Day 5 of the Land Rover National Rally

[Gordwedman]

Friday was the last day for trail rides and I was lucky to catch a ride with Dave Tebbutt and his son Peter in their LR3. A chance to compare an LR3 to a P38.
The plan was to do the Black Bear Pass trail which is rated as one of the harder trails in the area. Obstacles included slippy rock shelves with 18 inch drops, a cliff hanging section of trail that is restricted to one way traffic due to extreme narrowness and finally several extremely sharp switchbacks on loose gravel that sometimes required backing up twice to negotiate. We had a fine mix of Rovers: a new Discovery, old Discoveries, LR3 and LR4 plus a completely stock 2006 L322. Everyone ran the trail without issue. We did have an experienced spotter for the tricky bits and I would say that is a necessity. Getting to the summit at 12,800 feet is the easy part. Coming down to Telluride was the white knuckle part. Once in Telluride four of use decided to do the Ophir pass trail since it was fairly early. This trail is rated moderate by my guide book however the section we did from Ophir to Hwy550 was cake walk. Very smooth and wide. Anything could have done that section. All in all it was a good day and my thanks to Dave and Peter for taking me along. The final banquet went from 6 to 8 and I won a nice set of 7 inch LED headlights that I cannot use in the P38 . May be for sale if my brother does not want them for his 109.
My replacement air spring has arrived so I may be mobile soon.//uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202207 ... c96f15.jpg

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[harv]

How did the LR3 compare to the P38?

[acg]

Nice pics and report on your trip!

[Gordwedman]

I think the ride in the LR3 was more comfortable than the P38, softer. My high setting for the air suspension is pretty high, maybe too high, and the stiffens the bags.
I have to sort through my photos and videos when I get home.
Anyone know how many photos can be attached to 1 post?

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[harv]

Interesting. My P38 is considerably more comfortable off road (and on road) than my D2. They did a lot of improvements on the LR3 over the D2.

[Gordwedman]

I drove vehicles offroad that had leaf springs. Getting a 97 Discovery was a big improvement over those but the P38 at normal road height is probably better yet.
Going to install my new air spring tomorrow and hope that fixes my problem.

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[RobinS]

Reading your story reminded me of the song by C.W. McCall all about travelling the Black Bear Road back in the mid 1970's. Had to find it on youtube and listen to it again. Hope your having fun. Cheers Robin.

[Gordwedman]

So I spent Sunday morning yanking out the old air spring and installing the new one. The clearance for the top fitting is very tight and it tends to get jammed in there. If the bottom had still been pinned in place as is usually the case I would just remove the top pin and lower the axle. This would pull out the top . Since the bottom was disconnected I spent 30 minutes prying and wiggling to get the top loose. Then the reverse problem occurs when you try to fit the new bag. Once I get the top fitting lined up I jack up the axle and that forces it in place. The bottom pin that is supposed to hold the lower aluminum section in place was sheared off on both sides. There was a 1 inch piece still in the aluminum. I discovered that the new bag did not come with retainer pins so I had to file down a wall hanger to make a lower pin. I then tried to insert the airline into the collet on the top ofnthe bag and had a very difficult time but got it inserted. Put the wheels back on, cleared the fault, started the car and it eventually went to normal height.
Success? Well I took off down the road and after 5 minutes I heard a "whoosh" and down on the bump stops I went. As I suspected the airline popped out. Had to take off wheel again and this time I made sure the line was inserted as far as possible. Gave it a tug and it seemed secure. I have driven 60 miles on the Hwy and all seems good. Contemplating whether or not I will head down to New Mexico to see Carlsbad Caverns as I had originally planned. A bit tired after the week.

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[Roadqueen17]

Looks like you have had a great experience....otherwise then your campground repair! Have a safe trip home!

[Gordwedman]

Hi Deborrah. I saw so much scenery getting here that I almost didn't want to go on any trails. Certainly a great area to visit with many trails and free BLM camping areas. Lots of bikers touring. Off to New Mexico today.

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