LR3 - why the bad rep?
- Thread starter kerouac
- Start date
Antichrist
Expedition Leader
Ot it could be from when it was introduced and the Land Rover "display" trip in a central american jungle. The air suspension failed, the LR3 couldn't manage the terrain and had to be towed out.
One thing to consider, IMO, isn't just how capable a vehicle is, but how capable it is if the stuff fails that makes it so capable. If you use ETC, air suspension, terrain response, etc. to get somewhere, will you be able to get out if one or more of those systems fails?
But quite easy to deal with. A spare set of bags with short lines going to schreader fittings to be manually filled from your compressor isn't an unreasonable spare.
Antichrist
Expedition Leader
:Wow1:
I think you need to look up the definition of "versatile".
It was 3 years before L/R even released the Discovery 3 commercial, one of the most basic variations of a Land Rover.
Does anyone make a PTO for the Discovery 3?
I'm with Jim and Nathan. I'm sure lots of folks smarter than many in all things off-road have their advice, but the most important words of wisdom i would seek if wanting to buy/wheel/overland an LR3 are - well - LR3 owners and not defender drivers, or disco I diehards or classic fans.
Ask the guys who wheel the LR3 consistently over lots of different terrain for lots of different duration. That would be jim and nathan and a dozen other guys that I wheel with and camp with in sclr. They will share with you the empirical evidence of what goes wrong, what goes right with the LR3 instead of half guesses, etc. In Southern California, Lr3s are wheeled often - from local trails in big bear and mojave all the way to Rubicon.
These rigs are pretty reliable when you take care of them. Lots of aftermarket support too. Don't get bogged down with all the nonsense from the overland 'noise'. Call up some land rover independents - the socal ones (Inland Rovers) - ask Gordon about the LR3s. Ask local companies here that fabricate the armor for the lr3s (tactical 4x4) and ask the guys who drive them how robust and reliable they are. No LR3 guy who wheels his rig will ever say they are 'surprisingly capable'. Silly. For lr3 owners, they are just capable.
Ask the guys who wheel the LR3 consistently over lots of different terrain for lots of different duration. That would be jim and nathan and a dozen other guys that I wheel with and camp with in sclr. They will share with you the empirical evidence of what goes wrong, what goes right with the LR3 instead of half guesses, etc. In Southern California, Lr3s are wheeled often - from local trails in big bear and mojave all the way to Rubicon.
These rigs are pretty reliable when you take care of them. Lots of aftermarket support too. Don't get bogged down with all the nonsense from the overland 'noise'. Call up some land rover independents - the socal ones (Inland Rovers) - ask Gordon about the LR3s. Ask local companies here that fabricate the armor for the lr3s (tactical 4x4) and ask the guys who drive them how robust and reliable they are. No LR3 guy who wheels his rig will ever say they are 'surprisingly capable'. Silly. For lr3 owners, they are just capable.
Antichrist
Expedition Leader
And if it's your compressor that's dead?
nwoods
Expedition Leader
Any reasonable traveler would have additional air service available for tires. The few folks I know of outfitting LR3's for true expedition travel (mostly Germans, Belgiums, and Austrailians), fit couplings that allow them to plug in external air. Cheap simple mod. A LOT easier than say, fitting recovery points to a Disco 1 or 2.
Antichrist
Expedition Leader
True, but even those can die (ask me how I know). I think you can probably travel further over bad terrain on low tire pressure than you can sitting on bumpstops.
In any case, my point isn't that a person should or shouldn't depend on something, rather to think about consequences and how to handle them when those somethings do fail.
How much weight you put on those choices is a personal matter and is also, IMO, dependent on how many vehicles you travel with and where you're traveling. If you're traveling solo, especially in places with little to no modern service facilities, most people would, hopefully, give it more consideration.
Different people have different priorities in choice of vehicle. For some, performance in Moab like places might be an important factor. For others, it might be near the bottom of the list of important factors.
Rover De Land
Observer
Holy ****,
Well then, what do you do when you have a complete engine failure on the trail?
Transmission line busts?
Oil cooler line bust
Transmission fails
5 flats
Computer failure,
I mean nothing on any vehicle not even a horse is 100% fail safe. You can't keep chasing the what if.
Eventually you will get to what if your truck spontaneously combusts.? Then what do you do? Carry a spare?
Antichrist
Expedition Leader
That's a common argument, too bad it's never made with any thought.
All vehicles have the potential for engine, transmission & tire failure.
Some add oil cooler lines, some also add transmission lines, some also add computers.
The more items you add that can immobilize you the more opportunity you have for immobilization.
Scott Brady
Founder
1. Pick a vehicle you like
2. Maintain it the best you can
3. Perform only critical modifications - limit changes to factory systems, especially the motor.
4. Carry spares for known/common failure modes
Then just go! I drove a vehicle we bought in the UK sight unseen nearly the entire length of the Silk Road. We had all of the appropriate maintenance done and had the dealership inspect the truck completely, then we just left and left the rest to chance. Breakdowns really can be part of the fun of travel.
2. Maintain it the best you can
3. Perform only critical modifications - limit changes to factory systems, especially the motor.
4. Carry spares for known/common failure modes
Then just go! I drove a vehicle we bought in the UK sight unseen nearly the entire length of the Silk Road. We had all of the appropriate maintenance done and had the dealership inspect the truck completely, then we just left and left the rest to chance. Breakdowns really can be part of the fun of travel.
Rover De Land
Observer
????
Is this even a legit response.
Ok you win fine bring a trailer with 20 backup compressors and a trailer behind that one Incase the first trailer fails.
05LR3AZ
Adventurer
I'm with you on this! I take care of my vehicles as best I can. If something is bound to fail it will. I can only do so much prevention. I've been on trails (or middle of nowhere a couple of times with a breakdown or two) and any trail repairs help make it memorable. Fortunately I haven't experienced anything catastrophic that has left me stranded.