Notes from a playabout

[GeekOKent]

Hi,

So nearly 2 years of owning the 120, I finally got around to getting the wheels muddy last weekend. Note that this is a completely flat out standard-as-sold 120 LC5. We did about 8 miles near mildenhall, in a group of 17(it was more than just a crowd, need to never do that again ) trucks. Thoughts, meditations, comments...

- I'm going to need better tyres. The Dunlop AT20's are ok for gravel and some steps, but beyond that, its a bit of a free for all. Might as well be on skates ( couple of downhill runs, it certainly felt like I was on skates )

- the entry angle is'nt ideal. The front bumper is going to need to go at some point - but there doesn't seem to be anything I can go out and just get for the 120. What do you guys do about this ?

- There was a lot of sneering and comments around the air suspension and the ATRAC setup, specially from the Defender folks - I did'nt have any trouble with it at all. I seemed to fare far better overall than some of the disco's out there.

- I have no rescue equipment to speak of. While the regular folks on the tracks do, and that's likely good enough as long as they don't mind hauling me around a bit ( this group really didn't ), I don't have anything sold they can latch onto when the need comes ( it didnt this time, but we came close )

- the undercarriage feels very exposed. Since everything was very dry ( as dry as things can get in this country! ), we didn't hit many deep ruts. But I cant imagine things staying pretty under there if we start scraping around.


There were a bunch of other things that came to mind, but these seem to be the ones to try and resolve in the shorter term. What do you guys recommend ? One of the other LC guys out there was driving a 100 series, and totally smashing it around all over the place - his recommendation was to leave the 120 for the Mrs and for road duty, and get a cheap ass 80 off ebay and goto work on that instead. Failing that, to try and invest in a pre-loved-overland-built-defender.

Looking for help with the above, and overall comments as well. Assume: Novice but eager to learn and dont mind getting my hands greesy; I dont have bundles of cash, but can raise a few bob.

 

[silvercruiser]

If you are going to off road the 120 you need to take a look at gary stocktons former LC he had the lc5 but spent a lot of time preparing it. search his posts and your find the front bumper, rock sliders, under carriage bash plates, suspension mods etc etc.

It has been noted before that Dunflops are useless, Crispin got stuck on a grassy slope with them on

so decent tyres are a must if off roading.

 

[clivehorridge]

I'm with Silvercruiser, Gary's truck looked the business. It will soak up some cash though, as would getting an 80.

Do you mean that the Landy guys were anti-social to your 120? How dare they....?

Going offroad will cost you, no 2 ways about it. Some descent tyres, some protection, some recovery points and kit, at a minimum.

Then it's a slope more slippery than the slippiest slope you slipped on, a lift, sliders, winch and winch bumper, and.... the list can be endless.

I'm afraid it's make your mind up time, money on the 120 or give the 120 to the wife and buy an 80, or just go to watch.

 

[Crispin]

It's a slippery slope once you start spending but first would be the tyres. If the Dunlops still have thread then don't waste your money unless you really want to (we won't stop you). Other than the grass slope incident, which I'll never live down , the Dunlops did well for what they were. I changed to grabber AT2 which are fantastic. Where the Dunlops struggled, they did fine.
If you're going to do lots of mud and snow, that's different.

Then there's a bumper
And underbody protection
And suspension lift

As for the recovery points, the stock ones are plenty strong. See my "epic rescue" in sig.

 

[Shayne]

If your going to lift it i would do that first as i imagine it will allow you to fit bigger rubber .

 

[Crispin]

Not needed Shanye. The 120 on the AT2s where were slightly larger than stock, rubs slightly against the plastic bit under the wheel arch on full lock but not, that I can remember, a problem. It only happened when you were all the way over. I rode around on them for a long time without a lift.

Lifting it, IIRC, was a shade of £1000 for OME all round. That gave it a 2inch lift I think.

I found the 120 ate the Dunlops though very quickly. The shoulders were screwed alarmingly fast whereas the AT2s went from 12mm at new to ±7mm after 55k miles on them. Considering they were cheaper than the Dunlops at the time, this is a good thing

 

[clivehorridge]

I can't wear out my GGATs either Cris, had them for 90 odd k kms and still with good tread. The side walls are shagged but I can't bring myself to sling them yet.

 

[Crispin]

No, not sure what they are made of but for the price and how well they lasted - cannot complain at all.


p.s.
Moved this to the 120 section

 

[Scott]

As I see it your first choice is to decide what off roading you'd like to do, and how much. That will give you an idea of what mods to do to your 120 (if any), or whether you want to keep your 120 as it is, and source a toy to off road instead?

120's are very capable offroad I have offroaded with one many times over the years. A suspension lift, slightly larger tyres, underbody protection and a front winch bumper make them cope with most that you could subject it too. The thing with the 120 is that the independent front suspension will allow the underside of the vehicle to contact with the ground under some circumstances, underbody protection will protect the vehicle, and the inevitable contact has to be expect and driven accordingly. Thats why people prefer solid front and rear axles for tough offroading, but several people in this club have proved that an IFS Land Cruiser is extremely capable when driven well.

If you decide that you'd prefer to keep the 120 as it is, your money could be wisely spent buying a vehicle that has already had some of the mods that would suit your planned use. Wobbly has a nicely modified 95 series for sale at the moment (see the classified ads section), this vehicle is well known to the club and has been in enthusiast ownership for a number of years. Its comes with a lot of the gear that would probably be on your wish list, less the underbody protection and a winch bumper (but its suspension lift and body lift negate the need for a tougher front bumper somewhat).

The advice to source a cheap 80 is interesting, there aren't really much in the way of "cheap" 80's, and if you do find one it will need a lot of work to get it into good shape, they are all getting on now and past their first flush of youth. This has to be factored in when buying any of the older trucks, hence the advantage of buying a truck that is known to the club.

17 vehicles laning in one group! Not the best idea, and certainly not a practice to be encouraged, 4 to 5 should be the group size, larger than that and the group should split into two, and be well separated. Why was the other guy having to smash his 100 series about? They are very capable vehicles (as are most Land Cruisers), and can negotiate most off road obstacles/condition with pose and control, not smash it and hope like Clarkson would. Sounds like the kind of people I would distance myself from.

My advice, research and have a good think about what you'd like to do with your vehicle, then you can get an idea about what you may need. If your a novice, an off road training session could be the best money you ever spend. Land Cruisers are very capable in standard form, so get yourself some basic recovery gear ( make sure its all strapped down in the back, and that you know how to use it ), then go and enjoy your vehicle. Think any mods through throughly, as all have knock on effects that have to be considered, plus they all cost as well! Its easy to get carried away and then find your truck is too modified for every day use, and your wallet is depleted!

 

[AndyCook]

Here is a trip report I posted when I had my Colorado 95 and had a weekend laning in lakes with Andrew and Gary in their 120's which were more than capable, but both trucks nicely modified

http://www.landcruiserclub.net/forums/showthread.php?t=47079


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[Andrew T]

The end bit on the video in post 37 is still my fav lol

http://www.landcruiserclub.net/foru...-Lake-Land-jaunt-for-a-90-and-120-twins/page2


It was probably the most interesting offroading I have done in the UK, and would be happy to go back anytime, also the hotel made for comfortable lodgings in the chilly season with good food and beer readily available :0)

 

[AndyCook]

got a wet arse slipping on that moss.....

Time you organised a trip then




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[GeekOKent]

Thanks for all the awesome advice on here guys.

Over the last few weeks I've been in and out of the country, and have been able to think this though and make a lot of calls. I mean a lot of calls.

My biggest challenge at this point is insurance. Having only held a UK driving license for under 2 years, none of the specialist 4x4 folks will talk to me ( most seem to want 3 years on it, some want 5 ), and the general mass market folks wont insure me on a modified vehicle, not even with tyre profiles that dont match original equipment. Well, they will but at prices that are on the wrong side of £2,000 a year. Just as a matter of principle I refuse to pay that kind of money for insurance when I've never made a claim in the 22years that I've been driving.

So the plan as it stands now is to try and get familiar with the truck and start working on it, for the basic things myself - and maybe come find some of you guys around in the bush and get to know the country a bit. Then in a year or so, start working on getting myself offroad. That also gives me time to convince the Mrs that she really wants to drive something else.

had a look at Wobbly's 95 listing, looks like that would have been a great deal!

Finally, so how does one join the club then ?

 

[clivehorridge]

According to your details, you joined in July 2013 and with 25 posts under your belt, yep, I think you're just about in!

 

[GeekOKent]

Nice!