Introduction.

Our brand new series will take you on a journey. Starting with a brief history of some of the very first lightweight vehicles designed to travel across country and taking you right through to the arrival of the ever more sophisticated vehicles we see today. It will feature not only off-road driving techniques and how techniques have adapted to the changes in vehicle technology, but will also describe recovery techniques in depth, along with the selection and use of worthwhile recovery equipment. Whether you are new to recreational off-road driving or have been doing it for years they’ll be something of interest for you. The series will build into a comprehensive collection that you can download in PDF format and keep for future reference. (PDF OPTION COMING SOON)

About the author.

Peter Lamb has spent much of his life in and around off-road vehicles of one type or another. From the early days of running and driving all manner of Land Rovers he was involved in the Land Rover Club scene when he spent many years organising Club driving events, producing club magazines and writing for Land Rover magazines. Later he moved to off-road driving instruction and has his own company where both commercial and private drivers are trained to handle off-road vehicles safely and effectively. The other part of the business is supplying all manner of off-road vehicle equipment.

Over the years he has built up a broad knowledge of both driving techniques and equipment selection and use. Many of First Four’s courses incorporate off-road vehicle recovery and there are even specific winching and recovery courses. But it’s not all serious training, First Four also run recreational driving trips which vary in length from one day to weekends and longer, you can even have an off-road holiday in southern Spain. But the theme running through all the off-road activity has been sound advice, safety and regard for the natural environment.

Chapter 1

Production of vehicles specifically designed to cope with the rigours of off road conditions has been happening for over 60 years. Development has often been led by the needs of the military who needed to cross open country quickly and reliably. Heavy tracked vehicles could certainly cope with the conditions but they were slow and could not easily make the transition to travelling on metalled roads without quickly causing damage. Initially military staff cars such as Humbers were crudely adapted, this often meant no more than fitting tyres with a more aggressive tread pattern.

The outbreak of the second world war increased the need for a simple lightweight wheeled vehicle that could travel on the road and be able to make good progress off it. These were needed in vast quantities so they had to be cheap, easy to build, and easy to fix. This was initially accomplished by the Americans who developed the familiar Jeep, produced by both Ford and Willys. Suddenly there was a general purpose go (almost) anywhere vehicle that was relatively fast and could carry passengers or equipment.

When the Land Rover emerged in 1948 it didn’t take long for its abilities to be recognised by an innumerable number of commercial and military users across the world. It was only very shortly after its launch that people started to look at the Land Rover as a recreational vehicle. The first Land Rover Owners Club was formed and an annual rally was held, initially at Solihull. It was simply the vehicles versatility that sealed its destiny to be also used to tow caravans, compete at trials and rallies and be cosseted by proud owners.

Private users around the world took the vehicle to their hearts and were charmed by its simple honest character while marvelling at its amazing ability to cross all manor of natural terrain. Whilst the Jeep started as a military vehicle and went on later to exploit the private market, the Land Rover was initially aimed as a workhorse for the agricultural and industrial markets of a then war ravaged Britain.

Shortly after the war, US surplus Jeeps could be bought brand new packed in crates in CKD (completely knocked down) form for just £25 and many farmers snapped them up whilst they were available. This was just the start of what would be come a lifelong association as many farmers and country dwellers realised just how useful this type of vehicle could be. Whether it was to take the milk churns to the end of the lane for collection, tow a livestock trailer to market or even to pull farm implements there was a sea change taking place and the legacy can still be seen today, but multiplied thousands of times.

The idea of a vehicle that could potentially drive all four wheels was a novelty at that time. Suddenly landowners could travel across their farm or estate quickly and safely whilst carrying fodder or equipment. Previously, crosscountry transport was either a horse or on a primitive tractor.

New skills had to learned. As we all know handling a vehicle on terrain where traction can vary from limited to non existent needs skills additional to those needed for driving on the road.

The arrival of the Land Rover after the war was mirrored by another revolutionary aid to farming. The Ferguson T20 tractor or little grey Fergie as it is affectionately known also entered general use. The secret to its success was the fact that it could carry implements directly on a then new ‘three-point-linkage’ system. Previously tractors had only been able to trail implements, which meant they had little control over them. The Fergie, with it’s own wide range of implements was highly versatile and reliable. What has this got to do with the emergence of the Land Rover you may ask – well, when you consider that for many farmers the Fergie represented their very first mechanically propelled vehicle you can understand the extent of the impact the Land Rover had at that time. Ferguson even provided a basic course of instruction for new owners. These covered items such as gear changing, braking, and basic maintenance. It may have been brief but it got bemused farmers started on what was to become a lifelong association for many, much like the Land Rover has been ever since. As far as I am aware Land Rover never took this cue from Ferguson, yet they could have done well to do so, as the vehicle combined abilities that were equally revolutionary and had a similar impact at the time.

Driving any vehicle off-road demands at least some knowledge of its four wheel drive system if you are going to get anything like the best out of it. If you understand what the vehicle is trying to do you will more easily be able to drive it to its safe limits, without pushing it beyond them. To venture out uninformed can, at best lead to quickly getting stuck or at worst mechanical failure, or even lead to accidents.

Next month, we look at early four wheel drive systems, which in some cases have remained largely unchanged even in some today’s off-road vehicles.

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