Longitude expedition "Drive Around The World" vehicle #1 disco2

[TeriAnn]

That's the big question, I think Eric has a reserve on his #2 vehicle lower than my reserve on #1 vehicle. Would really love to see Land Rover buy them and put them in their collection... These vehicles are more rare than camel trophy trucks and just look at the prices they are demanding..

Nick's second Round the world trip is an interesting story. The vehicles used in his first around the world trip were his two Series Dormobiles. I did a lot of the electrical upgrades to one of them in our rush to get them ready for the trip. I was asked to go along but decided I just did not want to be driving my own Dormobile through the middle east. There can be cultural issues with a woman driving alone in a vehicle.

Here are some pictures of the Dormobiles

He planned to take the Dormobiles on the second trip around the world and had several companies provide product donations to reequip the trucks. In the final weeks of preparation Land Rover offered to be a sponsor for the trip if and only if Nick left the Dormobiles behind and took factory refurbished Discoverys. The goal was for Land Rover to use the trip to show the reliability of refurbished off lease Discoverys. So the recently refurbished Dormobiles stayed at home and the factory refurbished off lease Discoverys went instead. The companies that donated parts & such for the Dormobiles got burned because their donations were not acknowledged or returned. As it was, Nick & company ran low on funds near the end of the trip and one of the Dormobiles was sold to help pay for the last leg of the trip. Nick still has one of the Dormobiles in which he occasionally goes camping.

The Dicoverys were just off lease factory refurbished vehicles when Land Rover provided them to Nick. Nothing really special.

 

[The Rover Shop]

The Dicoverys were just off lease factory refurbished vehicles when Land Rover provided them to Nick. Nothing really special.

And the camel trophy trucks were to showcase the abilities of stock vehicles...as was the discoveries being from the Land Rover certified program....showing the stock reliability and capabilities and That they didn't need extensive modifications, extensive wiring modifications or alterations to go anywhere they needed to....that was the whole point....

 

[The Rover Shop]

I think it changes the look of the vehicle completely..looks way less stock..

 

[TeriAnn]

And the camel trophy trucks were to showcase the abilities of stock vehicles...as was the discoveries being from the Land Rover certified program....showing the stock reliability and capabilities and That they didn't need extensive modifications, extensive wiring modifications or alterations to go anywhere they needed to....that was the whole point....

I think that is the whole point that most people miss. So many people get a vehicle and even without driving it off pavement to find out what it is capable of they run out and spend gobs of cash buying every off road modification in the catalogue to "Improve" it. They get a heavy duty suspension that is too stiff for the vehicle's weight, lift the vehicle to the point where the centre of gravity is noticeably higher and prop shaft angles are greater than they should be, put big tyres under the vehicle that challenges the engine's torque on gentle hills, all without realizing that the vehicle they ended up with is lass capable and more likely to break parts than a stock vehicle.

Manufacturers spend several years testing a vehicle to make sure the vehicle reliably meets its design specifications and that all the parts work together properly without one part causing undo stress on another. People can be so much better off by driving the stock vehicle they purchased to see if it meets their driving needs. Then if they find that they need the vehicle to go beyond its capabilities they can spend money just to expand the vehicle's capability where needed. So much of the time a stock Land Rover will meet the owner's real life driving needs and do the job without modifications. Or maybe just more aggressive tyres, a limited slip front diff and rear locker.

Probably for 80+% of the people on this forum all they need is a snorkel, roof rack, and a lot of decals to get the look, and a stock vehicle to maintain reliability. They can save their money to pay for their trips.

 

[The Rover Shop]

Recently had an article done on this vehicle in one of the latest editions of Alloy and Grit...cool writeup, for the photo shoot I had to try to get it stuck in some nasty mud....it was harder than I thought...

 

[The Rover Shop]

Bumping this back up...I’m always amazed at just how great this truck drives with cold a/c.. I lovvve disco2’s

 

[Fly-n-doc]

Shane, do you still have your Longitude truck?

 

[The Rover Shop]

Just seeing this..yes I do.. actually pulled it out of storage today and gave it a good cleanup...I think I’m going to go and do the t-top liners to this engine..but I’m going to enjoy driving it for a bit right now..

 

[jmounts]

Hey guys--want to jump in on this. I'm Justin Mounts, and I piloted D4 on the Longitude Expedition. I'm also its current owner and have been restoring it slowly over the past few years. Do any of you happen to have the artwork files for the stickers? Specifically, I need to replace the main LONGITUDE graphic from the hood. Thanks in advance!

~ J

 

[Kgh]

Justin, I will tell Shayne to circle back to this thread. He may have what you are looking for, and will probably want to speak with you!

 

[The Rover Shop]

G’day Justin...nice to see you surface again.... I will dig up the files for you that everyone has used....sadly all the other trucks that have replaced the hood decals have replaced it with an incorrectly printed one..I bought a set (not cheap) and found the ones currently available have some slight differences in them. I did reach out to the lady who printed them and sent her the necessary changes. My truck still has the original hood decal and it would appears yours and mine are the only ones not replaced...

 

[jmounts]

Awesome--thanks!

 

[Todd780]

That was a great show! I enjoyed it. I was actually looking for it to watch again. Great find on the truck and good luck with the sale.