What you done to yours?

[mrmule]

Now I feel like I've got it running pretty well, I'm just looking for some guidance on how to spend an assuredly finite budget on upgrades to make the Tristar more capable on the lumps and bumps... So, I'm starting to think I'm needing:

- Rock sliders - Who do them? Syncro Nutz? Syncro Spares?
- Better under carriage protection - Dont seem to be getting anywhere really on the search front.
- Recovery shackle thingys on the front (and rear?). How would these mount by the way?
- LIFT KIT - please tell me what your running, or have run in the past, and how you rate it. 30-40mm sounds about where I'm aiming...
- Wheels, tyres, spacer combos. I'm thinking after the lift kit to get some 5x112 Steels and band them about as wide as is reasonable, and go from there on the tyre choice. Problem at the moment is, when I've been 45deg sideways in a ditch the first thing to contact is going to be the body. If I can widen out the wheels they'll offer a degree of protection.
- I'm going to lose the plastic bumper and put a black steel on to match the rear, and, lets face it, what the point of the plastic one. Its axiomatic it'll perish at some point. Is a bull bar worth it?
- Winch?

All off the support gear which is a good idea to keep on board I'll leave for the other recent thread, and glean as much as I can from that.

Please offer whatever comments you think will be helpful, especially if you think I've missed anything glaringly obvious.

[syncropaddy]

Now I feel like I've got it running pretty well, I'm just looking for some guidance on how to spend an assuredly finite budget on upgrades to make the Tristar more capable on the lumps and bumps... So, I'm starting to think I'm needing:

- Rock sliders - Who do them? Syncro Nutz? Syncro Spares?
- Better under carriage protection - Dont seem to be getting anywhere really on the search front.
- Recovery shackle thingys on the front (and rear?). How would these mount by the way?
- LIFT KIT - please tell me what your running, or have run in the past, and how you rate it. 30-40mm sounds about where I'm aiming...
- Wheels, tyres, spacer combos. I'm thinking after the lift kit to get some 5x112 Steels and band them about as wide as is reasonable, and go from there on the tyre choice. Problem at the moment is, when I've been 45deg sideways in a ditch the first thing to contact is going to be the body. If I can widen out the wheels they'll offer a degree of protection.
- I'm going to lose the plastic bumper and put a black steel on to match the rear, and, lets face it, what the point of the plastic one. Its axiomatic it'll perish at some point. Is a bull bar worth it?
- Winch?


All off the support gear which is a good idea to keep on board I'll leave for the other recent thread, and glean as much as I can from that.

Please offer whatever comments you think will be helpful, especially if you think I've missed anything glaringly obvious.

Rock sliders ..... good idea if you have a chassis but we dont
Better under carriage protection - yes a good idea. I had mine made locally but Syncro Services sell what you need
Recovery shackle thingys on the front - not needed as you have a tow point already and its amazingly strong
Lift kit - yup most seem to run 20mm spacers
Wheels/tyres - go the Mefro 6x15 route and fit 215/75/15 tyres. Dont band them as it will dilute the range of tyres you can use, foul the arches and be generally be useless off road. Wide tyres on mud is a no no
Bullbars - these should be banned
Winch - yup good few on here have them

Have fun ..... dont forget a CB and a Hi Lift ....

[mrmule]

Ta Paddy.

SyncroNutz do sliders which fit to the jacking points no?
Spacers: Who supply the spacers? And do these just fit above the spring and the upper wishbone? I'm sure I read something about having to add another piece of kit to stop the shock bottoming out?
RE the wheels, you'd just keep running these 6J 15inch Merc rims by the sound of it?

[v-lux]

Rock sliders ..... good idea if you have a chassis but we dont

Erm....also a good idea if you think you'll be driving around anywhere near anything that might do damage to your sills. Over the weekend at Shipston i can testament that that they saved my sills at least once. I watched my drivers side slider being the point of contact on the base of a tree in a an awkward tricky section. It let me use the slider as a fulcrum and get the van pointing the direction i wanted to head in.

So extremely useful in my opinion.

Better under carriage protection - yes a good idea. I had mine made locally but Syncro Services sell what you need

Agreed, anything extra under there to protect those expensive boxes full of cogs and engine is a great idea.

Recovery shackle thingys on the front - not needed as you have a tow point already and its amazingly strong

The standard towing point is indeed very strong, but in an ideal world i would prefer to have different options, mostly better positioned points would be preferential.

Lift kit - yup most seem to run 20mm spacers

I run 25mm spacers, shock extenders and longer springs on the front, with around 50mm of spacer & shock extenders on the rear. My wheel center to fender measurement is 515mm.

Wheels/tyres - go the Mefro 6x15 route and fit 215/75/15 tyres. Dont band them as it will dilute the range of tyres you can use, foul the arches and be generally be useless off road. Wide tyres on mud is a no no

Everyone is different, you'll make up your own mind eventually about what suits best, but the 215/75/R15 route is the most common. Depends on so many factors, but they certainly perform well in that size. I ran them for ages.

Bullbars - these should be banned

I couldn't agree more, ugly, heavy, useless

Winch - yup good few on here have them

Really depends on whether you think you're likely to really need one. Ive considered it many times, but unless i was embarking on a major expedition and/or did a job that would benefit from it and/or could afford it and just fancied mucking about making it fit nicely then save your money. A spade will get you out of much more trouble than a winch in 90% of occasions.

Hi lift is one of the most useful pieces of equipment money will buy you for a syncro.

[axeman]

as v-lux has just said hi lift (i am still to buy one) proved it self time and time again. used one (v-lux's one actually) several times the past weekend. i am just looking in to how a can attach other jacking point to the front and rear of the van.

rock sliders cost a lot less than a body shop repair to the sills.

neil

[..lee..]

did someone say bull bar .........

[jebiga41]

Get your lockers working, make sure your recovery points are in good condition, put some muds on it.
Buy A Good properly rated tow rope/strop and shackles,
a shovel,
a CB
a hi lift
some planks or waffle boards
gloves
a hi Vis and cover it in mud

[mrmule]

Rock sliders for sure then. I've emailed SyncroNutz but no reply as yet... Dont seem to be able to order online.
Also any under carriage protection whether it be off the shelf or bespoke.
Anyone located the shackle points to the the two main chassis rails successfully?

I run 25mm spacers, shock extenders and longer springs on the front, with around 50mm of spacer & shock extenders on the rear. My wheel center to fender measurement is 515mm.

Where did you get your spacers and shock extenders? 50mm spacer on the rear? That sounds like a lot! Why more on the rear?

Everyone is different, you'll make up your own mind eventually about what suits best, but the 215/75/R15 route is the most common. Depends on so many factors, but they certainly perform well in that size. I ran them for ages.

What are you running now?

High lift is on the cards...

[LostValleyBoy]

Nice tonneau cover You happy with the fit?

Rock sliders.......http://www.dasmule.com/mule-sliders.html Nice but will probably cost a fortune to send from the US

[mrmule]

Nice tonneau cover You happy with the fit?

Not horrendous

Rock sliders.......http://www.dasmule.com/mule-sliders.html Nice but will probably cost a fortune to send from the US

Yea, I bet they way a tonne.

[toomanytoys]

20mm spacer kit front and rear.. some decent MT tyres, a good recovery strap and shackles and a high lift.. Some protection for the gearbox..

Most of us get away without rocksliders, so unless you intend doing some pretty extreme offroading/driving over rocks and into things then I would save your cash..
To be fair Al.. you do try very hard.. so I can understand why you like your rocksliders

Get yourself to a syncro event....

[jed the spread]

Anyone located the shackle points to the the two main chassis rails successfully?

I have a peace of chain wrapped round one of the chassis rails and a shackle because at some point in my Westy's past it got ripped off some how. I do have something lined up to go on but I have so much work on at the moment finding time to fiddle is hard and I am looking forward to the lighter evenings.

Futbus does the full lift kit inc spacers, shock extenders etc and they are quite easy to fit and work well as your still using VW stuff compared to some of the other mega expensive was to lift a van that dont work as good from what I have seen personally. A cheap set of M/T tyres on strong rims so you dont wreck your decent A/T's are a good Idea, I just picked up a set of nice Insa Turbo Dakars with 500 miles on them for £72 so I dont mind taking chunks out of those on rocks.

There is a good chance I we may be driving up to the Artic Circle this summer for our 4 weeks holiday and one thing will be 100%, my bull bars will be fitted for the trip.

jed

[v-lux]

Where did you get your spacers and shock extenders? 50mm spacer on the rear? That sounds like a lot! Why more on the rear?

Spacers and extenders are 'Futbus' items. The reason there's less spacer on the front is that the front springs are longer than standard. The whole van sits level.

What are you running now?

I'm running 235/70/16 on Merc ML alloys (they're cheaper than buying steel wheels) but the only reason I've gone to this size is to try and adjust my gearing to suit my TDI engine. I tried this size before the engine change but it was too much for it. Made the van very sluggish, horrible to drive.

To be fair Al.. you do try very hard.. so I can understand why you like your rocksliders

That's a polite way of putting it Si, he he. There is an added bonus too, that using the high lift jack with the sliders is brilliant.

[toomanytoys]

To be fair Al.. you do try very hard.. so I can understand why you like your rocksliders

That's a polite way of putting it Si, he he. There is an added bonus too, that using the high lift jack with the sliders is brilliant.

, yeah.. handy when your pushing it...... MrMule.. are you intending to "push it"???

My local landy lot think I push it a bit hard.. they always suggest "maybe I shouldnt attempt this or that section...." that would be the easy option.. I usually give it a go and most of the time get through... I think the "suggest taking the easy option" to get me to have a go.. it works...

[mrmule]

MrMule.. are you intending to "push it"???

Eventually! But I need to get it properly capable first, and therein lies the reason for this thread...

I probably also need to develop my skillz and confidence too.

I went to a mud Monsters event in East Grinstead on Sunday; man it was so much fun. Made a nice friend in a Mk2 Defender who guided me through some gentler parts of the area.

I have the bug again