After hearing how a Land Cruiser running Simex Jungle Trekker II’s at the Auckland 4WD show ran up a bill of $3000 + in snapped drive train components attempting a modest hill climb, you could be forgiven for thinking what sort of idiot would attach those to a notoriously weaker Rover transmission. Well – I am that idiot and this is my story…

Despite good advice that I was building a ticking bomb at the end of the day my lust for traction won over and I fitted a set of 34 x 10.5 x 15 Simex Jungle Trekker II’s to my 1979 Range Rover. As you can imagine this is no simple bolt them on and yer off kinda job. I had previously cut away most of the factory wheel arches and fitted a set of aftermarket flares made by Rangie Spares Australia - (in NZ you can get them from Two Offroad). While this provides the necessary outer shell clearance for the tyres it doesn’t even go close to helping you clear the inner bodywork. My 2” spring lift was not going to make the grade and I had no desire to tackle the driveline angle problems associated with taller spring lifts. My only alternative was to fit a further 2” body lift. Unfortunately my money ran out and the body lift will have to wait a bit longer, in the mean time I fabricated a set of very dodgy packers to go under the bump stops keep the tyres from eating my inner guards. Another factor to consider is your rims. In this instance I was lucky that when I bought my Rangie it came with aftermarket alloys on it. These 7” rims have a 0 offset which means that the wheel is centred inside the inner guards thereby negating some rubbing problems from the offset. When I tried a larger set of tyres with standard Rangie rostyles [-20mm offset] they rubbed all over the place.

So how do they go offroad?
Awesome - I couldn’t be happier. My childlike attraction to big puddles and sticky mud is meat and potatoes for these tyres. They are most at home in soft extreme conditions which also include impressive abilities in ruts thanks to those 2 stage lugs.
So far every thing that the Pureora's, SF70, Riverhead, and some paper roads have thrown at them, they have taken easily in their stride. My few unfortunate hang-ups have been almost exclusively due to driver error – something that only many more modifications will improve.
With this huge amount of traction I have been able to idle through bogs and climb steep slippery axles twisters with apparent ease. Situations that previously would have had me white knuckled, teeth clenched and with my foot to the floor. This control has ironically been easier on the Rangie than my previous lack of traction has afforded me.
Something, which should not be under estimated, is the additional ground clearance that 34” tyres provide you with. The Rangie has now got 2.5” of extra clearance under the diff from a standard Rangie and 1.5” extra over my old 31 X 10.5 mud terrains. This puts you head and shoulders above the rest when it comes to clearing that hump between the ruts, unless of course someone with 38’s tears it up first… In addition the extra height from the tyres will also improve your approach and departure angles something that all Rangie owners are painfully aware of.

So how do they go on the road?
If you’re worried about this then you probably shouldn’t be buying Jungle Trekkers. Like any cross ply they give away some performance on the road – which is why they designed radials. The Jungle Trekkers howl like a banshee from about 20 km/hr and get progressively higher in pitch until at 100 they actually sound quieter, believe it or not, either way you definitely know they are there. Road handling is not as bad as you might think by looking at them. They do transmit the bumps through to the chassis and steering more than my radials did and you find yourself correcting the steering more often, however neither of these things are of a dangerous level. Actual grip on the road is surprisingly good. I drove to Taupo at Easter in the pouring rain and we had to stop suddenly to avoid a car that had hit a fallen tree. The Trekkers held on under hard braking and brought us to a stop with room to spare – phew. Bottom line is that these tyres were not designed for the road and it shows. Miles of tarmac will age them prematurely and if your Landy/Rangie is your only form of transport you should be budgeting for a second set of more road friendly footwear [anyone one with a worn set of 15” mud terrains they don’t need please contact me].

Finally the psychology of bigger tyres: Am I compensating for a personal lack somewhere else? Is big really better? All questions you will have to ask yourself. There is no doubt however that the Rangie looks damn good with those tyres fitted. I have always thought the original Rangie’s look a little under tyred. My Rangie has now managed to shrug off its tweed jacket and pipe image and has now checked itself into the school of serious, business-like off-road dressing.