You might have bought your 4×4 for one of several reasons. Perhaps you wanted to feel safer on your commute to work? Or maybe you just wanted something that looked cool? For most of us, however, it’s the allure not of the open road but the horizon stretching out beyond that road. That’s what made us pull the trigger and step into the world of 4×4 ownership.
But before you hit the completely virgin terrain, there’s a pretty convenient middle ground to explore.
What is green laning?
As the name suggests, the practice of green laning quite literally refers to driving down green country lanes.
These are typically un-surfaced tracks that are used by off-road vehicles but not conventional road vehicles. You’ll find them commonly on farms and all over the countryside.
Taking a trip with your 4×4 down a green lane is perhaps one of the best ways to safely and legally experience true off-road driving and it’s a hobby within a hobby that offers potentially hours of fun.
But if you’re serious about green laning, you might want to consider upgrading some of your stock parts.
What upgrades will I need to go green laning?
You don’t technically need any upgrades to go green laning as long as your 4×4 is in decent condition.
However, if you want to truly let loose and enjoy those great green lanes without worrying about getting stuck in a field in the middle of nowhere, here are five upgrades you might want to consider.
iDrive – An iDrive throttle controller is an affordable and easy to install upgrade that allows you to tune the responsiveness of your accelerator pedal.
It’s simply plugged into your accelerator and sent to a dashboard-mounted box that provides new points of reference for your throttle mapping.
This gives you much more control over your accelerator, which can be particularly handy when negotiating wonky country lanes.
Recovery Boards – One thing about green lanes is that they are often quite wet and muddy, particularly in the UK. This can lead to situations where you are literally stuck in the mud, even if your suspension is top-notch.
A recovery board, such as the TRED Pro, is an item you can store in the back of your vehicle made of a unique composite material that provides maximum traction for getting out of sticky situations.
Snorkel – Not only do 4×4 snorkel kits look incredibly cool but they also serve an important function – they separate water from the engine intake and funnel the cleanest air possible into your engine.
With the dirt and dust being kicked up on the average green lane, this is one upgrade that your engine will seriously thank you for.
Safari snorkel kits have designed snorkel kits for most common modern 4×4 vehicles and they are quick and simple to install.
Air Compressor – There is nothing worse than being stranded in the middle of the country with a flat tyre. Sometimes, however, it might not be beyond saving and you might not have a spare tyre to hand.
That’s where an air compressor comes into play. This can be used to air up dead or dying tyres and give you that little extra push to get you back on the road and into civilisation.
Underbody Protection – Finally, green lanes are very rarely maintained and are generally full of rocks and bumps that might scratch or damage the underside of your vehicle if it’s not properly protected.
Generally speaking, underbody protection should always be used on a 4×4 if it’s intending on going off-road but particularly so if you intend on doing some serious green laning.
Photo: Volodymyr TVERDOKHLIB / Shutterstock.com
