His profile says he lives on the road to Oban, so I’d take a wild guess......

I used mine regularly for shooting/deerstalking, and I mean offload not on remote tracks. I had both BFGs and Gen Grabbers on it over the 103k miles I used it. BFGs were better. It is v capable and if you haven't done one a 4WD course is worth the effort. Use common sense as noted and keep your speed down. If you aren't sure of the ground ahead, get out and check it
S

Hi I’m brand new to the site so hope I am asking in the correct section. I am preparing my TDV8 2011 for green laning and want to fit underbody protection. I can find rock sliders from Pro Speed and Land Rover Passion which I believe will do the job but can’t find any sump or transmission protection. Pro Speed have some advertised that they say are for an L322 but they have advised they won’t fit the TDV8.
I have General Grabber AT3 255/55R20 s fitted all round now which I purchased after checking in the forum for advice. So pleased with them. Excellent on road and off road. I just need some underbody protection to push things a little further off road.
Any suggestions welcome

What are these 'roads' you speak of?

 The older I get, the more I realise that people confuse wrinkles for wisdom

Red2 wrote:

but can’t find any sump or transmission protection.

This is what you're after, but I don't think you'll find it.

More than a decade ago, I was lucky enough to get this prototype for the 4.4TDV8 via LR in Solihull, but I understand it was never put into production. I actually had it on my 3.6 for ten years and it was only after getting a 4.4 and swapping it from the 3.6 that I discovered it was tailor made for the later vehicle.

And no, it's not for sale!  The older I get, the more I realise that people confuse wrinkles for wisdom

Red2.
As to date there is no front underbody protection available for the later models, the problem is the DPF is in the way, you could always try and find someone to fabricate one for you. I do quite a bit of green laning in mine including Strata Florida and never found the need for underbody protection. As for rock sliders/tree bars I have fitted the Land Rover Passion ones, quick delivery from Italy, great customer service and overall an excellent bit of kit and well made. I’m also running the GG AT3’s in the same size and cannot fault them.

Many thanks for the quick response PeteT80 and JMC, it’s nice to have the feedback, I should have registered for the site a long time ago.

I’ll get the LR passion sliders then. They also appear easier to fit as the Pro Speed ones are also attached to the front and rear sub frames.

JMC, shame you don’t want to sell them. You could always use them as a template for a fabrication shop and go into business

It largely depends on what kind and where you are going with it. The single biggest issue with them is tyres.

Due to the mahoosive brake calipers the smallest wheels you can get are typically 19 or 20" and thus you get sod all sidewall. On the older vehicles you could go down to an 18" I think with some Compmotive alloys but at the time I was looking (about 10 years ago) there was no choice of tyres in that size so I stuck with 19". Since then with the fad of bigger and bigger wheels there is more choice available. For comparison everyone on here at the time was ranting and raving about General Grabbers for an off-road tyre so I tried those. I didn't get more than 10k out of a tyre, either it split the sidewall or cracked it - they were atrocious, decent handling on the road but just didn't last. Swapped over to Goodyear Wranglers and they were an immediate improvement and lasted well and performed better off road.

The problem you'll have, if sticking to green lanes etc., is that historically most ruts and tracks have been made by Defender width vehicles so you're always scrubbing the side walls which is where the bigger wheel tyres have sod all protection. Now aways with pickups and more people using different vehicles it's less of an issue.

With regards to underbody protection - unless you're pushing through huge undergrowth at reasonably high speeds you shouldn't have a need. Drive gently and you'll go further - the tyres won't allow you to do Ultra 4 style offroading anyway. I've been offroading longer than I've had a driving license and I've never had a need for it. I did admittedly have a sump guard on the first L322 but that was more because I was getting to know the vehicle and at the time it was a reasonable investment for me. Since that first one I haven't bothered. The Defender has only ever had a front diff guard fitted but that's because someone gave it to me free about the time I'd just forked out for a pegged air locker by Nige.

Get to know the terrain response settings and how they react in different scenarios to use them to your advantage. Learn to read the ground and pick your lines - there have been many scenarios where people have made something look fun, challenging or difficult. I or someone else then picked a slightly different line and made it look like it was nothing. Case in point I have a video of a friend on Spicy Lane where all the videos on YouTube you see people scrabbling about, wheels spinning bouncing all over the place or winching. He picked a line that suited his vehicle and drove around it like it was a normal road (at least until all the brake fluid decided it didn't want to be contained anymore) further up the track. We in a much longer vehicle took a couple of shunts but considering I still had the very stiff anti roll bar engaged it didn't make too much fuss about it.

Watch out for tyres and very soft ground and you'll be fine taking it gently. Bodywork is probably your main concern if down south in Devon and Dorset - I mean there are lanes there that a Defender has to bulldoze through. The well known tracks in Wales are probably fine since the undergrowth is kept back (certainly no issue around Strata Florida which is a doddle in an L322). Scotland peat bogs are the ones to watch for - I've used ours out stalking and it's great having a nice warm car although these days because of the terrain there (big bogs) we tend to use the RR for towing the Argocat to nearby (mixture of bad estate roads and full on off road) and the fetch the carcasses with the Argo. I've got the Argocat stuck multiple times up there so the RR would stand no chance on the same route. Ed

I have GG AT3 in 255/60R19 on D4 rims which have the same OD as 255/55R20. This size has a considerably tougher carcase than other GG AT3 19" or 20" sizes.

Thanks for the useful information Sako243 and GraemeS. I had a full set of extra wheels which are 20” so don’t want to splash out on 19” rims at this time although I would have preferred them. I will still try to find underbody protection or make it myself but it’s more important that I get out there and as you say taking it easy and looking for the best line should be OK without protection for now.
Not too bothered about the scratches, just part of the experience.