Range Rover Sport - wannabe overlander

[ChaseN]

Hi everyone

I've lurked here for a while. Been through multiple trucks since I've been on here, and, frankly never got around to really building one for adventure, whether that was due to lack of money, time, or motivation. Now with my RRS I've been slowly doing a few things here and there with the intent of exploring in the back of my mind. Please try not to flame me for owning a mall cruiser, I do get her in the dirt from time to time, promise!

I picked her up in October last year with 85k on the clock and 6 months of CPO warranty still on her. Came with the luxury package, and much to my surprise - the REAR AXLE LOCKER! About 3 days after picking it up from Land Rover of Tysons Corner, Superstorm Sandy blew through the east coast, bringing early snowfall to areas of West Virginia only 2 hours west of here - I had to go and test the Rover.

Beautiful vista (all stock, truck in off road height)

Hmmm, still looking for some unplowed roads

We found them! My buddy chaining up - this is on the Dolly Sods forest access road, FS19 if anyone out there is familiar with the area. Drifts were up to 4 feet in places after just one day of snow. This road is often straight uphill, with nothing on one side but a hill, and a good 150' drop on the other with nothing to keep your rig from rolling to its demise! The only other rigs we saw out there were a late model GMC full size pickup on 33" ATs (super nice folks, stuck in a drift, helped dig them out, too new to the RRS and its capabilities to risk getting it stuck pulling them out) and a Suzuki Samurai on what must have been 36" (at least) swampers of sort. We talked to the driver of the Samurai for a bit, as a local he seemed a bit thrown off by two "city boys" snow wheeling in a stock $60k (when new, anyway) truck The RRS did not disappoint and not once left us stranded, despite crappy all season tires on puny 19" rims!

At this point I realized that I was in love with this truck. It drives like a dream on-road and off, but needed some more aggressive rubber, so I figured I'd throw a bit of money into it.

Lifted ~2" with ToddCo adjustable lift rods, LR3 18" wheels and 265/65R18 Cooper Discoverer A/T3 tires fitted. Thule roof rack added. Out at the outdoor range I frequent that requires high clearance to get to (and 4wd if its wet). Truck is in normal height here.

Plenty of room for toys in the back

Loaded up for kayaking - this shot shows there is still plenty of tire/fender clearance in access height when needed for loading up the roof or sneaking under obstacles (need to remind my wife about the last one...more on that later)

Happy (if tired) pups - why wouldn't they be, they're getting chauffeured in a Range Rover after a day of hiking!

Up next for it is a roof-top luggage carrier solution (probably an enclosed Thule box, not a huge fan of the 'safari' look of the exposed racks, driving around metro DC anyway) and some sort of awning system that is easily attached/detached from the roof rack. I am also looking for a fold out camp style table that will fit flat on the floor in the rear cargo area. Should be strong enough to have a blanket and 3 dogs sit on top of it - one of which (the goldish one) likes to randomly chew whatever is near her, so probably some sort of lightweight metal is in order. Any suggestions on any of those items? The wife and I are going on a roadtrip along with another couple in the RRS this August from here in Northern Virginia to Eastern TN - Gatlinburg, Dollywood, Great Smoky Mountains/Cherokee NF, etc. We will be camping the entire time and are taking 8 days to do so. Any suggestions to make such a trip liveable for a large amount of people in a smallish space? I'm thinking about modding up my 4x8 Harbor freight trailer for the purpose.

Soooo....Right now I know what you guys are thinking. Far from an ideal truck for the stated purpose of this site, right? Well yes, I would tend to agree with you. BUT, I bought the truck as a compromise with my wife - she hated the look of the LR3/LR4, and whatever we got, she would be driving a fair bit of the time as it is the only vehicle we have we will put our dogs in (our other cars are a pair of BMW sedans and an old air cooled Porsche 911). The RRS is basically an LR3 re-bodied to appeal to "footballers" (or so says Jeremy Clarkson :sombrero, so is plenty capable off road (save for that front bumper, man it is low), if lacking in interior space somewhat. Also, shortly after buying the truck, my wife decided to try to park it in a small 5'10" tall section of our apartment building's otherwise 7' tall parking garage. Well, the concrete ceiling of our garage won and I now have multiple gigantic dents and scrapes in the roof :/ So, appropriately devalued, and owing much more than what its worth with such body damage, I fully intend to keep the truck to the end of its useful life (who knows how much longer that will be, anyway ). After it dies, I'd like to start over with whatever the replacement to the LR4 is, if LR can get the looks sorted in my wife's eyes. For the next 5+ years (hopefully, anyway), however, I must make do!

I look forward to posting more updates in the future, hopefully with some more 'tech' involved. Until then, I'd love to hear your comments, both good and bad. Thanks!

Chase

 

[RangeBrover]

Chase,

Welcome to the fold, don't worry about your rig the RRS is plenty capable. I used I get flak for running a stock full size Range Rover, all the haters don't know what they're missing out on. Hope I see you out on the trails, a few of us frequent George Washington National Forrest regularly.

As far as aftermarket goes BajaRack makes a roof rack for it, and you can custom fit an LR3 ARB bumper to the front end. Also might want to look into the GAP diagnostic tools for the air suspension.

 

[ChaseN]

Thanks for the kind words. I would love to hit the GWNF, I've been up a few trails west of Woodstock, and of course, the Peters Mill/Taskers Gap runs, but I'd really like to check out the trails west of Harrisonburg. Who do you wheel with?

I will look at the BajaRack. For the front bumper, I've thought about pulling all the black plastic on the bottom off, and finishing it off with a thin piece of black powder-coated steel. I have a friend of the family who is a whiz with an english wheel, and I'm sure could make something work...unfortunately because my wife drives this truck so often, I can't do anything too radical, as much as I'd like something like the ARB bumper! The GAP tool is a definite must have from my reading. Thanks for bringing that up.

I'm also considering replacing the stock touch screen with some sort of android tablet...considering the nav is SO frustratingly outdated, and the 4x4 control is little more than a useless novelty, I think it would be cool to have a 4G connected tablet in its place. Hell the tablet wouldn't be much more expensive than buying an updated nav DVD from LR. Think google maps topo function at the tip of your finger. I think I could come up with something if I worked at it.

By the way, RangeBrover (lol), what killed your rangie?

 

[Juddy]

Love the small amount of weapons in the back, I take it you don't need them in a secure box when driving?

 

[Storz]

Great looking truck, love the RRS and AR15

That a Glock 19 or 23?

 

[Eniam17]

Great post, thanks for sharing. I love the weapons in the back as well. The RRS doesn't get enough credit for what it is in my opinion. Sure, a lot of city slickers buy them and they never see pavement, but the same can be said for many capable off-road engineered vehicles out there. It might not be the vehicle of choice for overlanding around the world, but to pull double duty as a daily driver and weekend offroader, I think it's great. My wife has an 08 RRS and we both love it. Because of our other vehicles, we will likely never max out it's off road abilities, but it's plenty capable for all that we do and it's amazing on the road as well. I am not in the same league as many on this forum who spend a high percentage of their time on true overland adventures and expeditions, but for the average person who commutes during the week and likes to explore some pretty rugged terrain on the weekends, I would argue why WOULDN'T you want this vehicle ? (with some better tires

So don't feel like you have to make any excuses or apologize for your vehicle. You have something you love and you're getting out and enjoying it, that's what matters. Now, with 85k on the clock, if you're a first time Rover owner I would highly recommend doing some research on some preventative maintenance to start working on. Diff fluids, TC fluids, etc. should usually be changed before the intervals listed in the manuals. Not trying to turn this into a maintenance argument thread, just a heads up.

 

[pugslyyy]

Nice rig - RRS is the same wheelbase/general size as the previous generation RR (P38) which I have wheeled extensively. In my experience it is a size that just works really well off road and glad to see you using it in the dirt!

 

[ChaseN]

Love the small amount of weapons in the back, I take it you don't need them in a secure box when driving?

Generally speaking in my state anyone who can legally own a weapon can carry it openly, anywhere. So no we are not forced to carry a weapon one way or another while driving, but yes I typically keep my rifles in cases while driving to keep them away from prying eyes while stopped for food, gas, etc. Despite the lax gun laws there are no shootouts at high noon

Great looking truck, love the RRS and AR15

That a Glock 19 or 23?

Thanks! 19.

Now, with 85k on the clock, if you're a first time Rover owner I would highly recommend doing some research on some preventative maintenance to start working on. Diff fluids, TC fluids, etc. should usually be changed before the intervals listed in the manuals. Not trying to turn this into a maintenance argument thread, just a heads up.

Thanks for the advice. I've done the oil twice but have neglected the other fluids so far - not sure why, just didnt really think about it. I'll look in to the recomendations of the community. On that topic, what is the best LR specific forum?

Nice rig - RRS is the same wheelbase/general size as the previous generation RR (P38) which I have wheeled extensively. In my experience it is a size that just works really well off road and glad to see you using it in the dirt!

Thanks! I hope to use it much more often on the dirt now that summer time is upon us.

 

[Storz]

Really Expo is the best Rover forum I've found

 

[David Harris]

I'll look in to the recomendations of the community. On that topic, what is the best LR specific forum?

Since you have a Range Rover, you should also check out http://www.rangerovers.net, which is specific to Range Rovers. Also, I recommend joining your local Land Rover Club. And by all means, take your RRS off road as often as possible!

David

 

[umbertob]

The RRS (up to MY2013 anyway) is really an LR3/4 in disguise, just more compact and easier to park. It has every bit of capability off road as the LR3/4, and in certain trims it is a much better performer on road, models equipped with Dynamic Response for example. It's really a great, and great looking, car (I've had mine for 7+ years and have over 200K miles on it, only very minor issues with it and it's been the most fun vehicle I've ever owned.) The only "problem" with the Sport is the lack of aftermarket products for the off-roading crowd. Unless it also happens to fit the LR3/4, nobody makes stuff such as underbody armor, bumpers, etc., for the RRS. The demand is just not there. Rover Specialties was the only company making an excellent quality - although expensive - set of sliders for the Sport, but it sounds like they've gone out of business.

 

[ChaseN]

Umbertob,

Any tips for keeping the truck running for that long? It seems to me that these trucks do not have the same LR "reliability issues" that the trucks of the 90s and early 2000s had. Is your truck setup for "overlanding" type travel? I would love to add some stuff here and there that will enhance traveling and camping in the truck for multiple people, but I'm just not sure what the best way to do that is.

 

[RangeBrover]

Thanks for the kind words. I would love to hit the GWNF, I've been up a few trails west of Woodstock, and of course, the Peters Mill/Taskers Gap runs, but I'd really like to check out the trails west of Harrisonburg. Who do you wheel with?

I will look at the BajaRack. For the front bumper, I've thought about pulling all the black plastic on the bottom off, and finishing it off with a thin piece of black powder-coated steel. I have a friend of the family who is a whiz with an english wheel, and I'm sure could make something work...unfortunately because my wife drives this truck so often, I can't do anything too radical, as much as I'd like something like the ARB bumper! The GAP tool is a definite must have from my reading. Thanks for bringing that up.

I'm also considering replacing the stock touch screen with some sort of android tablet...considering the nav is SO frustratingly outdated, and the 4x4 control is little more than a useless novelty, I think it would be cool to have a 4G connected tablet in its place. Hell the tablet wouldn't be much more expensive than buying an updated nav DVD from LR. Think google maps topo function at the tip of your finger. I think I could come up with something if I worked at it.

By the way, RangeBrover (lol), what killed your rangie?

Ironically a Toyota killed my Rangie, idiot on a test drive in a brand new Tundra blew threw a red light at around 50mph and broadsided my passenger side, he was "attempting to use the navigation system" at the time. I survived but the Range didn't, miss that truck everyday.

I run with a few guys out of DC that are here on EXPO, we did a few trips back in 2012, but since I commute between DC and Chicago I haven't gotten time to make a run with them this year.

On a side note is that photo of you and the AR's from up at the Cove? If so you've probably seen me up there, I usually roll 1911's and a HK416.

 

[pugslyyy]

Thanks for the advice. I've done the oil twice but have neglected the other fluids so far - not sure why, just didnt really think about it. I'll look in to the recomendations of the community. On that topic, what is the best LR specific forum?

Discoweb has a very low signal-to-noise ratio so it can be hard to get good content but they are the big one out there.

The LR forum on pirate4x4 is good as long as you have thick skin / can take the hazing. The guys on pirate really do know their stuff so it can be worth it.

rangerovers.net is a great resource but I've never spent time on their forums.

 

[RangeBrover]

RangeRovers.net is probably one of the best sources for information, the only downside is that since it has a large international base it may take some time to get a reply. In regards to removing the nav screen and replacing it, I wouldn't go this route, it's much easier to hook up an iPad using a Ram mount and the iPhone/iPad connector cable.