njc110381

Yeah I would. They use ECU software provided by a specialist electronics type company. If I sit here and think about it for long enough I'll probably think of their name because we were on their site when I went in and asked... Quantum... I think?!

I use a local company called Turner Race Developments. My wife went to school with the younger brother and we've known the family for years. Good honest lads who know their stuff.

Well I've put a couple of hundred miles on it and it seems nice. So much more refined than the old model. The gear ratio point has been noticed for sure. 30mph seems to want 3rd rather than 4th and it doesn't sound comfortable in 5th until I'm doing around 50mph. In the old one I could get down to 30 in 5th and it would get over it, 4th at 30 was a doddle. On the motorway the difference is huge. At 70mph it's hard to tell the thing is even running. My old one was giving me plenty of notice that it was working by that point! I've got a set of Kumho MT51 to go on it and am considering doing a remap. My friendly local tuning company seems to think the power can be taken to 180bhp with ease and with nearly 100nm of added torque too. I like the sound of that!

I'm a big fan of the Rangers. You'll get a really tidy older model for that money and they're bomb proof. If you have a lot of kit maybe look at the super cab. It will squeeze in passengers if you have to or have good space behind the seats for kit. The bed is about half way between a crew cab and a single. It's a good compromise if you think you will ever need to take extra bodies anywhere. If you only ever plan to take yourself and one staff member/the wife then a vault on the back is removable and gives better load space if you were to need it. It all comes down to people. Kit can go anywhere, passengers can't.

It's a bugger when that happens. There are some fantastic winches available for mogs but my god do they cost! I always wanted a mid mounted Werner for mine but I just can't afford to do it. With regards to getting stuck I do remember fondly a day just after I left school and started an NVQ with our local wildlife trust. I was part of the reserve management team - learning from blokes who knew their stuff. Then there were the pen pushers. They run the volunteers (slashers and billhooks, don't forget your flask types...) and sponsors etc. Anyway, one day we got a phone call - they were doing a tour around one of the reserves and got their landy stuck in a gateway. We downed tools and headed off to drag them out with ours. When we got there we found them all sat on the grass bank next to the gate looking drained. They'd "tried everything" but couldn't get it out. Knowing your vehicle is everything and my boss Mark got into the landy, shoved the diff lock lever over and without any fuss just drove it out. After wasting an hour getting to them he wasn't best pleased. I thought it was hilarious!

That's not stuck, just a little hindered. Give it some in forward and reverse a few times and it should force it's way out. A little bit of air out of the tyres helps a lot too - it's worth having a hose for the air tanks so you can pump them up again with the on board compressor... That usually works but it can occasionally get you more stuck. And when they're really stuck they take some shifting!

All in all it sounds like it's just best to stay away from lower rated tyres. The ones I'm looking at now are Q rated - 99mph. Apparently the Ranger I'm getting can only manage 98mph, so all is well!

Load rating for all the mud terrains I can find is 120, which is 1400kg. I would have thought that would be plenty. Maximum gross of the vehicle is only 2985kg. I've found an interesting tyre that sits in the required speed rating. Kumho MT51... I've run three sets of KL71 mud terrains now and they are probably my favourite so far. A bit loud but very well mannered on the road. They wear a bit quick but stick like ****! The MT51 has slightly more rubber on the road but still a good light mud pattern. I think that's what I'll go for if I can get them.

I'm having a bit of trouble with conflicting thoughts when it comes to buying new tyres for my pickup. Hopefully someone here can clarify... I've read somewhere that the tyre speed rating has to be equal to or more than the top speed of the vehicle they are fitted to or insurance companies may have an issue with paying out in an accident. That of course makes sense until you reach the national speed limit. At which point I'm struggling to see why it matters?! If I buy a tyre that can handle over 70mph then that really should be good enough. Any faster and I'd be breaking the law anyway? So how does this work? You see loads of pickups driving about on BFG Mud Terrain, rated at 100mph. Most modern pickups are capable of exceeding that. The tyres I want are rated at 95mph and have better wet road performance than the BFG in several reviews. I'll never do more than 95mph in my pickup, but it can do it?...

Don't forget the PTO shaft.... Seriously though, that looks good. You'll get a fair bit of chip in there and it'll go anywhere!

I had this happen to one of my L200's of around '04 age. Turned out to be a knackered turbo, which wasn't cheap. It wasn't a high mileage truck either. I won't buy them now. I had three and they were all trouble in one way or another. I'd rather have a Ranger. Even my Landies were more reliable!

I like the design of my Husky type can. Didn't get on with the Stihl. I also like that you can shove a combi spanner down between the tanks on the Husky. They're often good to have to hand. For years I had a old Jonsered can that a mate gave me. Same as the Husky but red, and about ten times as thick! It seems Husky have cut their production cost to the limit as when I bought a new one a few years back it was like a carrier bag. First week on the truck and a metal blade on the brushcutter put a hole in the oil tank! I searched about and found a cheaper alternative. The same style as the Husky can but made closer to the old spec. I still have it and it still works. If I can figure out where I bought it I'll post a link. That really annoyed me actually - a company with such a reputation as Husqvarna shouldn't be making thin cans. What profit does that lack of plastic make? Pennies would be my guess. And the price difference between them and the Stihl is fairly big. So why not put the price up by a quid and make it properly? It would still be cheaper than the Stihl. I see that as pure disrespect for the end user...

When I started out with my first chipper I didn't even know about the anvil. It chipped ok and I always kept my blades spotless according to the people who did the sharpens. Then one day I read about it, so figured that for what they cost, I'd change it. What a revelation! I couldn't believe how much difference it made! Thinking about it, you wouldn't just sharpen one side of a pair of scissors... Same thing really. It really is worth doing no matter how hard it is. On my little Entec Trukloder it was dead easy. No feed rollers to contend with.

Thanks guys. Seems that generally opinions are fairly positive. I won't be heavy towing with it. Couple of tons tops and not regularly. The higher gear ratio is nice for day to day plodding about. It's so much quieter than my current one. I'm not sure on in cab options. It's the XLT spec, whatever that means?! It's got air con, electric windows and the radio works. I'm happy! I need to try to find out what's in it. I haven't really paid much attention beyond what I've already mentioned. I was impressed with the heater. The engine seems to warm up much faster than the old model and the heater feels like it could melt the interior if I leave it on for too long?! I turned my laptop over for the pictures. That looks good. Nice chip capacity I would have thought. I just put a deposit on it. I'm picking it up on Wednesday. If the head lasts until 140k for me I'll be happy. I won't have it by then! It's on 37k at the moment.

The one I have now is the same engine as the 2006.... I'm seriously considering changing it for a 2009... It had better not start burning oil at 45k! The newer model is so much more refined to drive. I can't fault the old one, but the performance is rather dated.

I wouldn't mind the ROPS off of it. Looks like a solid setup. That's the one thing that scares me with mine - there's very little structure between me and the chassis if it was to go over

Hi guys. I'm after feedback on the 4x4 2007- 2.5Tdci Ford Ranger. I'm looking at changing my old 2002 model which has been very good. If you've got one or have had one, how did it treat you? Anything to look out for? Common faults? I'd appreciate your feedback. It's a fair bit of money to lay out on something that I know very little about. I took the one I'm after for a good long test drive today and it seemed nice. No scary rattles, in pretty good condition with low miles, good MOT history and RAC car passport... That's about the total of my knowledge though! I was just pleased to find a fairly high spec truck with lash down rails - generally I only see them on the basic models because it seems us "builder" sorts don't need to be comfortable!

Funny how I started reading this at the beginning, noticed the date and thought to myself "by the time I get to the last page, Stephen Blair will have bought that.... I'm not often right but I just had a feeling that would be the case! PS... I still liked the 406 better!

Unfortunately, from what I can make of it anyway, the new 4.5l Diesel in the 79 Land Cruiser does not meet European emissions standards, so it won't be coming here any time soon I don't expect. It seems the options are left hand drive 4.2 non turbo models or a 4l V6 petrol engine in RHD, which actually doesn't show bad economy figures considering what it is. The tax is what kills them. 22% on import, added to the vehicle value, then 20% VAT on the total. All in all, an over 40% increase on the initial purchase value. I would pay £20k for one but I sure as hell won't pay £40k.... Used! I can kill four good second hand Rangers for that money and they're solid enough that I don't think a 79 LC will outlive them all. I'd love one, but they're just not viable for me right now. Edit... I should add that the chaps at Overlander have been extremely helpful in giving me information about them. If I ever do spend my money on one it will most likely be from them. I can't fault their communication.

I think for me it has to be the chap I sub to and his chainsaw sharpening ability. He'll often wander off and have a go without first finding somewhere to hold it still and it always ends badly. I used his saw the other day and it was doing the cut around a corner until it won't cut any more trick... So frustrating! The teeth on one side were about 2mm longer than the other and had round tops on the cutters! In fairness to him he's got a good answer to the phones thing though. A number of times I've heard him shout "Who's that? The job centre?" at lads. Makes me giggle every time. We get more than enough breaks for that and unless something is important and needs attention I'm of the era that the phone doesn't get touched when I'm working. If it rings I'll either ignore it or say I'll call back if I actually need to speak to someone.

That's interesting, something else that I used to like about my Landy! Can any of the others shift range like that?

Retarding the vehicle without having to use the brakes sounds like an exhaust brake? I don't know much about them but I have one on my Unimog. From what I can gather it restricts the flow of exhaust gas from the manifold so the pistons have more resistance? I've seen other options available on Land Rovers too. A system that allows it to tow more than 3.5t. But I really do have no idea how that works. Got a feeling it was a hydraulic system of some sort, but don't quote me on it. No doubt you would need a different licence to B+E if you're a youngster too?

Some good points guys. Thanks. The breakdown of how to modify the system is fantastic! Thanks for posting that up!

It's not the breaking it that I'm worried about. Scrubbing the tyres does work, I do it with my Ranger, but that doesn't solve the fact that it completely ruins the lock. Sure you can scrub it round in a circle but you'll need a circle the size of the moon to do it on! I've crashed into the same conclusion over and over. What I want, in a semi comfortable and new vehicle anyway, just doesn't exist! I was hoping someone would just say "my ____ does that!", but no.... Pinzgauer - isn't the the word for even slower and louder than a Defender, nearly as expensive to run as a Unimog?

I just don't get it. It's such a silly idea. Land rover have a great system. Shame about the build quality! What I'd really like is a Unimog type setup. Multiple ranges (or at least low range option) in 2wd or 4wd either with diffs open or locked. It can't be that hard surely?! I think the G-Wagen is similar? But none of them have full width tailgates and they are also like rocking horse poo here...