honitonhobbit

Not Tofu mate, EP90, the lethargy is most definately not in your average anti because they have a united cause. The only way you get most off roaders united is in a petty argument about who has the best winch or the best tyres (by off roaders, I don't mean the TRF who can organise a damn good cause). No what we do best is close the stable door a bit too late. You may think I am cynical, but after over twenty years of fighting to keep lanes open by virtually every legal means known to man and seeing so very few off roaders ever get off there collective arse (and ditto with land access for motorsport; but at least we won a stay of education on that one), I have a right to be. When so many just used the lanes for fun/money/image and could never be bothered to help, you get bitter. And the same goes for this whole anti 4x4 carp, it is accelerating fast - look to the states for a weather check of what we can expect. So some quote foolish bravado as to what they will do if a sticker goes on their motor - good luck in court! What we need to do (and that is a collective WE) is do something. Anything. We had a chance with the 4x4 Responses and thier stirling efforts at Gloucester but sadly only Powys had a decent press officer and they didn't share him! How many folk in the Gloucester area would voted for the guys who brought them water and essential items, Where would they be without Wessex, Gloucester and Powys - same goes for the other Responses who helped in other areas. Hey ho, never mind just old Dave ranting on again (shame he was right last time but lets ignore that). Let's just carry on in our own little worlds, thinking that we know best and that an open mind is something to be ignored.

Sad isn't it, the UK apathy disease

Exactly - so you are up for a concerted effort to re-educate these fools and the idiots in government who push the media to make us scapegoats? So you are up for a dedicated, full on, recruit as many as we can, singing from the same hymn book mass protest? So you will throw away your 'don't give a toss' and put all your time and rescources behind change? Be nice if you did, unlike so many of our countrymen, who didn't care about hunting, greenlaning, fuel prices, oppression of the country etc, etc.

Got this picture in my head of an anti 4x4 bloke beating Jules flounder to death

Great Attitude - that's the kind of attitude that lost us RUPP's

I have to agree with Chris on this. The attitude of the anti 4x4 brigade is primarily fueled (no pun intended) by ignorance of cold hard facts and an abundance of little knowledge! There is only one way to fight ignorance and that is not with rash, ill thought out, spur of the moment tactics - use knowledege. However force educating the masses needs to be done on a big scale so get group together or you will just be a voice in the wilderness!

Will, why not tell us about safety and hi-lifts?

Mine leans up against the engine hoist at the back of the garage. It used to be beside the boiler but I had issues with the white grease drying out. I find the best thing to do is the borrow someone elses.

Read up on any of Dave Vizard's stuff on scavenge/exhaust flow

Have to agree with Les. Defo an important part of maintenance, not difficut to do and it makes a noticeable difference

Moseph old spoon, what do you actually need if for? Vango do a nice range of 3 season at good VFM The Mil spec jobbie that young Jase has posted a picture of is very very good with loads of room in side. My own choice Coleman do some nice VFM stuff as do Snugpac. Anjulac (sp?) are the dogs radishes

I found him on page two of the new 'Wheres Wally' book. In the bottom right, by the wizard...

200Tdi/300Tdi, Daihatsu 2.8TiD, Toyota 3.0ltr TD, Isuzu 2.8TiD or Td5. Diesel has the lead on low rpm torque over most readily available V8's, all the above apart from the last have next to no electronics, all are hugely tuneable for additional low rpm torque... As for petrol, the best trialling lump I have used was a 2.1pinto, closely followed by a bog standard Stromberg'd 3.5 Rover V8. The 2.25 petrol is a superb engine for trialling and laning and is very tuneable.

Fitting a set of windows in the 100". Eliminate the leaks from the new door tops. Strip and re-build about three winches, maybe four (including my own). Bit of off roading, spot of rough camping, smidgin of socialising, walk the dog, spend time with the family, service the mowers down at the cricket club and if it's dry roll.scarify and feed the wickets...

Mark you are just so retro! Cutting edge of fashion or what?

There is no best, just what suits the individual. Choice comes through experience and experimentation. Personal favourites - Husky and Boughton

At last common sense. I also wonder just how many 8274 lovers have used other winches - yeah I know some have but just how many. My dislike of Warn is well documented but I love the M8000, it's a great winch and if in fine fettle, well solenoided up and well powered will pull all day with nary a stall or a moan (Nick, don't even get involved in this as you can break Toyota axles so you are disqualified from all reasonable use). The EP is a god old tool as is the X9. The Aussies have taken the T-max to their hearts as have the Yanks. We are spoilt for choice. SO take off the blinkers, ignore the propaganda and think out of the box just a little.

John, you are generalising again so a quick smack on the wrist. Okay so some of the mags just print what the marketing man says about the product (actually most do), some attempt to modify the marketspeak, get it wrong because they know next to nothing. Some speak the truth, then they can never get another product from anyone else because they were less than positive. As to head to head tests, you want to try it, it's a nightmare, you can't turn round to people who essentially pay the bulk of the costs of the mag with adverts and say 'this is cr*p, but Joe Blogg's stuff is the dog's b*ll*x'. It's bloody hard work telling the truth about a product in a negative way but making it appear positive to the retailer/manufacturer but stil warning Joe Public about any issues. Most of the smaller mags have to 'blag' the product in the first place, so add that to the mix. Then you have get your tests right, both technically and on a level playing field. This is why so many mags get it almost right. On top of that there are the oddballs. These are the readers that actually do know more than all the mag staff put together and are upset that that is the case. Very few 4x4mag staff come from a true 4x4 background, it might be bikes, cars or even needlepoint. They have arrived in 4x4 via publishing. The icckle minority have approached it through a genuine love or deep knowledge of things 4x4. Throw in budgets, low paid staff, annoyed contributors, big advertisers with carp products blah blah and yet you want it to be perfect for you!

Speedy as long as it's not got too much weight on it, then you get to fry eggs on the motor. Easy fit my hairy bottom, come on Jim you have fitted so many winches are you honestly trying to tell me it's an easy fit? Parts availability - good job really and no it doesn't take a lot of beating unless you have forked out pennies to upgrade it I have to admit that thanks to the excellent propaganda job you can make shekels on the S/H market; I know I do! So Jim what have you spent the last few years investing money into winch wise - oh yes trying to improve the 8274 AND upping battery sales in the UK How's the family by the way? *runs and dives back into very deep trench, pulls sandbags round him, drags large sheet of ply over head, sticks fingers in ears, clenches butt cheeks and awaits next salvo*

No. It is an antiquated design. It is underpowered; awesomly inefficient, generally unreliable when modified, heavy, ludicrously inefficient, plagued by 'run on', bulky etc etc Great fun to take apart though. It's only saving grace is it's speed under no load thus making it popular with so many of the challenge crowd who don't own a bonnet net. What do you really want the winch for?

Even with import duty on that's cheap. What can you do M8000 for? Oh and a proper winch is one that doesn't need a shed load of mods to work properly (ducks behind parapet again, grabs steel helmet and sticks fingers in ears

For god's sake don't buy an underpowered archaic piece of antiquity like an 8274! It's all just a huge mareketing ploy started years ago by Warn so they could get rid of old boat anchors. Get a proper winch.

I bought mine from a very respected dealer in s/h laptops

Will put your reading glasses on when you look at a thread! I have one - as mentioned above. I like it a lot. I am still trying to get a card to enable the built in GPS/Wireless aerial but they are available on Ebay in the USof A. All the rest works well and the ful size touch screen is a doody

The one in Weymouth is quite cool as well