Yeah, I suppose I meant first half of Covid thus far…lol!

You definitely seem very knowledgeable and willing to be able to mitigate the know issues that can cause EAS failure. Others may go, “who needs the headache?” and choose coils to have one thing less to worry about on the trail. That’s what the greater discussion in this series is about; choosing what’s best for the individual. All too often we see folks buying or modifying to the extent of what they think is right, because they see others doing it, not what’s necessarily right for them.

On the locker: That WOULD be a great video. Lots of our other (non-LR) vehicles have lockers and we love them but both our LR3’s don’t; beggars can’t be choosers as a non-profit! We entertained installing one that we could have positive control over vs. the computer engaging it but really haven’t had any issues with the terrain types we’ve been tackling. I’m sure it would assist in making some of the driving easier and would be interested to where this line is.

 

Not to hi jack and kind of off topic but extremely weird that over the weekend I found your YouTube channel Military Mobility and it caught my eye because I'm a marine and there were landcovers. So obviously I watched. lol
Then today I get on here and your introducing yourself. That to me is not coincidence. Regardless good luck in your endeavors.

 

Too funny! Thanks Scoutrover, looks like we’re finally starting to gain some traction! Thanks for your service and for checking us out.

So I’m teaching a surveillance detection course to the gov right now and the gospel is; once is chance, twice is coincidence, and three times is surveillance. So looks like this is just coincidence lol!

Thanks for your patriotism and support, Brian

*also wanted to add one of our Board of Directors is a recently retired 28 year Force Recon Col. Great guy

 

You're right. Different owners may have other priorities and that's totally fair as long as they are educated and know the pros/cons, which it sounds like is the objective of your video, so good on you!

Only thing I've observed is that the HD vehicles do things somewhat easier and differently than the open diff vehicles. My '05 (with the locker) almost never uses traction control. My '06 on the other hand engages 4ETC all the time.

 

Hey Brian, I checked out your Episode 1 video. I like the production quality. I sense a bias against the EAS already. Maybe it's because I'm anti-coiler. idk, but I'll stay tuned and see how it shakes out. Webb saying "the air is great...WHEN it works" is what I'd point to for the anti-EAS bias. Honestly, when have you or Webb ever had the EAS not work on the trail? I have put hundreds of hours on the trail, in either of my LR3s and only once have I had the type of suspension failure that rendered it unusable, and even then I raised it, pulled fuses and got out of there. With fuses pulled, the EAS is as good as a coiler, you just lose the cross-linking. For the overlanding section, I hope that gets touched on!

I am not sure what Webb is talking about with the tire size for Goodyear v Cooper. For that size, Cooper's site shows the OD as 32.28" and Goodyear's site shows the OD as 32.3" so that is negligible. Interestingly, when I bought my Coopers, the OD was shown as 32.6" so maybe that changed in the last few years. (I'm talking about Discoverer STT Pros; not sure which Cooper tire you folks were referring to).

Anyway....looking forward to the next episode!

 

Hi, thanks for checking Episode 1 out today! Yes our videographer and editor Aaron (a veteran himself) worked closely with us in the military to capture all the action in training; to create courses for continued learning and to share/ disseminate information. He does an incredible job and is one of the hardest working guys I know!

I'd ask that you stick with the series; we've really strived to give a an objective comparison, as we own both vehicles, use them constantly in our courses, and are not endorsed by anybody. Webb as a certified Land Rover driving instructor, and master trainer to the top tier Special Operations branches, essentially lives in the field and puts in more miles than anyone I know; and I've done a lot myself! He's had the EAS fail in the field, and I've had it fail both at home on paved roads and in the field.

I believe it's important to note that even though there are troubleshooting methods to fall back on that can get you out of the field; such as the mention of pulling fuses, etc. that is still a "failure" of the system. Now there are different levels of failure with the EAS, depending on what goes wrong, that of course will require different levels of troubleshooting or field repairs to remedy. From a theoretical standpoint; if a driver is skilled and educated enough, nothing should ever render his/ her vehicle unusable, as there is always a repair that can be made; now in a practical sense it's just whether or not the actual driver has the know how, preparedness, and willingness to complete such a task. Reality is some do, some don't. Our intent is for folks to take a good honest look at their intended vehicle use, level of commitment, know what they are potentially getting themselves into, and give them "tools" to succeed. On a larger scale that's what we teach at our courses.

As for the tires, my math has 275/65/R18 translate to a 32.07" tire. What Webb was saying is that the Coopers of the same size are a few 1/8's to 1/4" smaller than the Goodyears we have so that if the EAS fails and is dropped to the bumpstops, it can still drive; whereas any tire that is bigger will be rendered immobile until a deliberate repair of some type is made. So roughly anything at a maximum of true 32" or smaller will be good to drive even with failure.

Thanks for all the conversation, fun stuff and talk soon!

 

What I hate about comparisons is when people downgrade EAS over what "could" go wrong. Well springs can snap and I have seen plenty of leaf springs break. So as long as these videos only concentrate on real world abilities and not BS their way into "but what if..." then they should be good. Otherwise they are like all the other comparisons done and if there is even a hint of that, as already seems to be mentioned above, thumbs down and total failure.

edit: And obviously these two trucks both have brand new suspension systems and BOTH must be OEM otherwise again....

 

Brian, what do you mean by "your math" exactly? If you guys measured tires of that size from each manufacturer, you should state that. I fully understand what Webb was saying in the video; it's like looking at shoe sizes. A Nike and an Adidas sneaker both size 11 might not be exactly the same length and width. The numbers I cite above are from each manufacturer's website. I would presume that they have made measurements of OD. If you guys have that's also good data. Just curious.

I'm a Rover Geek and an Engineer. I am going to challenge everything. So far so good, though...I enjoyed the first video, please don't take my comments as negative. It's just good friendly banter.

Oh, and to Dakota's point above, I have seen a coil spring FALL OUT of a Range Rover P38 climbing a hill with a section that led to massive articulation. Took about an hour to gerry-rig a fix and get the spring back in, at which point the P38 had to gingerly back down the hill. Everyone else (D2, FJ Cruiser, another LR3) got cold feet after that. I said 'screw it' and drove it; LR3 walked right up. EAS takes the W in that one. I was on a trail in Oregon, and some Jeep had lost a leaf spring ahead of us, causing a big backup on the single-track trail. He managed to cobble something together and get out of everyone's way. Again I walked through that trail without breaking a sweat. Dub!

Here is that hill climb, for fun:

 

Hello Dakota Travler; I'd ask you to watch our other LR3 videos on YouTube as well as the series and let us know what you think afterwards. But if it's not for you that's ok too.

From all the training I've received, and taught, learning what "could happen" and being prepared for it has kept me both alive and successful. In the SEAL Teams, we learn by collective knowledge, meaning learning from others experiences and not just your own. So if we're mentioning to the (audience) that this or that could happen, it's based on either first hand experience (both Webb and I have experienced multiple levels of failures with the EAS) or what my teammates have experienced. Our aim is to share our observations, both the upsides and downsides, with those that are interested.

 

Oh I love the conversation with you! Both fun and informative.

When I was saying my math, was just referring to doing the calculation from metric to inches on any number of online tire calculators; the results are either 32.07" or 32.08" depending on which website you go to.

Great vid! These rigs, and their drivers (lol!), are amazing!