G'day,
I have been reading this forum for quite some time and I must say I am impressed about the level of activity in this forum and I have already learned quite a bit. About time to introduce myself.
I’m a Pajero owner in Germany and this is an exotic car here. While there are quite a few four-wheel drive cars, most notably the Landrover Defender and the Mercedes G, which you can see several times a day, you get lucky to see a Pajero (or a Landcruiser Prado) once a months or so (other LC are not officially sold and even rarer). And such is the amount of aftermarket equipment for the Pajero, only few of the Australia companies have an international reach like ARB/OME or Rhino Rack, but not Bushskinz or others. Fitting a bullbar or larger tires is also not always easy as it requires roadworthiness certification which may not be provided by the vendor (small market) or one-off certifications with the respective authority which requires luck and deep pockets. Loosing insurance coverage in case of an incident is not an option….
However, there is also a little Pajero forum run by enthusiasts with lots of knowledge and creativity and meetings several time per year (pajeroinfo.de, try take a look even if you don’t read/speak German, it includes many pictures as well).
I came by my Pajero by coincident rather than proper planning. I didn’t own a car for over twenty years, relying on public transportation and my wife’s company car all that time. When the need for a “large” car came for several reasons, I wanted a real offroad car rather than a SUV – mostly a metal “thing” than based on rationale or actual planned needs at the time. My favorite was a Landcruiser, but I quickly discovered that the price tag was far beyond what I was ready to spend and the Pajero was a much more affordable alternative. I good lucky finding a 2016 Pajero at a dealer “only” 250km away and took my chances – and I am quite happy with my choice since then.
I’m now slowly converting the Pajero into an overland vehicle (my wife’s company car is back as a daily driver) and we started with camping trips in Europe with our now three year old twins. Not much real offroad involved (yet) but planning for more remote trips to Eastern Europe and the ultimate goal for long trips to Iran and central Asia in a few years (we will see how that works out).
I added a roof rack (Upracks; and now converting from the factory roof rails to Rhino Rack rails with less height) carrying a roof top tent (Darche); an OME suspension and lift and a modest camper fitting in the trunk. Next on the list are smaller rims and slightly larger AT tires (265/70 R17) once the factory wheels need replacement. A set of bush plates from Rival was added, still looking for a proper rear bumper protection which is not offered by any company here (the factory plastic bumper is a real design flaw, unfortunately). A dual-battery system to power the little fridge is a medium-term consideration as is additional lightning.
That’s it for now, looking forward to interesting conversations and experience sharing in this exciting forum.
Cheers,
Oliver
I have been reading this forum for quite some time and I must say I am impressed about the level of activity in this forum and I have already learned quite a bit. About time to introduce myself.
I’m a Pajero owner in Germany and this is an exotic car here. While there are quite a few four-wheel drive cars, most notably the Landrover Defender and the Mercedes G, which you can see several times a day, you get lucky to see a Pajero (or a Landcruiser Prado) once a months or so (other LC are not officially sold and even rarer). And such is the amount of aftermarket equipment for the Pajero, only few of the Australia companies have an international reach like ARB/OME or Rhino Rack, but not Bushskinz or others. Fitting a bullbar or larger tires is also not always easy as it requires roadworthiness certification which may not be provided by the vendor (small market) or one-off certifications with the respective authority which requires luck and deep pockets. Loosing insurance coverage in case of an incident is not an option….
However, there is also a little Pajero forum run by enthusiasts with lots of knowledge and creativity and meetings several time per year (pajeroinfo.de, try take a look even if you don’t read/speak German, it includes many pictures as well).
I came by my Pajero by coincident rather than proper planning. I didn’t own a car for over twenty years, relying on public transportation and my wife’s company car all that time. When the need for a “large” car came for several reasons, I wanted a real offroad car rather than a SUV – mostly a metal “thing” than based on rationale or actual planned needs at the time. My favorite was a Landcruiser, but I quickly discovered that the price tag was far beyond what I was ready to spend and the Pajero was a much more affordable alternative. I good lucky finding a 2016 Pajero at a dealer “only” 250km away and took my chances – and I am quite happy with my choice since then.
I’m now slowly converting the Pajero into an overland vehicle (my wife’s company car is back as a daily driver) and we started with camping trips in Europe with our now three year old twins. Not much real offroad involved (yet) but planning for more remote trips to Eastern Europe and the ultimate goal for long trips to Iran and central Asia in a few years (we will see how that works out).
I added a roof rack (Upracks; and now converting from the factory roof rails to Rhino Rack rails with less height) carrying a roof top tent (Darche); an OME suspension and lift and a modest camper fitting in the trunk. Next on the list are smaller rims and slightly larger AT tires (265/70 R17) once the factory wheels need replacement. A set of bush plates from Rival was added, still looking for a proper rear bumper protection which is not offered by any company here (the factory plastic bumper is a real design flaw, unfortunately). A dual-battery system to power the little fridge is a medium-term consideration as is additional lightning.
That’s it for now, looking forward to interesting conversations and experience sharing in this exciting forum.
Cheers,
Oliver
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