First time "greenlaner" :)

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2.0_hippo

2.0_hippo

Well-Known Member
Posts
6,069
Location
Hertfordshire
Hi all,

Basicly passed my driving test last week and i have my first car which is my lovely 2Ltr diesel hippo XDI.

I just love it !
( i aint the corsa boy racer type lol)


I know freelanders aint the best for off road but i know these models are one of the best of the freelanders for reliability.

Did my first greenlane the other day and it was great, so much fun :) had no problems gettin through the mud :)

Basicly I want more ! i only knew of one lane near me and that was only a few hundred metres long, not long enough, quite muddy tho.


Im in hoddesdon Hertfordshire, any one know of any decent lanes or decent off road grounds that would suit a beginner ?

please let us know :)

Cheers guys
:cool:
 
Hey mate, check out the Hertfordshire lanes thread. don't try to read it all it is quite...extensive, but there are a lot of us who regularly go out laning around your way and you would be welcome to tag along!

Standard advice should be noted.

i. Make sure you have recovery points fitted front and rear (jate rings are good for this)

ii. Don't go out out laning alone. It is really easy to get into a tight spot... and I talk from a point of some authority on that one!

iii. Only ever drive Byways and Highways. (marked on the map as routes with public access and usually marked as a very minor road.

iv. Leave Restricted Byways; Bridlepaths; footpaths and any lane where you unsure of whether there is a TRO in effect. People get upset and plod gets rightfully indignant if you are caught.

Best way is to come out with someone who knows the ropes...and also carries one or two ;)

Cheers

Ryder
 
Thanks for your reply,

will try and get some decent points fitted soon. Looking at the jate rings, where do they actully attach to on the freelander ? (sorry but im completly new to this)

also would you recomend on getting some knobbly tyres, i need some that are still ok for use on road ?

started to get bits prepared, got the bull bar, side bars lol

Cheers for your help
Ellis
 
hey mate

firstly, pretty much follow what ryder has said and you shouldnt go far wrong, and listen when he says dont go laning alone! its all well and good something happening if you have someone with you to get you out of the ****, its another kettle of fish when you are alone

secondly, you arent alone in being young and not boy racer type. im hardly greying and i drive a defender 110, and a couple of series at any given time depending on their roadworthyness

knobbly tyres - not a bloody clue on a freelaner but i cant imagine you can go anywehre over around 235/70 size or thereabouts. almost any tyre is good for the road, just some get a little loud and what not as the tread gets more aggressive

Jate rings attach onto the chassis

again, as ryder says come out with us lot. generally we are quite a hospitable bunch and we wont leave you anywhere if you get stuck

if you fancy giving the gaylander a chance to **** around in the mud come to whaddon - its a 4x4 playground near milton keynes in bucks. if you go to the offroading section there will be one thread on an event there this sunday just gone, and another planning the one on the 27th. the one of the event just gone has some photos and a video of me "not ragging" my 110

as far as i am aware fielder may be coming on that trip also, and he also has a hippo which is currently in hospital, hence the absence from his first whaddon trip yesterday

good luck!
 
Mate welcome to the young landy world.

18 and on my second defender 110. Also got a series IIA. Theres plenty of us about on here and always happy to help.

All ya need to do for greenlaning is make sure first of all you've got decent recovery points and a tow rope. Not really sure about tyres while you're still getting used to it, especially on the budget that us young 'uns are on. The main thing is always go with someone else, preferably the experienced guys. They've always been happy to help out when I've got myself out of depth.

Enjoy mate.
 
Tyres:

To begin with, use decent road/at tyres or buy second hand muds. The best thing is to find out what your vehicle is capable of without modifying it at all. You will be surprised at how capable it is.... All terrains are a good compromise between on and off road and will do you perfectly for most of the green laning - although there maybe a few lanes where small sections prove to be more demanding.

Once you understand the limitations of your vehicle, and also learn how to get the best out of it with a standard set up, you will be in a position to evaluate people's feedback concerning particular tyres and other modifications and decide which ones will suit you best. This will depend on the use you want to put your vehicle to: Mods for overlanding are vastly different to mods for off roading and different again to mods for green laning. Similarly - tyres for green laning are different to tyres for off roading!

Lastly... when you find someone who drives better than you do... (off road), watch what they do, don't be afraid to ask them for tips and advice, and occasionally get them to sit in the car while you drive a particular obstacle. You'll learn ****loads in no time. I learned more in two hours driving with spitfiremk1 than I ever did just messing around getting stuck at whaddon (and everywhere else ;))
 
The thing is my tyres are in need of a change soon so i thought i might aswell change them for AT tyres. I quite like the sound of the GG AT2's, The reviews are good and they do a size to suit the freelander.

Once you understand the limitations of your vehicle, and also learn how to get the best out of it with a standard set up, you will be in a position to evaluate people's feedback concerning particular tyres and other modifications and decide which ones will suit you best. This will depend on the use you want to put your vehicle to: Mods for overlanding are vastly different to mods for off roading and different again to mods for green laning. Similarly - tyres for green laning are different to tyres for off roading!
Click to expand...
* very true, i need to do some more off roading etc to get the feel for my car and what it can do. I just need to find some people who are willing to take on a newbie first timer in a gaylander. I know alot of people really put down the hippos but i see that they keep up with the defenders with no problems. there quite a tuff all rounder, at least i can cruise at 70 on the motorway all day comfortably and do a bit of off-roading - The best of both. well thats what i think.

(At least i dont have that k series engine lol)


Im gettin a decent tow rope ordered, a 3 tonner. Shall i get some jate rings, im just not sure where they would attach to on the freelander or is the towing eye enough to start off with ? (I do have a tow bar tho)


I bet people take the right p*i*ss out of freelanders at whaddon ?

Cheers for your answers
:)
 
Hey mate... people take the **** out of everything on here... freelander and all! When I joined I was driving a slitty and they ripped the **** out of me. Thing was... they were right. The disco outstripped the shoggy by a mile and then kept going!

However... Free (gay) landers are so called because they are not constructed to be as serious off road as something like a defender. Nothing personal just a fact. They do not have the same level of engineering and thought that defenders do. They still perform though.

Set yourself against a defender or a dosco and you wil lose every time. Go playing with a defender or a dosco and you know that when you get stuck good and proper... they will be well able to come to your rescue and you will have learned something new about your vehicle's capability.

Front Chassis based recovery points are not a modification. They are bloody eesseenttiiaall!!!!!!

Jate rings bolt through the chassis but exactly where on the FL I am not qualified to say. Think of it this way... if you can not be towed how the hell do you get loose from that wet grass you can't drive over?

Jate rings are cheap and available from any 4 x 4 dealer/mechanic/specialist or even in the classifieds on 4x4 forums.

Trust me.. they WILL save your ass in a tight spot.

A quick story.... I was stuck in a lane where I had been for some considerable hours. My friends had tried to get me out with no luck. Along comes a mate with a winch (9 hours later!).

He got me out but had to winch to a tie down point because I had no REAR recovery point.

Tie down point sheared the bolts and put a hole in the back door of his 90, leaving the point itself in the door skin!

one Jate ring at £10 would have solved the problem.

Thank god he was professional enough that no one was injured.

If you need help sorting your vehicle for simple safety then by all means ask on hereI know many of us will respond and advise the best places to mount the equipment.
 
AS fpr whaddon... no one takes the **** out of the vehicles there. You will see standard slittys on road tyres, landys galore on muds; suzukis on muds and having fun; serious off road prepped competition motors making light of everything except the really serious stuff! small tubular buggies... everything.

And everyone helps everyone else. Go with some mates...(like us) and you will have no worries. ONE WARNING THOUGH!

When Spyderman says "Go On it'll be alright!"

Check your life insurance and make sure you have RAC cover!
 
Don't think Jate Rings are suitable for a Freelander as it's of monocoque construction. Post in the Gaylander section as to what they use for front recovery points. A Freelander will outperform any other Landy on wet grass, it's perfect for it. Anywhere else, especially on ground clearance, not so good.

If you come to Whaddon, we'll engineer you a rescue of Carpy, we're just dying to see him come to the pub in a Tutu.:D
 
Firstly Hello

The herts lot are a friendly bunch, a knowledgeable bunch, I am relativley new to the world of landys to, (had since march now, and still learning how to drive it).

One word of warning, on the back of Carpy's truck it say's "Don't follow me,You won't make it" It aint wrong!!!!
 
Spyderman said:
Don't think Jate Rings are suitable for a Freelander as it's of monocoque construction. Post in the Gaylander section as to what they use for front recovery points. A Freelander will outperform any other Landy on wet grass, it's perfect for it. Anywhere else, especially on ground clearance, not so good.

If you come to Whaddon, we'll engineer you a rescue of Carpy, we're just dying to see him come to the pub in a Tutu.:D
Click to expand...

personally i would weld a large ring on the roof and get a mate who can fly helicopters :)
 
Spyderman said:
Don't think Jate Rings are suitable for a Freelander as it's of monocoque construction. Post in the Gaylander section as to what they use for front recovery points. A Freelander will outperform any other Landy on wet grass, it's perfect for it. Anywhere else, especially on ground clearance, not so good.

If you come to Whaddon, we'll engineer you a rescue of Carpy, we're just dying to see him come to the pub in a Tutu.:D
Click to expand...

hahaha but the clause of it has to be just freelander rescuing. I spose if fielder comes as well thats 2 gaylanders to link up and try to pull me out mind:eek:
 
Ryder said:
AS fpr whaddon... no one takes the **** out of the vehicles there. You will see standard slittys on road tyres, landys galore on muds; suzukis on muds and having fun; serious off road prepped competition motors making light of everything except the really serious stuff! small tubular buggies... everything.

And everyone helps everyone else. Go with some mates...(like us) and you will have no worries. ONE WARNING THOUGH!

When Spyderman says "Go On it'll be alright!"

Check your life insurance and make sure you have RAC cover!
Click to expand...



* Thanks for that warning lol


will have to sort out a date once i get some experience on some greenlanes with the help of you and some others. :D

Bearing in mind i do use my landy for work so i cant afford to wreck the shi*te out of it lol

I just wanna a play around in a field :rolleyes:
 
whaddon *can* be a good place to start out.

if you are sensible about it then whaddon is a great place to lear the capability of your vehicle. theres lots of differant aspects to it, lots of mud, a bomb run, ascent and descents, rutted tracks etc. if you go to whaddon you will be able to learn the limitations of your vehicle, which will put you in good stead for the laning.
 
:welcome2: I bought my Freeby to go greenlaning as opposed to the more "hardcore" laning where the intention seems to be more about breaking stuff :D

Main limitation I've found is the clearance - your average Disco/Defender will zoom over some rutted tracks while you bounce along listening to the underside of your vehicle getting scraped!

No substitute for good experience. I've been lucky enough to go out with local laners, see how they successfully drive the lanes and so avoided trouble. I don't go looking for trouble, a freeby is never going to navigate rock steps, and is likely to drown if you get it too wet, but you should have no problems finding lanes that are challenging and fun.

Just fitted GG AT2s to my 16" alloys - they like the snow :) There was a thread around about Insa MTs on steel wheels, but for everyday use that's not going to be ideal.
 
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