Road To Ruin

When 4x4 modifications cross the line

- Grant Spolander

"Yeah, I spent about 1.5 million rand on my Jeep before I sold it. Of course, I never got the money back, but hey….”

His voice trailed off as if losing a million bucks was the most ordinary thing in the world, barely worth elaborating on. My co-driver (we’ll call him Bill) was test-driving my Jeep Cherokee at the time; I was looking to sell and he was the first buyer on the scene.

Bill’s remark got me thinking back to my very own Jeep journey, back when I swore that I’d never need anything bigger than a 30-inch tyre. Looking back, my naivety was laughable; I clearly didn’t know myself. A trip to Dr Phil would’ve been a cheaper move.

My Jeep was stock standard when I bought it – that was my first mistake – but I was young, dumb and full of dreams. First came the mud-terrain tyres, then the suspension, then bigger tyres, then more suspension upgrades, then bigger tyres, then gear ratios, then diff-locks, then a roof rack with accessories, then a bull-bar, then a winch, then custom pipe doors, and then and then and then…

I used to wonder at what point I had crossed the line. When did logic and sense bow out to the barrage of emotional wants and crazed credit-card swipes?