zardos

Things to learn, Avoid the back part of tixover unless it been baked dry (I'm sorting my spare ropes to make a 300ft extension rope so I can reach the trees )

Watch it on youtube :-)

Definitely don't do what I saw at a recent competition, somebody towing a 90 behind a what looked like a Vauxhall Astra It is recommended that the trailer and it's contents weighs no more than 75% of the tow car weight. 75% to 100% is a grey area. over 100% is seen as dangerous / careless driving. Note the maximum towing capability of the vehicle has nothing to do with this as that is calculated on what the vehicle can manage a hill start with. So on a Landrover that is easy, just put it in low box :-) to hill start with 3.5T

Just go the whole hog and get something like http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VOLVO-B10M-53-SEATER...93%3A1|294%3A50 We did :-) You will need a HGV licenses for it though.

V8 = Good Disco = lots of dented body work and smashed windows. PS I winch challenge a v8 90, just make sure your transmission is strengthened :-) and your wallet is big (or you have a company fuel card)

Some Pictures Speaker with bolts to hold unit

Link http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&sour...mp;t=h&z=17 I've annotated a picture with boundaries and other stuff including some (but not all classic punch locations) PS you will need need to clear the site of punches as there are usually loads left in place from previous events like the Ultimate and Santa's challenges (or you could re-use them)

My Brother and his co driver and myself and my co driver use Scala - Cardo Scala Rider Motorcycle Bluetooth Bike to Bike Intercom Talk Multiset Q2 e.g. http://www.asecurityonestopshop.com/produc...artno=SRQ2MS003 They have an 8 hour talk time, where some others only have a 6 hour talk time. We have mounted them to some ear defenders (http://www.screwfix.com/prods/49075/Workwear-PPE/Protective-Clothing/Ear-Protection/Peltor-Optime-1-Ear-Defender) You take out the foam inside, drill 2 holes in the plastic to match the screw holes in the unit and bolt the unit using supplied bolts. Then you stick one side of the velcro mount to where the foam was inside the ear piece and velcro the speaker to it. Repeat the speaker mounting for the other side. Drill some more holes to allow more sound in from outside. If you want, can can supply some more detailed pictures later.

A co-driver driving for a special stage like the one at slindon (blindfold driving) is very unlikely to do any damage (unless the gates are made out of girders )

Having been to Tixover a few times for Winch challenges, I thought it is a bit small for a 40 punch (and possibly 40 car) Winch Challenge. All the previous times it was one of 3 sites used for a challenge event with the paddock area at the Castle Inn. I've included a picture overlaying Tixover over Slindon at the same scale and the tixover site is not much bigger than the open area in slindon that the paddock was in! (except the extreme, no tree mud hole out back of Tixover sticks out of this area) Thoughts on how well this site would handle a Winch challenge event by itself?

Yes Petworth was tight but my brother managed great for the first time out with the coach and trailer, may be it's all down to practicing squeezing a landrover between trees to get a punch. We found a much better route on the way back to Watford that was only a few km longer but was on better roads and avoided Petworth. We've just started planning the coach upgrades for the next event, it probably going to be a 500l water tank and petrol jetwash so we can get the mud of quick before it sets (Slindon's mud sets like concrete :-( )

It's 40ft long and 13ft 4inches high It also has a ferry lift system fitted that helps a bit with the ground clearance. Andrew

Thanks to all for a good day, my novice co-driver enjoyed his first day of serious off roading. The punches were all well laid out, I just wish I could have done more of them.

I use an led inspection light like http://www.furneauxriddall.com/shop/acatal...pectionINFO.jpg Lasts a long time, magnetic and hook holder, front and end light, 12V or mains charged / uses normal AA's Also doubles as a flashing warning beacon.

You said you could not make the first event, some thing about being in a snowy place (but no in the UK)

I've used a 9 finger rubber glove (3 for the coil), lots of place sell them e.g. http://parkerlandrover.com/proddetail.php?...384abd23d362461 The only problem is that they don't like being removed after a year or so as they melt themselves to the dizzy cap due to engine heat.

Mine sort of runs under water with only a 9 finger rubber glove and good ht leads, the deepest water I've been in was up to the wing tops. It ran for 5 minutes sat in the water before dying (cause of death was probably a combination of no battery power / water in the fuel due to the fuel filler and vent in the fuel cap being under water, so as it ran under water the vent pulled in water not air). Both of these problem will affect a diesel (no power - the stop solenoid will cut off fuel, and diesels won't run on water just as much as a v8) Note my 90 was a diesel before the engine died at around 70k, it got replaced with a v8 and the engine now has 220k on the clock (replacement was done by a previous owner). The only problem I really have when going in water is seeing where I'm going due to the big steam cloud :-)

Does anybody know the cheapest place to buy a new warn 8274 Winch in the UK So far the cheapest I have found is Devon 4x4 @ 1148.37 inc VAT Others I've seen at around £1600 and £1700 mark I've also seen prices in the US of about $1700

Are you sure it's a class 7 he has? As they only go up to 3500Kg Gross Vehicle Weight. He should need a HGV test from VOSA direct (Our coach is about 25000 Kg GVW even though it weighs only about 11500Kg empty) Though DVLA and VOSA don't seem to be aligned with some of this. Also note that for towing even though a vehicle states that it can tow a 3500Kg load, it does not mean you will not get in to trouble with the police when towing a load of that weight. It is recommended that you don't tow a load that is more than 100% of the tow vehicle weight and you might get charged with dangerous driving if you do. Also your insurance might be invalid (this recommendation does not apply if you have an active braking system like an HGV). Note the towing limit of a vehicle is in part calculated using the maximum load the vehicle can perform a hill start with (easy for a landrover with a low range)

I have a snap on digital, very good (ebay example ) Very easy to set, you don't have to un-set it for storage, can measure undo torque but eats batteries (unless you take them out for storage)

I've bent slightly two devon types of anchor, the bracing is too near the bend. So the X-Eng looks better. One thing I liked about another anchor I've seen was it's interchangeable blade size for when the ground is soft and the anchor just plough's Now Simon could you make an add-on large blade that sits in front of the normal blade (so you don't have to make the blade detachable and you only have the extra weight when you need the extra area)

V8 petrol (3.9) - less gear changes just use the right foot for more revs (about 1.5 times the speed range in the same gear compared to a diesel, so it has some advantages of an auto) instant response (no turbo lag) Nice sound Manual gearbox with underdrive (just practice the 1st -> 5th)

I've hopefully got a new novice co-driver, so I should be booking for all 6 events soon. As for the spares, steve and I will hopefully be bringing a coach load (if we get out fingers out and get the coach usable)

Thanks for all the help, it now starts fine :-) After checking fuel flow, making sure there was enough fuel pressure, ECU relays, etc I turned out to be a weak spark due to arcing from the back of the rotor arm, a new rotor arm has fixed it :-) I had check the state of the dizzy cap and that there was spark but it is very difficult to see the arc lines on the rotor arm.

Recently I've had trouble starting my 3.9 Efi V8. Symptoms below:- If the car has not been run for a long time (1.5 months) then it is very hard to start but once running everything is OK. If the car has been not been run for a day then turning over for 1-2 minutes gets it to start usually. When starting it fires for a short period (a couple of cylinders before not continuing). It does not seem to make a difference if it is summer or winner. It restarts fine even after a few minutes running. My thoughts are fuel starvation problems. Things I done / looked at:- New water temperature sensor (the old one was within specification when tested) I've checked there is sparks at spark plug end and straight from the coil. The plugs don't seem to be very wet after a long starting attempt and they are not discoloured in an way. The fuel pump runs for 10 seconds before starting and then runs while starting. There seems to be no smell of leaking fuel. Any ideas at what to look at next and how? Thanks