StreetsofCompton
Adventurer
A little overwhelming... The Loco build thread
Some of you guys chimed in with great advice on a thread I created about a week and a half ago, on test driving and hopefully buying a LR3. The good news is that I will be the proud owner of an '06 Black/Black HSE, next Wednesday (seller is in Puerto Rico until late weekend). I feel like I've spent a good amount of time on this forum, as well as a few others trying to learn as much as I can about this great vehicle and overlanding/expo in general. But here is where I'm getting hung up. I feel completely overwhelmed by the variety and options to build up my new rig. I have no desire to "keep up with joneses", I just want to make sure that I add the essentials for how I see the LR being used for my family. I'll start a numbered list with all the things to keep in mind/consideration, and I'd love to hear some thoughts on what you seasoned vets think are essentials as opposed to "would be nice to have".
1. The main reason I wanted to get an LR is so that my family(wife and 16mo son) and I can begin going camping, specifically "renegade or backcountry camping". This was something my family didn't do at all when I was a kid, but I've always had a thing for exploring and adventure. I realize you don't need an LR to go camping, but the whole idea of having a vehicle that is as versatile and capable as the LR3, was a huge selling point for me and also my wife. Part of her agreeing to it, was the fact that it has a spacious 3rd row. I see us going on 2-3 day camping trips at the most, at least for the next year.
2. Not only are we new to camping, but "off-roading" as well. This could very well change once I actually have the vehicle, but I don't plan on taking it off-road, just for off-roading sake. The goal is to have to navigate stuff, and get it dirty as part of the exploration and finding a remote place to camp. Rock-crawling as a hobby does not appeal to me.
3. It will be a DD for one of us as well. How important is the self-recovery type stuff, mods "for reliability" as I saw someone(can't remember who or on what forum) say (ie Breather mod for Front differential, dual battery setup, etc). I'm finding it hard to justify spending another 6-10k+ on mods if the stuff isn't vital to a successful camping/mild exploration vehicle. I'd be okay to spend a bit of cash if things truly are necessary, and I just can't tell what those are right now.
4. Upgrading the tires are a given, but even that doesn't feel simple. stock 19's on the truck now, is it really worth trying to find 18's just for a slight improvement in off-road performance and slightly better gas mileage? Reading a bunch on that specific topic, it seemed like more of an issue before better tire options were available for 19's (ie. Cooper Zeon LTZ).
5. Adding rods (johnson, sasquatch, toddco), seems a tad risky to me. It appears there are plenty of people who have added them and had no issues at all, and others who have had severe problems. I'm VERY risk adverse when it comes to changing things up mechanically too much.
6. How would you optimize a daily driver, without compromising the 3rd row & cargo space to setup a "short-term camping/exploration" rig? What are the vital mods and tools?
Thank you in advance for your patience and willingness to help a new guy navigate this stuff.
Some of you guys chimed in with great advice on a thread I created about a week and a half ago, on test driving and hopefully buying a LR3. The good news is that I will be the proud owner of an '06 Black/Black HSE, next Wednesday (seller is in Puerto Rico until late weekend). I feel like I've spent a good amount of time on this forum, as well as a few others trying to learn as much as I can about this great vehicle and overlanding/expo in general. But here is where I'm getting hung up. I feel completely overwhelmed by the variety and options to build up my new rig. I have no desire to "keep up with joneses", I just want to make sure that I add the essentials for how I see the LR being used for my family. I'll start a numbered list with all the things to keep in mind/consideration, and I'd love to hear some thoughts on what you seasoned vets think are essentials as opposed to "would be nice to have".
1. The main reason I wanted to get an LR is so that my family(wife and 16mo son) and I can begin going camping, specifically "renegade or backcountry camping". This was something my family didn't do at all when I was a kid, but I've always had a thing for exploring and adventure. I realize you don't need an LR to go camping, but the whole idea of having a vehicle that is as versatile and capable as the LR3, was a huge selling point for me and also my wife. Part of her agreeing to it, was the fact that it has a spacious 3rd row. I see us going on 2-3 day camping trips at the most, at least for the next year.
2. Not only are we new to camping, but "off-roading" as well. This could very well change once I actually have the vehicle, but I don't plan on taking it off-road, just for off-roading sake. The goal is to have to navigate stuff, and get it dirty as part of the exploration and finding a remote place to camp. Rock-crawling as a hobby does not appeal to me.
3. It will be a DD for one of us as well. How important is the self-recovery type stuff, mods "for reliability" as I saw someone(can't remember who or on what forum) say (ie Breather mod for Front differential, dual battery setup, etc). I'm finding it hard to justify spending another 6-10k+ on mods if the stuff isn't vital to a successful camping/mild exploration vehicle. I'd be okay to spend a bit of cash if things truly are necessary, and I just can't tell what those are right now.
4. Upgrading the tires are a given, but even that doesn't feel simple. stock 19's on the truck now, is it really worth trying to find 18's just for a slight improvement in off-road performance and slightly better gas mileage? Reading a bunch on that specific topic, it seemed like more of an issue before better tire options were available for 19's (ie. Cooper Zeon LTZ).
5. Adding rods (johnson, sasquatch, toddco), seems a tad risky to me. It appears there are plenty of people who have added them and had no issues at all, and others who have had severe problems. I'm VERY risk adverse when it comes to changing things up mechanically too much.
6. How would you optimize a daily driver, without compromising the 3rd row & cargo space to setup a "short-term camping/exploration" rig? What are the vital mods and tools?
Thank you in advance for your patience and willingness to help a new guy navigate this stuff.
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