Overland Journal Project Land Rover Discovery 4 (LR4)

[Scott Brady]

I praised these tires when I first got them for my LR3. Within 7,000 miles I went through 3 tires. Two with side wall damage, one a rock through the tread. They performed great, but even with the Discount Tire warranty were costing me and I lost confidence in them. I switched to Cooper ATPs. No complaints so far.

Jim

Interesting detail Jim. That was the size/specifics. The Wildpeak is actually one of the strongest carcasses out there, built on the Falken commercial tire.

 

[Scott Brady]

Scott, how are you liking/disliking the K9 rack? I'm talking to Paul about a possible application for my trooper, but it's one of several options. Feel free to PM me, if you like.

I'm looking for a bulletproof, buy once/cry once setup and the Slimline II is also a possible option. I need the room for either a rooftent, a thule box, or the assorted building materials mrs. Bigdaddy often has me carrying, so I like the flexibility a flatrack provides.

Thanks.

I really like the K9 and the Front Runner Slimline. Both are quite light and low profile. I rarely put anything on the rack, so I want it to be simple. The K9 is a little lighter than the Slimline, and the Slimline is a little stronger and more modular.

 

[Scott Brady]

One quick question now that you've had some time with it. I noticed you put the ARB bumper on it as one of the first things you did. It looks great, but they also tend to be pretty heavy. If you had to do it over again, would you still put the ARB bumper on the front or would you do one of the hidden winch setups?

I like the looks of the ARB and I live in the mountains with deer. I think the front end of the LR4 benefits from the bullbar.

 

[xray132]

I'll agree

I’ll attest to the ARB bull bar after last weekend. Never thought I would need the protection. I came in to a steep downhill between multiple trees. I had a bad approach angle but thought I could turn before the trees. I went for the turn and the broken down debris under the trees gave way and I had no steering. I went straight forward nosing in to the tree with the top bar due to the steep angle. Bar took some scratches that will hopefully buff out. I’m pretty sure I would have hit the hood. Info to Engineer- I run a synthetic rope and there is an extreme weight reduction with it. Here’s a pic of my 3 with color match bar.

 

[engineerd]

Scott, thanks for the quick reply. I agree, it's a great looking system, and deer would be a concern.

Info to Engineer- I run a synthetic rope and there is an extreme weight reduction with it. Here's a pic of my 3 with color match bar.

Good point. Nice setup!

 

[nwoods]

The ARB bull bar isn't really all that heavy. One person can lift it pretty easily. I'm not saying you can lift it in one and install it with the other...but I think it probably only weights 80 to 100 lbs or so. I'm just guessing though. Here is an entirely awesome GoPro video stuck onto a sheet of steel as it is converted into a finished Bull Bar. It's very cool. Really amazing the amount of machining and handling that goes into that product: http://youtu.be/ncDNzgUELXQ

 

[jhawk]

Interesting detail Jim. That was the size/specifics. The Wildpeak is actually one of the strongest carcasses out there, built on the Falken commercial tire.

265/65/18

I should clarify. Only the damage to one tire required me to remove it on the trail. That being said I expect more out of a tire, and lost faith in the Falkens.

Jim

 

[mpinco]

Excellent adhesion on dry rock. Smooth and quiet on the highway. fast wearing. The compound on this tire is particularly aggressive, providing class-leading dry rock adhesion and micro-keying - downside of that is a short tread life.

Good tire for the desert southwest, Moab, etc.

Similar to my assessment of the tire when I was moving from 20" wheels to 18" + spacer although I didn't consider it to be class leading for dry rock. Locally it is a Pep Boys tire. I thought it would perform poorly outside the Southwest/dry/no snow or mud.

 

[Scott Brady]

Another local trip the with LR4, this time to the Sedona area. Some friends came in from Australia and they loved the "Disneyland" that is Broken Arrow.

The LR4 continues to perform admirably, making for a perfect North American travel vehicle.

 

[brushogger]

Another local trip the with LR4, this time to the Sedona area. Some friends came in from Australia and they loved the "Disneyland" that is Broken Arrow.

I'll bet they did. Broken Arrow was our favorite trail in the Sedona Area.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[David Harris]

The LR4 continues to perform admirably, making for a perfect North American travel vehicle.

Why can't it be used in other parts of the world?

 

[engineerd]

Why can't it be used in other parts of the world?

Scott can correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the goal of this vehicle is to have a vehicle capable of tackling some of the toughest trails yet can cruise comfortably on paved highways for long distances, which is a fairly uniquely North American situation. Additionally, in most of North America you're usually close enough to a town or city that can provide vehicle repair services to limp there or get towed. Therefore, having a vehicle with complex systems like the LR4 is not as big of a problem as it would be on, say, the Canning Stock Route.

I would submit the LR3/LR4 also have application in Europe.

 

[David Harris]

Scott can correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the goal of this vehicle is to have a vehicle capable of tackling some of the toughest trails yet can cruise comfortably on paved highways for long distances, which is a fairly uniquely North American situation. Additionally, in most of North America you're usually close enough to a town or city that can provide vehicle repair services to limp there or get towed. Therefore, having a vehicle with complex systems like the LR4 is not as big of a problem as it would be on, say, the Canning Stock Route.

I would submit the LR3/LR4 also have application in Europe.

Looking into it more, there is a fellow over on Disco3 that had a lot of trouble with his LR3 on the Canning Stock Route.

http://www.disco3.co.uk/forum/topic5840-15.html

Didn't get stuck out there but a lot of electronic faults that had to be reset. There is a couple I remember from a while back who took their L322 Range Rover from London to Capetown and back and had basically zero major problems. I have owned several Rovers but the ones I have felt most comfortable with in remote places are my pre-95 ones, since they are so simple electronically compared to to the post-95 ones, and it's easy to carry a few crucial spares for peace of mind. Back to the LR3/4, there are some places in North America where you can get really far out there though.

 

[Scott Brady]

Why can't it be used in other parts of the world?

I certainly didn't say it couldn't be used in other parts of the world, only that the attributes of the vehicle lend itself well to first world travel, particularly in North America. Powerful (and thirsty) V8, high-speed cruising capability, etc. For the really remote stuff and the developing world, I would prefer a Defender.

 

[David Harris]

I certainly didn't say it couldn't be used in other parts of the world, only that the attributes of the vehicle lend itself well to first world travel, particularly in North America. Powerful (and thirsty) V8, high-speed cruising capability, etc. For the really remote stuff and the developing world, I would prefer a Defender.

Ok. I see where you're coming from on that. I'm sure I'll try one out someday, although I'm kind of an old school type by nature.