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Quad motors don’t need old school locking diffs, far superior to primitive mode of finding traction by having all wheels spin from shared torque source. Instead sending torque to the motors that have traction. Rivian’s lead engineer of powertrain briefly explains: It’s the same reason G580 EQ...

Locking differentials aren’t needed when each wheel has an independent motor (Quad Motor model). Driving it is different in that as you encounter situations like cross axle or even only have one traction tire, you have to give the system more power via the go pedal. Here’s a demo of how it...

The ground clearance on our 2010 XC90 is 8.9" - we have the R-Design which has Nivomat rear suspension (mechanically auto leveling). The standard ground clearance on the XC90 T8 is 9.1" and it seems other SPA XC90 are at 8.9". From looking at Volvo's support site, the 2020 have a lowered default...

Totally agree! The biggest ruggedization we did to our R-Pod was put angle irons on the front to hold the walls down. Forest River has a tendency to cut corners and one of the biggest shocks was that they use 1.25" machine screws to hold the walls down to the floor. The angle irons solved the...

That's awesome! Anyone can overland in a kitted out, lifted, ultra ruggedized Jeep. The risk of getting way over the driver's ability also increases dramatically along with dire consequences. Reminds me of the time I was at the track with my Boxster and there was another driver that had tire...

Volvos rock! We experienced the same skepticism and perhaps even disdain on the Imogene Pass by Trailelitist Jeepers. I wonder how much more irritated they'd be if they knew ours is the T8 (PHEV). We were following some older model 4Runners and they were quite impressed and happy to see us on...

@Peter_n_Margaret - great visuals and thanks for posting the data you found to subtitle your photos. This is from the trip that pulverized our converter and resulted in dead battery on our trailer. It was an expensive mistake. We were off grid for a month charging off solar or via the charging...

Lucky! I wish I'd taken more time to find 19s for mine. I'm not sure if 18s would have worked given R-Design T8 has the largest rotors of the XC90s. There are definitely more choices in 19 and especially 18s. Bummer about the sag - I wonder if you could alleviate some by reducing load in the...

To soften the ride and minimize damage to contents over rough and/or rocky trails, definitely a good idea. Especially with how firm they are for highway use. It was a lesson we learned from traveling the Dempster Highway and other rough roads and trails on our YK/NT trip a few years ago. The big...

Which size G015 did you go with? How are they handling/performing on-road and off-road? I've been looking at options for when stock street Pirelli Scorpions are done. As for pressures, I've gone as low as 32 on our 2017 XC90 although it's been on the Pirelli so I've hesitated going lower to...

That's great to see another new XC90 in the overland world. I expect my first "upgrade" to be getting AT tires for it when the Pirelli on the black wheels above are worn out. Today I just got new AT tires on our 2010 to replace the old General Grabber AT2. In 255/55x18 for the 2010 I was picked...

What year do you have? We have a 2010 3.2 R-Design and a 2017 R-Design T8. Our 2010 has made more progress over the years as it's seen more adventures although our 2017 has seen some pretty spectacular scenery of it's own particularly from our summer trip this year. Here are some ideas based on...

The thing that surprises me most about one of the "killer features" of NoBo over an R-Pod is the claim it has an enclosed underside. It does only if you consider the cheap corrugated plastic used for political yard signs being tacked onto the frame as a proper weatherproofing enclosure. All...

We have a Forest River R-Pod HRE 172 and we love it. If you’re looking at new, don’t do it! Forest River is beyond poor build quality. It’s willful under-engineering coupled with poor warranty support. If you’re able to get one used for more than 30-40% off what the negotiated new price then...

Great cars and durable. They're highly underrated for overlanding as are XC90s. We have enjoyed our 2010 XC90 so much that 3 yrs ago we got a second one - 2017 XC90 T8 (we've done factory delivery for our Volvos). The nicer thing about an XC70 vs. XC90 is there seem to be far more options for...

For sure! Both 955.1 and 955.2 were definitely over engineered to be as competent off-road as on track. I think of its tricks up its sleeve the on track performance is more impressive. After all the Touareg doesn’t disappoint off-road whereas seeing it in spicy Pepper guise tends to surprise...

Yes, that's what I'm thinking is replacing the axle with something hardier. I'm intrigued by Timbren axle-less suspension which would improve the clearance underneath by taking out that goofy cross beam part of the standard NA trailer axle setup. The downside is it seems like I would have to...

For us the Pod 172 is a good layout while being relatively simple (no pullouts, AC and TV/DVD combo along with the big wing antenna had been removed by prior owner to turn it more into an off grid camper). Those simplifications along with nice touch of added solar onto roof where AC unit used...

Right! I was amazed yesterday when I got under our Pod to check what axle it actually has for my posts here. I guess I was naive and thought it would be on a 3500# axle and instead it was built with a Lippert 3000# axle to support it. That’s just outrageous they would sell a trailer with a...

The upside is over time I'm essentially investing in hardening and increasing our ability to further enjoy the Pod :). Like here going up a narrow overgrown mountain forest trail to a secluded pass with great view. On another trip we traversed central Vancouver Island over a forest road with...