Green Laning - Starting Out

So I have bought my Jimny, specifically as my transport to and from the farms I shoot at and also as a runaround. Now I have it and have pretty much fell in love with it, I fancy tackling a few green lanes.

The car is completely standard.

Without going stupid are there any basics I should attend to? I am going to get a new set of tyres in the next few weeks and I have decided on General Grabber AT2.

My other question is should I fit some protection underneath? I see there are radius arm guards, shock skid plates and a transfer box guard. Is this a good idea, or should I just fit the transfer box guard, or is it not required for green laning?

I see there are lifts you can do which I'm sure helps, but don't want to jump into doing things I don't need to. As I have never been green laning I can't decide on the best way to prepare my Jimny.

The trouble with Greenlaning a standard Jimny is that the radius arm mounts hang just too low and even a slightly rutted lane will have you stuck in no time.

It's no use people saying to drive outside of the ruts as sometimes / most times, it is just not possible and you slide into them. If they are of more than a few inches you'll get stuck.

So to prevent this, you need a suspension lift to push the axle down and the mounts up away from the ground. Then a bigger set of tyres to add to this and lift the diff as that'll be the next thing to get you stuck in ruts.

How big the tyres are is up to you as the bigger you go the more it effects the gearing.

A 2" lift needs minimal castor correction, so is a good compromise, any more needs proper castor correction arms and up goes the cost.

This is the voice of experience and I remember the pain of digging it out with a flat bladed screwdriver, taking the skin off the palm of my hand as it worked on the end of the screw driver. This is a memory I will take to the grave!

God bless my old gold Jimny on standard sized Colway AT's!

Kirkynut

To be honest I would be happy to carry out a 2" lift as it seems like it could improve things and it doesn't need too many other things changing from what I can gather. A lift, tyres and a bit of protection should help a lot and it looks good

What puts me off is the fact I don't think I could manage the work myself, so I tend to shy away from it.

Dyl wrote: To be honest I would be happy to carry out a 2" lift as it seems like it could improve things and it doesn't need too many other things changing from what I can gather. A lift, tyres and a bit of protection should help a lot and it looks good

What puts me off is the fact I don't think I could manage the work myself, so I tend to shy away from it.

Don't be put off working on it, before I got a Jimny I was the same but have had a go at all sorts, I know my limits but shocks, springs, radius arms, panhard rod bushes, propshafts are all pretty straight forward and you have some good how to guides. Also the good thing about this forum is their is always someone willing to help if you get stuck nearby. You'll even get used to the bolt sizes and find yourself reaching for the right size socket,

Swifty wrote:

Dyl wrote: To be honest I would be happy to carry out a 2" lift as it seems like it could improve things and it doesn't need too many other things changing from what I can gather. A lift, tyres and a bit of protection should help a lot and it looks good

What puts me off is the fact I don't think I could manage the work myself, so I tend to shy away from it.

Don't be put off working on it, before I got a Jimny I was the same but have had a go at all sorts, I know my limits but shocks, springs, radius arms, panhard rod bushes, propshafts are all pretty straight forward and you have some good how to guides. Also the good thing about this forum is their is always someone willing to help if you get stuck nearby. You'll even get used to the bolt sizes and find yourself reaching for the right size socket,

Thanks, I will look for the guides.

I have to work things like this out before I attempt them as I can only use my right arm. I manage most things one handed but some manual things unfortunately I just can't tackle due to the physics. The frustrating thing is you know how to do it, but you just can't quite get it to work. I will happily drop the oil, change filters and plugs but even then you need to be careful because of holding a ratchet with extension bar has a habit to pop off if you don't do it correctly.

I think if the lift kit is a matter of undoing bolts and fitting the parts then I should be ok, I just imagine there is a bit more to it than that