P38 Off-Road Equipment

For some time now I have been wanting to "add" a few "off-roady" things like snorkel, steering guard etc to my P38, but apart from the DIY options out there there really aren't any stores selling P38 Off-Road Equipment.

With that in mind I thought I would ask a simple question here just to see how many P38 owners out there would buy some sort of off-road equipment for their vehicle if it were available from people like Mantec, Safari etc etc. They all seem to have stuff for Defs, Discos, Freelanders and even the RR Classics, but nowt for our poor P38

So, here is the question.

Would you buy off-road equipment for your P38 if it were made available?

The P38 has been around since 1995. It is now 2012. The absence of off road equipement for it should give you a clue. Anybody who drives through water in one deeper than 3 inches is a lunatic. They are for taking the kids to school in, on dry days.

Other than DIY stuff, there is sweet FA. In some regards I wish I got a Defender or Disco as my P38 does suffer when things get a bit muddy, but that's life I suppose. She does quite well for what is, in essence, a school bus.

wammers said:

The P38 has been around since 1995. It is now 2012. The absence of off road equipement for it should give you a clue. Anybody who drives through water in one deeper than 3 inches is a lunatic. They are for taking the kids to school in, on dry days.

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Ah feck off Wammers, there's a whole lot more to off roading than wading (and more importantly, getting stuck!) in water :fighting2:

The P38 is far more capable than it is given credit for but there is that big risk if you get stuck in deep water. I've seen pics of guys who've gone the whole hog with thir P38's and hung the BECM off the roof to get over the issue but for the average punter you won't miss out on much if you just avoid the deep water hazards, it'll mud plug and rock climb with the best of them if you fit decent tyres.

SpudH said:

Ah feck off Wammers, there's a whole lot more to off roading than wading (and more importantly, getting stuck!) in water :fighting2:

The P38 is far more capable than it is given credit for but there is that big risk if you get stuck in deep water. I've seen pics of guys who've gone the whole hog with thir P38's and hung the BECM off the roof to get over the issue but for the average punter you won't miss out on much if you just avoid the deep water hazards, it'll mud plug and rock climb with the best of them if you fit decent tyres.

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P38 is a off road capable on road vehicle, not an on road capable off road vehicle. It can do a bit of both. But mine is staying on tarmac thanks all the same. Unless the BECM is on a water proof pole twenty foot above the roof why would you want a bloody snorkel on a P38?

If its got a land rover badge point where u want it to go and hope for the best.

Try looking at Australian sites for off road equipment like TJM , Old man Emu, and ARB search on google or their web sites

wammers said:

P38 is a off road capable on road vehicle, not an on road capable off road vehicle. It can do a bit of both.

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I don't agree with that. The fact that it ended up being almost exclusively a shopping trolley is no reflection on the car, just the people that bought it. Yes it was designed to have better on road manners than its predecessors but its still a live axled, ladder framed chassis car. The only reason for live axles is for off road ruggedness. No one in their right mind would design an on-road car with that chassis set up. I've said it time and again, out of the box its better off road than a defender 110 or a pre soft dash RRC/discovery. It has better ground clearance, traction and axle articulation than either. On the down side its bloody heavy. Of coarse a tricked out disco or 90 is going to be better but not as standard.

My 99 P38 has spent a good 40,000 of its 148,000miles mixing it with volvo articulated dumptrucks on forest and bog tracks. Those are conditions which sort out whats an off roader and whats not. Thats a hell of a lot of off road mileage and its in a lot better shape than either of my RRC's was at this mileage, neither of which had near as hard a life so I've got real life proof that the P38 is anything but an 'off road capable on road vehicle'. Whether by accident or design the good boffins at Solihull got that side of things real right with the P38.

Now if they could only have kept the computer whizz kids (or maybe just used taller ones who could have reached the wheel arch area of the boot) away from it at the same time they were sorting the mechanical side of things they'd have had a 'real' off roader.:flame::flame:

Having said all that, in the end I'd agree with some of what you're saying with regards to snorkel etc. I wouldn't fit one as it might tempt you into doing something you shouldn't. I think with the P38 you only go a small bit or you go the whole hog and deal with the BECM issue.

Well, I don't know about most of you lads over there in old Blighty, but over here the snorkel has another use apart from the wadding one. We have something called DUST! And a ruddy lot of the darn stuff too.

SpudH said:

The P38 is far more capable than it is given credit for but there is that big risk if you get stuck in deep water. I've seen pics of guys who've gone the whole hog with thir P38's and hung the BECM off the roof to get over the issue but for the average punter you won't miss out on much if you just avoid the deep water hazards, it'll mud plug and rock climb with the best of them if you fit decent tyres.

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SpudH said:

The fact that it ended up being almost exclusively a shopping trolley is no reflection on the car, just the people that bought it. Yes it was designed to have better on road manners than its predecessors but its still a live axled, ladder framed chassis car. The only reason for live axles is for off road ruggedness. No one in their right mind would design an on-road car with that chassis set up. I've said it time and again, out of the box its better off road than a defender 110 or a pre soft dash RRC/discovery. It has better ground clearance, traction and axle articulation than either.

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As for P38s being "road" vehicles more than off-roaders, it seems that the UK owners are among the very few who really don't use their RR to their full potential. They seem to have a strange notion that the P38s can't cut the mustard when it comes to off-roading. Odd really. Just go onto YouTube or the likes, there are plenty of them around the world doing what they were built for, going through the rough stuff.

As for the Australian sites for off road equipment, why not some sites like them over here in Europe. Even in the States they have a few stores where you can get off-road gear for a P38.

Doesn't 996Turbo do off road kit for the P38?

Disagree with you too Wammers. I'm constantly impressed at just how good mine is off road. You should watch some of the youtube videos as suggested.

I was with someone once who got his stuck in deepish water, but he wouldn't have got stuck if he had had a snorkel - basically the air intake sucked up some water which stalled the engine. After a minute or two the door seals let go and flooded the BECM. He wouldn't have been in there long enough to flood the car if the intake had been higher. It does seem rather low on the V8s.

Having said that, I had already skirted that particular bomb hole as it looked too deep to me so I think it was driver error more than anything else.

kooky_guy said:

Doesn't 996Turbo do off road kit for the P38?

Disagree with you too Wammers. I'm constantly impressed at just how good mine is off road. You should watch some of the youtube videos as suggested.

I was with someone once who got his stuck in deepish water, but he wouldn't have got stuck if he had had a snorkel - basically the air intake sucked up some water which stalled the engine. After a minute or two the door seals let go and flooded the BECM. He wouldn't have been in there long enough to flood the car if the intake had been higher. It does seem rather low on the V8s.

Having said that, I had already skirted that particular bomb hole as it looked too deep to me so I think it was driver error more than anything else.

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Not saying it's no good off road. Just that mine will be staying on tarmac that's all. Driver error and not checking that his door seals actually sealed. They are made to negotiate farm tracks and be good on the road. Not for trying to swim the channel.

kooky_guy said:

I was with someone once who got his stuck in deepish water, but he wouldn't have got stuck if he had had a snorkel - basically the air intake sucked up some water which stalled the engine. After a minute or two the door seals let go and flooded the BECM. He wouldn't have been in there long enough to flood the car if the intake had been higher. It does seem rather low on the V8s.

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I remember seeing some Aussies do something similar on YouTube. About 50 minutes later after using a compressor in a second truck plus a few bottles of water they'd cleaned the BeCM and tugging the spark plugs used the engine as a pump to clear the water, had her running again.

A guy following in a Land Cruiser (the bastion of off roading perfection... apparently) sucked up just as much water and had to do the same to his truck.

Sure, sticking the BeCM under the driver seat was poor form, but you learn to work around your vehicles limitations.

Being an ex defender owner p38s are good for (FLAT) slippery paths grass snow ect if you try to take it proper off roading raised up or not on steep declines ect all you will do is rip your wings,bumpers off I have seen this done they do not have the clearance nessesary to performe unless you take out air bags lift suspension and modifi wings .

off roading? You mean like the car parking in Richmond Park??


My old thing is too pretty to do anything more than the occasional trip across grass. If I was to do anything more than that, my accessory list would comprise a 90 or a 110.

defender300td1 said:

Being an ex defender owner p38s are good for (FLAT) slippery paths grass snow ect if you try to take it proper off roading raised up or not on steep declines ect all you will do is rip your wings,bumpers off I have seen this done they do not have the clearance nessesary to performe unless you take out air bags lift suspension and modifi wings .

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Rubbish - look at some of the things the yanks get up to in theirs on youtube.

you can have a play by all means but a video dont tell mods its had belive me a steep hill with hardley any flat plane at bottom leading on to a steep hill will rip items off unless you have an old dog then it dont matter even defender owners take an untaxed dog on a trailer as dents scuff wont matter thats proper off roading

To me "proper" off-roading is driving there, doing it and driving back home again in the same car - same as with trackdays on the bike - part of the thrill is taking your daily driver to its (or your) limits.

The P38 has excellent axle articulation and on the later cars proper four-wheel TC that'll get you out of situations that would defeat an early 90 or a series Landy without an expert driver (like one wheel at each end in the air simultaneously), P38s are heavy - so not the best cars in deep wet mud, and yes the approach and departure angles are average to say the least - they are still extremely capable off-road cars with the right tyres on - far more so than most luxury SUVs and quite a step forward over a stock classic. They have outstanding traction, so in situations where traction is more important than ultimate ground clearance - you're on to a winner!

This is the type of thing I use my Range Rover for and would like a snorkel to limit the dust intake to the engine and also a apre wheel carrier on the back bumper to increase the gear I carry inside and also it makes changing a wheel on a mountain pass in the snow a lot easier.
Roads in Turkey.wmv - YouTube

ovalandrover said:

This is the type of thing I use my Range Rover for and would like a snorkel to limit the dust intake to the engine and also a apre wheel carrier on the back bumper to increase the gear I carry inside and also it makes changing a wheel on a mountain pass in the snow a lot easier.
Roads in Turkey.wmv - YouTube

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Nice roads! good video too

nice vid