Remote recovery; am I paranoid?

[GregMilner]

Should I distrust LR's Roadside Assistance program?

We're about to head north to the Kimberley, GRR and the Munja Track to Walcott Inlet. My D4's 3-year warranty expires on July 25, which is fine as we'll be home by then, but..

In spite of my previous excellent experience with LR Roadside Assist (they got my L322 and camper trailer out when a rear shockie expired on the Mitchell Falls track) I note with some concern the conditions attached in the PDS as follows:

To be eligible for Land Rover Roadside, your vehicle must have been sold and distributed by Land Rover Australia andmust be in a well maintained and sound mechanical and roadworthy condition. (it is.) The provision of benefits and services under Land Rover Roadside is subject to:
 Resources available in the area. (There won't be any resources available, except a tilt-tray truck called in from Kununurra or Broome, both a very long haul.)
 No vehicle modifications being made from the manufacturer’s factory specifications. (I have a long range tank fitted. Does that count?)
 Any circumstances beyond our control (including by not limited to extraordinary delays caused by extremeweather conditions such as snowfall and flooding)
 Circumstances reasonably considered to be a force majeure event
 Location being trafficable by a two-wheel-drive recovery vehicle. (Certainly won't be. The Gibb and certainly the Munja Track are 4WD only.)
 Severe traffic congestion (That's not going to be a problem.)
 Restricted Access Area requirements. (The Munja Track is a private track on Mt Elizabeth Station, accessible by paying a $100 gate fee.)

All of which begs the question, in the event of an electrical or mechanical breakdown rendering the car inoperable (eg another blown shock) would the above provisions give LR the perfect opportunity to say "sorry bud, you're on your own."?

Does anybody have any suggestions as to any roadside assist program that DOES give one more comfort?

Any relevant input appreciated.

[PeterJ]

Hi Greg, here is another thread with similar info that you are asking about. here
I asked the insurer a while ago about the caravan clause, they do not recover the van I am towing or anything else being towed but have decided to go with the LR Assist anyway, from the research I did I could not find anything that covered recovery if you are out in the middle of no where.

I will watch this with interest

Peter

[GregMilner]

Thanks Peter, I looked for a thread like that but couldn't find one.
I haven't yet seen anything better than LR assist, so will probably stay with that unless something better pops up, considering it's part of warranty anyway.

[Konradical]

I would suggest calling the customer care number and asking the question.

I asked the question about getting stuck on the CSR and they pretty much said they would do the best they could to get me or keep me going. Also quoted the PDS, but were reassuring about not being left to my own devices.

I rang LR assist to give them a heads up about the second failure of the EPB via sat phone in Kunawartrji (spelling?) and they were happy enough to recover it from there, but also happy enough for us to complete the trip if it didn't hinder us. Obviously the recorded call was there out clause if I tried to make a thing of an incident from a failed EPB.

Also a fair chunk of the GRR is accessible with a 2wd vehicle. Lots of trucks on it.

[DiscoMick]

I think you're okay. Do you have motoring association top cover as well?

[GregMilner]

I would suggest calling the customer care number and asking the question.

I asked the question about getting stuck on the CSR and they pretty much said they would do the best they could to get me or keep me going. Also quoted the PDS, but were reassuring about not being left to my own devices.

I rang LR assist to give them a heads up about the second failure of the EPB via sat phone in Kunawartrji (spelling?) and they were happy enough to recover it from there, but also happy enough for us to complete the trip if it didn't hinder us. Obviously the recorded call was there out clause if I tried to make a thing of an incident from a failed EPB.

Also a fair chunk of the GRR is accessible with a 2wd vehicle. Lots of trucks on it.

Thanks Konrad, yeah I'm not worried about the GRR itself, been up and down that several times. It's the gnarly Munja Track that'd be an issue if the car broke down badly.

[GregMilner]

I think you're okay. Do you have motoring association top cover as well?

No we don't Mick, and RACWA cover isn't worth having anyway. They'll cover you for only a 300km round trip with a tow-truck, that's all. The only time we've had to be recovered from the Kimberley (in my 2012 L322) was a 4,000km round trip, which LR Assist paid for, plus charter flights, accommodation etc. I worked out it cost them about $30,000 all up.
But I don't really want to count on them doing that twice:-)

[justinc]

Greg, after watching a couple of those vids , namely some of the rocky jump up action, i'd be taking a rental 78 series troopy in there...😁. Not your car, not your damage.....

[roverrescue]

It was 2016 when I did the Munja in a hire lowlux
With a mate in his rodeo/Bt50/ranger chicks Ute thing.

We had three spare tyres (used em all) and bent the chassis on the chicks Ute
(Coming down a rock step)

It is one long rocky mofo of a track and in The last week of October quite hot and dry!

In any case my ramblings aside, the only recovery you will have on that track is what you can muster yourself. It would take a few days but you could dead drag a vehicle out with some winching and swearing. But there is no recovery service that can get through those rock gardens. Even if a service like the Simpson Deaert recovery vehicle existed I doubt it would have much fun getting to you on that track!

I suggest you roll the dice - go and just know if Mr Bad comes to visit you’ll be having an adventure dragging a carcass of a vehicle out to the station.

Take spare tyres and a way to bush repair gashed sidewalls. Don’t rush - just acknowledge it’s going to take 12 hours to get to Walcott.

Have fun and I’m happy to give any specific details / Barra fishing tips if you want

Steve

[justinc]

Steve it certainly screams locked defender and 12 ply tyres to me....😬😁