Land Rover Ideas for Grenadiers

[jscherb]

Windshield Visor

I've seen more than a few Land Rovers in the magazines over the years that have a visor over the windshield.

Visors were available for Defenders too:

I've never seen a visor on a Grenadier.

A company named Lund made them for quite a few vehicles and I've seen them on pickups; they also made a version for Jeeps and I came across one a few years ago that was cheap so I couldn't resist experimenting with it. I never installed it but I did do a few posed photos.

I kind of like the look, but I didn't install it on any of the Jeeps because a) I doubt it would have much actual function and b) it probably generates wind noise at speed and c) most importantly because it would make it even harder for tall people like me to see when a stoplight above turns green.

But they're not uncommon on Series Land Rovers. Maybe not for Grenadiers?.

 

[jscherb]

Jerry Can Cover

From South Africa, I found this in one of the Land Rover magazines:

I did a little research and discovered that jerry can covers were apparently military issue:

When I saw this it started me thinking about the "Rotopax bulge", I posted this photo earlier in the thread:

Rotopax are very susceptible to bulging like that due to fuel expanding in the heat; their instructions say that the containers should be regularly vented manually and they won't warranty containers that fail if they have not been vented. Thinking about that problem, I designed an insulated cover for Rotopax containers:

After doing the design drawing it seemed like a good idea so I sewed one:

It has a PALS grid so MOLLE and Grab & Go stuff can be attached:

I also sewed a matching gear bag to attach to it:

That photo in a Land Rover magazine started this project.

 

[jscherb]

Bags that hang on the spare and spare tire covers with some functionality besides covering the spare are common both here and internationally and there are some different designs outside of the U.S.

The one above looks like this one from South Africa:

Here's one from Exmoor, which is a major Land Rover accessories company in the U.K.:

Another one from the uK:

The Exmoor spare bag looks the nicest and inspired me to create my own. I'm not a fan of the shapeless bags that are on the market here in the U.S. so I designed one with a more defined shape. I didn't add all the straps and things that the Exmoor bag has, my design is a bit simpler but I think looks much better - the style of mine was inspired by cars of the 1930's when they had real trunks on the back and leather straps to secure the lids of those trunks.





For trash use, I designed mine to fit a standard kitchen-sized trash bag:



And it's tough enough to be pressure washed after the trail:



I also regularly take the ones on my Jeeps through the automatic car wash (when the roof rack isn't installed because that can't go through the automatic wash.

The one I've got on my JKU Wrangler has been on the spare for over four years and it still looks good - unlike most of the spare bags on the market I made mine from UV-resistant/weather-resistant acrylic fabric.

I also made a matching cargo bag that hangs on the ladder:



I turned over the design of spare bag shown in these photos to Overland Outfitters about 4 years ago and they now produce it. The ladder bag shown is not in production, it's just one I sewed.

 

[jscherb]

Exploring Death Valley:















In November I plan to drive my Grenadier to Las Vegas for the SEMA Show and after the show I plan to explore Death Valley offroad and do some roof top tent camping there. And on the way back east I'll make a stop in Moab, Utah to do some trails there too.

 

[jscherb]

Been there, done that (before I owned the Grenadier)...

Death Valley

I've done trails and camped in Death Valley several times and it's always a fun adventure. I usually enter Death Valley the same way they did in the article - through Titus Canyon from Nevada. It's a good place to enter because the trail to Titus Canyon starts just west of the Beatty, Nevada, which is a good place to gas up, get provisions, eat and perhaps visit the military surplus place in town (I picked up a few ammo cans there on one trip).

Also just west of Beatty is the ghost town of Rhyolite, Nevada. It's on the way to the Titus Canyon trail and well worth a look.

A photo of one of my Jeeps in Titus Canyon:

The Mesquite Dunes are a fun diversion, they're just east of Stovepipe Wells. You can't drive on them but if you've never climbed big dunes before it's worth a stop.

One one trip we camped in the wild in Cottonwood Canyon, miles from the nearest paved road.

There are a number of ghost towns in the area, on one trip we visited Skiddoo. There are some interesting ruins there.

Every trip to Death Valley has to include a stop at Badwater Basin, which is the lowest point in North America at 282 feet below sea level. What my GPS was showing there:

Another interesting place to visit is the Chloride City ghost town, also not far from Beatty. From there you can get a great view of the entire valley all the way down to Badwater Basin. I visited there on another trip in my LJ Wrangler:

On the way down from the overlook:

Their article in the previous post didn't really do justice to the sights of Death Valley, nor do the few photos of mine above. Well worth an expedition.

 

[jscherb]

Bags on the sides? Definitely never have seen this on a Grenadier or a Jeep. Would anyone do this?