xlcaferacer
Adventurer
I already posted once on your Toyota side of the forum but I have something to add after reading the Rover side of the forum. Yes; I am a Toyota guy! But, I especially love seeing other rigs on the trail that aren't Jeeps (anyone can build; or have one built for them, that will go anywhere). So please don't blast me for my opinion, I do love meeting you guys and seeing you on the trail.
It seems like even on this side of the forum a good bit of the posts involve the fact that the Rovers are a bit maintenance intensive. And several of the posts state how much more comfortable the ride is in the Rover and how great the suspension is. My thought is: all air bag suspensions are the downfall of the rig if you take it off-road. Sure, you can air them up to have more ground clearance but then you lose the all important suspension travel because it is already maxed out. Plus they are a lot more likely to fail. With the GX it is easily replaced, don't know how easily replaced it is on the Rover.
I wheeled a "medium" trail with a guy this summer in an LR3 and he swore by his air ride suspension; but with the loss of down travel that he had by maxing out his lift to get over a few rocks, he pretty much limited his suspension and articulation as a whole. We had to stack rocks and use a strap to pull him over 3 different obstacles that high centered him that stock Wranglers (not Wrangler Rubicons) and a few other stock trucks made it over easy. Maybe he couldn't drive, I don't know. Articulation made the difference, the Rover didn't have it at full ride height. My brother has a Lexus version of the Landcruiser 100 series and he has the same problem due to the air suspension on his rig. Again; easy to replace on the Lexus, not sure on the Rover.
My take: love seeing Rovers on the trail! But if the biggest concern when building a rig that is going to take you into the backcountry for a week at a time is how much more comfy it is on the road from one make of vehicle to another, then maybe you should get out a little farther and see what your rig will actually do. What works on the street, doesn't work on the trail. if you want to keep up with mildly built rigs on the trail you have to ditch some of the factory luxuries that will leave you stranded eventually, and commit one way or the other. It can still ride nice without fancy suspension and it will go more places without worry that something will fail. My point is that either the Rover or the Lexus is capable off-road but the limiting factor is the suspension on both. Look into the the added costs of mods for both and make your decision from there.
Don't meen to offend anyone. I just look at the cost of things over the long term and what might be a great deal initially has bit me in the long run as I modified and drove the vehicle.
Good luck in your choosing.
It seems like even on this side of the forum a good bit of the posts involve the fact that the Rovers are a bit maintenance intensive. And several of the posts state how much more comfortable the ride is in the Rover and how great the suspension is. My thought is: all air bag suspensions are the downfall of the rig if you take it off-road. Sure, you can air them up to have more ground clearance but then you lose the all important suspension travel because it is already maxed out. Plus they are a lot more likely to fail. With the GX it is easily replaced, don't know how easily replaced it is on the Rover.
I wheeled a "medium" trail with a guy this summer in an LR3 and he swore by his air ride suspension; but with the loss of down travel that he had by maxing out his lift to get over a few rocks, he pretty much limited his suspension and articulation as a whole. We had to stack rocks and use a strap to pull him over 3 different obstacles that high centered him that stock Wranglers (not Wrangler Rubicons) and a few other stock trucks made it over easy. Maybe he couldn't drive, I don't know. Articulation made the difference, the Rover didn't have it at full ride height. My brother has a Lexus version of the Landcruiser 100 series and he has the same problem due to the air suspension on his rig. Again; easy to replace on the Lexus, not sure on the Rover.
My take: love seeing Rovers on the trail! But if the biggest concern when building a rig that is going to take you into the backcountry for a week at a time is how much more comfy it is on the road from one make of vehicle to another, then maybe you should get out a little farther and see what your rig will actually do. What works on the street, doesn't work on the trail. if you want to keep up with mildly built rigs on the trail you have to ditch some of the factory luxuries that will leave you stranded eventually, and commit one way or the other. It can still ride nice without fancy suspension and it will go more places without worry that something will fail. My point is that either the Rover or the Lexus is capable off-road but the limiting factor is the suspension on both. Look into the the added costs of mods for both and make your decision from there.
Don't meen to offend anyone. I just look at the cost of things over the long term and what might be a great deal initially has bit me in the long run as I modified and drove the vehicle.
Good luck in your choosing.
