Around the world with LRNA Around the world with LRNA

NORTH AMERICA
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Page 154
North American News and Views
With North American representative Kevin Girling
Around the world with LRNA
W
hat does it take to
equip a Discovery
for a vehicledependent expedition
around the world lasting
10 months, covering
32,000 miles and 34
countries? This was a
challenge that faced Land
Rover North America
(LRNA) when they
became a major sponsor
of the Longitude
Expedition’s Drive Around
the World (see North
American News and Views,
December 2003).
In earlier times, this
project would probably
have been run from the UK
where there are many wellestablished companies
specialising in vehicle
preparation for expeditions.
Not so on this occasion.
LRNA were a late arrival
on the scene for the
Longitude Expedition; the
Longitude team had
originally intended doing
the trip in Series vehicles,
and the shift to used 4.6 V8
Discoverys was probably a
welcome one for them but
presented a host of lastminute logistical issues.
154
The transformation begins at Rover Accessories
Fully equipped: one of the four Longitude Discoverys
The North American
market has now matured
enough to support
companies specialising in
vehicle preparation for
expeditions and off-road
operations. This
infrastructure is emerging
with a vengeance and as a
result LRNA were able to
turn to local specialist Rover
Accessories based in
Torrance, Los Angeles. This
company is certainly no
stranger to Land Rover,
having previously prepared
vehicles for trade shows as
well as privately-owned
vehicles for expeditions
within North America.
LRNA say that Rover
Accessories was the only
local company which
already had everything
needed for this global
adventure on the shelves.
For Rover Accessories this
was not only a great
compliment but also a real
challenge since they were
given only three weeks to
plan and prepare four
vehicles.
The RA team quickly
decided to split the four
vehicles into two groups,
each group having one
vehicle for recovery and
technical support and a
second for personnel and
personal equipment. This
made for a good strategy in
the event of an emergency.
Although the vehicles are
basically standard, a lot of
equipment has been added
to make them logistically
self-supporting. The
Longitude team particularly
liked the idea of roof-top
tents, something fairly new
to North America. The use
of Hannibal Rooftop Tents
mounted on Hannibal
Discovery Series II
Aluminum Roof Racks
allowed for camp to be
established quickly almost
anywhere.
As the 4.6 V8 NAS
engine is known to be a
little thirsty and the
standard fuel tank carries
only around 89 litres of
fuel, more petrol had to be
carried for the more remote
areas. RA builds can holders
for roof racks using the
Scepter Military Fuel Cans
(Blaze Orange). As RA’s
Charles D’Andrade
explained: “the military
have used these (cans)
since Somalia. They are
non-explosive under hostile
January 2004
26/11/03
5:34 pm
Page 155
[email protected]
Rover Accessories fitted a vast quantity of expedition equipment in record time
fire; you can take the cans
and throw them in direct
flame and they won’t
explode, they just melt and
ignite. They are a lot
lighter, they don’t rattle
and don’t rust. Even if you
drive over them, they don’t
crush, they maintain their
integrity. They are just a
superb product.
“We fitted four cans on
the roof using RA fuel
holders which are pretty
versatile and can be
mounted to almost
anything.” To meet the
4.6’s fuel requirements, all
four roof cans are used for
petrol, while space was
found inside each vehicle
for an additional can with
five gallons of water.
BF Goodrich was
consulted on tyres, and
they recommended mudterrains because of sidewall
strength. Central and South
America is littered with
huge potholes which could
destroy a regular road tyre.
More importantly, ABS
braking performance
remains unaffected. So rims
with a positive offset were
built specially for the
vehicles.
Although Land Rover
provided considerable
support, the expedition’s
budget was still tight. So
RA made a major
contribution by persuading
equipment manufacturers
to buy in to the expedition.
As a result, almost
US$50,000 were saved in
outfitting costs. This huge
bonus for Longitude was an
indication of the level of
interest from North
American companies in
January 2004
both the marque and the
expedition – and an
indication of the faith other
manufacturers must have in
this small west coast
operation.
The expedition is
regarded as humanitarian,
so much of the equipment
has not been fitted to the
vehicles but remains
portable. It will be used for
humanitarian efforts in
remote areas and will be
given away if local
conditions warrant it – all
with the full blessing of the
manufacturers.
Within those three
weeks, RA built the roof
racks and fitted them to
the vehicles, wired and
fitted the lights, upgraded
suspension, changed
bumpers and installed
winches, fitted tents, and
installed sidebars. North
American users tend to
prefer rock sliders, but RA
assessed that sidebars
would provide the side
body protection that is
needed more often –
around 60-70 percent of
the time.
The four vehicles are
now well on their way to
South America. Rover
Accessories are busy
building additional versions
of the vehicle to be used
for promotional and
educational projects in
North America and LAND
ROVER enthusiast hopes to
spend some time with one
of these vehicles in the
coming months.
With this kind of support
from Land Rover’s newest
and largest market in the
world, could we be looking
at the rebirth of Land
Rover-dependent global
exploration on a scale not
seen since Camel Trophy?
North America appears
to have the appetite and
the money for such
adventures. ■
What they fitted
Wheels and tyres: BF Goodrich 265-75R16 T/A-KM Mud
Terrains on ProComp 16 x 7 steel rims with a custom finish
Plus:
ARB Discovery Winch Bar
ARB Side Bars, chassis-mounted
Extreme Outback ExtremeAire Compressor
Extreme Outback No-Loss Valve Caps
Extreme Outback Recovery Kit
Garmin GPS V Global Positioning System
Hannibal Discovery Series II Aluminium Roof Rack Kit
Hannibal Roof-Top Tent – Standard Kit
Hannibal Shovel Kit (stainless)
Hi-Lift Jack and Hannibal Hi-Lift Jack Kit (stainless)
Hella FF200 lamps with stone shields
Hella FF1000 Xenon lamps with stone shields
Old Man Emu Suspension Kit
Optima deep-cycle, gel-cell red-top battery under hood to
replace stock battery
Optima deep-cycle, gel-cell yellow-top battery mounted
underneath vehicle for accessories
Pelican Waterproof Cases
Pull Pal Recovery Anchor
Rover Accessories Dual Fuel Can Holder
Safari Snorkel – Land Rover Discovery Series II raised air intake
Scepter Military Fuel Cans (Blaze Orange)
Shimano Portable Fishing Rods
Steps Enterprises Inc – Portable toilet
SunDial Powder Coating
Tyrepliers – Tyre bead breaking tool
Warn XD9000 Self-Recovery Winch
ZODI Portable Shower Kit
Rover Accessories
Rover Accessories, Inc was developed from the love of
the outdoors and overland travel. The company
provides accessories for Land Rovers including Range Rover, Discovery and Defenders. With trained
technicians and state-of-the-art facilities, Rover Accessories can modify your Land Rover to your
specific needs. The company manufactures its own line of accessories and performance products
and is an exclusive supplier of some of the most unique 4x4 equipment available in the USA.
For more information, call 800-ROVER-55, or visit www.RoverAccessories.com
GPS: N 33° 48’ 53.9” W 118° 20’ 46.7”. 3535 Lomita Boulevard. Building A, Torrance,
CA 90505. USA. Tel: 310-257-0016. Fax: 310-257-0028
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NORTH AMERICA
154-155 LE Jan04