LR3invancouver
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- Aug 1, 2006
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I just returned from the '07 Land Rover National Rally in Montrose, CO. Before going I had spoken to Adam Spiker of Off Roving who about some new sliders he and Rover Specialties were finalizing. Adam leads multi-day training/wheeling experiences for owners of new body style Rovers and I had met him at last year’s Rally. He and Scott Monico at Rover Specialties offered me the first set of production Rover Specialities Stage 3 sliders with free installation if I had them installed by the Rover Specialties guys at the show (and put the Rover Specialties badge on my truck for the weekend). Not only do these sliders look great but they saved my bacon. On "The Wall" (a class 8 obstacle on the Poukipsie Gultch trail outside Montrose, CO) I took an aggressive line up a part of the rock face that I had conquered 2 days earlier on my first attempt but this time it had rained and was slippery. Three quarters the way up I lost traction (in spite of my MT/R's and lockers). When the truck slid down and sideways into a large rock outcropping all I could hear was the sliders and the attached under body armour take a big hit I just thought….”damn that sounds expensive.”
Once I backed off the obstacle I inspected the damage and other than a small dent in the outer nerf bar I was damage free. Without the sliders I would have been looking at EXTENSIVE damage to both my passenger door and the rocker panels (I know this from prior experience on Lower Helldorado in Moab with Bill Burke).
So if you do any real off-roading where boulders, trees or rock gardens are a factor you would be well advised to seriously consider these sliders before you have to shell out for the repair bills.
On an aside. I spent a day wheeling with Adam Spiker (Off Roving) during the LRNR and I gotta say it was one of the best days of wheeling I have done in the 2 and a half years since I bought my LR3. I have as much experience as anyone with an LR3 but Adam showed me a few new tricks.
This guy knows how to wheel in these new style Rovers (LR3, RRS, RRFS). Because of the unique technology, suspension and design these new Rovers need a whole new approach to how you pick a line and how you proceed up tricky obstacles. I have taken Bill Burke's 2 day course and have done extensive wheeling in challenging terrain (stuff that long time Rover owners said my "grocery getter" was not capable of) and I am still learning about these new trucks. Kudos to guys like Adam for compressing the learning curve and making better Rover drivers out of those of us that choose to do serious wheeling in the new Rovers. Oh ya, he Adam is a great guy to hang with and makes the experience of wheelin with him a real pleasure.
