For those that offroad their LR4...a few questions before I pull the trigger

[mbw]

How did you trim the gas plate?

Torch? Angle grinder?

I used my dremel tool with a regular little metal cutting disc. Not the fastest or best way. Next time I have the skid off I am going to use a grinder and clean it up. I just cut part way through and then bent it back and forth until it snapped off. you can see its a little jagged in my pictures back a few pages. It would have been faster to just take it off and cut it properly though. It will work for now. I have a trip with possibly some interesting off roading coming up in a week and I wanted to just get it done.

 

[iSurfvilano]

I used my dremel tool with a regular little metal cutting disc. Not the fastest or best way. Next time I have the skid off I am going to use a grinder and clean it up. I just cut part way through and then bent it back and forth until it snapped off. you can see its a little jagged in my pictures back a few pages. It would have been faster to just take it off and cut it properly though. It will work for now. I have a trip with possibly some interesting off roading coming up in a week and I wanted to just get it done.

Spoke to Eric at TR, he's awesome. He eyed up your photo of what you cut and along with your feedback you gave me he is going to take the plasma torch and cut the back end off so it's straight...about .25" off the mount tube so it looks like it was meant to be. Thanks again for the input...I love this forum, you guys are great.

 

[ryanjl]

Looks like Lucky8 has an aluminum gas tank skid now.

https://www.lucky8llc.com/products/proud-rhino-lr3-lr4-gas-tank-skid-plate

 

[mbw]

Looks like Lucky8 has an aluminum gas tank skid now.

https://www.lucky8llc.com/products/proud-rhino-lr3-lr4-gas-tank-skid-plate

And it looks like me to be the most lazy possible design. Absolutely pancake flat. No drainage, no ribbing, one little bend at one end. I'd be curious if it flexes when you actually put the weight of the lr4 on it... doesn't look that tough to me.

 

[iSurfvilano]

Looks like Lucky8 has an aluminum gas tank skid now.

https://www.lucky8llc.com/products/proud-rhino-lr3-lr4-gas-tank-skid-plate

I was looking at that one as well. It's a 25lb difference between the tactical rover steel plate and this aluminum one, and $17 more for the TR plate. The TR ones are metalized and painted.

 

[ryanjl]

What drainage does it need? If it's flat, no water or other fluid is going to pool up anywhere.

The only other aluminum option I know of is the prospeed, which, I guess has a few pieces to make it more rigid, but not much.

http://prospeed-group.co.uk/product/discovery-3-and-4-centre-guard/

I think the idea of an aluminum skid is a compromise, no matter what. Lightness, in exchange for strength. (By that same token, though, steel is a compromise as well).

 

[ryanjl]

I was looking at that one as well. It's a 25lb difference between the tactical rover steel plate and this aluminum one, and $17 more for the TR plate. The TR ones are metalized and painted.

Man, I thought it would be way more weight difference than that. 25lb isn't much.

 

[iSurfvilano]

Man, I thought it would be way more weight difference than that. 25lb isn't much.

That's what made me lean heavily to sticking with the TR stuff. No pun intended.

 

[DirkV]

Wow! Active thread. I hope I don't repeat anything that's already been said. First of all, congrats, and I hope it brings you as much fun as we've had (LR3 owner for 7 yrs). A couple of the best additions in terms of gear are:

• Expo Megamat Duo. Fold the rear seats flat, inflate the megamat, and you have a super comfortable sleeping area. If you are considering sleeping in the vehicle (bear country), you owe it to yourself to research this mat. So much better (and expensive) than a cheap air mattress.
• 12V fridge.

The above are somewhat influenced by the "happy wife, happy trip" maxim, but really, what's not to like about comfortable sleeping and always cold beverages.

In terms of vehicle mods, I went the slower approach of a few must-haves and then adding what was needed based on experiences. Started with 18-in rims and BFG ATs (inclu full spare). Then you need some kind of air (onboard or CO2). IID tool is a first-rounder, as was the dual battery system (I went with Traxide system) and hi-lift. Speaking of tires and hi-lift, my emergency trail kit inclu the hi-lift rim hooks and a couple jackstands. It's not easy to lift these beasts and then support the frame and control arm to change a tire. It's a good idea to practice in your driveway before finding yourself needing to remove a wheel on the trail.

We've had a few great trips in your area, if you want to check out trip reports highlighting the land rover out and about, here are some links:
https://dirkvandyke.blogspot.com/2018/09/a-rio-good-trip-checking-in-on-rio.html?view=sidebar
https://dirkvandyke.blogspot.com/2015/08/honeymoon-revisited-eight-days-in-san.html?view=sidebar

 

[Rkymtnman]

thanks for all the info! I am finding it incredibly helpful.

I got the beast home yesterday. Seemed like that wait took months instead of days. Now the real fun begins. I have a ton of work travel the next few weeks (probably months) so it will be a little slow going but we still have some time for the snow to melt in the high country though I might sneak out to Moab just for the heck of it if we can get the motor back in the 4runner this weekend.

One thing I opted out of was an extended warranty. I was planning to purchase one since buying this through my local JLR dealer but it was 25% of the cost of the vehicle. Seemed steep to me. We do all our own work on all our vehicles and I can't imagine this will be THAT much more difficult. Hope I don't regret it but feeling better about it since this is a '13 and in theory, the biggest ticket item should have been addressed with upgraded parts - or so I have found in researching it.

One thing I seem to be "missing" on this is are electrical connections for a trailer. Looks like a pretty easy kit from JC to solve that. I have a '65 14-foot "canned ham" trailer I restored a few years back that I pull for hunting season. no brakes...just lights.

I'm sure I'll come up with a bunch more questions along the way but at least now i have a platform to build off of sitting in the driveway