POV: TuffAnts on a Land Rover Discovery 4 are a Winning Combination

TuffAnt has played a pivotal role in Darren’s Land Rover journey – in this post, we hear how TuffAnt has redefined the way Darren experiences adventure.

Written by Darren Theaker at RoverMobile Repairs. Find him on Facebook for your Land Rover Repair needs in SEQ.

The whole thing started by chance. Although I was a Jaguar Land Rover Technician, I’d never considered one until we needed a 7-seater SUV. Enter our first Land Rover, a D3. When it was written off in an accident that left us without a scratch, only another Discovery felt right. Our girls named him ‘Rover’, a 2.7L 2011 D4 that would take us on our best adventures around Australia. We did quickly notice however, the standard 19” tyres were not a good choice for outback touring, limiting the otherwise capable car’s offtrack capability.

It was chance that my dealership asked me to do technical support for a Land Rover Drive Day. I really hit it off with John and Julie Eggenhuizen who ran Land Rover Experience, and they asked me to train up as an instructor. It was literally 0-60 and it was awesome! I went from a bit of casual off-roading to a full-on immersion into the 4WD world and all things Land Rover.

When 2020 threw us all a curve ball, I had the chance to set up RoverMobile Repairs, as the only Independent Mobile Land Rover Specialist in SE QLD. Of course, not just any vehicle would do as my mobile workshop. ‘Storm’, a 2012 3.0L D4, was the right fit. A year later, another chance encounter led me to the TuffAnt Team to help with some final testing and fitting of their awesome new rims, and I was impressed.

Storm has also been running with TuffAnt 18” rims for over a year. Not only do they look fantastic, but the Storm with the TuffAnt partnership have weathered some very heavy usage and have coped with the weight of all the equipment I have on board plus the kms I travel every day getting to customers with ease! Even fully loaded, they’ve tackled the tracks on 4WD training days that I help run with Jeff at Getabout Training Services effortlessly.

Back at home, after 11 great years with Rover, ‘Snow,’ a 2016 D4 in Fuji white with black pack, took his place – and we excitedly headed off to Straddie for beach camping last January. It came as a shock that Snow, running with standard 20” rims, found the super soft sand a bit of a challenge, especially when towing. This shouldn’t be! We quickly realised we couldn’t get the tyre pressures down low enough with 20” rims for these conditions. Further, the wider 20” tyre profiles caused excessive drag especially when weighed down. To successfully solve this issue, we switched to TuffAnt 18” rims and new tyres.

Our latest bit of luck? A chance call from someone up in Airlie Beach wanting advice about a snapped crank on a 2016 Discovery 4 Landmark Edition (the ultimate top of the range D4, something I’d long desired). Long story short, ‘Ziggy’, a Zanzibar copper D4 Landmark, is now our new family car (replacing Snow… sorry buddy), with a recon (crate) engine from Land Rover and looking snazzy with those TuffAnt 18” rims. We’re dreaming now of Straddie with Ziggy + TuffAnts in September. The catch? Our 16-year-old twins with L-plates behind the wheel on sand for the first time. Yikes!

My advice – not everything should be left to chance. Running 18” TuffAnts on a Discovery 4 not only looks the biz, but they allow you to run better tyres for off-road, with the assurance that they’re tough enough for a vehicle this heavy and for most of what you’ll throw at it.

Opt for certainty, not chance. TuffAnt 18” rims on a Discovery 4 not only exude style but also enable enhanced off-road performance with robustness for heavy loads, making them your ultimate choice for both aesthetics and durability on diverse terrains.