COMMON 4WD SETUP MISTAKES and HOW TO AVOID THEM

COMMON 4WD SETUP MISTAKES and HOW TO AVOID THEM

Find us at the links below:

[PaletoB]

I'm to cheap so I'm just no gear and no idea...

[BradGryphonn]

I have some suggestions for people who are putting an older vehicle together on a tight budget based on my practical experience (take it or leave it, I'm just the average bloke).
1: Replace all the hoses, belts and other bits that wear on the engine. Keep the old bits as emergency spares. If your budget allows, replace your water pump and other 'outside' parts that may be worn.
2: Go over your suspension and brakes with a fine tooth comb, and replace anything that is showing age.
3: Replace/refurbish any badly aged wiring and wiring insulation in the engine bay and on the body/rear.
4: Once you've got all that sorted, and your old jigger is more reliable and safe, you can look at your 'getaway' wants and needs. But do the safety and reliability stuff first.

With respect to the drivetrain/suspension, it is surprising what you'll find when you really start looking for wear. I'm a bit old school and tend to go a little overboard with above. The ute I'm doing up now had some worn tie-rod ends. I started pulling the front suspension down and found worn ball joints, upper control arms, and some sad shocks. So I fell down the rabbit hole and replaced just about everything from pads and rotors to control arms, and shocks. I then replaced all the rear spring rubbers and shocks etc.
I replaced the thermostat with an aluminium one rather than the old composite plastic thing, swapped out the clutch fan for electrics, replaced the water pump and a bunch of sensors, wiring, and insulation. Oh and all the top end seals.
Total cost so far (including the price of the 2nd-hand ute) has been around $6000. That includes all the parts, as well as extra tools, paint and cleaning stuff, oils, greases, a full solar system, water tanks, gas hot water, stove etc.
I shopped around and also found giveaway stuff for all the solar and water supply gear because I didn't want to skimp on the motor and drivetrain. Anyway, just a Sunday morning rambling from me. Hopefully something I wrote is useful for those on a tight budget who want to build a getaway vehicle on the cheap but safe path.

[Knightjp]

I've always considered the best kind of advice is to take your stock vehicle on a trip. Then you will know what you like and don't like, what you need and don't need.

[petterbecker-jostes]

After you said in one of your other videos that you need a bull bar so that hitting a kangaroo doesn't result in a vehicle breakdown, I got myself a super expensive bull bar and now I'm all set up for my trips around Europe...

[archygrey]

I once came across a house with two 4wds with rooftop tents, but what the people there did was add a couple of boat winches and a pulley to the underside of the carport so that they could hook up and lift up the rooftop tents when not needed, and when it was time to go camping all they needed to do was park the car back under the carport and lower the tent back on.
Great for storage too, the tents are suspended up and out of the way of everything.
The guy i talked to seemed pretty proud of his system

[CommieHunter]

The "what are you using your car for" question is really challenging, because some people don't want to use them. They want to own the "best" thing, and describe all the things it can do, but they may not do it.

It's a classic bench racer scenario. Let them own it if they like, but it's often clear who bought to say, and who bought to do.

[crashedking]

All so true I figured it out finally. I ended up building 4 different builds and my Dailey is 4x4 all stock. The only setback is I pay for 5 sets of tabs every year. Love your channel. Oh and I know this guy that bought $1000.00 in recovery gear and only used it once in 2 years. He was watching to much matts offroad or something.

[day_for_it]

Where was this video 5-10 years ago. I have to say it resonates with me so much.
My previous car I put mud tyres on as a daily /tourer and since have changed cars to all terrains as such a nicer experience.
No one ever talks about the down side of drawers with fridge slides making the fridge just to high and before you know it your getting a drop slide. The list goes on. Great tips

[davetaf]

Ronny mate i'm from Trinidad and Tobago and can honestly say from day one i never regretted subscribing to your channel

[MaitreMark]

I spent 2021 driving around Australia, dodging lockdowns mostly, and then was marooned in WA wondering how I could manage to get back to Tassy.... but, the trip taught me quite a lot about what to keep, what to chuck and what to get next. I am now fine tuning for a trip to the NT because they were shut back in 2021.

[OnCountryWithMick]

Some great points here Ronny. I know a few people like this unfortunately and you see it all the time in the bush especially with the young guys that watch some rather large channels and then want to buy everything they see their favourite influencers using. Personally I built my Pajero up knowing I will need to use all 5 seats at times and maybe the 3rd row from time to time. I also knew it would mostly be a daily so I wanted to keep weight down and still have it practical. Ive stuck with stock tyre sizes in AT, stock Alloy rims (Came with steelies) then custom built everything in the back of it. I want to make a couple of changes for example rebuild the back and swap the side my Drawer fridge sits on because with my drop down table on the back door I can open the fridge far enough to access everything but I can't open the drawer enough as it sits now unless I put the table back up. Ive also gone from a Metal Roof Basket to a Alloy Flat rack as I rarely carry things other than my solar panel, shovel and small tool box up there anyway. A lot of thought went into my original build but after use some things could work better.

[aussiedrifter]

G'day Ronny, I would love a coffee machine but for simplicity & not wanting to run out of the little coffee pod's I stick to the good old Nescafe Espresso (Green label) &
I find it to be easy really good & a bloody good drop first thing in the morning for an instant coffee

[Wayno]

Another great video Ronny, I started following the popular 4wd channels a few years back and decided I didn't want to climb over large rocks or get stuck in mud in Tassie, so I bought a Forester, yes it's not a real 4wd but it gets me out camping and exploring, living on the GC with sand islands in my backyard, a few simple mods and its all good. Fuel economy is fantastic (diesel), sure I can't take as much junk when I go camping, but can fit what I need.

[johnfitzgerald]

Ronny, With all due respect, I think we shouldn't all over think it. A lot of us want/need one vehicle to do everything, daily, rocks, camping, touring. I think people should just do what makes them happy. I drive a full size daily on 37" Toyo muddies, fully armored up, fridge on a slide in back powered by a Jackery 1000. It gets me to work, although it burns a boatload of gasoline, it cruises nicely on the highway, and it is a superior beast off-road when I need it. If I hit a whitetail deer 🦌 on the road, I will win because I have robust, heavy steel, aftermarket bumpers. Some of these weight compromisses ensure that I can get home and drive to work the next day. I think the best guidance is to have a vision of what it will be, so you don't pay twice. And buy quality aftermarket parts. There is a lot of crappy stuff that wears out, break or rusts really quickly.

[WheelingInNSW]

Good one Ronny, as always mate - both very entertaining and so relevant. Great stuff bud 👍🤜🤛

Side note : the wife’s 2006 Grand Vitara is pretty well stock with the exception of home made traction board holder, home made shove holder and a cheap aluminium / alloy roof basket thingy … that’s it and it gets super everywhere we need to go. Also helped to get my youtube channel going. Even though it has its limits off-road, and I know of them, it’s a great little 4x4 off road 👍 it’s my wife’s daily driver but it really works off-road on the weekend too. 👍👍

[ScottyP]

All my gear is a tax write off.

Even though it costs a lot I’m constantly touring around Oz working, so it does get used but when I watched this video my first thought was I could probably get rid of the scrub bars, unnecessary weight.

The rest I’m really happy with! great video Ronny 👍🏻

[vincegiordmaina]

This vid is spot on,
Did a lift few years ago, now going to get a gvm upgrade, waisted a few k's already.🤣🤣

[northislandguy]

I’m the weekend 4WD guy because I’m tradie during the week, good tips Ronny as always 🤙🏽
The “want” always exceeds the need 😂

[p.w.]

That's the most honest video about 4weeling I seen so far. ;-)
In my case I got a regular 4x4 SUV not a true Off-roader but equipped with good old Geolandars it is pretty capable for my stuff. I got stuck only one time when I was unconcentrated leading to a wrong decision in my line choice.
Next I'm looking for a slight lift to avoid the risk of bottom out on muddy European forest trails.

[stevenwatling]

I just traded my BT50 which had 160, 000 touring ks on the clock(17ft semi off road van) for a new V8 79 series dualcab( bucket list buy at a very reasonable post covid price) and was considering a few mods. This video has been very helpful in considering this . Also, I am now familiar with the ' unique towing characteristics' of the 79 when compared to the BT50! Having said that I love the 79 and the downhill braking with a load on is amazing. I love the channel Cheers!