Get Ready For a Highlands Road Trip

Burns Night is almost over, and spring is only a few, short months away. That means that now is the perfect time to start thinking about going on the first-off road trip of the year – if you’re anything like us, you’ve been just itching to get out there again.

The Scottish Highlands are the perfect holiday destination for any gear head – particularly a gear head who owns a Land Rover. Wild, unblemished landscape for hundreds of miles, free of frustrating annoyances like traffic and congestion charges; a vibrant car culture to immerse yourself in;  and nothing but you, the road, and your trusty set of wheels. Sounds perfect, right?

Absolutely right.

There are many roads you can take on your trip through the highlands. Maybe you’re planning on doing the full Highlands 550. Maybe you’re just driving from Mid Calder to Inverness. Whatever the road you take, your journey is guaranteed to be one you’ll remember for the rest of your life.

But what do you need to complete a trip through the Scottish Highlands? A car, yes – we recommend some sort of Land Rover – but what else?

In this article, the latest from John Craddock magazine, we’ll be going through some of the key bits of kit you will need on your journey through one of the most beautiful landscapes on the face of the Earth.

Land Rover Accessories

The base Land Rover – whether a Land Rover L322 or a P38 Range Rover – is a fantastic piece of machinery, able to tackle nature just as well as it can the city. But sometimes you want to take things up a notch. Maybe the road you’re on is just that tricky or maybe you just want a little bit more out of your machine. Either way, John Craddock is more than prepared to help you make the most out of your trip through the highlands with our wide range of Land Rover Accessories.

Jerry Cans

The first and most important thing you will need for any long term road trip is fuel, regardless of whether that fuel is diesel or traditional petroleum. It’s a key fundamental fact that without this fuel, your vehicle isn’t going anywhere. But what do you do if you find yourself 30 miles away from anywhere? What do you do if your phone has no signal?

Such a scenario is potentially a really serious problem, especially on low spring nights when there’s still a harsh chill in the air. In order to mitigate the risk of that happening, you really should be carrying a full jerry can with you at all times during the trip. Ideally, this jerry can should be full at all times, and you shouldn’t be dipping into it on a daily basis.

Remember: it’s there for emergencies only.

Lights and Lighting Accessories

Land Rover’s lights are really good at what they do. However, it’s still possible to upgrade them. LAZER, for example, has a fantastic range of light bars and other lighting accessories designed to complement your existing set of lights. This will allow you to have maximum visibility on dark nights or when you’re traveling through thick woods. Furthermore, because all of LAZER’s products are based on LED technology, you can install them on your Land Rover happily in the knowledge that they’ll be extremely energy efficient.

If you feel the need to add a large number of extra lights, you can install a light bar on your Land Rover. Likewise, if you’re worried about damaging your existing set of lights, we carry a wide variety of light guards, suitable for a wide variety of Land Rovers.

Wheels and Suspension Kits

If fuel is the key ingredient of any road trip, a good set of wheels and adequate suspension is the secret ingredient: the thing that takes a good journey into a great one. At John Craddock, we carry a wide range of Land Rover Wheel and Suspension Kits ready to transform your journey.

Terrafirma is one of the premier manufacturers of Land Rover equipment, including brake discs and all terrain lift kits. Terrafirma products combine decades of practical experience, material science research, and engineering capability in order to produce fantastic parts and accessories to suit any set of Land Rover wheels.

Likewise, if you’re thinking about carrying a spare tire on your journey (and we recommend you do) you should also consider picking up a Land Rover Wheel Cover. Placing your spare wheel on the outside of your Land Rover is a great idea: it means that you can get to your spare wheel quickly without getting all your stuff out the back of your vehicle. However, it’s also true that rain, dust particulates, as well as upthrust gravel can damage your tire over time. This means a Land Rover wheel cover is a great idea – not only can you protect your spare wheel, but you also have the opportunity to make your vehicle that little bit more unique.

Expeditional and Travel Equipment

You could spend your nights in a hotel or a bed and breakfast, but if you do that you’ll be missing out on something truly special. With its wide open spaces and Right to Roam, the Highlands are a great place to go camping, and your trip through them is the perfect opportunity to do it.

Tents

At the bare minimum, you will need some sort of tent. This will give you a place to sleep when tired, or simply as somewhere to go if you want to get out of your Land Rover.

When it comes to the kind of tent you choose to take, though, you have several options from our catalog. If you’re just looking for something simple and trustworthy, then our Front Runner Flip Pop Tent is a great option. It’s incredibly easy to set up, provides a good level of isolation from the outside elements, and doesn’t take up too much space in your Land Rover. Everything you could want from a tent.

However, if you’re finding yourself averse to sleeping on the ground, and are willing to spend a little bit more money, our range of ARB tents – particularly our ARB Simpson Rooftop Tent 3 – is a really strong option. Not only do you get all the advantages of regular tents, but you don’t have to sleep on the cold ground.

If you’ve never had the pleasure of camping in a Rooftop Tent, it’s really simple. The Tent sits on the roof of your vehicle, like a mattress folded in on itself. When you want to sleep, simply unfold the tent, set down the kickstand into the ground, and set the tent up. From there, it’s a simple case to attach the ladder and get into the tent.

Awnings

If you want a little bit more space, you should invest in an awning – coverings that hang on the side of your Land Rover and give you some coverage away from the bright sun or rain. Awnings are great because, for such a simple idea, they provide a really useful benefit: increasing your living space while camping.

For example, say you want to barbecue while camping, but the rain is getting in the way: an awning would allow you to cook without the fear of getting your barbeque wet. Or maybe you’ve been driving for a better part of the day with the sun in your eyes and now you have a migraine they could name a battleship after: having an awning would allow you to park up somewhere and get some fresh air out of the sun. These are only two of the many reasons why awnings are a great idea for any camper.

Fridges

For every camping trip, you’re going to have to take some food with you. Otherwise, you’re going to be relying on restaurants or hunting your own food for every meal – both of which are incredibly impractical. To store that food, you’re going to need something like a fridge.

At John Craddock, we carry a wide variety of fridges and freezers. Everything from the relatively simple 45 liter fridge from Terrafirma to the massive 60 liter fridge freezer offered by ARB, as well as everything in between and all accessories.

Other Camping Accessories

As well as the aforementioned, you’ll also probably find that you need a few more things. A good camping chair, for one. You should also probably also carry a medibox with you in case of emergencies, as well as an emergency tyre kit (just in case). Your specific needs will vary depending on how long you plan to be on the road and what kind of trip you’re making, but realistically you won’t need much more than everything we’ve mentioned so far.

Land Rover Parts and Spares

According to Murphy’s Law, anything that could happen will happen at some point. That means it’s a really good idea to have a few spare parts with you on your long journey. We’re not saying you should have a fully stocked mechanic’s shop with you the entire time, but a few key Land Rover spares would probably be a good idea.

One particularly good spare to pack is a pack of replacement wiper blades – for example our range of wiper blades for the Range Rover L405. While it’s true the weather is starting to look much better than it did, it’s also true that rain is exceedingly common in Scotland, and while you might have checked your wiper blades before starting your journey, having a spare set on hand (just in case) is never a bad idea.

Likewise, having a bottle of transmission fluid on hand is another great idea, as is having a complete tool set in case you need to do some quick and easy repair work by the side of the road. One particularly important part you’ll want to consider bringing is a fuel pump repair kit in case that ever breaks.

Ultimately, the spares you take will depend upon your vehicle’s history, as well as your own personal competency level when it comes to repair work. Experienced mechanics will probably be comfortable with doing more involved work by the side of the road, while the rest of us will probably be much more comfortable leaving the majority of in depth repair work to the professionals.

Contact John Craddock Today

For all your Land Rover Parts and Accessory needs, speak to John Craddock today. We are experienced and passionate Land Rover enthusiasts, dedicated to providing a first-class service to our customers.

With over 50 years’ in the industry, we have the knowledge and experience to help transform your journey – whatever that journey may be – into one that you will remember. We carry parts for every model, from the Series 2 Land Rover to the P38 Land Rover right up to the L663 Land Rover Defender.

For more information and advice on making your journey the best it can be, give us a call today.