Always pick a trusted installer for your aftermarket 4x4 accessories

THERE’S no end to the type and number of accessories that enthusiasts fit to their 4x4 vehicles. From wheels and tyres, to suspension, barwork, storage, lights, electricals and all manner of gadgets, 4x4s must be some of the most accessorised cars on the planet.

Many of us like the DIY aspect to fitting accessories and spending hours in the shed. Others choose to go the pay-to-play route and have their gear installed by a professional at the shop. Both methods have their pros and cons, but you’d like to think that having new kit fitted at the shop should be foolproof and reliable.

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This isn’t always the case as some of the biggest complaints we hear about aftermarket 4x4 accessories has to do with poor installation by workshops. This isn’t limited to small backyard shops. Some of the biggest names in the business are often mentioned. It’s usually a case of the customer having no complaints about the gear, just the way it was fitted.

All we can say is to check the car park of the workshop you’re thinking of using. Does it look like the people who work there drive 4x4s? Ask the person in the shop about their 4x4 experience and make a call. It seems there are plenty of workshops where the fitters are just that; they do the job of fitting the products but have no real idea of how to do it so it works best in the bush.

If you’re kitting up a new 4x4 with a swag of new accessories, and this often extends to tens-of-thousands of dollars in equipment, you should plan ahead and think about who’s going to fit them all. We’ve found from experience that having one qualified shop do it all is better than going to a lot of different places – when your winch fails to pull you out of a bog you take it back to the guy who fitted it and he blames the shop that did your dual battery system, who in turn points the finger at the fella that fitted your bullbar. It’s a messy situation that is best avoided.

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Imagine if you could take delivery of your new 4x4 already fitted with all the touring and off-road accessories already fitted from a qualified 4x4 shop.

It’s not a pipedream, as this is what a crew from Queensland’s 4x4 Megastores is offering with the Rambler packages on Land Cruisers and other new vehicles. Check out the feature on the April 2019 issue of 4x4 Australia to see what is achievable. That rig sure is a sweet dream.