Land Rover Monthly- NA Edition

[Scott Brady]

On occasion, I pick up LRM for its expedition content. Well, to my surprise, a fellow Expedition Portal member has an article in the Volume 8 No. 7 issue.

Very nice work Graham, and a solid, frank review of the SG suspension.

 

[CLynn85]

I thought that looked familiar! I always pick up the latest LRM and LRI's when I go to Borders and Barnes/Noble for some freeloader reading before I buy my Jp Magazine :victory: Very nice Indeed.

 

[UncleChris]

I picked the mag up to read on the plane to Boise last week, and read it while looking out the window at northern Nevada (a pretty desolate place, but definitely not Africa.)

Hats off to Graham on the stuff he went through, glad he made it through without anything that left him stranded. Kind of makes me want to cycle my suspension next weekend!

 

[gjackson]

Thanks a lot guys. Appricate the recognition. That's the 3rd article of mine LRM has published. They are also publishing my series on preparing for and executing an overseas expedition.

cheers

 

[colvere]

I picked up the mag today to read on my flight back to Boise but bordome got the best of me and I read it today. Great article, do you think it would have done better if you had the correct shock towers?

 

[gjackson]

I think the front would have been fine with the correct towers. The rear mounts and damage to the axle mounts would have happened anyway. It is a great suspension system and works very well. Just wasn't designed for what I do. :smilies27

As soon as I get back from the Netherlands I'll be redesigning the parts that didn't work and correcting the problems. I'll keep you guys updated if you are interested.

cheers

 

[BajaTaco]

Well, I saw all of the hub bub here so had to go pick up a copy for myself. Having done some overlanding and "field evaluation" myself, I enjoyed the article very much and could really sympathize with you, and felt a hearty "right on mate!" for your ingenuity and ability to just deal with it. Despite how bad it must have seemed at the time, your troubles certainly produced some entertainment value, that's for sure. It makes for good reading!

In the article, you mentioned that you "replaced the top heim joint in each shock". So were you carrying spares? I wouldn't think they would have heim joints in Yaounde I'm just amazed that the front shocks aren't completely blown being pounded like that. Have you since had them apart and had a look at the insides?

I had a similar issue with the schrader valves on an earlier version of Sway-A-Way shocks where under just the right conditions (thankfully not very often) with the front end drooped and turned to the steering stops, the valve could contact the brake calipers. (on a Toyota though) That was frustrating. I came up with a solution by simply reversing the position of the lower mounts by 180 degrees.

Anyway, great job on the article Graham!! :clapsmile

 

[Jonathan Hanson]

Graham, I snagged the last copy at B&N in Tucson. Very nice work and good description. I'll look forward to the preparation series; please let us know when they're due out?

And I've seen a number of those African welding setups. Always find myself edging farther away when they fire them up!

 

[gjackson]

In the article, you mentioned that you "replaced the top heim joint in each shock". So were you carrying spares? I wouldn't think they would have heim joints in Yaounde I'm just amazed that the front shocks aren't completely blown being pounded like that. Have you since had them apart and had a look at the insides?

Yes, I was carrying spare heims! Took 2 spare shocks and 4 spare heims. I wouldn't have needed the heims but for the problems with the suspension design. Glad I took them though! I cannot say anything bad about Fox shocks. We did 3300 miles with only one shock on the front axle and it lasted fine! Amazing! I have rebuilt all of my shocks since the trip. The one that took the most pounding was weeping oil by the end of the trip. But there wasn't much wear to be seen on the insides! New o-rings and oil and they seem to be fine!

Graham, I snagged the last copy at B&N in Tucson. Very nice work and good description. I'll look forward to the preparation series; please let us know when they're due out?

Next one is coming out in the April edition. I even got the cover!

And I've seen a number of those African welding setups. Always find myself edging farther away when they fire them up!

Yeah, it's amazing what stuff they can keep running over there. But even in the middle of nowhere they had nice new welding rods, so they could probably get a new welder. Just not worth it until that one can't be patched together anymore!

Thanks for the reviews, guys.

cheers