LR2 Off-roading resources
October 29 2011Filed under: freelander land-rover lr2 off-roading
Earlier I said just about nobody takes an LR2 off-roading. That's almost true. In my research I haven't found a single private owner who's off-roaded an LR2 in North America (outside of the Land Rover experience schools). However once I started searching for the LR2's european sibling, the Freelander 2, I found a number of private off-roaders. The Freelander II was also used in the G4 competition and the Camel Trophy cup.
For those of you who are thinking about off-roading a LR2, here are some useful resources:
- Freel2's off-roading forum. This is a new forum dedicated to off-roading in the LR2 (American) /Freelander 2 (rest of the world). Since it's so new there isn't a lot of content yet (about 20 threads) but the community is friendly and knowledgable.
- Topix. There is no maintenance / repair manual for the LR2. Instead all vehicle specifications, diagnostic information, part removal & installation steps, etc are covered in detail on their website. A pricey subscription is required. It'll set you back about $15-30 for the day or a few hundred bucks for the year (depending on your required level of access). This is very helpful if you plan on modifying your LR2 and is a great resource for detailed specifications. This resource helped me understand the true wading depth of the LR2 by helping locate air intake lines and the location of the vehicle's electrical components.
- G4 forum. This is the G4 owners club forum. G4 vehicles generally set the bar for aggressive off-road LR2 modifications (though they claim they limit mods to "bolt-on" accessories). Past mods have included a raised air intake and a front-mount winch (both for the original Freelander). The LR2/Freelander II G4 modification spec sheet is listed on their site (pdf). Modifications that I'm planning on porting to my LR2 include the rear access ladder (see photo), rear skid plate (also called rear exhaust guard), and I'm also considering the roof rack / lamp guards.
- Terrain response system. Land rover's terrain response is a bit of a black art. Questions I struggled to answer: does turning off DSC affect braking during wheelspin? (it doesn't) What is the gearing in Grass Gravel Snow mode? (Low RPMs and high gearing; vehicle always starts in second). This quick reference answers some of the questions I have or at least alludes to the answer.
And there are a number of non-land rover off-roading resources that I can recommend:
- RuggedGuide's youtube channel has two good clips on off-road recovery: snatch recovery and roping off. Other useful videos include air-lockers vs traction control, and four-wheel drive vs two-wheel drive. These and several other useful videos are in a useful youtube playlist on four-wheel driving. I haven't seen all the videos in this playlist but it looks solid.
- Backcountry adventures, Northern California. The same book is also available for Utah, Arizona, and Southern California. If you live near any of these areas, you need to own this book. It's a comprehensive guide to the trains in their respective areas.
I'll continue to update this page with new off-road resources as I find them. If I'm missing an amazing resource for LR2 off-roading (or an LR2 off-roading community) please email me: first_name@last_name.com
Sam Odio on the web: Crunchbase | Angellist | Linked In | Quora | Google+ | Github
About
Hi, I'm Sam Odio. I'm a snowboarder, off-roader, developer and a life-hacker.
I've worked on a bunch of different projects. My favorites have been a touch-screen controlled bus, a photo sharing site called Divvyshot, and Facebook Photos... more.