FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS.  CAMEL TROPHY ENGLISH F.A.Q.

 

Visit our Camel Trophy Forum

Q: What is a Camel Trophy Discovery?
A: A Camel Trophy Discovery is a standard production-line vehicle adapted and prepared by Land Rover’s Special Vehicles division to compete in what was arguably the world’s toughest off-road event, which is sadly now defunct.

Q: What was Camel Trophy, exactly?
A: It depends on your point of view. At the time, Camel Trophy was undeniably the most exciting motoring event to use 4x4s, without being a rally or a race like the Paris-Dakar. If Land Rovers and off-roading were your passions, then at the time, Camel Trophy was quite simply the only event in the world that combined the two in quite this fashion. Nowadays, events like the Rainforest Challenge offer similar (although by no means identical) opportunities for 4x4 enthusiasts.

Camel Trophy's purpose, from a competitor's point of view, was to take teams from all over the world, put them in a Land Rover vehicle, and then encourage teamwork and cameradie in order to successfully get the teams and their vehicles through extraordinarily demanding environments, such as jungles. The competitive element to the event came in a series of Special Tasks, like winching, driving a specific route within a very specific space of time, and in later events, kayaking, and mountain biking, where the teams competed against each other.

From the organiser's point of view, the event's primary purpose was as a marketing exercise for Camel Trophy, Land Rover, and the other sponsors (like Superwinch) to 'showcase' their products in a dramatic environment which would hopefully lead to more sales!

The point of Camel Trophy from everyone's point of view, including the host nation, was somewhat more altruistic: To put something back into the environment in which the event was set.

In the early '90s, Camel Trophy was boycotted, rightly or wrongly, by a lot of the UK Land Rover magazines, claiming that it was environmentally unsound to go winching and machete'ing your way through jungles. In hindsight, I would have to say that this idea was somewhat flawed, as by this stage, Camel Trophy were already setting Special Tasks which would offer the host nation a lasting and useful reminder of the convoy's progress. In 1993, for example, the teams worked through the night to build an environmental monitoring station in the jungle so that the scientists and biologists could accurately study the flora and fauna of an area which had barely been explored previously. In all the events, the convoy's progress reopened roads and tracks through virtually impenetrable areas which had fallen into disuse, because of the inevitable encroachment of Nature. Equally, the convoy frequently rebuilt bridges and repaired sections of damaged tracks along the way, again improving conditions for the local peoples long after their departure.

Unfortunately, the final Camel Trophy was in 2000: the Tonga-Samoa 2000 event, which was a predominantly water-based event, using Honda/Ribtech RIBs, as well as mountain bikes, waterskis and kayaks. Land Rover's involvement ended in 1998, with the Freelanders on the Tierra Del Fuego event in South America.

Land Rover are /definitely/ preparing an event of their own, however, which will be very similar in many ways to the later Camel Trophy events... :-)

Q: How do Camels differ from regular Discoverys?
A: For a fuller explanation, see the specifications page.
(Basically, sand-coloured bodywork, rollcage-mounted roofrack, uprated chassis, 6-point internal rollcage, modified sunvisors, no internal grab-handles, no harmonic balancer, no catalytic converter, no airbags, modified rear wheel-arches, rear electric windows, black anti-reflective bonnet panel, internal and external winch-control sockets, body-mounted rear lampguards, cut-out in rear bumper for tow jaw, bush wires leading from roofrack to bullbar, snorkel, steering guard, tank guard, front & rear towing jaws, heavy-duty bullbar, modified front bumper and end-caps, roofrack-mounted spotlamps, bullbar-mounted spotlamps, load guard, waterproof seat covers, rear worklamp, roofrack ladder, relocated Land Rover number plates, voltmeter and power socket fitted in radio position, uprated suspension, lowered gearing, 4-pin V8 diffs and 24-spline halfshafts, extended breathers, twin batteries, waterproofed winch solenoids, waterproofed Superwinch or Warn winch, bonnet-securing pins, modified spare wheel carrier, modified spring seats, battery cut-out switch, fire extinguishers.)

Q: OK That's what they /do/ have. What /don't/ they have?
A: Standard Camel Trophy Discoverys don't have:
Sunroofs, electric front windows, electric mirrors, central locking, or radios.
Bear in mind any of the above can be fitted by the owner, but if you find one that's got a LR factory-fitted sunroof and central locking, with no rollcage, it's likely to be a replica...

Q: How many were built?
A: About 350-400, very roughly, both LHD and RHD, with both blue and beige interiors for the 200-Series vehicles. Some were written off both on the events and subsequently, so this figure is only approximate. Some were also donated to the countries hosting the events.

Q: How can I tell whether the one I’m looking at is genuine?
A: The main things to check for are that the vehicle has the rollcage fitted, and that the roofrack bolts through the roof onto it, rather than onto the guttering. Also, Camel Trophy Discoverys have a flatter trailing edge to their rear wheel-arch.
The logbook (V5) sometimes has ‘N/A’ or 'Not Stated' in the ‘Colour’ box, which is unusual, although it can also have 'Yellow', 'Gold', or even 'Brown'. Since 1990, all Camel vehicles were registered by Land Rover UK at their factory in Solihull, and are therefore registered with Birmingham-area registrations such as: -ON (eg H--- LON: Tanzania vehicles)
-RW (eg H--- JRW: Tanzania vehicles)
-OP (eg J--- ROP: Guyana vehicles)
-KV (eg K--- YKV: Sabah vehicles)
-AC (eg K--- BAC: Sabah/training vehicles)
-VC (eg M---HVC: Mundo Maya & N--- PVC: Kalimantan vehicles)
-DU (eg R--- CDU: Tierra vehicles)
-AB (eg R--- HAB: Tierra vehicles)

-XP (meaning tax-free, for eXPort. Rarely seen on UK-based vehicles, but sometimes seen on the vehicles in the Camel Trophy videos.)

This list is not exhaustive; there are other suffixes, but this covers the most common.

Q: What is the name of the colour?
A: The colour is an old British Leyland colour called Sandglow. The Land Rover part number for the aerosol is STC1489/A. The colour code is LRC361.

Q: How can I find out what event mine went on?
A: Join the Camel Trophy Owners Club, and look through LRO etc from the relevant year.
Bear in mind the coverage of the event varies dramatically from year to year; the later events got a tremendous amount of coverage in comparison to the earlier years.
1993, for example, had basically no UK journalists covering it, so don't expect to find much on a Sabah-Malaysia vehicle in the back issues of your favourite Land Rover magazine. As a rule, Team vehicles are featured the most in videos etc, whereas Training or Support vehicles weren't, and so can prove more difficult to trace.

Q: How can I find out more about my vehicle?
A: If you contact Land Rover with the VIN number, they should be able to give you a little more information, such as when it was built, what 'model year' it is etc. (The vehicles were usually built for the following year’s event. I.e. a 1993 Sabah-Malaysia Discovery was probably built in 1992 or early 1993.) Sometimes they were built and then used by Land Rover for Training or Selections before being released.
Vehicles like this can sometimes be a bit of a puzzle, as equipment is sometimes changed along the way. For example, a P--- KAC Discovery ought to 'belong' to the Mongolia event and have the kayak roofrack, but it might well have been built towards the the end of the Kalimantan vehicles, and have been fitted with the 'standard' Camel Trophy roofrack. If it was kept by Land Rover for a couple of years, they might then have replaced the Husky with the Warn winch used on the 1998 Tierra Del Fuego event, and added the Mongolia decals.
So, you then end up with a vehicle which 'ought' to have been a Mongolia vehicle, according to it's registration, but fitted with an earlier roofrack, a later winch, and decals from in-between...

Q: What should I look for when I’m buying one?
A: Mainly the same sort of things as when buying a regular Discovery, plus a few other aspects.
Firstly, before anything else, make sure it's a genuine one. Ask the owner, ask previous owners, ask Land Rover, ask CTOC, ask as many people as you can if you're in the least unsure. You're going to be paying a lot of money for the privilege of owning a Camel Trophy Discovery over a 'vanilla' one; be sure you're buying a genuine one.

As with every vehicle, and probably more so, it is very much buyer beware.

If you aren't sure what you should be looking for, take an expert along, or get the AA or whoever to come and inspect it. Yes, it costs hundreds of pounds, but if you're buying privately and you buy something that turns out to be a nightmare, your recourse is virtually nil. Even from a trader, if they decide to be difficult, you can be looking at months of legal wrangling, which you will have to pay your solicitor for up front. Yes, you should get most of it back, but is worth 6 months of sleepless nights in the meantime?...

Camel Trophy Discoverys vary tremendously in condition, from the seriously abused and tired to virtually showroom or better, probably much more so than standard Discoverys, since they're very often owned by enthusiasts who just love keeping them in top-notch condition.

Be aware that if a vehicle has been on an event, it may well have been driven very harshly for a period of several weeks; it pays to check the chassis hasn't suffered any distortion by getting someone knowledgeable to do a 'drop test' on it.

Some vehicles were subsequently bought by the competitors, and can be gems, as they sometimes have a wealth of interesting history and equipment with them.

As the vehicles were never retailed through Land Rover dealerships in the same way as standard Discoverys, very few have a full Land Rover service history; most have been maintained by Independents. This isn't necessarily a bad thing.

As the vehicles started life as standard production Discoverys, they can suffer the same problems as standard production vehicles, such as dashboards peeling on the 300s and cambelt failure, again on the 300s.
Gearbox wear is common and expensive to rectify; both the LT77 and R380 boxes can suffer from mainshaft and transfer box input-gear wear. The LT77 gearbox fitted to the 200-Series vehicles is also often subject to second-gear synchromesh faults.

Suspension wear (sagging springs, worn-out dampers, and worn-out bushes) is also likely, plus the possibility of heavy impact damage to the underneath of the vehicle, particularly to the sills.

Body damage, especially to the rear body corners, is also possible, plus water damage to the interior in some years. Be especially cautious if the vehicle is an ex-Team Japan vehicle; according to some sources, quite a few were rolled on the events.

Water leaks are also possible, due to poor initial build quality, bodyshell distortion or through the roofrack mountings. (Here's a copy of Land Rover's Technical Service Bulletin on how to cure some of the more common water leaks.)

The heavy rear door sometimes drops on it’s hinges due to people climbing or standing on the roofrack ladder for long periods over rough terrain, or because of weak rear body-to-chassis mountings on earlier vehicles.
 
Vehicles that have been standing idle for a period also tend to have problems with oil seals drying out and then leaking. If you're looking at a 5-year old vehicle with only (say) 4,000 miles on the clock, imagine how long it's been standing still over that length of time. Ironically, vehicles with more miles on quite often have their faults ironed out by the previous owner.

A lot of Camel Trophy Discoverys also have cracked bulkheads, due to heavy landings. The chassis is forced upwards on landing, transmitting a tremendous force into the brackets that mount the bodyshell onto the chassis, tearing the bulkhead. These fractures can be welded, but until they are, the chances are that water's soaking the carpet...

Q: How much do they cost?
A: Ah, that old chestnut... Well, very broadly, in the UK, they vary from around £6,000 for a LHD 200 tdi with virtually no equipment that would need a /lot/ of work just to make it driveable, up to around £23,000 for a mint, low-mileage RHD 300 tdi with some provenance, and all it's equipment.

The LHD vehicles fetch a little less than an equivalent RHD vehicle in the UK, for obvious reasons.

Camel Trophy Discovery prices tend to be quite variable, depending on supply and demand, whether the vehicle's from a dealer or a private owner, whether the vehicle in question has a particularly interesting history, and it's condition, but it has to be said, most are going up in value as people realise that there will be no more made, and good ones become harder to come by.
Very broadly speaking, £8,000 - £9,000, is a reasonable price for something driveable that isn't going to bankrupt you immediately. As with most things, you get what you pay for; there's no such thing as a 'cheap' Camel Trophy Discovery... If you can /just/ about afford to buy one, I would suggest you don't: Camels can be expensive to run and maintain, much more so than the equivalent 'vanilla' vehicle. Equally, you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear: If you buy a £3,000 one, be prepared for some repair bills, and some lengthy hunting, if you want to refit the equipment it's likely to be missing.

At the moment (Autumn 2001), it's not so much a matter of how much they cost, as to where to get one; there have been very, very few coming onto the market in the last few months. A few have been for sale for a little while, because they're either overpriced, or in atrocious condition, or both.

Q: Where can I buy one?
A: Wherever you choose to buy one from, the old expression Caveat Emptor ("Let the buyer beware") most definitely holds true with Camel Trophy vehicles...

Probably the safest place to buy a vehicle is either through the Camel Trophy Owners Club magazine, or from our Vehicles For Sale page. The vehicles that are for sale through there will be known to the club, and so you've got a much better chance of buying something 'genuine', both in terms of the fact it won't be a fake, and in terms of it's honest condition, than if you buy one 'blind'.

One or two Independents in the UK sell Camel Trophy vehicles, but if you go to them, pay a LOT of attention to the vehicle, AND to the equipment and livery included with it. Take a camera, ideally, and photograph everything that's on the vehicle when you initially see it to make sure it's all there and all genuine when you come to hand over the money....

I personally have two acquaintances who have viewed a vehicle from one of these dealers, and subsequently gone back to collect it, only to find that some equipment was subsequently missing, and that some genuine items had been replaced with copies. If the copy was fitted when they first viewed the vehicle, then fair enough, but replacing equipment and livery afterwards is somewhat underhand in my opinion, and theirs.

Equally, I know people who have been to view 'Camel Trophy' vehicles only to discover when they arrive that it's a replica (I'll avoid the use of the word 'fake'..) and the vendor will hold out right until the last possible moment before admitting that it's not genuine. Even though the people viewing the vehicle knew it was a 'replica', the vendor was still trying to pretend it was genuine. There's no problem with vehicles equipped or painted to look like Camel Vehicles, providing they aren't sold as a genuine vehicle at a genuine-vehicle price...

Don't for a moment think things like this can't happen, because they can and they do, and they'll happen more and more as the vehicles, the equipment, and the livery become scarcer.

In terms of choice and seeing what's available at what price, the Camel Trophy Owners Club magazine, the Land Rover magazines (LRO, LRW, LRE etc) and our Vehicles For Sale page are probably the best places as there's usually a reasonable variety of choice of vehicles available.

Q: What sort of equipment did they carry on the event?
A: It partly depends on the vehicle and the event it went on. Assuming the vehicle wasn’t something specific like a Raft Unit, then: Aluminium sand ladders, axe, shovel, pickaxe, additional spare wheels, Pelican cases, Zarges aluminium storage boxes, jerry cans, tree strops, voltmeter, towropes and straps, airbag exhaust jack, Terratrip, GPS, vehicle compass, map-reading lamp, hand searchlamp, volcano kettle, fire extinguishers, toolkit, towing bars, VHF radio, satellite phone, medical/survival pack, camping equipment.

Q: Which diffs and halfshafts does mine have?
A: Usually the Camel Trophy Discoverys have the stronger 24-spline halfshafts and 4-pinion diffs out of V8 90s.
Some Camel Trophy Discoverys have 'flat' halfshafts, like Range Rovers, and some have separate drive-flanges.
If you have separate drive-flanges, pull the plastic cap off the end of the rear halfshaft; the heavy duty 24-spline ones have HD stamped on the end.
If you have one-piece 'flat' halfshafts, you'll have to pull the halfshaft out and start counting the splines on the inner end...

Q: How can I tell whether mine was a Support, Marshals, or Competitors vehicle, or none of the above?
A: Co-ordinators/marshals vehicles have an aerial bracket (or the rivnuts for mounting one) on the offside rear panel just below the gutter and a cut-out in the load-guard for the tuning unit. Co-ordinators/marshals vehicles also often have a bracket above the front interior light for mounting the radio equipment. Marshals vehicles also sometimes lack the flagpole bracket on the nearside of the bullbar.

Q: What are they like to drive?
A: Very similar to a standard Discovery, apart from the top speed is somewhat reduced, to around 60-65mph, realistically. The earlier (pre 93MY) vehicles without anti-roll bars tend to roll a bit going into corners, due to the raised centre of gravity because of the roofrack, but this can be improved by fitting stronger springs, better dampers, and Polybushes.
Fuel economy tends to be around the mid to high 20’s to the gallon, depending on your style of driving.
The roofrack is a very useful addition, as is the loadguard between the cargo area and the interior. Martin Hodder (ex-Deputy Editor of LRO and one of the co-founders of LRE) wrote a couple of articles on ex-Guyana '92 Camel Trophy Discoverys in the November 1994 issue of LRO, Craddock's Camel and In The Rough.

Q: What are the pro’s and con’s of Camel Trophy Discoverys?
A: On the plus side:
They tend to hold their value a lot better than the standard vehicles.
They also attract a lot of attention; don’t expect to be anonymous when you’re driving one.
Clued-up Land Rover drivers flash and wave, and people you’ve never met before in your life will come up and ask you millions of questions about it.
They are more 'useful' than standard Discoverys in some ways, because of the roofrack, load guard and winch.
They are comfortable enough to drive every day, but are capable enough to be excellent off-roaders.

On the down side:
They tend to hold their value better than the standard vehicles ;-)
They also attract a lot of attention ;-)
They are slower (typically 60-65mph is a comfortable cruising speed).
They roll more going into corners, especially the earlier ones (pre 93MY) without anti-roll bars, unless you've uprated the suspension.
Some parts, especially springs, dampers, and bushes wear out more quickly because of the extra weight.

Q: What sort of information is available on them?
A: Plenty of general information is available, but for specifics, the answer to that depends on the vehicle itself, and which event it was linked to. Some years received more publicity than others; some vehicles received more attention than others. On the whole, a lot of information is available, from the Camel Trophy Owners Club, on the internet, and in the back-issues of magazines such as LRO. Generally speaking, the later the vehicle, the more information is available. Vehicles from the last events have a lot of information available about them.

Q: Where can I locate the missing equipment for my Camel Trophy Discovery?
A: Again, the CTOC and the internet are probably the best sources for missing equipment. Some is readily available, some is very scarce and expensive. Some equipment (such as specific GPS units) will have been deleted from product ranges or upgraded. Sodbury Sortouts and the various Land Rover shows can often turn up equipment too.

We have recently acquired quite a number of ex-Camel Trophy items: check our Equipment For Sale pages for details...

Q: What sort of stickers would mine have had on it?
A: It depends on the vehicle itself (whether or not it was a competing vehicle for example, whether it’s a 200 or 300 Series and whether it had a specific role, such as Marshal's vehicle), and the event it went on.

As a general rule, there would have been a large Camel Trophy sticker on each front door, an oval green Land Rover sticker on the rear body-side below the window and another towards the leading edge of the bonnet. There would have been a large aluminium Camel Trophy plaque on the front of the roofrack and a smaller plaque on the rear of the roofrack. There would also have been a white Discovery sticker at the top of the glass in the rear door, and either a black Discovery sticker on the bodywork above the windscreen, or a white sticker towards the bottom of the windscreen, depending on the year. There were often Camel Trophy Adventure Wear/Watches/Boots stickers in the rear windows, but the type and position depends on the year.
The positioning of many of the stickers varies depending on whether the vehicle is a 200 or 300. There are also other possibilities: Marshal, Support, CT xx, Event Manager, Co-ordinator, etc, and various sponsors logos, depending on the event and the vehicle itself.

Most of the Camel Trophy vehicle decals are now available from our Equipment For Sale pages.

Q: Why would I want one?
A: If you’re into off-roading, they’re very well equipped, much more so than most other Land Rovers for sale, even most Defender 90s. And getting all the equipment already fitted means you'll save a fortune over buying it and fitting it yourself too. Also, all the equipment on the Camel Trophy Discoverys is top-notch, and is quite often uprated from the 'vanilla' version of the same product; the Husky winch is a prime example: the Camel Trophy Huskys are specially prepared and waterproofed for fitment specifically to Camel Trophy vehicles.
If you’re not into off-roading, they’re an enjoyable vehicle to drive that turns a lot of heads that's very capable if and when you need it to be.

Q: Can  I get it into my garage/office/favourite multi-storey?
A: Probably not. A Camel Discovery is only slightly longer than a standard Discovery because of the bullbar and rear towjaw, but it's substantially higher because of the roofrack and sand ladders.
Realistically you're going to need around 7'6" (2m 25) headroom, which rules out most domestic garages and multi-storey carparks, even those with 4x4 areas on the ground floor.

Also, bear in mind that with all the extra equipment, a Camel Trophy Discovery weighs a fair bit more than a standard vehicle, typically around 400kgs more. A standard Discovery weighs just over 2000kgs, according to the handbook, whereas a Camel Trophy Discovery weighs around 2400kgs or thereabouts; this is true of both the 200s and the 300s.

If you're taking the vehicle into a garage or workshop, check the load rating on any lifting equipment they may be using on the vehicle; some vehicle-lifts are only rated to 2500kgs, and you're getting awfully close to the limit with a Camel Trophy Discovery.

Q: How can I improve my Camel Trophy Discovery?
A: As with any Land Rover, it rather depends on what you use it for. With a Camel Trophy Discovery, though, you've got a great starting point for most things. The only thing to bear in mind would be that it might be unwise to butcher something that's an inherent part of the vehicle's character; try and make any modifications sympathetically, so they can be removed or reversed at a later date if you decide to return the vehicle to it's original specification.

The vehicle's rubber suspension-bushes are worked very hard, typically lasting only 12 months or so even if the vehicle is only used on the road, so Polybushes are always a good plan. They're easier to fit than the OEM Land Rover bushes, last a lot longer, and improve the vehicle's handling too.

A high-flow air filter such as a Ramair, or a K&N compensates for the snorkel, allowing the engine to breathe a little easier, and making it quite a bit torquier.

A decent stereo and some better speakers can make long journeys a lot more civilised too, as can soundproofing, although if the vehicle is used for wading, or heavy off-road use, make sure any soundproofing is either waterproof or can be removed easily for drying. Even just fitting the rocker-cover sound deadening pad from the 300 Tdi onto the 200 Tdi engine makes quite a difference.

Fitting decent tyres (225/75R16 or 235/70R16 are the most suitable sizes) also makes a lot of difference to the vehicle's performance and behaviour, both off and on road, depending on the tyres themselves, and the use the vehicle is put to.

As the door-bottoms are quite vulnerable to impacts on a Discovery, fitting heavy-duty steel side-sills is a good idea if the vehicle is used off-road, although regardless of what the brochures say, I personally wouldn't Hi-Lift off any of them; Discovery doors have a slightly convex profile, and if the vehicle shifts on the jack, the top of the rack could very easily come into contact with the door, ruining a day out very quickly...

Diff guards are also a good idea on any Land Rover used off road, as they protect the diff casing from being damaged by rocks or tree stumps.

Cross-axle diff locks (ARB, KAM, TrueTrac, Detroit Lockers etc) are a good idea if you're into serious off-roading, as they allow you to get further in extreme conditions, and can also make descents easier because of the improved traction. Their only downside is the expense of having them fitted, typically around £1,500 for a pair of air-lockers and a compressor to drive them, or about £600 per axle for mechanical diff locks.

Intercooler, fuel pump and turbo upgrades are arguably the best way forward in terms of engine performance, for both on and off road vehicles. Done sympathetically and thoughtfully, they can raise the vehicle's power (torque) output quite substantially, without overstressing the engine. When carried out with the high-flow air filter, these modifications can improve a vehicle's performance quite dramatically.

Q: I just love anything and everything Camel Trophy-related. What's available?
A: You name it. Videos, stickers, pens, watches, clothing, luggage, footwear, books, models, posters, keyrings, belts, socks, hats, pictures, penknives, atlases...

Videos are available for most years from Duke Video.

There are several books available with chapters on the Camel Trophy and the vehicles, but probably the best 'coffee-table' book on the Camel Trophy was called The Great Adventure, but it's no longer in print. It has arguably the best photographs available of the events and the vehicles, as it was produced with the co-operation of the event managers and directors. It was a hardback book, produced in December 1993, and covers the event from 1980 Tranzamazonica to 1994 Argentina Paraguay Chile.

If you'd like one, we have a few for sale on the Equipment for Sale page.

There are some very nice Camel Trophy Zippo lighters available too. Some are from specific years, while some are more general. Some brand new event-specific brass Zippos are available on the Equipment for Sale page at the moment.

There was also a lovely pewter model Camel Trophy Discovery made in the early 1990s to celebrate the use of the Discovery on the event, which makes a very nice mantelpiece ornament. All are 5-door RHD models, with XCL tyres, and the shorter roofrack-ladder, making it a copy of a Sabah-Malaysia '93 vehicle at the latest (94 onwards used XZL tyres).

Some Camel Trophy clothing turns up occasionally (combat trousers, shirts, t-shirts, hats, jackets etc), although beware of fakes that often turn up from Asia.

Camel Trophy watches and footwear are also available occasionally. A very few Event 2000 watches are available on the Memorabilia For Sale page.

Q: Can I use the roofrack lamps when driving on the road?
A: Not in the UK, no; they're far too high off the ground. If you want to know more, have a look at the UK MoT Information site.

Q: Is it legal to have bushwires fitted on the road?
A: In the UK, on a genuine Camel Trophy vehicle, yes, in theory. I've spoken to Traffic Officers and the Vehicle Inspectorate, and neither were of the opinion that they were illegal, based on the grounds that "they do not project ouside the envelope of the vehicle, and present no sharp edges". Equally, another point of view was that the vehicle wouldn't fail an MoT test with them fitted, because again, bushwires present no additional danger to the public.

It is obviously a valid point that having a tensioned steel cable running from your roofrack to your bullbar may present a decapitation hazard, but put it this way: If someone is in the path of the bushwires, then a) They've probably already been struck by the vehicle, and b) If they are struck by the bushwires, at least they have a chance of being flung clear by them. Without them, whatever was in the path of the bushwires is going to get hit by the windscreen pillar in about quarter of a second, which I'm sure would do them considerably more harm.

Whether bushwires are legal on an non-Camel vehicle, I don't know. If you do have your bushwires fitted most of the time, inform your insurers in writing, as I strongly suspect they would refuse to pay out if you were involved in an accident involving them, and they hadn't been advised.

Q: I'd like to build an exact replica, as I already own a Discovery. How much will it cost me?
A: A fortune. The winch, roofrack and rollcage alone would come to almost £4,000.
When you start to consider all the extras like lamps, underbody protection, snorkel, suspension, Terratrip, uprated halfshafts, tow-jaws etc, you'll be looking at the thick end of £10,000-worth of modifications, and that figure doesn't even include labour. Bear in mind also that quite a lot of the equipment on Camel Trophy Discoverys is specific to the vehicle and wouldn't be easy to fit from scratch.
And when you'd finished, your Discovery would be worth only slightly less than when you first started...

"This website is not related to and has no connection with Worldwide Brands Inc. ("WBI") which is the registered trade mark owner of the CAMEL TROPHY trade mark. WBI does not endorse this website nor any of the its contents"

 

2715 visitas desde el 8 de Abril de 2011