Limited Budget..What to get first?

[drzjoint]

yA I have looked at the rasta it is nice and clean just not real sure it would be easy to reach in there to free wheel the winch.

 

[joey]

Best thing to purchase for off roading is safety and recovery gear first... everything else will just allow you to go far enough that you will need more safety and recovery gear.

 

[Houm_WA]

I think maybe the OP (If I can speak for him/her) probably meant gear that bolts onto the car. The safety/recovery gear is sort of a given.

Here is the order/philosophy I've been using, since I've been given the directive "You can buy one major thing per year" from the wifey:

1. Tires (for me this included hunting down separate 18" rims for the HSE).
2. Skid Plates (Did the Rasta engine and T-box so far).
3. Sliders (I really just re-enforced my running boards, but sliders will be next when I
destroy them, which is inevitable).

Everything else is on a "once destroyed; will replace" sort of basis.

Once I lose the plastic front-skid I will replace it either with the Rasta or the Mantec. For what I do up here in the Pacific NW (more roots and mud than rocks) it's not as critical as it would be in rockier areas.

Once I destroy the front bumper covers, I will get an ARB front bumper. If that happens before the front-skid gets lost then I may not get the Rasta or Mantec. I would also then sell my A-frame brush bar to offset the cost of the bull bar.

Sliders would go on as soon as the running boards get mauled. This one was regrettable for me. I should've gotten the sliders from the get-go but when I first bought the car and ordered the accessories for it, way back in early 2005, I didn't know I'd be wheelin this much. I knew I'd use the rig for getting where I wanted to go...camping spots, fishing spots, whatever...but I didn't know that it would evolve to the point where I'd need sliders. So I have the running boards and like their look and have spent money beefing them up. Not legit slides by any means but they are on there pretty good.

 

[nwoods]

Rasta Hidden winch. Anyone have an opinion on this?

If you have to have a winch and can't afford (or don't like) the ARB, then it's fine. But in terms of proper winching, I don't care for it. VERY difficult to properly wrap the line after winching, which can (and will) result in improper line handling and will result in snares and inevitably, line replacement. Also, the system doesn't really accommodate a saftey thimble, which I think is very imporant to safe winching, and lastly, the angle and position are fairly low, and in some areas (eastern mud for example) this just won't be all that usable a location. But that's just my opinion based on photos. I've never seen an installation like that up close.

 

[drzjoint]

Rovertyme makes a bumper similar to the ARB.

 

[nwoods]

Rovertyme makes a bumper similar to the ARB.

No they don't. They made ONE, and refuse to make more. For the past year, they have pretended the LR3 did not exist as they couldn't even keep up with demand on their DII parts. However, their attitude seems to be changing, and we have LRL to thank for that I think! Anyway, they "say" that they are going to release their front bumper with some revisions from the one they made for Tami, around the same time they release their rear bumper. I suspect SafariGuard will be first to market though.

http://www.lrlmag.com/BlogRetrieve.aspx?BlogID=2087&PostID=51157

http://www.lrlmag.com/BlogRetrieve.aspx?BlogID=2087&PostID=51743

 

[nwpianist]

So I went and got my new tires put on and then applied a fresh coat of mud, now it looks like a Land Rover! So it's time to save up for my next item (and the wife keeps wanting to spend money on practical things like groceries....what a loser!).

Next I am definitely looking for some underbody protection. I am thinking about getting the RS sliders next. The stand-offs seem like they would offer good protection from navigating around tree stumps, like the one that scratched my door............, plus they look like they would make a nice sturdy step.

After that I am not sure. I would like a nice front/engine skid, but I am going to get an ARB bumper eventually (I love they way it looks on a black LR3). does anyone know how far underneath the arb bumper goes? I can't seem to find any pictures of it not mounted or from underneath. I do not want to shell out $400-600 for a front skid just to toss it aside when I get the ARB.

to NWOODS-thanks for the advice, I already carry some nice gloves, straps, handwinch, shovel etc.. as well as have hid lights and fog lights and gps. I agree that these items have very high priority.

Does anyone know what options are out there for rear bumper mounted tires? Is it required to get a whole new bumper, or does someone make a mount that works with the factory bumper by cutting holes in it?

 

[drzjoint]

No they don't. They made ONE, and refuse to make more. For the past year, they have pretended the LR3 did not exist as they couldn't even keep up with demand on their DII parts. However, their attitude seems to be changing, and we have LRL to thank for that I think! Anyway, they "say" that they are going to release their front bumper with some revisions from the one they made for Tami, around the same time they release their rear bumper. I suspect SafariGuard will be first to market though.

http://www.lrlmag.com/BlogRetrieve.aspx?BlogID=2087&PostID=51157

http://www.lrlmag.com/BlogRetrieve.aspx?BlogID=2087&PostID=51743

I contacted them a few months ago they gave me a price and everything.
this is the email they sent me 11-20-08

Ryan,
We do produce a bumper for the LR3 it is $1295.00, it is designed to hold any warn or superwinch! Let us know if we can help!


Rovertym, Inc.
Larry Harrell

 

[nwoods]

I contacted them a few months ago they gave me a price and everything.
this is the email they sent me 11-20-08

Ryan,
We do produce a bumper for the LR3 it is $1295.00, it is designed to hold any warn or superwinch! Let us know if we can help!


Rovertym, Inc.
Larry Harrell

Well that's cool, but to my knowledge, they haven't actually done it. They still have only made the one bumper, and are working to improve upon it (I have no idea how, or what needs improving, maybe its just aesthetic changes). I know that the LRL Magazine trucks are getting equipped with front and rear bumpers soon, so we will all see what they come up with. I am excited to see these companies (RoverTyme, SafariGard, RoverSpecialties) start to focus on the LR3 and its potential. We all benefit!

 

[nwoods]

Does anyone know what options are out there for rear bumper mounted tires? Is it required to get a whole new bumper, or does someone make a mount that works with the factory bumper by cutting holes in it?

I know of two, one in Australia, and one available from British Pacific (I think its made by Rasta?). I have seen the BP unit and it's solid. I wish I had one.
Oh, and yes, they both mount to the factory plastic bumper. There is a steel subframe directly under the bumper that they mount to, so it involves in cutting a hole in the top of the plastic bumper cover, but the mount covers the hole so you can't tell.