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Bruce280
Veteran
Date registered: Nov 2006
Location: Athens, AL
Vehicle(s): 83 280GE, 81 300GD
Posts: 138
| trip report
I originally posted this last night, tacking it onto the end of that long 'Rover advice' thread. I doubt if many would find it there, but it was basically O/T anyway.
I did my first off-road trip in a G-wagen over the Christmas break and am happy to report that the old gal made me very proud. Although I did have a minor mechanical problem which affected my schedule, I was able to enjoy two beautiful days of wheeling in Moab, Utah, even as neighboring Colorado was getting clobbered with their second winter storm in as many weeks.
We were participants in Bill Burke's "Holidays in Moab" outing that included a nice variety of vehicles, including Jeeps, lots-o-Rovers (Discos, Rangies and a D-90), a Nissan Xterra, a Land Cruiser, and my 300GD. I think it would be fair to say that the group was generally impressed and maybe even slightly taken aback at the capabilities of what at first glance appeared to be a very mildly set up, if not antiquated, vehicle (the G). It was a conversation starter, to say the least. Favorite comment I received: "That thing is a little bulldozer!"
I set up a "Holidays in Moab" album here on the forum containing 12 pics.
Bruce
Edited by Bruce280 1/6/2007 8:45 PM
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Toronto230ge
Extreme Veteran
Date registered: May 2006
Location: Toronto
Vehicle(s): 2002 VW van 1987 230GE, 2002 G500 1965 porsche 911
Posts: 492
| RE: trip report
Wonderful Photos! Nice little drop top "dozer" you have there!
Happy New Year |
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Jamison
Date registered: Dec 1899
Location:
Vehicle(s):
| Re: trip report
Looks like you had an awsome time! Nice pics |
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hipine
Date registered: Jul 2006
Location: US, CO, Bailey
Vehicle(s): 460 1980 280GE w. 617A
| RE: trip report
Very nice! I'd like to take one of those trips one day. Bill and Rachel are great folks. And unless I miss my mark, I bet you were the only diesel in the mix too. I used to be totally amazed at what my old normally aspirated diesel 109" IIA Land Rover would do off road. That one was totally crippled on the highway, maxing out about 30 mph on some of the hills around here, but off road it was really in it's element. A regular "little tractor". I can't wait to get mine off road next season with the diesel. Of course, I still have to finish off the oil pan clearance (bump stops, pan mods, or likely a combo of the two) before I get too crazy with it. Anyway, great to see the G out there. I wish you'd had the time (or the clear roads!) to swing by here. Maybe next time. -Dave G. |
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Bruce280
Veteran
Date registered: Nov 2006
Location: Athens, AL
Vehicle(s): 83 280GE, 81 300GD
Posts: 138
| RE: trip report
hipine - 1/6/2007 9:23 PM
...I wish you'd had the time (or the clear roads!) to swing by here. Maybe next time. -Dave G.
Or a working heater  It was definitely in our interest to take the southern route back. Even so, it was pretty rough the first day. Very cold, and I-40 through northeastern NM was still being plowed, which meant traffic delays. Will take you up on it next time though.
They've been doing the Holidays in Moab event for about 10 years now but I think there's a chance they may move it somewhere warmer next year. If so, I couldn't blame them -- anything can get old, and since they're completely mobile now (full-time on the road with an RV) it wouldn't be any harder for them.
You're right, we were the only diesel. I stayed near the back of the group. Even with a turbo, it's no road-rocket but yeah, it is "the business" for trail work. The only downside -- at trail speeds, with the window down, you get a dose of your own diesel fumes. I wonder what it'll be like with the top off!  |
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BusBar
Extreme Veteran
Date registered: Apr 2006
Location: UK. North West / Wales
Vehicle(s): 463 300GDL, 460 280GEL
Posts: 382
| Re: trip report
What a great trip that looks, I am actually quite jealous! Absolutely stunning scenery, as someone commented on one of the other threads we have to content ourselves with wading through mud over here.
I never cease to be amazed at how competent the G is “out of the box”. I’ve been out with tricked up LR’s, jeeps etc which would eat my pretty standard G (2 inch lift and that’s about it) but they have literally spent $1000’s and many hundreds of man hours to get them to that level.
Re. normally aspirated diesels. My personal preference would always be a modestly powered non turbo diesel or a petrol. Off road I find turbo diesels hard to control with any finesse. Maybe an auto TD would be OK but I don’t have any real first hand experience with one. |
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TWODOGS
Extreme Veteran
Date registered: Apr 2006
Location: UK
Vehicle(s): Norwegian Army 240GD
Posts: 584
| RE: trip report
a fine photo
Twodogs |
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martin
Veteran
Date registered: Apr 2006
Location: Del Mar, CA Isles of Scilly, UK
Vehicle(s): 99 G500 95 E300D 95 R1100GS 06 K1200R
Posts: 297
| RE: trip report
Bruce280,
Is your truck the one that was for sale at Eurotruck? Very nice indeed. Sounds like a great trip too.
Martin |
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hipine
Date registered: Jul 2006
Location: US, CO, Bailey
Vehicle(s): 460 1980 280GE w. 617A
| Re: trip report
BusBar - 1/7/2007 7:31 AM .....Re. normally aspirated diesels. My personal preference would always be a modestly powered non turbo diesel or a petrol. Off road I find turbo diesels hard to control with any finesse..... I've heard that too, but I don't think I've heard it before from actual turbodiesel off road drivers. Still, it seems logical to me that the turbo coming on and off might be difficult to manage. The nice thing about the 617A is that they provide you with an easy way to turn it back into a 617 (normally aspirated) with the flip of a switch. So I installed that switch (parallel path to ground for the overpressure switch wire) on mine. I'm looking forward to trying it out next summer. On mine I actually have three possible paths for that turbo-cut-out circuit. One through the over pressure switch, one through a toggle switch on the dash, and one through my oil pressure gauge which cuts out boost if oil pressure drops below 10psi. Sorry, I didn't mean to hijack the thread, if anyone's interested in taking this further, we can start another. -Dave G. |
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Bruce280
Veteran
Date registered: Nov 2006
Location: Athens, AL
Vehicle(s): 83 280GE, 81 300GD
Posts: 138
| RE: trip report
martin - 1/7/2007 1:19 PM
Bruce280,
Is your truck the one that was for sale at Eurotruck? Very nice indeed. Sounds like a great trip too.
Martin
Hi Martin,
yes it is. I see Sean still has it on the home page. They're just in the next state over (GA), so they get to have me in their hair occasionally.
This is the second time we've participated in the Holidays in Moab trip and it really is worthwhile. Bill sometimes puts you into situations that are outside your comfort zone but that helps you grow. I've found the vehicle can do more than you realize. We had one hill climb in particular this year, which is nicknamed "Again-n-again Hill" because it's so rough it often requires multiple attempts. And he had us do it in the SNOW. I thought, this is it, Bill has lost his mind and I'm going to die.  I'd just watched a Defender 90 have some trouble and a Jeep Wrangler do a semi-wheelstand. When it was my turn I aired down a bit more, locked both axles, hit the accelerator...and climbed the hill. Not because of any expertise on my part, just a combination of good spotting and a very capable rig.
As you can tell I'm still pretty charged up about it...  |
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Bruce280
Veteran
Date registered: Nov 2006
Location: Athens, AL
Vehicle(s): 83 280GE, 81 300GD
Posts: 138
| RE: trip report
On the turbo-diesel point, admittedly I have very limited experience so far. But I can't say I've found it to be a problem yet. Maybe I just haven't been in a delicate enough situation that requires very precise throttle modulation. Still, I think this is why the factory only used the 617 engine in the G and not the 617A. I believe the problem with the NA engine was the on-road drivability. Dave's cut-out sounds like a cool feature, maybe the best of both worlds. |
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BusBar
Extreme Veteran
Date registered: Apr 2006
Location: UK. North West / Wales
Vehicle(s): 463 300GDL, 460 280GEL
Posts: 382
| Re: trip report
Sorry guys if I hijacked this by going off on a tangent with respect to turbo or non turbo. I’m basing this on LR’s 300TDi which I think has quite high boost levels. Actually a capable if rather rough device but when the turbo comes in you certainly know it. Back to back with a non turbo, I preferred less power but more control, the on/off power delivery could be down to the high boost employed? Just a personal preference which perhaps just matches my driving style.
Edited by BusBar 1/7/2007 6:28 PM
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hipine
Date registered: Jul 2006
Location: US, CO, Bailey
Vehicle(s): 460 1980 280GE w. 617A
| RE: trip report
Bruce280 - 1/7/2007 3:05 PM Bill sometimes puts you into situations that are outside your comfort zone but that helps you grow.... That really is the best of all worlds. Someone with Bill, or Harald's, experience who's there to tell you that you CAN do things you think you can't and help you push yourself just a little bit farther through your healthy skepticism. You know who else was surprisingly very good like that? Our own moderator, Brent W. When I was with him and Dutch before the Treffen this year Brent kept nudging me to go just a little bit farther on stuff that I was getting uncomfortable with. He knew just how to do it in a confidence inspiring way though, not in a pressuring way. And when I decided I'd had enoug, that was okay too. Of course he did "abandon" me to find my own way out, but that was fun too. :^))))) Seriously though, Brent is a really great guy to wheel with, especially there in his own beautiful "back yard", like Bill in Eastern Utah, where he's covered all the ground six ways from Sunday. Matter of fact, Bret's probably out there now snowmobiling the same trails his hotel business limits his 4-wheeling time on in the summer. -Dave G. |
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