Outer Limits 4x4 Board

Although I am sans LR over here (for those that don't know both mine are in storage), I have been very lucky that friends have taken pity on me and invited me along on some 4x4 trips.

Michele (pronounced Mick-eh-leh), famous Italian LR cartoonist, was kind enough to invite me down to his family's "country" house in the mountains near Parma for a weekend of 4x4ing.

Michele own a Defender 90 (his second after the first was stolen - don't park a car in Milan unles you want it stolen or broken into), which is fitted with all the good bits - Warn Hi-Mount, twin ARBs, etc, etc.

I think I will let the pictures say the rest. Thanks again Michele for a great weekend!!!

First, the man himself and his 90.

One of the cottages in the tiny village where Michele's family owns a house (theirs is MUCH larger).

It was quite cold overnight - about -5 or colder (house was warm thanks to 3 wood stoves/heaters). This ice that we found when we woke up in the morning was still there in the afternoon when we started heading home.

The weather was fantastic, and the mountains really amazing. The tracks fairly rocky and were covered with leaves after autumn. The tracks are often overgrown by fast growing trees and shrubs, so we often had to do a bit of clearing.

Now back to the wheeling...

And some more...

And the last few.

The tracks weren't incredibly steep by Australian standards, but the covering of leaves made them pretty slippery in places. And even though the rocks were quite dry, they didn't offer a huge amount of traction (in the wet Michele often has to winch up some of the hills, even with dual lockers and simexes). The dirt sections of track were very spongy even when fairly dry, so I can imaging what it would be like in the wet.

Once again, thanks Michele for a great weekend! And thanks to your family for all the great Italian food!!!

Ah,finally a preview!

Nice pics!

Feel free to come whenever you want,you're welcome.

Ben & Rebecca (his wife)are nice persons,I just hope she didn't get too much bored of LR chit-chat!


Nice to have a new European co-driver now

to do the dirt job!


I'm trying to organize some outings from Jan 2006 on,
and you're already invited!

Michele wrote: Ben & Rebecca (his wife)are nice persons,I just hope she didn't get too much bored of LR chit-chat!

Rebecca had a great time too!!! She comes on all the LROCB trips in OZ - so she is used to all the LR chat. She was a bit dissapointed there wasn't much wildlife around, but I think all the wildlife must have been hiding somewhere warm or already in the hunters' cars.

have driven on simlar looking stuff when i was in scotland. does not take much of a slope to stop you when its wet under foot

460cixy wrote:have driven on simlar looking stuff when i was in scotland. does not take much of a slope to stop you when its wet under foot

Yes, it is times like these that you really understand how much the ground conditions have an effect on what you are able to drive (without winching).

Is it just me...or do Defenders look at home in the bush

Great pics, Ben. Would be awesome to be able to go wheeling in Europe. How did the D90s brilliant heating system cope with the temp?

If your LRs are in storage in BrisVegas, I would be more than happy to take them out to Ormeau for a run every now and then...you know, just to keep them running well.

Micka

Heating worked fine Micka - a 90 has a lot less space to heat with the same heater!!!

I think my Landies are happy where they are at the moment, but thanks for the offer. Will be keen to go to see how your defender goes on 37's when I come back though - looks like a great truck.

Micka wrote:How did the D90s brilliant heating system cope with the temp?

Mine always did well


Really,I'm pleased with it.

On a note,I'm used to leave the vents opened
(even in Dec...!)
and turn the heater on.

You get warm air from below and fresh air from the vents.

Perfect!

Michele wrote: On a note,I'm used to leave the vents opened
(even in Dec...!)

Might take Australians a while to work that out - December in Brisbane is 35-40 degrees!!! and 70-100% humidity.

So will you keep the vents open on the trip up here???

ISUZUROVER wrote:Heating worked fine Micka - a 90 has a lot less space to heat with the same heater!!!

I think my Landies are happy where they are at the moment, but thanks for the offer. Will be keen to go to see how your defender goes on 37's when I come back though - looks like a great truck.

Will be more than happy to show you

The humidity is more than the air con can cope with here in summer. I usually just leave the windows down - much easier. On the really hot days, 35 and above, the air con is cranking at full tilt and only does the front properly.

When are you coming back, Ben?

Micka

Air conditioning!! The whole Australian population is turning into pansies :Real Aussies drive Series 1s with a bare metal floors and no shoes....



Hehe..... Reminds me of one of those event weekends in the wilds of Queensland. We did a course checkout in a series 2A. Just about died from heat exhaustion with the little sliding windows and the massive amounts of heat coming off the floor boards. So next run out we take my Disco, AC blasting, stereo playing, cushy ride.... We took the Disco after that.

red90 wrote:Air conditioning!! The whole Australian population is turning into pansies :Real Aussies drive Series 1s with a bare metal floors and no shoes....

You mean like this John? ... or even no floor...

I remember when your son came for a ride in the IIA - he jumped out of his seat every time one of the tyres flicked a rock up onto one of the aluminium panels...

ISUZUROVER wrote: So will you keep the vents open on the trip up here???

I did!


On the way back I admit I closed them until I came to the St. Gotthard tunnel...


I had some fruit in a paper bag I forgot in the truck,right in front of the vent.
With the vents closed and the heater at full throttle I too late realized they were half cooked!

Tasted horrible!

P.S.
I'm yet green in envy for your Longfield