At the risk of being repetitive, it's not the wheel size here of 18 inches that's a problem, it's the tire itself - a 50 or 55 series tire is not appropriate. A 285/60/18 runs perfectly on the vehicle (prior LR vehicles, not the new ones) and covers all this terrain with no problem whatsoever...speaking from personal experience driving an RRS thousands of miles offroad over the last 8 years with this tire, and no punctures. You are correct that the choice of tire is a bad one, it is not the right tire for this type of expedition, as evidenced by the 10 flats reported to date...maybe a few more by the end of the trip. If the new LR's could accommodate a 17 or 18 inch has been also stated a few posts ago...then we are good to go here.
The LR4 — Crossing America Offroad with Tom Collins at the helm!
- Thread starter Dendy Jarrett
- Start date
So not being much of a social media guy. FB seems like a good way to show of how cute your kids kid looks....babies abound....or how cool you are. I can't seem to find pics of LR's on dirt going across country. someone help me here cause so far this is getting more boring as the exciting stuff should be happening! 10 flats and the more awesome scenery in the country? Help me out here. Thx. bD
I couldn't even find a photo of them on the Black Bear zigzags?????
I couldn't even find a photo of them on the Black Bear zigzags?????
Try Interactive Land Rover: http://www.interactivelandrover.com/home/index.php and Instagram (as mentioned earlier in this thread) for photos: http://instagram.com/landroverusa#
Scott Brady
Founder
From my perspective, I applaud Land Rover for actually going out and doing a trip. Camping, flats, pin striping and stucks. They are actually working hard right now to find a way around the fires in Oregon and complete the route. Tom and his team are not just giving up and heading to the Hyatt, but spending another night and day in the field working on a route around, even talking to the local forest service and fire captains. There are no other manufacturers doing this kind of stuff - period.
Could the trip be more "hardcore"? Sure, but at least they are doing it. . .
Could the trip be more "hardcore"? Sure, but at least they are doing it. . .
Focusing back on the topic, this is completely not like any of the other events. There is no support team. Perhaps its because they don't need it, as they aren't that far from civilization. There was some implications made that this was a special production run of vehicles, and other comments eluding to some advantage above and beyond what is available to anyone who walks into a LR dealer- short of an experienced driver at the wheel.
There's a key difference being stuck in Africa without a winch, as a solo vehicle, with limited funding, vs a manufacturer, with significantly deeper pockets, who could fit anything they wanted to, but decided to take a standard factory configuration. Land Rover has done many things in its history; Camel Trophy for one, but they were not show room vehicles.
Its a marketing campaign, to show how capable their STOCK vehicle is. Its not the Congo, its not the arctic circle, the north pole, or any crazy remote place, or super distance to cover. If it was, Im sure the'd prepare their vehicles in some way, just like they have in the past. I don't see anyone else stepping up to the plate.
There's a key difference being stuck in Africa without a winch, as a solo vehicle, with limited funding, vs a manufacturer, with significantly deeper pockets, who could fit anything they wanted to, but decided to take a standard factory configuration. Land Rover has done many things in its history; Camel Trophy for one, but they were not show room vehicles.
Its a marketing campaign, to show how capable their STOCK vehicle is. Its not the Congo, its not the arctic circle, the north pole, or any crazy remote place, or super distance to cover. If it was, Im sure the'd prepare their vehicles in some way, just like they have in the past. I don't see anyone else stepping up to the plate.
Scott Brady
Founder
They are bone stock trucks. Even the tires. They are being driven mostly by the media, which is worse than letting my grandmother drive them. . .
In fact, that has been the most surprising revelation of my time in the media - there are only a few of them who know how to drive properly.
In fact, that has been the most surprising revelation of my time in the media - there are only a few of them who know how to drive properly.
overlander
Expedition Leader
Let's remember that when you look at it globally, this is what a "Rest of World" dealership looks like...and they get it.
goodtimes
Expedition Poseur
I would agree - but I also have to admit that I rolled my eyes when the trip was talked up so much at the beginning. It immediately took on the feel of a big marketing machine, rather than a MFR going out and putting their products to a real world test, and inviting us along for the ride (figuratively, anyway). That first impression is hard to shake.
I'll give them props for actually doing it - even more so for doing it in factory trim. If they actually do something to improve their product based on what happens on this trip (IE: tire improvements) - I'll be truly impressed. Probably not impressed enough to buy a new LR - but that's a whole different story.
LAND ROVER EXPEDITION AMERICA: UPDATE 5
August 21, 2013
Timing is everything in an expedition. Just two hours after Land Rover Expedition America, a 5,000-mile transcontinental dirt drive across the USA, left Utah, the trail used by the Land Rover team was washed away by a swollen river running head-height and at over 20 miles an hour. The flood was the product of an intense storm that was close to the expedition near Salina, UT.
“That would have been impossible to cross and we would have lost at least a day, maybe more, waiting it out,” said Expedition Leader Tom Collins after images of the flood were shown to Collins by two Nevada motorcyclists riding the Trans-America Trail, the route along which LREA is driving.
The expedition is now in Nevada and about to briefly cross into the north-easternmost corner of California before entering Oregon, the final state on this month-long odyssey. The route runs close to the Black Rock Desert location where the first supersonic Land Speed Record was set by a British team in 1997.
The trails are cloaked in a carpet of white dust, like talcum powder. Regular cleaning of the car’s air filters is an important part of the ritual to keep the Land Rover expedition vehicles running at peak efficiency. It is a harsh but beautiful land to test the vehicles and the crews. In the sagebrush undergrowth, under a 105-degree sun, rattlesnakes and desert tarantulas lurk.
In the 1800’s prospectors flocked here to make their fortune. In Eureka, Nevada, five hours north of Las Vegas, the boom of the 1800s brought a population of 10,000 and lavish luxuries such as an opera house, which still stands proudly. Renovated, this opera house does not echo to the sounds of arias very often these days. The current population of the town is just 600. But to celebrate Land Rover Expedition America, Land Rover brought Los Angeles opera singer Nicolette to town to put on an intimate concert for the town.
“I have sung at Carnegie Hall in New York, but this has to be the most unique venue I have sung at," she said after her performance.
Pressing onwards, the convoy will continue through the remote parts of southeast Oregon and then arrive at the Pacific Ocean outside of North Bend, OR in three to four days.
August 21, 2013
Timing is everything in an expedition. Just two hours after Land Rover Expedition America, a 5,000-mile transcontinental dirt drive across the USA, left Utah, the trail used by the Land Rover team was washed away by a swollen river running head-height and at over 20 miles an hour. The flood was the product of an intense storm that was close to the expedition near Salina, UT.
“That would have been impossible to cross and we would have lost at least a day, maybe more, waiting it out,” said Expedition Leader Tom Collins after images of the flood were shown to Collins by two Nevada motorcyclists riding the Trans-America Trail, the route along which LREA is driving.
The expedition is now in Nevada and about to briefly cross into the north-easternmost corner of California before entering Oregon, the final state on this month-long odyssey. The route runs close to the Black Rock Desert location where the first supersonic Land Speed Record was set by a British team in 1997.
The trails are cloaked in a carpet of white dust, like talcum powder. Regular cleaning of the car’s air filters is an important part of the ritual to keep the Land Rover expedition vehicles running at peak efficiency. It is a harsh but beautiful land to test the vehicles and the crews. In the sagebrush undergrowth, under a 105-degree sun, rattlesnakes and desert tarantulas lurk.
In the 1800’s prospectors flocked here to make their fortune. In Eureka, Nevada, five hours north of Las Vegas, the boom of the 1800s brought a population of 10,000 and lavish luxuries such as an opera house, which still stands proudly. Renovated, this opera house does not echo to the sounds of arias very often these days. The current population of the town is just 600. But to celebrate Land Rover Expedition America, Land Rover brought Los Angeles opera singer Nicolette to town to put on an intimate concert for the town.
“I have sung at Carnegie Hall in New York, but this has to be the most unique venue I have sung at," she said after her performance.
Pressing onwards, the convoy will continue through the remote parts of southeast Oregon and then arrive at the Pacific Ocean outside of North Bend, OR in three to four days.
Scott Brady
Founder
The team has arrived at the Pacific Ocean.
As we were fortunate to have a team member along, we will be sure to recap the LR4's performance and any issue encountered. 5,000 miles of mostly dirt is a pretty cool accomplishment
As we were fortunate to have a team member along, we will be sure to recap the LR4's performance and any issue encountered. 5,000 miles of mostly dirt is a pretty cool accomplishment
EricTyrrell
Expo God
Wait what??? I thought they were just leaving Nevada..
Oregon should have been the interesting part of the journey, and it gets skipped over
Oregon should have been the interesting part of the journey, and it gets skipped over