Overland Journal Project Land Rover Discovery 4 (LR4)

[discotdi]

Nav on the move is pretty cool! A lot of people have been bummed ever since LR patched the old maintainence hack that used to allow that.

Nav on the go has been back via factory settings since mid 2011.

 

[Scott Brady]

Nav on the go has been back via factory settings since mid 2011.

Yeah, it works fine in the LR4

 

[Breadfan]

Can you post pics of your underbody protection next time you get it on a rack?

 

[Sleeping Dog]

All ready for SEMA. I am looking forward to getting the truck (really) dirty and seeing how these new Land Rovers hold-up to real world exploration.

Here is a quick shot of the rear drawer system and sleeping platform. It allows easy use of the two rear side seats (the fridge stays in place), as those boxes remove in just a few minutes. The drawers should hold all of my kit with maybe just a few soft bags of clothes and bedding lashed in the back.

Scott, how did you secure the drawer unit, did you simply bolt it to the existing tie down points?

Also very interested in learning how you fit 18" wheels.

Jim

 

[Scott Brady]

Can you post pics of your underbody protection next time you get it on a rack?

We are still evaluating options. I am open to suggestions.

Several options, but none that I can from particularly reputable companies.

 

[Scott Brady]

Scott, how did you secure the drawer unit, did you simply bolt it to the existing tie down points?

Also very interested in learning how you fit 18" wheels.

Jim

The drawer system uses the factory lashing points (4) and is currently rattle-free.

The big test of the 18s happen this coming week. We will make them work, one way or another. It is all this car really needs for real trail work. The 20s look nice, but will put the truck at a serious disadvantage on anything technical.

 

[nwoods]

We are still evaluating options. I am open to suggestions.

Several options, but none that I can from particularly reputable companies.

Tactical Rovers
Lucky 8
Rover Specialties
Mantec
Asifr
Rasta4x4

 

[flyfish007]

Scott,

I really like the way the LR4 is looking. Question for you: I noticed that your Lr4 doesn't have the satellite antenna hump on the roof like every other LR4 does. How did you manage that - did you remove the old one or order it without the right combination of stuff? I was told there is no way not to get that on the LR4, so mine has it...but I would like to remove it. Any tips you can toss my way are appreciated.

Thanks,

Scott

 

[1leglance]

Well we are back from our Black Friday to Sunday Adventure and of course on the way out of town we hit the scales to get a comparison for the Overland Journal LR4 project.

You will see 4 rigs so that folks can get a good idea of traveling wgt:
5920 lb on the left Bundu Gear Lexus GX 5920 (1 person & 1 Golden Retriever)
6060lb next Waymon - TexGX with a Lexus GX (1 person and a bunch of stuff)
6675 lb my blue 1970 Suburban (2 ppl, guns, bike, and a bunch of stuff)
7820 lb Nick - Nobin with the orange 1972 Suburban

So I have a GVWR of 7500lbs and I am running down the trail with 40 gal of fuel, 5 gal of water, 63L ARB fridge, dual batteries, and actually loaded for 3 people (wife didn't go at the last minute) and plenty of gear.
Might good comparison of old vs new.

Oh and I will get a package out to the OJ HQ with some Habanos Monday just for playing the game.

 

[perkj]

We want to prove out the concept, but it will be a series of tall polyurethane (progressive) bump stops that can be installed between the a-arm and frame, allowing a slow-speed extraction option for the vehicle. The goal is to ensure confidence while traveling, even if the air suspension fails that we can get back to the road and a town for proper repair.

We promise to detail the entire kit and process once proven out.

Scott....any update/progress on this?

 

[Clark White]

Lookie who I ran into on the trail today!


Clark

 

[nwoods]

OMG, what was Scott thinking? He took the fragile computer laden LR4 out into the rocks, where recovery is iffy and LR Assistace can't be reached by cellphone? My God, does he realize just how close to dying he might have been?

LOL, I'd love to hear Scotts observations between the Trek D2 and the LR4. I'll bet we'll hear things about visibility, turn radius, nimbleness, brake control, traction, low range gearing and articulation, and how all those things excel compared to a stock D2...

 

[Scott Brady]

Here is my assessment from the first trail run:

The Great
1. The turning radius on the LR4 is shockingly good. At only 37 FEET, I can easily do a U-Turn between our two buildings at the office, which seems impossible looking at it. A Defender 110, which has a shorter wheelbase requires 44 FEET to complete a turning circle. A Defender 90, which is significantly shorter requires 40 FEET. A Rubicon Unlimited requires 41.2 FEET. This helps the LR4 feel more nimble on the trail than it should be.

The Good
1. I really like the Kaymar rear bumper system. It is simple and clean, complimenting the lines of the truck and relocating the tire to the bumper.

2. Running ground clearance in 'off-road' mode is over 12"

3. The hill decent control is the best we have tested, lacking the 'grabby' and jerky feedback of previous implementations. It is smooth and quite effective, although I doubt we will ever use it except for the gadget factor.

4. As expected, the LR4 is uber comfortable on the trail, with limited head toss and cushy, supportive seats.

5. The air suspension allows the vehicle to travel on trails that would be impossible otherwise. With the push of a button, you gain 2+ inches of ground clearance.

6. I am really pleased with how the truck looks. It is more purposeful than stock, but still looks nice and retains most of the comfort the stock vehicle provides.

7. The rock sliders did their job, which likely would have saved some expensive sheet metal damage. I like that they are aluminum and lightweight. I don't expect them to take a lot of abuse, but was sure glad we had them.

The Bad
1. The traction control system is effective, but I wish this truck had the rear locker. It just wasn't available at the time we obtained the vehicle. Having driven the model with the HD package and rear locker, it is really an important feature. I will say that the system is more effective than the Discovery II and slightly better than the LR3, but I want the locker, plain and simple. On the bigger rocks, it required several seconds of wheel spin before the system slowed the spinning wheel sufficiently to allow forward progress again. This makes it difficult to modulate. In the end, the truck did everything we asked, but the locker would have made the result far more elegant.

The Ugly
1. I have not tested 20" tires extensively on the trail. Primarily just stock vehicle testing and a few light trails in our MKIII Range Rover. Essentially, 20" wheels and tires are entirely inappropriate for serious exploration work. In the end, I was glad we tested the tires and experienced some extended trail time on 20s, and it does 'look' pretty good, but it just doesn't work. I was shocked we didn't have a flat. I have never experienced a flat with me driving on any long trip - ever. I was certain this would be the first. I guess that is props to the Mickey Thompsons for making a good tire that survived the trail day, but 20" wheels are a joke!

I really like the Overland Journal 'map bar' graphic we installed on this truck.

It is still too early to make final assessments and a summary of the vehicle. Fortunately, I have owned a lot of Land Rovers, so we have a pretty broad foundation for comparison. In the next few months I will summarize my comparison against the Discovery I, Discovery II, LR3 and probably the MKIII too.

 

[ZG]

Great photos and write up Scott!

 

[frank84]

Glad to see it on some rocks! 12" of ground clearance sounds pretty good with the push of a button.

How does the optional rear locker in these work? I assume it is not driver controlled, so does it still need some wheel spin to engage? Then does it disengage after a preset time or something? Just trying to wrap my head around what's going on in there. I suppose I have the same question about the center diff - wheel spin to engage the lock or is it more of a viscous coupling thing?

Looking forward to your rover comparison write up!