The Ev’itor’s Column: The best $100 I ever spent

By Unsealed 4X4 4 Min Read
This is the best thing I have ever bought for my 4WD, and I’m not sure how I ever lived without it

Do you have those little voices in the back of your head that say “you really need to buy that”? I do, in fact they are more than likely the bigger voice in my head … anyway, this isn’t a therapy session, this is me telling you, our wonderful audience, about the best thing I have ever bought for my 4WD. I have to say, the Outback Armour suspension we fitted up last week is the best modification I have made to my HiLux. Even Scott Mason, our resident suspension guru, said it’s the most comfortable HiLux he’s ever been in. Coming from someone with an extensively modified suspension system in his GU (including Fox Shocks), he means it. Anyway, I digress…

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The single best thing I’ve ever bought, and we used it while installing said suspension, is a cheap 18V impact gun. It was $99 from that big hardware mob you buy snags from on a Saturday morning. I already had a 4.5a battery/charger, so I listened to the voices and let some moths out of my wallet. At first, I thought, “what a waste of money, I’ll never use it, I’m not a mechanic and what’s wrong with using a ratchet like a normal human”. WRONG WRONG WRONG. The other day I even found myself walking around the house looking for things to tighten up. “Hmm, those stairs are a little wonky”… they weren’t.

It will undo wheel nuts, I stripped a spare axle housing with it the other day, and as mentioned installed the suspension in my HiLux. The day after, I installed new suspension in my Suzuki, and the thing still had two bars of battery life left! I haven’t fired up the air compressor we have in the workshop since buying this, and at least once a week someone will ask if they can borrow it. As someone with a back that resembles a nearly finished game of Jenga, it’s made it possible to work on my vehicles again.

I’m not sure how I lived without it, genuinely. And it’s not even a particularly good unit by any stretch. It’s good enough though, and now I know I will always have one in my life. I’ve since bought a brushless drill, an angle grinder, lawn edger and pole pruner. Might even grab a chainsaw too … once you have the battery, the world is your cordless oyster. This is a huge statement, but 18V cordless tools are up there with cable ties and beer in terms of great inventions.

So that’s my story, but I’d love to hear what you think the best $100 you’ve ever spent on your vehicle is? What’s the best $100 you ever spent on your 4WD?


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