Well that's the thing. It's going to be a once in a life time trip. I'll probably take 2 months in all to get there. Hit other trails along the way.

My D2 has a long way to go as well. Over the next years I'll be getting it ready for this trip. Since I'll be driving there, It still has to be fairly efficient on the road... I'm not going to drive a Rock crawler all the way to Nevada. But if the crowds are that bad I might not even bother with the Rubicon.

 

Stock. Really. You'll get advice otherwise from lots of people that put heavy springs and 30's and drove trails a couple times a year for a couple years and say that it worked despite the fact that their experience wasn't exactly problem-free. The fact is, there are far more people that put a cosmetic lift and tires on their rover, have problems and sell it after a few years than there are real veterans of the trail that have had a rover offroad more than once a month, year after year for many years. Even the guys on the Internet with heavily modified rovers... do they actually get off road more than a few times a year? And then they spend countless hours working on them.

Driving a rover from off the street over 5000 miles (round trip) to do a hard-rock trail is a formula for disaster. Even a trail veteran like Bill Burke with a heavily-proven D90 is still going to trailer it, and bring all his tools.

It's not that the Rubicon is such a hard trail or that it should be regarded as so intimidating. It's not. Some guy will do it in a vw bug to prove it's not. But most people have a unrealistic concept of what a typical 4x4 can do. Their concept is based on an emotional response to very short term performance, and all the trappings of the romantic image built around 4x4 adventure.

On the Discovery you need diff guards and heavy-duty steering rods (drag link and tie rod). A better gas tank skid plate is a good idea too. If you have a stock-height vehicle, then maybe a front skid plate but on a lifted rover you just need the diff guard and a tie rod that won't tweak so easily.

You need "sliders" but they should protect the rocker panels from rocks underneath as well as the doors from rocks to the side with 'nerf' bars or 'tree' bars or whatever you want to call them.

That's the minimum. I haven't seen a full-body rover built with a lot of protection like for the t-case or the driveshafts or anything like that. Maybe there's buggy builds that do more of that but if you're going to be hanging up the t-case on the rocks, you'll probably lose the doors before that.

 

I noticed that the transfer case was really high on the LR anyway. I would imagine this was pre-meditated by LR designers. I see many little nuances like this although their design. These little things really add up.

Thanks for your opinion. I'm now starting to wonder if there's a trail near were I live that I can experience the same style driving as the Rubi?

 

You won't find anything like the Rubicon on the east coast really. There are some trails at the Cove and Rausch creek that have similar obstacles, but none like it.

 

that does it............I'm trading this gas guzzling brick for a bug...beep beep

 

Why dont you check out some Winter Romp videos on youtube and see if it appeals to you. You could always take a nice trip through New England and New York regions. Lots of Land Rovers and a handful of LR off-road events throughout the year. Contact Lucky 8 Im sure they can also point out some dam good trails in the New York area.



One thing I will suggest is that you also order afew extra "spare parts" for the trip. Do some research and determine which parts are most likely to break during off-road expeditions, and stock up. Maybe a extra complete tie rod kit, or an extra driveshaft. Extra steering damper. 2 full size spare tires etc. Make sure to bring all your tools to. DOnt forget emergency gear for YOU (Food, blankets, matches, flares, water proof clothing and boots, gloves). Anticipate the worst case scenario and be prepared to have a blast! Good luck to you.


PS: Forgot all about the Vermont Overland Trophy!

 

Both of those events were great BTW

 

That is where a tow rig comes into play. I know many guys who have trail rigs and then a Ram 3500 or a F-250 to pull their toys around to save on gas.

 

Haha okay E, $2250 in gas and an extra $200 in tolls for the extra axles

 

Ouch!

Well, I live about 1 hour away from the trail. I've done it one time in a stock Toyota. Definitely body damage...

I can tell you for a fact that the front and rear bumpers will be an issue on your stock DII. I also run a stock DII, and I would NEVER consider taking it on the Rubicon. There's just not enough clearance. There are parts that I'm not sure it would even make, even if you wanted to allow major body damage. It really needs better tires, more front and rear (approach angle) clearance, and maybe a slight lift to get the middle off some boulders.

Other than that, if you ever do decide to do the trail, let me know. I'd love to come up and meet you and take some great photos to share on the forums.