North America Overland: Southern Utah and The Arizona Strip NEW LAND ROVER DEFENDER

[one_iota]

Interesting take from a North American who has a Land Rover Defender history.

North America Overland: Southern Utah and The Arizona Strip NEW LAND ROVER DEFENDER OFF ROAD! - YouTube (https://youtu.be/2SYqgbw0Nrw)

One of the good things to come out of the new Defender is the perspective and experience that the US drivers and accessory designers can now bring.

Some points of interest are the suspension lift rods (2" PROUD RHINO LIFT RODS for NEW DEFENDER – Lucky8 Off Road (https://lucky8llc.com/products/2in-proud-rhino-lift-rods)), Duratrac sidewall failures, the auxiliary battery install and its performance with the smart alternator.

[SBD4]

Interesting take from a North American who has a Land Rover Defender history.

North America Overland: Southern Utah and The Arizona Strip NEW LAND ROVER DEFENDER OFF ROAD! - YouTube (https://youtu.be/2SYqgbw0Nrw)

One of the good things to come out of the new Defender is the perspective and experience that the US drivers and accessory designers can now bring.

Some points of interest are the suspension lift rods (2" PROUD RHINO LIFT RODS for NEW DEFENDER – Lucky8 Off Road (https://lucky8llc.com/products/2in-proud-rhino-lift-rods)), Duratrac sidewall failures, the auxiliary battery install and its performance with the smart alternator.
There's some spectacular scenery in that. Especially at the end. He's a lot braver than me, way to much loose gravel near the edge for my liking!:no2:

There's no doubt about the vehicles capabilities but the tyre situation is a problem. You would think after experiencing what he did, he would have at least purchased an extra carcass just in case. 22PSI was too low, 26 min I would have thought - he did well to get up that rocky hill at 35PSI that's for sure. Personally, I think going to 33's with a stronger sidewall instead the duratracs with 1" lift rods would have been a better option.

[one_iota]

There's some spectacular scenery in that. Especially at the end. He's a lot braver than me, way to much loose gravel near the edge for my liking!:no2:

There's no doubt about the vehicles capabilities but the tyre situation is a problem. You would think after experiencing what he did, he would have at least purchased an extra carcass just in case. 22PSI was too low, 26 min I would have thought - he did well to get up that rocky hill at 35PSI that's for sure. Personally, I think going to 33's with a stronger sidewall instead of the duratracs with 1" lift rods would have been a better option.

I'd have to say that the sort of driving the host did on this trip is what I like to do. Relatively fast long distances on dry corrugated roads with varying degrees of soft and hard (The Great Central Road from Leonora WA to Kata Juta NT) combined with more technical bits needed to get to the sights. (Not to mention interminable stretches of sealed roads to get there). So I watched that with interest.

I was surprised by the apparent weakness of the Duratracs notwithstanding the tyre pressures. I'm used to BFG ATs that seem to be tolerant of that stuff. Both are called LT (Light Truck).

The auxiliary battery location was interesting. The charging system probably wasn't suited to smart alternators.

[TB]

I'd have to say that the sort of driving the host did on this trip is what I like to do. Relatively fast long distances on dry corrugated roads with varying degrees of soft and hard (The Great Central Road from Leonora WA to Kata Juta NT) combined with more technical bits needed to get to the sights. (Not to mention interminable stretches of sealed roads to get there). So I watched that with interest.

100%! I was wishing I could be in that video the whole time.


I was surprised by the apparent weakness of the Duratracs notwithstanding the tyre pressures. I'm used to BFG ATs that seem to be tolerant of that stuff.

Yep. Namibia press drives also suffered numerous punctures on the Duratracs. Mind you... the 4WD247 trip to the Kimberley recently showed that some tracks just chew up even the toughest of tyres.


The auxiliary battery location was interesting. The charging system probably wasn't suited to smart alternators.

Yeah he basically was using an isolator. A DCDC is mandatory in these new vehicles.

[JessicaTam]

<snip>

The auxiliary battery location was interesting. The charging system probably wasn't suited to smart alternators.
That's where I am thinking of putting my second battery. Once a drawer unit is in place I won't be able to use it for any other storage.

[jon3950]

I wouldn't read too much into his tyre failures. We didn't see what happened in either case. They could have just been a bit of bad luck or poor wheel placement.

It was his first time out in his new Defender and it is quite likely he just wasn't used to managing the 18"s after driving on 16"s. They do need to be treated differently to 16"s with regard to pressures and take a little getting used to. I'm sure if you search the net you'll find examples of most tyres having problems. For example the most problems I've had with staked sidewalls have been with 16" BFG ATs. This is due to running them so much and no reflection on the tyre. I never had a problem staking sidewalls when running 19"s on the D4 (punctured treads on the other hand...) with similar usage, but I would never say the 19" Coopers were stronger then the 16" BFGs. There are plenty of examples on here of D4s running 18"s without significant problems.

While I much prefer running on 16"s I would have no problem running 18"s on a touring vehicle. I personally wouldn't want to go bigger than 18" but I wouldn't let that put me off buying a new Defender. You just need to get used to them.

Cheers,
Jon