I've seen a few threads recently about highway driving and even a gentleman that took his defender to Baja, but has anyone else done a long-distance trip?

My wife and I are itching to get out of the house but are still hesitant to fly and are planning a road trip this summer. We're planning to drive from our home in Orlando to the Grand Canyon and back (with a few days in Moab and Denver sprinkled in). Round-trip, it should be about ~5,500 miles accounting for sightseeing and other excursions.

Has anyone done a long trip like this? If so, how did your defender perform and what did you do to prep? Interested in hearing about any experience or advice.

 

Check out this on youtube. Doug DeMuro does car reviews and personally purchased a Defender 110 and took it on a 7,000 mile coast to coast trip.

 

Check out Doug Demuro on Youtube for a cross country trip review of his 110

 

I've done a 2,200 trip from Denver-Tucson and some stops along the way. The Defender did great, able to do 85mph for hours on the highway then tackle some desert trails capably, its designed just for that...offering highway comfort + great offroadability. We averaged 19mpg on the highway portion.

In terms of prep, no different than a long road trip in any other car...know how to change a tire and other basic roadside needs, be prepared to scrape baseball-sized bugs off the flat front of the vehicle and upright windshield, otherwise bring along some good company, some patience, and an atlas especially out West where cell service can be a luxury!

 

We've only done some short weekend trips to a neighboring state so far, though it's been comfy/capable in varied weather so far.

We'll do a longer(ish - for us at least) trip in a few weeks down to the beach and back (about 8 hours each way give or take, followed by beach and dunes driving for the week). Probably gonna be a lot more comfy than my beloved wrangler.

 

Yes, I just finished a 7k mile road trip (Atlanta-Seattle with some detours and back to Atlanta) I also towed a 6.5k lb, two axle trailer full of furniture etc on my return trip and it did stellar (trailer didn’t have brakes but Defender was more than enough). No issues although I did get a crack in my windshield. Went through the Texas snowpocolypse and the Defender was unstoppable. My only advice is get a clear bra, rock chips are depressing and inevitable.

 

Elbobo - what color is your Defender? Is that Tasmin blue or Eiger grey? It's amazing how color hues can vary so much based on lighting conditions. It looks great!

 

its Tasmin. Love it, it’s my favorite color for the Defender.

 

That's the color I just ordered - but with the white roof and white steelies.

Back in the day Series Landrovers only came in green and blue, rarely off white/cream. Tasman blue is closest to the "original" blue color I remember. I wish Keswick green or similar was available

 

That's fantastic. I also have Tasmin Blue on order (w/white roof), but typically see it in bright sunlight. When I saw Elbobo's original photos I thought "oh no.. I should've perhaps gone with Eiger grey". Glad to see they are one and the same!