Land Rover Ideas for Grenadiers

[jscherb]

Something else I never knew existed until I saw it in a Land Rover magazine - fuses that light up when they're blown. Fuses don't blow often, but it would sure save time and hassle to have a fuse that lights up when it's blown.

They are available here. https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p...Jf9baYsD44ESIf1g6J2p5xuw3LnZ53SkaAuH4EALw_wcB

Here's an idea from one of the magazines related to fuses - if you really have problems finding circuit overloads something like this could be helpful:

 

[jscherb]

Places you might explore in your Grenadier...

Land Rover Owner did a story on what was supposed to be an adventure in the Mojave Desert a few years ago, although it turned out to be a misadventure.

 

[jscherb]

Been there, done that...

More on the Mojave.b

A few years ago I spent a couple of days in the Mojave. The beginning point was where the old Mojave Road intersects the Colorado River.

From there we went west to the long abandoned Fort Piute.

Heading west on the Mojave Road:

Among the Joshua trees...

The Lava bed at Cima is interesting; you can climb down into this lava tube (there's even a ladder there).

I highly recommend spending a few days in the Mojave - there's a lot to see (lots more than I posted here), interesting history and some fun off-roading.

 

[jscherb]

As long as we're on the subject of deserts... recovery advice from 75 years ago...

Land Rover Monthly published an article entitled "The search for a WWII lost patrol in Tunisia". The "lost patrol" referred to was part of the British Long Range Desert Group, based in Egypt and operating west in Tunisia/Libya. Patrols could be weeks long and cross thousands of miles of desert. A few photos from the article:

The article is online here: https://www.landrovermonthly.co.uk/...atrol-land-rover-search-tunisia-libya-desert/, also theres a pretty comprehensive entry on the LRDG in Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Range_Desert_Group

After reading the article, I picked up W. Kennedy Shaw's book on the LRDG. Shaw was the LRDG's intelligence officer and his book was first published in 1945.

It's a fascinating book even if you have no interest in WWII - there's plenty of desertcraft techniques and tools to learn about. The LRDG, for example, adopted sand ladders (p.39), which were invented in 1929 by the officer who was to command the LRDG (they called them sand channels). Enjoyable reading if you plan any desert expeditions - the Mojave, remote Utah, even Death Valley.

Land Rovers weren't invented yet, so the LRDG used modified Chevy trucks. Notice the sand ladders on the side of the truck. Also notice the rolled up things on the fenders.

The rolled up things on the fenders are lengths of heavy canvas, they called them "sand mats" and used them for "unsticking" (that's the term the author used). One of the other officers of the LRDG was credited with inventing them, also in 1929.

In this photo it's hard to tell if he's shoveling or putting a sand ladder in place.

 

[toddz69]

Been there, done that...

More on the Mojave.b

A few years ago I spent a couple of days in the Mojave. The beginning point was where the old Mojave Road intersects the Colorado River.

From there we went west to the long abandoned Fort Piute.

Heading west on the Mojave Road:

Among the Joshua trees...

The Lava bed at Cima is interesting; you can climb down into this lava tube (there's even a ladder there).

I highly recommend spending a few days in the Mojave - there's a lot to see (lots more than I posted here), interesting history and some fun off-roading.

I agree on taking several days to do the Mojave - friends and I did that back in 2008. It seems like folks now use it as their off-road racing course and try to do it as quickly as possible.

Todd Z.

 

[406to417]

Just a heads up. I've seen those "glows when it blows" fuses melt instead of doing their job.

 

[jscherb]

Roof Tent Storm Cover

I had never seen these in the U.S. and wasn't aware that they existed until I saw them in a Land Rover magazine.

They come in several sizes for different tents, although the web site doesn't say how you'd know which one would work on your tent:

https://tuff-trek.com/product/tuff-trek-soft-top-tent-storm-covers

Seems like a good idea to keep from having to fold the tent up when it's wet, but some testing would be required to see if it really is a good idea. What if it's pouring when its time to fold up the tent? If you pull off the cover the tent gets wet while you're folding the tent. And would it be stuffing inside when the cover was on?

I did some searching and a similar product is available over here - this isn't exactly the same, it seems to be more of an extreme weather/cold cover rather than specifically for rain. It seems they only come in one size:

https://tuffstuff4x4.com/products/tuff-stuff-r-overland-roof-top-tent-xtreme-weather-covers

 

[jscherb]

And speaking of covers... I suppose this could be useful if your Grenadier sits outside in the winter.