How important are the various underbody protection offerings for the LR4?

[Jwestpro]

Thanks everyone. I think I am going to pass on the roof rack for the moment. I realize it could be a good shooting platform, but I do not think I will need the space...I am mostly on my own or with my girlfriend, and generally everything seems to fit. I am also not as keen on adding the noise and drag on the fuel economy, or losing the airiness of the sunroof. I certainly would not rule it out one day though, if I find like I am lacking space.

It seems like everyone agrees on the front guard and compressor guard though, so I will get a quote from them for the essentials kit.

Do any of you have thoughts on the tires? Overland Journal's review of the tires before seemed excellent, but unfortunately the KO2's were not ready in time for the review. At the moment I am leaning towards the Coopers still because of the cost savings and their overall performance in the test...

Nobody ever seems to think simplistically enough these days, including myself until more recently after I started pondering: "what can I get rid of and what must I keep or replace with a more efficient solution?"


I am a commercial photographer and often carry ladders so at first I assumed, I must "need" a big rack to mount things onto and for standing/viewing. Well, they are heavy and noisy drastically changing the body roll/handling, noise levels, and fuel mpg. So, if you don't need to mount awnings, then you don't "need" a rack.

How to then stand on the roof or mount ladders? Ladders are easy: simple aero cross bars and into quick mounts like Thule or Yakima, removable in seconds when not needed.

What to stand on? Well people usually go directly to "something on top of something" like a rack on it's legs or boards/plywood on cross bars. I HATE "stuff-on top of-stuff" but I really hate racks on top of racks. Ever see the guy with a Yakima basket, which is on top of cross bars of course, then on top of all that is some bike mount or other junk piling up layer after layer like some kind of Road Warrior Mad Max wanna-be ?

The LR3/4 comes with very tidy front to aft mounting rails. Guess what, a flat bar can span them and not touch the glass roof.... .... yes, ponder that for a moment. It can't be too flexible but a stiff object can span across without touching the glass. Take for instance my fiberglass "waffle" board bridging ladder/ramps. They flex under a vehicle but not under my 160 lbs. The top side is rough/grippy while under side is smooth. They sit cross-wise and are secured by a threaded rod into a tapped aluminum plate set into the roof track, held down by large wing-nut. (Being the test idea, future plan was to replace with a customized version similar to a shortened bicycle hub "quick-release" threaded into the inset plate.)

These become my standing platform but are also muti-functional in that they can be used for their designed purpose but also as a make shift table top or showering base for outdoor shower, etc.

There are other such bridging ladders that would work but these are the slimmest profile. I also like the larger aluminum ones made by Mantec that are 60"x14 or so ". These are 12"x48"

These also still fit under the Hannibal rack when it's mounted.

Off roading where there might be branches onto the roof these would also protect the glass. You could have 4 even which would allow piggy back use for getting up quite the extreme ledge. Lastly, they work well under a tire for leveling the vehicle for roof camping, tail gate cooking, etc.

Lastly, just pay up for the BFG and never worry about tires again, at least not for 80,000 miles or so.

 

[JimBiram]

Get the Gap IID tool and give yourself the additional 2inch lift. If the pics are showing the typical rock size, you will pass over them without trouble.


Every Day is a Good Day Surfing...Some are just Better Than Others

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[stuartr]

Thanks guys. I actually do have the IID tool, and I decided I am just going to get the sliders. I talked to Bruce Elfstrom about it, and he mentioned something that I did not really think of, which was that for Iceland, build-up of ice and snow traps quite easily under the armor and can cause issues if there is not a lot of drainage. I also think that the extra clearance from the IID toll and bigger tires will be enough for my uses. I am still planning on the sliders to protect the sills and doors from errant rocks (or inconsiderate parkers, for which this country is somewhat famous...at least with expats...).

As for the tires, I wound up getting the AT3's. I could not justify an extra 800 dollars for the LT BFG's, given the mixed reviews I have seen from people. Some say they are great, others not, some say they are louder and rougher, others say they are fine. At the end of the day I felt that if the AT3's could do so well in the Overland Journal test (albeit in LT form), they would likely be more than enough for me. I will be careful of the sidewalls, but I have been pretty lucky here with respect to standard tires, so I hope they will be enough.

And thanks Jwest for the advice regarding the roof and the waffle board. My style of photography has not led me to seek out a raised platform very often (usually I just walk up a hill!), and generally since there are few trees or things to get in the way here, it is not as critical as in other places. But I will definitely keep it in mind, as having some sort of maxtrax/waffle board device could be very useful if I get in trouble as well.

 

[A.J.M]

From experience.

I would get the compressor guard too. Mine arrived shortly from them. Ben is a decent chap to deal with.

 

[Avslash]

I would definitely go with at least a compressor guard. That is the lowest hanging fruit, and if it is damaged, you are in a world of hurt.

FWIW, I ran through 2 sets of AT3's on mine before switching to my current K02's. I would have no problem recommending the AT3's. I drove those things back and forth to Colorado from Texas multiple times, and then over all kinds of trails in Colorado. Except for climbing out of one particularly deep mud hole, I never had an issue with them. They offered smooth, quiet performance on the highway, and handled the Colorado trails with aplomb.

I really just went with the current K02's to try something new. They offer comparable quiet performance on the highway. I can't comment on their offroad performance yet, as I haven't gotten too far off the pavement with them yet.

I will say, that I won't be going back to a P rated tire. I prefer the former feeling of the E rated tires that I am running now.