[scottc]

I have been on this forum for a couple years and have benefited from the advice and information that all have posted. Now it's time for me to solicit some advice / suggestions.
I have an 07 RRS Supercharged, Lucky8 rocks sliders, and Nitto Tera Grapplers on 20" wheels provide the needed traction for offroad. I live in the SF Bay Area, and use my vehicle for exploring off highway and and the sites you don't see from the tourist spots, Moab last year, Tahoe frequently (year around trips, but mostly for skiing, and then the occasional OHV Park for fun.
I love my RRS, its great, however a bit expensive, bushings, brakes, etc, now I have to replace both cat converters, and just replaced the air pump. At 110k miles, I'm sure there will be more. I also would like to get a little more technical off-road experience, Rubicon, Dusy, etc. I usually see vehicles that start with the letter J on these trails, but refuse to believe that Rovers can't conquer them as well.

My question to you all:
1) Keep my sport and suck up the cost. Suggestions? Change out the air suspension? Somehow get a winch and secondary air compressor installed.
2) Pick up a used Disco and build it. If so what model / year are preferred. Criteria would be availability of aftermarket parts, cost of said parts, reliability, comfort (as 80% of the time the vehicle is on smooth road getting to the amazing off pavement locations), etc. I would love a Defender (as I'm sure we all would) however, not in my price range at this time.
3) Buy one of those J vehicles

Thanks for your comments and suggestions.

 

[phil.]

well this is what i did

 

[PJPR01]

Phil!!!! You've been keeping a secret here!!! D90 in the House!!!

 

[gooseyloosey]

I'm beginning to come to the conclusion that as much as I sometimes enjoy the "can you believe a street going vehicle can do this?" moments, that I much prefer something like this.

I'm on the EC though and may have a different outlook on this offroading thing.

 

[PJPR01]

Well...that one would float if you get floods again up in Vermont! Just tether the winch to a tree and come back after the floods are gone! Sort of an ode to that old movie with the Bushman and the Land Rover Series which got pulled up a tree!

 

[phil.]

Phil!!!! You've been keeping a secret here!!! D90 in the House!!!

Got it a little over a month ago. Didn't even let anyone in NCLR know until I showed up at our Annual Event two weeks ago in it while the wife drove the RRS. A world of difference wheeling the D90 vs RRS.

 

[aernan]

That movie is called the gods must be crazzy

 

[PJPR01]

Thank you...that's the one! I couldn't remember the name...great movie!!

 

[Canrover]

Scott,


I say keep the Sport because I'm an off road poser and claim to off road 6 months out of the year during the Canadian winters. Now, if I was in your shoes, with the amount of off-roading you do I would ask myself; "Which vehicle is more reliable long term and can handle the punishment?" I absolutely HATE the look of any Jeep but I hear that they are quite reliable. Note that I have NEVER sat in or had any experience in owning or being friends with an owner of a Jeep so take that with a grain of salt

 

[aernan]

If the choice is between a disco and a sport then your repair and maintenance costs are both governed by Land Rover (parts) and whomever does your repairs. If you plan on doing more technical off road driving then you must expect you will start breaking things as you try harder stuff. It's part of the sport.

If you enjoy getting unstuck and doing field repairs then extreme off roading is perfect. At that point most people build a trail rig and tow it to the trailhead. This opens up the possibilities of modifying your downer vehicle in ways that would make it unsafe or uncomfortable on the highway. Also when you do munch it good you can simple drag it back to your trailer and tow it back home.

If instead you prefer to explore wherever you can safely go the Rover is really the perfect vehicle because it has enough off road capabilities to get you most places while at the same time being comfortable on the highway for long distance driving.

I have a good friend who had I convinced to buy a P38 just like I had. We both did some wheeling then he got frustrated with the repair costs and bought a Jeep Rubicon. He then had it built up with a lift, gears, bumpers, rack. etc. We took a long trip out to Moab. When we got there we did some trails but he didn't want to really push the rig because it was his daily driver. After that trip we both agreed that the truck was a bit small for 3 people on a long trip and he bought a BMW X5 which is a perfect daily driver.

Me on the other hand I just bought a RRS and am now in the process of adding off road parts so I can go wheeling again. I plan on doing some technical trails but nothing too extreme where I could total the truck. At some point I would really like to have a short wheelbase diesel off road truck that is dedicated just for off roading. Like you I'm waiting for the release of the new Defender Diesel.

 

[phil.]

I have been on this forum for a couple years and have benefited from the advice and information that all have posted. Now it's time for me to solicit some advice / suggestions.
I have an 07 RRS Supercharged, Lucky8 rocks sliders, and Nitto Tera Grapplers on 20" wheels provide the needed traction for offroad. I live in the SF Bay Area, and use my vehicle for exploring off highway and and the sites you don't see from the tourist spots, Moab last year, Tahoe frequently (year around trips, but mostly for skiing, and then the occasional OHV Park for fun.
I love my RRS, its great, however a bit expensive, bushings, brakes, etc, now I have to replace both cat converters, and just replaced the air pump. At 110k miles, I'm sure there will be more. I also would like to get a little more technical off-road experience, Rubicon, Dusy, etc. I usually see vehicles that start with the letter J on these trails, but refuse to believe that Rovers can't conquer them as well.

My question to you all:
1) Keep my sport and suck up the cost. Suggestions? Change out the air suspension? Somehow get a winch and secondary air compressor installed.
2) Pick up a used Disco and build it. If so what model / year are preferred. Criteria would be availability of aftermarket parts, cost of said parts, reliability, comfort (as 80% of the time the vehicle is on smooth road getting to the amazing off pavement locations), etc. I would love a Defender (as I'm sure we all would) however, not in my price range at this time.
3) Buy one of those J vehicles

Thanks for your comments and suggestions.

scottc - after re-reading your original post, the first thing you mention is cost and the things you cite are less about a vehicle you're offroading and more about an aging vehicle with costly repairs piling up. is ongoing cost your primary concern? things will break no matter what vehicle you're wheeling, but in theory, you should be able to save on repair costs by DIY on a disco/D90. for me, i don't wanna be paying someone to always fix my D90 so part of my decision to buy was also the intention to DIY when i can.

as far as more technical offroading, sounds like you're reaching the limits of the RRS. for the rubicon or the dusy, i'd opt for building up a disco or RRC as i wouldn't risk damage to my RRS/D90.

it's really about tradeoffs. obviously the RRS is way more comfortable and capable off the lot. i'd rather take the RRS on longer trips. wheeling the D90 is an entirely different adventure. with only CDL and low range, i got hung up on a few places i knew the RRS would easily crawl up (and the LR3s did). i'm admittedly very green with wheeling the D90 and have a lot to learn before i'm ready to be more aggressive than i am with the RRS.

i would actually recommend wheeling any of the vehicles you're thinking about to get some first hand experience to get a good idea of what's most important to you.

 

[PowerBroker]

Awesome pickup on the D90!

Will you be selling the parts off the RSS? The sliders, perhaps??!?!

 

[scottc]

Thank you all for the feedback, seems like the general consensus is stick with the sport. I'm cool with that... now just I need to figure out how to stuff a winch in there somewhere, I know my buddy back in Virginia did it on his supercharged.