> Ron,
> The only reason I really worry about dropping the 109s rear end coming
> off ledges is that it's a SW and therefore has the fuel tank there. If
> yours is a 109 reg. you shouldn't have that worry. I've dropped mine
> pretty hard and not damaged anything at the rear end. If you go slowly
> enough--easing off ledges w/ the wheels almost locked, you can easily
> scrape off anything w/ no damage. I went off some really tall drops at
> Moab.
My chin still has the scar from dropping the rear end two feet onto a rock.
I had my head stuck out the window to see if my tire was about to fall off
the rock and the wheels slipped, and the truck went down on the rock. Bang,
cut my chin on the doortop, had to drive through the rest of the trail with
a hand on my chin to stop the bleeding! My rear bumper is about 3" higher
(due to the weird chassis) than a civvy, more like a military, and I've got
nothing back there to worry about except the body work. It does get in the
way occasionally, even with 36" tires, and what has sagged to about 5" lift.
Actually, once you get good at it, it's a challenge to get in and out of
places that others think you will get stuck in, or will be too
big/long/heavy to maneuver in. Most of my off-road companions are Suzuki
drivers or Jeeps, and I always get a kick of having them get all antsy when
my three different areas of the Land-Rover are in quasi-contact with
obstacles and I navigate through them. Valdez is called the "cement truck"
of the "school bus" by most of the locals. They just can't figure out why
it's so unstoppable.
Like I had said, stock to stock, the disco and rangie drivers are not on a
level playing field. The increased weight, smaller tires and higher CG all
work to make the coilers incapable of following a series. Of course, there
are more mods to be done to a coiler as there is a very small market for
bolt on leafer mods, but I'd argue that even modified to modified, the
series rig wins as it's lighter, narrower, and has an excellent set of
breakover/approach/departure angles.
J-L
_______________________________________________
LRO mailing list
LRO@land-rover.team.net
http://land-rover.team.net/mailman/listinfo/lro
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Tue Mar 11 2003 - 13:26:31 EST