What makes a Land Rover Expedition?

[Tanto]

I don't think I've ever seen as many lengthy philosophical threads like this on IH8MUD, or other jeep, M715, MVPA, or other 4X4 forums. Maybe this illustrates another unique trait of US LR enthusiasts?!?

You are not serious of course. This statement sounds incredibly pretentious, as do others.

I would move toward a statement that driving a Jeep or a LR or a Yota doesn't make the driver. The driver and passengers make the vehicle and experience. It does not matter what brand it is.

Aside from my local club, this forum is generally of a different flavor than others. People here are tend to be more helpful and patient than elsewhere. Not being perfect myself, I'm always trying to learn from others. I don't care what they drive even if it is an LR.

 

[Hltoppr]

If that is the case it seems you should be traveling with Toyota owners
No leaks??? No rattles???? Perfect???? Sounds like an exercise in fulility to me.

Ah, yes...now you understand my OCD...which wouldn't change were I to own a Series LR. It's a problem...I just have to admit it! :ylsmoke:

-H-

 

[kellymoe]

Ah, yes...now you understand my OCD...which wouldn't change were I to own a Series LR. It's a problem...I just have to admit it! :ylsmoke:

-H-

I have actualy had better luck with Series Rovers and my beater Defender than I have had with my Discovery and a Range Rover I used to have. The Disco leaks like a Whitehose aid. My Defender which is 20 years old has no leaks to speak of and has never let me down.

 

[Alaska Mike]

You are not serious of course. This statement sounds incredibly pretentious, as do others.

I would move toward a statement that driving a Jeep or a LR or a Yota doesn't make the driver. The driver and passengers make the vehicle and experience. It does not matter what brand it is.

I would say that excluding a fortunate few who were given a Land Rover, most trail-driven Rovers were sought out by their owners. A certain type of person is attracted to Land Rovers, just as others are inclinated towards Toyotas, Jeeps, Fords, or Chevys.

Nobody is saying that a trip is somehow less of an experience because you happen to driving a particular brand of vehicle, but I will assert that there is a unique difference in Land Rover outings that I haven't seen in other vehicle-specific trips.

I imagine that it's just as easy to have a bad Land Rover trip as it would be to have a bad Jeep trip, based purely on the company you keep.

I've been on trips with all sorts of rigs, from Jeeps to Broncos to Cruisers to whatever happened to show up at the trailhead. Yet the moment a Rover of any vintage shows up, I'm all over it to the exclusion of all others. Maybe it's the novelty, but I have always dug the mystique that Land Rovers command. Maybe I'm just burned out on the same old rigs flogging the same old trails the same old way. Maybe there's another approach that suits my current tastes more. I've done the hardcore thing. What else you got?

The level of education and civility at this site is what sets it apart, as well as the focus on vehicle-dependent expeditions vs short trails (although short trails are good too). While certainly family friendly, this site is a place where people are expected to behave like responsible adults. It's a novelty on the internet. This lengthy, pretentious thread isn't so much the product of US Land Rover enthusiasts as it is a representation of the forum. I haven't seen many Land Rover forums with this sort of thread either.

 

[TeriAnn]

I would say that excluding a fortunate few who were given a Land Rover, most trail-driven Rovers were sought out by their owners. A certain type of person is attracted to Land Rovers, just as others are inclinated towards Toyotas, Jeeps, Fords, or Chevys.

Well, of course!

Each vehicle type has its own mystique, generated in part by its history, the marketing geeks, our perceived peer perception of the vehicle and slathered over with a generous coating of our own life experience generated perceptions.

We each seek a vehicle that is most congruent with our own self perceptions and that we hope will best represent the self image we prefer to project.

Thus there are certain personality traits that owners of different marques and models tend to have in common. So yes there are certain personality traits that one would tend to find in people associated with different marques & models. None better than the other, just a little different. But remember that as a class, owners of 4X4s that actually get used off road, the whole class has many personality traits in common that may not be expressed in our street bound brethren.

You are not serious of course. This statement sounds incredibly pretentious, as do others.

Is it? I thought it was an honest group attempt to define an essence of "Land Rover expedition" But I've always been an atypical judge of what others might consider to be pretentious streams of thought or endeavour. There should certainly be nothing pretentious about a searching metaphysical discussion trying to define an essence of "Land Rover expedition".

I would move toward a statement that driving a Jeep or a LR or a Yota doesn't make the driver. The driver and passengers make the vehicle and experience. It does not matter what brand it is.

If I understand your statement correctly you are postulating a unidirectional cause and effect relationship by which the driver & passengers cause the experience through their interaction with the vehicle and that the experience remains the same regardless of the vehicle used. Close enough?

I disagree. I believe that the vehicle you use affects the kind of experience you have and that the vehicle's individual characteristics influence the types & kinds of experiences the owner/driver attempts to experience. In essence, the tool affects the experience and the experience affects which tool is used in the future and how it is used.

There are different things that different vehicles to better than others and these things influence how we choose to use the vehicle. And I don't think we should ignore both peer perception and self perception influences on the type of vehicle we choose to purchase and to keep over time. All this influences which vehicle we choose and which we choose to keep.

Never underestimate the effects that your tools have upon your experiences or the need to select the right tools for the experience you wish to have.

 

[Michael Slade]

I tend to travel with LR owners...they balance out my type A thinking, that...everything must be perfect...no leaks, no rattles, good maps, quality tools....

-H-

Even though it describes a *few* LR owners, that would not tipify *all* LR owners...in fact, some might think them were fightin' words.

 

[Alaska Mike]

If I understand your statement correctly you are postulating a unidirectional cause and effect relationship by which the driver & passengers cause the experience through their interaction with the vehicle and that the experience remains the same regardless of the vehicle used. Close enough?

See? This proves my point that Expo dun has the mostest edjumicated folks on the interwebs.

There are different things that different vehicles to better than others and these things influence how we choose to use the vehicle. And I don't think we should ignore both peer perception and self perception influences on the type of vehicle we choose to purchase and to keep over time. All this influences which vehicle we choose and which we choose to keep.

My point exactly.

 

[Yorker]

My Defender which is 20 years old has no leaks to speak of and has never let me down.

Dude- I can't believe you dared say that- hopefully you touched wood or else you are screwed now. hehe...

 

[Hltoppr]

Even though it describes a *few* LR owners, that would not tipify *all* LR owners...in fact, some might think them were fightin' words.

Certainly not...I'm more pointing out my own eccentricities, which lead me to drive a more "boring" Toyota...

From personal experience, a trip in an older, more oddball rig attracts a different type of attention. Usually, you'd better be in a mood to talk to folks, locals and tourists, about your trip and rig. It seems like when I'm in the Troopy (kindof a Toyota "Series") or on the motorcycle, I get all sorts of folks coming up and wondering about where I'm from, going to, and have been, where, in contrast, with my 80 Series, I'd get a few diehard fans who would see the mods and come to chat.

Personally, I love trips in older rigs. Sure, you're likely gonna have to fix some stuff on the way; but that forces you to meet people, even if it is just asking for assistance!

Any old rover I see....I'm pullin' up next to, handing 'em a copy of Overland Journal, and chatting for awhile!

-H-

 

[Alaska Mike]

Certainly not...I'm more pointing out my own eccentricities, which lead me to drive a more "boring" Toyota...

From personal experience, a trip in an older, more oddball rig attracts a different type of attention. Usually, you'd better be in a mood to talk to folks, locals and tourists, about your trip and rig. It seems like when I'm in the Troopy (kindof a Toyota "Series") or on the motorcycle, I get all sorts of folks coming up and wondering about where I'm from, going to, and have been, where, in contrast, with my 80 Series, I'd get a few diehard fans who would see the mods and come to chat.

Personally, I love trips in older rigs. Sure, you're likely gonna have to fix some stuff on the way; but that forces you to meet people, even if it is just asking for assistance!

Any old rover I see....I'm pullin' up next to, handing 'em a copy of Overland Journal, and chatting for awhile!

-H-

I think guys who run older rigs in relatively stock form always kind of form a mutual respect, earned through shared love of clunky, bare-bones rigs that are short on comfort and long on character. Some people just love "experiencing" the trip with the vehicle, from the dirt in your teeth to the lingering smell of gear oil that follows you around. Count me among that group. Some people don't go for that, preferring a bit more isolation from their vehicle's bodily odors. I can certainly relate to that group as well.

I guard my OJs a little closer, fearing they will grow legs of their own and seek greener pastures. If I hand them out, it's usually on a little retractable security chain.

 

[Yorker]

I think guys who run older rigs in relatively stock form always kind of form a mutual respect, earned through shared love of clunky, bare-bones rigs that are short on comfort and long on character. Some people just love "experiencing" the trip with the vehicle, from the dirt in your teeth to the lingering smell of gear oil that follows you around. Count me among that group.

That is it! For me Series Land Rovers are a time machine- a link to a simpler age. The same can be true of other vehicles. I have the utmost respect and admiration for people who play with DUKWs, WWII Dodges, M-37s, FJ40s, Nissan Patrols- Old utility vehicles-whatever! Old Iron/Aluminium is cool.


Take this truck for example:

This is owned by an old fellow-probably 75 years old, he refurbished his truck and drove it to Alaska to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the ALCAN highway. How cool is that?!? He didn't trailer it up behind an F-350 for the ceremony- he drove it there and back. What is that 10,000 miles?? Sure you could do the same trip in a Camry or a Dodge Durango- it would be a piece of cake. But to do it in an old 4X4- that is just something else to me. When the Willy's MB is done I'd like to do the same trip- I missed the 60th so it will have to wait for the 70th I guess, but what an adventure!

Another one that never ceases to amaze me is Ben Carlin's adventure in "Half Safe"...

 

[Alaska Mike]

That Dodge rocks. I once had this grand scheme to buy one (they were going for nothing at the time), install a modern engine and drivetrain, and use it as a tow rig. While they would pull down a redwood, they never really did anything in a hurry, hence the need for a conversion. Reality set in and I realized my pockets weren't deep enough at the time to follow through. I never did get a tow rig of any sort, preferring to drive to the trail (and hopefully back). Still, given the right resources and enough land, I could see myself with quite the collection of funky old 4x4s.

I doubt we will reach a complete consensus on anything, except perhaps on the social acceptability of middle aged guys in banana hammocks. Perhaps.

I'm just curious- what about Land Rover draws the majority of people, and how that affects their approach to off-roading? What is the commonality between dedicated owners (not those that own one and move on)?

 

[Yorker]

That Dodge rocks. I once had this grand scheme to buy one (they were going for nothing at the time), install a modern engine and drivetrain, and use it as a tow rig. While they would pull down a redwood, they never really did anything in a hurry, hence the need for a conversion. Reality set in and I realized my pockets weren't deep enough at the time to follow through. I never did get a tow rig of any sort, preferring to drive to the trail (and hopefully back). Still, given the right resources and enough land, I could see myself with quite the collection of funky old 4x4s.

I talked to the old coot for quite a while, he was a really interesting guy! The only concession to modernity he had was radial truck tires. It was a long leisurely trip with his wife- I don't think he had any mechanical issues and only used something like 3-4 quarts of oil. Not bad considering the old straight six always used oil even when new. For most of the trip I think they were alone and not accompanied by any modern support vehicles- That old timer had balls!

I think the trip was written up in the MVPA magazine. They eventually joined other vintage vehicles and made a convoy up.

As for the topic of this thread- you'll never really define it, LR people are a diverse group like anyone else. We might like to think we are special and different because of what we drive but no one else really cares. Lets lock this and have more build threads.

 

[FourByLand]

As for the topic of this thread- you'll never really define it, LR people are a diverse group like anyone else. We might like to think we are special and different because of what we drive but no one else really cares. Lets lock this and have more build threads.

Good idea.

 

[Alaska Mike]

Oh, puhlease you guys a going on and on about the Series Land Rover "Experience" and it's getting really old.... You are right there are no real truths being revealed here just people talking about "old Iron" and how their Discovery leaked. This thread should have been done already.

Where in the text you quoted did I mention Series Rovers? I'm sensing a certain insecurity among certain Disco owners that may or may not be justified. I'm actually very inclusive of coilers of all vintages when I say "Land Rover". I think they all rock. Well, maybe not the Freelander...