don't need to, don't bother.

Tom good tip aboud handbrake, always did, but in the Discovery 3 we had this year it is electronic and always comes on when you take key out, someone posted a fix on D3 forum but I could not get it to work
will be diferant next year now have a D1 good tips vixen.

Another great tip, essential even on expeditions ... Savlon! Especially on long journeys in hot climes, a liberal smear of Savlon (or any other antiseptic cream I suppose) around the nether regions avoids prickly heat-type rashes is 'delicate' areas. Male or female we all have bums, and sitting on them whilst driving for long periods ain't good. Listen to the voice of experience, Savlon is a magical cure.

And yes, it's also rather good for it's normal use - cuts and grazes. Particularly in jungle environments, whenever you get the slightest cut/graze/leech bite, apply Savlon. Something so simple can save you a heap of grief later.

roamingman wrote:

Tom good tip aboud handbrake, always did, but in the Discovery 3 we had this year it is electronic and always comes on when you take key out, someone posted a fix on D3 forum but I could not get it to work
will be diferant next year now have a D1 good tips vixen.

Thanks roamingman and all done without even moving my lips

All great tips, I think most apply to more modern vehicles though - the chances of my handbrake getting stuck on, my door locks not working or doors freezing closed is almost zero.

Other than driving iit through the odd river, I have not cleaned my land rover since I owned it. Polishing my Land Rover? LOL, if you can rub my Land Rover down with a cloth without the cloth being ripped to bits I would be most suprised!

My top tips - savoury snacks, good tunes, gaffa tape, threaded rod and determination

Threaded rod - surely a box of nuts and bolts would be better?

Remembered another one, and most apt for the temperatures we've had in the UK lately (been down to -20 in places overnight). An old sleeping bag, always have one on board.

It'll quite literally keep you alive in the very worst scenario, when unzipped it can be utilised as a blanket for a trauma victim if you happen across an roadside accident (as I did a couple of months back - whatever the weather shock can be a funny ol' thing), it can be used as an impromptu picnic blanket or for other outdoor activities best not mentioned on here (oooeeerrrr!!!! ), it's ideal for laying under the vehicle for repairs, and as a very last resort when pegged down it can used for a bit of traction in snow or mud if you're stuck in the middle of nowhere.

Of course they can always be used for sleeping in as well (there's a novelty) should you ever decide to kip in the motor and have that 3rd pint or more ... not that I've ever done that of course!

Versatile items sleeping bags.

No - threaded rod deffo the winner....you never know when you might need 6 inches of it! Hehe

Example...with a few large washers....a perfect coolant system (propping the bonnet up!) for when you dont really have a radiator left when you are in the desert...




I swear by it hehe

Perhaps unblocking the grille by moving those jerricans and radiator muff may have been a good idea?

As it happens, threaded rod or 'studding' as I know it is very useful. Beside the actual thread, it can be easily bent to form whatever is required. Items like that are relatively light, easily stored and multi-use, just what is needed for overland excursions along with the old favourites of course -

Gaffa tape, cable ties, bungees, a roll of steel wire and a half dozen of those small thin ratchet straps. So versatile, not only can they hold the odd item in place, used en masse they can hold an axle in position! Yes, I realise it would have to be a pretty nasty roll for an axle to come adrift, but I've seen it down in desert racing and they made it to the overnight service!

Haha. I'm not having jerrys in the car -- they stink the thing out! Been there done it, it gives me a headache!

trouble is when Tom has a sleeping bag he does not allways use it

Makes perfect sense to me. Unzip the door, crawl in and hunker down. Only problem was I aimed to the right of the door instead of the left. I blame that bloody Sat Nav, nothing whatsoever to do with alcohol of course!!!

A few more, petroleum jelly has many uses but if the vehicle is predominantly road biased and you scratch it, just apply a thin smear to the scratch to stop the bare metal rusting. The rest can be left to individuals to make their own jokes about.

Garden sprayers are a useful tool, they hold about 2 gallons of water and have adjustable nozzles from mist to jet, great for cleaning blocked radiators, windows, headlights, and number plates after a day off road. Simply pump up and spray, it removes abrasive particles from screens and saves wiper wear, can be filled with degreasers, and a multitude of other uses.

Self amalgamating tape is useful, it wraps around rubber components and heals to itself, great for cooling hoses if they burst, and for sealing electrical joints, it is so good my last BMW ran for over 200,000 miles with the top hose repaired with it after some idiot at work poked a hole through it.

First aid kit is a must, i began with a basic kit and added what was useful from experience, baby bum cream is a must as it copes with a multitude of issues, burn spray vital, pins, asprins, and many other items.

rustyrhinos wrote:

Haha. I'm not having jerrys in the car -- they stink the thing out! Been there done it, it gives me a headache!

You could always put them on the back .......or....dare I suggest......on the roof like so many do (not that I'd do that!!)

Already have one on the back...and dont want too many back there...want a bit more even weight distribution. On the roof? Bugger that, to much effort going up there to fill up! And I fill u from jerrys to often to be messing about. All makes sense you see

Why not just fit long range tanks and remove the jerry cans totally.

A long range tank will not fit wheere my current tank is and there is nowhere else for it really. I could fit another tank - I even added the extra outrigger to do so...which would give me another 40 litres. Perhaps I will do it one day. Not put too much thought into the switchover valve etc. The cooling was only an issue because we did not have much of a radiator - it is fine now (I have also installed a modern style oil cooler, I run a large electric fan and have a military fixed fan for if it gets particularly hot)

The jerry cans will stay where they are though, my wife particularly is fond of them being there

rustyrhinos wrote:

All great tips, I think most apply to more modern vehicles though - the chances of my handbrake getting stuck on, my door locks not working or doors freezing closed is almost zero.

Other than driving iit through the odd river, I have not cleaned my land rover since I owned it. Polishing my Land Rover? LOL, if you can rub my Land Rover down with a cloth without the cloth being ripped to bits I would be most suprised!

My top tips - savoury snacks, good tunes, gaffa tape, threaded rod and determination

land rover hand brakes are terrable for sticking on or off after proper use, even had the X-brake stick on me this last few weeks,
the x-brake is a brilliant example of a great design but crap build quality, we are working on a hydraulic version that doesn't rattle and does its job properly!


like wise with the paint bye bye cloth

the best ive had was the carpet freezing to the door card

i stock an auxillary tank for land rovers,
i can't sing its praises or compain yet as i havn't fitted one yet but i will keep you informed when i do, will fit series and defenders

cheers kieran

Never had the handbrake seize on any of our Land Rovers. If the handbrake seized on my Series landy it would not be a problem - all the linkages are exposed and easy to get to, and if it is the drum that seized, whack it with a hammer.

As for aux tank for the series, there is no point in me purchasing a dedicated auxilary tank.....the standard tank fits on the aux outrigger, so I would just buy a standard tank if I was going down that route.

One thing I find myself using loads is a good headtorch and make sure it's kept somewhere easily accessible from the front seats - nothing worse than needing a torch to find the torch!

Another thing, which wasn't something I thought of but think is very sound advice, is that rather than carry a stack of new spares in case something breakes, replace it before you go and carry the OLD one, on the off chance the new part fails. that way if you are unfortunate enough for somethign new to break you'll know it stands half a chance of comign off using hand tools without snapping/rounding/stripping threads etc.

rustyrhinos wrote:

Never had the handbrake seize on any of our Land Rovers. If the handbrake seized on my Series landy it would not be a problem - all the linkages are exposed and easy to get to, and if it is the drum that seized, whack it with a hammer.

As for aux tank for the series, there is no point in me purchasing a dedicated auxilary tank.....the standard tank fits on the aux outrigger, so I would just buy a standard tank if I was going down that route.

same price,

hand brakes are strange ive heard both sides of the storey some say they have never had an issue and others like myself have had lots of issues, i think the main point is if you go through deep mud and water then maybe clean it out and regrease the parts that need greasing

i couldn't agree more with the torch suggestion!!

I also carry a couple of home made LED torches in the vehicle, both are rechargeable and have come in very useful as i made them from stainless steel and they are fully waterproof.

One idea i had a few years ago was when a friend had no rear courtesy light in his vehicle, i made him two LED lights which were the courtesy lights and also removeable for use as torches. These are hard wired in through a current controlling resistor and are permanently charging while the vehicle is running, so no issues with charging or going flat because he forgot to charge them.

i bought a torch in a morocco market that you ,,pump with your hand,,,,it has 3 led lights in it ,,,used it all last year and its still going strong i keep it in the glove box,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
cost,,,,1 dirram,,, :shock: ,,,,,,,,,,bargain,,,,,

freespirit4x4 wrote:

rustyrhinos wrote:

Never had the handbrake seize on any of our Land Rovers. If the handbrake seized on my Series landy it would not be a problem - all the linkages are exposed and easy to get to, and if it is the drum that seized, whack it with a hammer.

As for aux tank for the series, there is no point in me purchasing a dedicated auxilary tank.....the standard tank fits on the aux outrigger, so I would just buy a standard tank if I was going down that route.

same price,

i couldn't agree more with the torch suggestion!!

That's just it, I dont see the point in buying an aftermarket part, when the original part, guaranteed to bolt straight in with standard sender units, piping etc, is the same price.

I too agree with the torch suggestion and having one to hand!