[phil.]

well this is what i did

 

[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.

 

[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.