The Mahindra Thar overland build

For most Thar owners the answer is the Leopard41. It is a softshell on an ultra-light aluminium honeycomb base, so it packs down clean for highway transit; it is 41 kg, which keeps that high centre of gravity in check; and its DarkShield fabric and thermal-control mattress are built for cold nights rather than a campsite in fair weather. On a short-wheelbase Thar, the weight saving over a heavier tent is something you feel in crosswinds on the Leh highway and on off-camber tracks above Kunzum La.

If your trips lean cold — winter Spiti, a February run to Chandratal once it reopens, high camps above 3,500 m — look hard at the CampTop 300Lux instead. It is a softshell with dual heater ports designed to take a portable diesel heater's ducting, an all-season thermal mattress, and an oversized waterproof skylight. The trade is weight: 53 kg versus 41, and a slightly longer pack-down than a clamshell. For genuine sub-zero touring that is a trade worth making, because a tent you can heat changes what a winter night feels like at Kaza.

Budget-focused or building your first Thar, the CampTop 250 gets you onto the roof on a 300 kg-rated aluminium base with full waterproofing and a transit cover, without the flagship price. What we would steer a Thar owner away from is the very largest tents in the range — the CampTop 400Max and the family-sized units are superb on a Hilux or Fortuner, but their footprint and weight fight the Thar's narrow, short roof. Match the tent to the platform, not to the photo.

Snow chains are the one item people skip and regret. On the current Thar the correct size is the TractionX MX140 (see the fitment box below); a BS4 Thar takes the MX120. Carry them on any Himalayan trip from October to April even if the forecast looks clear — a single overnight snowfall on the Kunzum or Baralacha approach can turn a routine drive into a recovery, and a £90 set of chains in the boot is the difference between continuing and being towed. Fit them to the driven axle before you need them, not on a 20% ice gradient in the dark.

An awning is the comfort upgrade that transforms a Thar from a vehicle you sleep on into a basecamp. The 270° SaberLight is freestanding and wraps around the side and rear, giving you a covered kitchen and living area in under two minutes — invaluable when you are cooking in Kutch wind or sheltering from a Meghalaya downpour. It mounts to the same crossbar system as the tent.

For recovery, build from the ground up rather than buying a winch first. A pair of traction boards and a kinetic recovery rope solve the overwhelming majority of real situations a stock Thar finds — bogged in Rann salt, axle-deep in a Spiti snowdrift, or losing traction on a wet Northeast climb. Both pack small, need no anchor point in the case of the boards, and are rated for the -25°C the Thar genuinely sees on a winter expedition. Add a heater for the nights and you have a Thar that is ready for the routes that matter. When you are ready to go, our guided Spiti Frozen expedition runs exactly this kind of build through the Himalayan winter with a support vehicle and a mechanic in the convoy.