Has anyone run the Rubicon Trail in an LR3 or LR4?

[San Moritz LR4]

The photos and videos are insane, absolute respect to the guys who did it; I'm happy to be an armchair spectator on this one!

Thanks for the 411. I’ll give it a read.

 

[mm3846]

Our Club runs it annually, and they highly discourage anything under 35" tires and actually won't allow most 319s to participate. Last year the Newfender called "Kong" heavily modified by Lucky 8 ran it. The Rubicon does have many bypasses, but you're going to beat the **** out of your rig if you do it. There are plenty of other more suitable trails to run. http://rovicon.org/

That new Defender you’re talking about has a 2 or 4” subframe drop and 35s.

 

[CRYA]

That new Defender you’re talking about has a 2 or 4” subframe drop and 35s.

Exactly! heavily modified. But @San Moritz LR4 when you decide to run it, give a shout. I'll meet you at staging and see you on the other side!

 

[San Moritz LR4]

Someone did it in a LR3 years ago, and it was an event. I believe they ripped off a LCA and broke an air strut. That may have been the fault of the poly bushes, but it is a HARD trail for a rig like these.

I just read that story of the LR3 on the Rubicon, from Expedition Portal. It was a fantastic read. So much so that I’m now inspired to keep going with my quest. I Don’t think it will be getting out there this year though, but I’ll certainly be ready for the Spring 2024. I already have the Tactical 4 X 4 front bumper and sliders. Looks like I’ll be going back to them to complete the under armor protection. And I will have to ditch my rear bumper for something more appropriate for the adventure. And since I’m spending money, looks like front lockers from ARB will be in order as well.

Anyone interested in such an adventure?

 

[San Moritz LR4]

Exactly! heavily modified. But @San Moritz LR4 when you decide to run it, give a shout. I'll meet you at staging and see you on the other side!

IT’S A DEAL!!

But wouldn’t you rather come along for the adventure?

 

[San Moritz LR4]

It's been quite awhile since I ran it, and that was in a heavily-modified Isuzu Amigo. The short wheelbase, really low gearing (142:1 in lowest range) and big tires helped a lot

Just curious, what’s the 4WD low gearing on the 2012 LR4?

 

[avslash]

I'm usually the guy that says "**** it, Send it", but I think I would have some serious trepidation running that trail in the 4 even with 35s.

I bet it would be a whole lot more fun in my Can-Am Maverick x3. 32 inch tires, 16-17 inches of ground clearance, 22 inches of suspension travel, 220 HP and only weighs about 1900 pounds and if you roll it, who care's, flip it back over and continue. You flip 8,000 pounds of Rover you are ******. I would tow the Can-Am to the trailhead with the Rover, though.

 

[bdd123]

Someone did it in a LR3 years ago, and it was an event. I believe they ripped off a LCA and broke an air strut. That may have been the fault of the poly bushes, but it is a HARD trail for a rig like these.

An LR3 on the Rubicon

Just because you can doesn’t mean you should The Rubicon – that’s a name to inspire dreams! Unquestionably the most famous trail in the country and possibly the world, the Rubicon is on every off-roader’s bucket list. It’s certainly been on mine for a while now. Talk to any old timer and...

expeditionportal.com

Rubicon, June 6-8 2016

167 new items added to shared album

photos.google.com

That was in 2016. With the potential for it getting a lot of action in 7 years, I would guess it is really gnarly now.

 

[avslash]

If any of you guys agree to run it in a group, post it up. I would make it if at all possible (25 hour drive to get there), as it is a bucket list trail.

I have never towed my Rover anywhere but would probably load it up on the gooseneck and tow it up there with the F350 due to the damage potential.

I have zero doubt it can be done. Might not be FUN, might tear up a lot of ****, but if you're willing to stack rocks, use bridging ladders, winch it and bend whatever it is necessary it can be done.

 

[CRYA]

Here's a summary from one of our most experienced club members that ran it a few years ago:

Just for reference RE: late model IFS trucks-

Yes, I did the whole trail with my LR3 on 33s without any body damage (I did break a control arm and a tie rod but fixed them on the trail). I did however have to do a lot of winching and went pretty darn slow. That was also done mid-week to avoid some of the traffic you see on weekends. We're not saying it CAN'T be done with a late model LR3/4/Defender/etc but that it's a lot of work and we don't want to be "that guy" out on the trail holding up a line of vehicles on Saturday afternoon coming down Big Sluice. If you dig back through the archives here you'll find my write up of doing the trail and you'll see it was a workout. You'll also see at the end I pretty much said 'glad I did it, but don't need to do it again'. And I haven't....the D1 does so much better on this sort of trail I don't bother pushing the limit of the 3 these days.