Off Roading ..??

Does anybody or has anybody took their Freelander off roading ??
is it able to handle off roading as standard.. a so called freind of mine
said I shouldn't bother cause he claims its NOT Capable of doing so ..

I so want to prove him wrong and laugh at him..
hes a sort of person who seems to think he better than everybody else..

It does have some limitations off road, mostly due to ground clearance and lack of low box but many, including myself, have been impressed with what they can do.

Have a search of Hippo's threads for some good off road pics and vids.









Ignore the hairdressing 'how to's' though they're ****e

Still tring to find my way round this forum. not sure where everything is.. i take it your freelander is standard then .. ?.. i mainly want to go somewhere and give it a try even it only be the once lol.. Yeah right .. only imagine the swearing the wife will be doin when she finds out ive took the beast off roading lol ...

Not sure what your trying to prove, yeah the Freelander is not as **** off road as people say, but neither is a Vitara or a Jimney, but I suppose the Suzuki wins as the engines are reliable and they don't fall to pieces like Freelanders do.

But hey, prove away

BB, is your Freelander standard? Kept that quiet mate.

CuRbY said:

Still tring to find my way round this forum. not sure where everything is.. i take it your freelander is standard then .. ?.. i mainly want to go somewhere and give it a try even it only be the once lol.. Yeah right .. only imagine the swearing the wife will be doin when she finds out ive took the beast off roading lol ...

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As has been said it is capable even the most tricked up Defender is only as good as the driver

First thing anybody should do with any vehicle that they intend to seriosly off road is fit under body protection.

Not so easy with the newer roundy aerodynamic vehicles LR have produced

Or nice soft muddy place where at worst you'll get stuck.

Don't go alone. Join a club, get yourself some shackles minimum of 2, a tree strop and tow rope all weight tested to 5 tonne minimum.

Read up on ground reading and other off road driving techniques but remember it's only experience and practice that really teaches you.

Most importantly have fun

Yes it is

Used mine L-series in deep water, medium mud, sand, and a lot of snow . Works perfectly, no damages just a little dirty. Have some slight mods :crazy_driver:

MrNasty said:

BB, is your Freelander standard? Kept that quiet mate.

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Not got one, I have something far far worse

CuRbY said:

Still tring to find my way round this forum. not sure where everything is.. i take it your freelander is standard then .. ?.. i mainly want to go somewhere and give it a try even it only be the once lol.. Yeah right .. only imagine the swearing the wife will be doin when she finds out ive took the beast off roading lol ...

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My standard V6 Freelander has had to pull a friends TD5 Discovery out of mud, twice. The Freelander drove through this particular patch of mud no problem. TD5 comes along, stopped, one wheel spinning with lots of TC action but no forward movement. So out comes the tow strap and the Freelander pulled the Disco without any problem at all.
I have been through the same place several times in my Discovery 3 also without an issue. Quite why the TD5 gets stuck is simple. It doesn't have a locking centre diff. The Freelander has better traction as the VCU ensures there is power going to the rear wheels.
So the answer is yes but to a point. They don't have massive ground clearance but as long as the belly is clear of the ground, they aren't bad off road. Obviously tyres make a huge difference. All Terrain tyres are miles better than road tyres. My Freelander was shod with Yokahama AT/S tyres in the standard size. These give good grip in all conditions.

CuRbY said:

Does anybody or has anybody took their Freelander off roading ??
is it able to handle off roading as standard.. a so called freind of mine
said I shouldn't bother cause he claims its NOT Capable of doing so ..

I so want to prove him wrong and laugh at him..
hes a sort of person who seems to think he better than everybody else..

Click to expand...

We followed a freelander on some laning... I would have bet money the exhaust was going to come off.. It was fine... we were behind with a Defender and there were some tricky bits.

We also went to Corsica with a VW TOURAG and I was amazed what that "a road car" could do... It was a skilled driver mind but I was very worried we were going to knacker the Defender on some rock crawls down to a beach.

I think the only issue was TOURAG didn't have a spare and had run flat style wheels.

Don't worry about the Freelander... everyone flames them and there are ALWAYS limitations, just different limitations which you need to take into account.

Auto's are betterer than manuals oft road as the manual clutch can smell of bruning if you need to slip it a lot. Ground clearance is the main issue but you can fit bigger tyres and put a 40mm lift maximum on it. I personally don't like lift kits but others do.

Freelanders are great fun oft road. You have to pick yer route carefully to reduce chances of getting stuck and to allow you to do more. Straddling ruts etc if they're deep. The best place to start oft is a pay and play area. Pay to get in and drive round. Choose what to do and gain confidence. Lots of video's on you tube teaching oft road driving skills. You could also tag along with peeps on ere. Never go out alone. Always have another vehicle with you. Pay and play is different as there will be someone there to help you. If yer out in the country then yer need to do yer homework to see if the lane is legally drivable. Many are closed to traffic or have restrictions on them. The bobble hats are trying to close them to traffic. They also want them paved or covered to allow betterer wheel chair and access.

Freelanders don't have a low ratio so you don't have the lower speed control option. An auto will make up for this a bit. Traction control was optional on early Freelanders. It became standard fit thereafter. TC is a must if yer going oft road.

I prefer to stay away from water as it's not good for oil seals and bearings. I don't see the point in trying to drive through something which you know you won't be able to get through. You risk damaging yer vehicle too. Yer need to strengthen or replace the engine guard to go oft road. The standard fit design isn't good enough.

Bala 4x4 Land Rover Freelander 1 v6 Off Road

LRO Show 2010 part 1 of 2 Land Rover Freelander 1 v6 Off Road

LRO Show 2010 part 2 of 2 Land Rover Freelander 1 v6 Off Road

I am New to all this Landrover lark... Got no idea where any pay and play sections are.. I am from Leicester.. I know of a few folks who have landrovers.. wheather they be dicso's
TD5's etc .. but they refusing to tell me where they go any play .. (Muppets) LOL
I think they may be ashamed that a baby landy may put them to shame LOL..

Typical rufty tufty tratterers not wanting to admit Freelanders can go oft road. :doh:

Yarwell is a good site to go oft road for the first time. They also have a sister site called tixover but yarwell is bigger/betterer. Yarwell has a wide variation of stuff to do, which caters for all. All are welcome, from mountain goats (bestist oft roader) to shopping trolleys (corsa). Lot's of different routes/obsticles for you to try. Your Freelander will be as long as you don't do the rougher stuff.

here's tixover:

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&s...2403,-0.562084&spn=0.006046,0.021887&t=h&z=16

here's yarwell (bigger better site but not open as much as tixover - used for the LRO show off road course)

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&s...1134,-0.440376&spn=0.006051,0.021887&t=h&z=16

Flying over yarwell: (not flying in ma hippo)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaLPsAN_ehA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CkcrDB1WEY

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People often talk nonsense about freelanders! But mostly because they know jack! I have many a time rescued a stuck defender or RR! Of course every vehicle has strengths and weaknesses my RR is very good at deep mud and ruts but the freelander is very good at wet mud and loose surfaces and general point and shoot

Thank you for all the comments guys..I will find some where..may try tixover when I get the FL1 done up..going in for major Makeover on the 24th..Head gasket (the new multi layer one) reskimmed, water pump, thermostat, basic all the week points replaced..maintainance done..and load of other goodies done..abd checked over for any further things that may need doing all for £300.including 12month warranty will be with out my baby for 2-3 days: -(..thank God I don't need to do the school run at the moment.. so she will be firing on all 4 again. And not sounding like a tank when fist starting up in morning..

CuRbY said:

Thank you for all the comments guys..I will find some where..may try tixover when I get the FL1 done up..going in for major Makeover on the 24th..Head gasket (the new multi layer one) reskimmed, water pump, thermostat, basic all the week points replaced..maintainance done..and load of other goodies done..abd checked over for any further things that may need doing all for £300.including 12month warranty will be with out my baby for 2-3 days: -(..thank God I don't need to do the school run at the moment.. so she will be firing on all 4 again. And not sounding like a tank when fist starting up in morning..

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Personally, I wouldn't use the MLS gasket on the K series. I much prefer the latest (blue polymer) elasopolyler gasket from Payen. These are known to seal well first time. This can't be said for the MLS gasket as it's very fussy on liner hights.

Noted on that..I could be wrong with the type..I know somebody mentioned it..car'nt recall who. I assumed it was the guy who's fixing it..I've read some many stories about the k series gaskets going at approx 4000k and even after it's Been done around 70k..I'm assuming this is with the old style gaskets..I brought my freelander with 94k miles on clock. I know it's had a lot of work done to her previous to me owning it..so I am semi lucky.. I car'nt see on the work sheets of any head gaskets being replaced..but will dig them out and have another look..I know the pads, rocker, rear diff and other stuff have been done..

Freelanders are fine off-road as long as you know their limitations. I never found them on my Freelander, but I had a well sorted, lifted, waterproofed and remapped TD4 auto. Have a read of my thread about my Freelander.

"Off roading" means different things to different people. Some people want to find the biggest obstacles they can and see if their 'truck' can get over it - Freelander probably isn't suited to this. Other people want to get from A to B where there are no roads, this is where Freelander is best suited.

I don't go out to find obstacles, my 'off roading' is mainly to find fishing spots - either on the beach or river. I used to do this in Discovery and when I shifted to Freelander expected it to struggle - but it was quite the reverse. As Discovery is permanent 4WD and heavy, there's a lot of faffing around into and out of low-range or diff lock. The Freelander being lighter and using the VCU for traction simply takes most stuff in its stride. I feel a lot more confident in it in the places I go. When it comes to large obstacles such as deep water filled holes and larger drift wood etc, the challenge is to navigate around them, not to deliberately go over or through them!

That was until I trashed my transmission, which Freelander is liable to do if you don't look after your tyres and the VCU. Now I'm running 2WD I rely on the electronic traction control (and a bit more speed!) to get me around the river bed and the beach is a no-go. Still at least its still perfectly reliable as a 'car' until I sort the 4WD out, unlike other off roaders when there's a problem with the transmission. Find out tonight if I've got the replacement bits for my transmission - they come with a whole complete L Series Freelander - another Land Rover taking up space in the garden!

Well I hope you get it sorted... Still a Newbie to the Landrover world.. Not sure what the L series looks like.. !!

There a few bits I need to replace on mine.. such as the rear indicator/brake light cover.. as the N/S/R is cracked.. the radio clock is naff car'nt read the display most days..
in interor lights need replacing .. just little farty things,,

CuRbY said:

.. Not sure what the L series looks like.. !!

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Looks exactly the same as a 1.8 or a Td4 (pre facelift).