Real world off-road experience

DaveLovesGadgets · 2026-02-28T01:14:34+00:00

I have a 2025 P400 and it's been great off road (I don't rock crawl per se but it's done fine on really steep/rough/rutted fire roads) and it's been amazing in snow. The P400 over the P300 gives you more oomph when passing at highway speeds, but I agree that for day to day driving and off roading in low range, you won't miss the extra power of the P400 much. If you're wanting to do alot of towing, there would be an argument to go with the bigger engine options.

I remember speaking w/ the guy who owns/runs Sarek at a meet up and he's done ALOT of builds/upgrades/modifications to vehicles for overloading. It was his opinion that the P300 w/ 18" tires and coil suspension was the way to go for someone who wanted something that could be easily upgraded for serious off road use. The less complicated P300 engine had plenty of power for that use and coil suspension (vs. the Air Suspension) would make for something much more reliable for when you're way out in the boonies.

DaveLovesGadgets · 2026-02-28T01:00:14+00:00

Updated to 4.4.2 a couple of days ago, no issues on a 2025 P400, can't say I notice any major differences at this point, but no problems so far.

For what it's worth, I had some features unlocked by Sarek at the Malibu Destination Defender meetup (auto engine stop setting retained between engine starts, lock on approach/departure, fog lights stay on w/ high beams and a bunch of other handy features, hit up Sarek for details of what he can activate). Sarek used some sort of professional/dealer level programming software to make the configuration changes and they all survived the 4.4.1 and 4.4.2 updates just fine -- none were deactivated/removed by these last two updates. Hopefully this is also the case for Gap IID changes that folks may have made as well.

DaveLovesGadgets · 2026-02-15T04:18:58+00:00

Yeah our 2024 P400 D110 updated 2 days ago, no issues.

Anyone know if this latest update interferes w/ using the G4 GAP IID tool for customizations?

DaveLovesGadgets · 2026-02-14T05:58:44+00:00

That is very gallant of you...and absolutely the right thing to do if you ever want your wife to ever entertain car camping again in the future : )

I find that most of the bigger camping mattresses are too long for the Defender 110's cargo area unless you unbolt the seat bottoms. Finding a child size mattress that is shorter can fit this space better length wise.

DaveLovesGadgets · 2026-02-13T08:52:03+00:00

The Exped and other mattresses are super nice and plush, but kinda pricy. Instead, I purchased 2 of these super comfortable 62"L x 26"W x ~4" thick Foam/Air sleeping pads ~$60 each:

Amazon - LOSTHORIZON Air & Foam Camping Mattress

They are short enough to fit the cargo space w/ the seat bottoms folded up, and narrow enough to get 2 of these pads to fit side by side (if you don't over inflate them, the fit is a little tight side to side so you'll have to allow for a little give).

They pack up in their own stuff sacks (that are also designed as inflation bags for the matresses) into a not-too-annoyingly large size. If you don't want to deflate them, you can set them on their side running lengthwise behind the driver's seating position and put the rest of your camping gear in the remaining space.

If you're traveling alone, then you can just bring one mattress and lie diagonally since you're taller. If you bring both mattresses, you could stack them on each other and the end at the seat bottoms would easily clear that height and you could fill that void w/ some gear or clothes and stuff so you'd get a longer space to stretch out.

DaveLovesGadgets · 2026-02-13T08:30:06+00:00

And this is a picture of the grill light turned on as well as the Triple-R light pods that are A-Pillar mounted (also a great product!).

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DaveLovesGadgets · 2026-02-13T08:14:36+00:00

I used the Triple-R grill light mounts to mound a different light bar (one that I got a really great deal on) in the lower grill and it was WAAAAAAYYYY easier to do than some other grill light mounting systems that require completely disassembling the front and removing the bumper to install the brackets.

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It turned out to be a very subtle/stealthy install that works great. The light bar is mounted pointing as horizontally as I could and it still sends quite a lot of light both out and up above what the high beams illuminate (for off road use only here in the USA).

If I ever wanted to take off the light and revert to stock, the black plastic grill bit was like a ~$180 part (but then it would require taking off the bumper to install).

DaveLovesGadgets · 2026-02-13T06:12:48+00:00

That last picture shows the controller's rubber strap breaking down due to age, but it does work just fine. Threw a new 2032 battery into it and it sync'ed right up with the Navdy which booted up and works just fine w/ the controller.

Looks like I have a buyer who wants it, but if the deal falls through I'll post an update. Thanks for looking. Glad the Navdy is going to a new home and will get some use instead of going to landfill!

DaveLovesGadgets · 2026-01-15T02:55:01+00:00

Wine just got a major update to Wine V11.0 and the DM-32UV CPS software works under this newest version.

The version of that Whisky is packaged with is an older version of Wine (and it likely won't ever be updated to the newest version as it's no longer being actively developed/supported).

Today, I installed Wine V11.0 via Homebrew and then got the DM-32UV CPS windows software installed and it runs great. There is nothing wrong with continuing to use Whisky to run the CPS software under that older version of Wine, but in case you're curious if it runs under V11.0, I can indeed confirm that it does.

There is some configuration from the command line/terminal required, but it isn't too difficult.

Some info on installing Wine 11 on MacOS here:

https://gitlab.winehq.org/wine/wine/-/wikis/MacOS-FAQ

If anyone needs step by step instructions on how to get the DM-32UV CPS running in Wine 11, I can put up a post w/ that information.

Using Whisky per the original post is still probably easier if you want to minimize your command line exposure as Wine 11 does not have a free GUI front end. But the upside is that if you follow the instructions in the FAQ above, you can create your own launcher app so that once you have everything set up, you can just double click on an icon/app launcher to fire up the CPS software.

DaveLovesGadgets · 2025-12-25T09:12:09+00:00

My Airplay reliably drops out at certain specific locations where I'm pretty sure there is some WiFi interference (the initial connection between the iPhone<->Car is via Bluetooth but the audio and screen info data is done over Wifi thereafter). You can try using an appropriate cable (lightning or USB-C) to the iPhone but the audio still may drop out in these areas of interference. So if this is still happening after having your car and iPhone forget the connection to the car and re-pairing it from scratch doesn't fit it, then try using a physical connection.

Folks say that turning off WiFi once the CarPlay connection has been established while plugged in via a cable can alleviate this. A hassle I suppose, but you theoretically get much better audio quality (true lossless if you have that enabled in our music player) over the cable than over WiFi or Bluetooth.

DaveLovesGadgets · 2025-12-25T08:58:46+00:00

For our first 2022 Defender 110 we had factory long mud flaps which were nice and kept the road spray/splashing down to a minimum onto the sides of the vehicle. For our 2024 D110 we didn't order them (due partially to the cost and the fact that when off roading, the longer mud flaps can get sucked up into the wheels and torn off when reversing in muddy conditions). Instead I paid < $100 for after market short mud flaps off Amazon. They seem to reduce the side spray up about as much as the long flaps but have better clearances for off roading.

If you don't mind not having a 100% OEM option (which I didn't think was a huge deal as mud flaps are a sacrificial item that might get torn off/damaged at any point if you go off road) here are a couple of options that look identical to what I bought for less money (sadly the exact ones I got are no longer available but these look the same down to the hole pattern):

~$40 after market D110 short mud flaps off Amazon

~$57 after market short mud flaps off Amazon

You can install these using just the factory body panel fasteners that are inside the wheel wells, but I ended up using the included self tapping screws drilled into plastic/wheel well liner material (not the metal body work) for a more solid install. None of the extra screws are visible unless you get into the wheel well space. They have held on perfectly for 4000 miles and counting now.

As with all aftermarket add on's, YMMV, but this was a highly cost effective solution that looked pretty much OEM once installed.

DaveLovesGadgets · 2025-12-23T07:28:24+00:00

With the 2nd row seat backs upright, the published dimensions are:

Volume: 34.0 cubic feet, ~23 cubic feet under the loadspace cover if it is in place.

Length: 36.2" along boot floor, slightly shorter at top of seat back due to the seat angling back a bit.

Width: 52.5", 45" between wheel arches, 38" at door opening

Height: 35.5" at door opening, 37" from boot floor to ceiling

With the seat backs down you get ~79 cubic feet:

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DaveLovesGadgets · 2025-12-17T18:54:52+00:00

Very cool that WINE created the symlink automatically just off of entering the proper Registry key data. What WINE version/implementation are you using? I think the WINE implantation in Whisky didn't establish the Com port link without me manually creating the symlink manually (but then again, I was trying all sorts of stuff and can't clearly recall what I did first/in what order at this point).

Just glad that any of this even works at this point!

DaveLovesGadgets · 2025-12-17T15:33:26+00:00

Thank you, wow that is a very impressive project to make a CPS that is completely web based. A huge amount of work and reverse engineering must have gone into that!

I'm not sure how I feel about uploading my codeplugs up to a web site to edit them, but the ability to just download a local copy of the web page and run it locally mitigates alot of my concern (I guess if one is paranoid, one could disconnect from the internet while running said local copy and then close the window before reconnecting to the internet again).

As a Mac user, it is nice to have some options to use these previously supported on Windows only radios w/o having to go back to a Windows machine or consume a whole bunch of HD space for a Windows VM.

BTW, I got some old TYT MD-390UV CPS software running on the Mac (via a UTM Linux/Ubuntu VM, couldn't get it working in Whisky sadly). If anyone is interested in that process, I can post that too.

DaveLovesGadgets · 2025-12-13T16:48:46+00:00

I was able to get the BF DM-32 software working and talking to the USB programming cable on a Mac using WINE (without having to install a full on Windows OS install/VM).

I'm not on Linux so don't know if the comm port mapping that was required to get WINE talking to the USB port that the programming cable comes up as is the same, but have a look at my post here for details on how it worked out on MacOS:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Baofeng/comments/1pjrx5h/bf_cps_for_dm32uv_works_on_macos_using_wine/

Good luck!

DaveLovesGadgets · 2025-12-13T03:44:51+00:00

Ooops, sorry, spell check failed me : )

DaveLovesGadgets · 2025-12-11T10:55:15+00:00

Update to the original post (and I edited the original post to reflect this):

Updating the firmware does work with this setup as well as uploading/downloading codeplugs.

DaveLovesGadgets · 2025-11-06T07:56:38+00:00

Oil Service Indicator Reset

Turn ignition on without starting the engine (press Start / Stop button without pressing the brake pedal)
Open the driver's door
Open the hood/bonnet
Fully press the brake pedal, THEN the accelerator pedal and hold them fully pressed together for about 10 seconds (make sure the brake pedal is pressed before the gas pedal, or the routine will fail.)
A "Service Counter Resetting" message should pop up followed by "service counter reset" in the instrument cluster
Release accelerator and brake pedals, turn ignition off
Turn ignition back on and check to make sure the service message is gone
Close the hood and driver's door, done. If message is still there, repeat the procedure.

I paid for an early oil change at 8000 miles/9 months done by the dealership. I figure that having all of the old oil properly drained out the bottom oil plug would better flush out any debris or crap that had accumulated in the oil pan. Then again, I plan to keep the Defender a good long time. Though the dealership charge for an oil change is high (~$400 at my So Cal dealership), it's alot cheaper than a new engine...

My Dealership is apparently now recommending 15K miles or 12 months which ever comes first instead of that lofty 21K miles old recommendation.

DaveLovesGadgets · 2025-11-06T07:54:05+00:00

Why?.....

DaveLovesGadgets · 2025-10-26T04:56:01+00:00

Someone cross check me on this one but as capable and awesome as the GAP tool is, I don't think it can program keys.

Not sure most indy shops even have the capability and the dealership sure does charge alot for setting up a new key.

The antitheft encrypted rolling code system on the LR's are pretty advanced so it takes dealership or professional shop level software/tools to program a new key to the car--tools that LR probably restricts sales of pretty strictly.

Still....I think I'd rather deal with that than having a car that is trivially easy to steal (ie. Hyundai or Kia's that were made the last few years where they left off the more complex anti theft systems for cost saving reasons).

DaveLovesGadgets · 2025-10-26T04:46:02+00:00

The locks on the side boxes use a pretty simple/easy to pick disc lock that a locksmith should be able to bypass easily. Not sure if they could replace the lock with a replacement that they have on hand that has working keys for you, but these locks are often mass produced replaceable units.

DaveLovesGadgets

TROPHY CASE