I love it. What an awesome trip. Thank you for sharing. I have just come back from a 4500km/2800mile trip through Zimbabwe. The New Defender performed amazingly. I will be posting episode one of the trip soon if you would like to see what I did in mine.
The arch/granary is breathtaking. Glad it's location is protected. Looks like the inhabitants could have walked away just yesterday. Thank you for sharing your adventure!
Easily the best video of a base Land Rover Defender on RU-vid. I don’t know how you don’t have 1 million views for this video. You should create a playlist and put Defender in more of your video titles and I promise you will have way more views.
What a fantastic video Mike! Your passion and enthusiasm really comes across and as I collected my 2023 Defender 110 yesterday, it has given me lots of ideas for adventures. Thank you for the inspiration!
A great, great videos, those views are truly alien. Good to see a 4-cylinder performing that good on such rough trails and the Defender itself not letting you down. Keep posting, amazing content.
fantastic Job !!! I actually have the P400 myself and of course I'm loving it.Great Job making us all want to get out there and get the best from our Defenders. I spend most of my time in the Outer Banks on the Dunes.I need to head West!!
Great Video, only dropped by from the UK to check out your views on the Defender but really enjoyed watching. Nice camera work and narration, maybe a few drone shots for future videos? More with living with the Defender please, keep up the great work👍
Awesome video man. Makes me super excited to take delivery of the defender I’ve got on order. I’m going to try to visit some of these trails over the next couple summers!
Thank you for sharing this video, really enjoyed it! I also have a 2021 and have done Elephant hill Rd. and many other trails in the Moab area. I have also had two punctures while on trail, both sidewall flats. I also used about 30 tire plugs to get out. I'm going to get 18" wheels in the future, but for now I've added a sidewall patch kit. The 20" wheels and the heft of the Defender are a recipe for disaster IMO. The flats were early days, I've gone another 20K miles and 30 or so difficult trails without issue, so maybe it was just me learning how to drive the Defender. Anyways, great video!
I live in Utah and do these trips regularly with my Land Rover LR3. It has proven to be an excellent and rugged off-roader. I have a 2" lift with Cooper STT Pro 275/65/18 tires. It's a great durable tire. Looking at getting a newer vehicle soon and the Defender is at the top of the list. Great video.
I'm warming up to the idea of going the "basic" route, with similar upgrades, and I have had my misgivings about the 4-cylinder, because I have got to have those steel wheels. I prefer the utilitarian ethos, and favor practicality over style. I'm also sick of seeing every dang car on the road with mag wheels, and now the mfg's are painting them black, I suppose for the more "menacing" look. And the 4-cylinder makes for a lighter vehicle, which requires somewhat less burly disc brakes, hence the 18" rims. Really enjoying your well-done vids.
Hey Mike, great trip, great video, excellent story-telling. My only negative comment is that those are called “Duracraps” for a reason - they have notoriously thin sidewalls prone to rips and I’m surprised you didn’t find go with 3-ply sidewall E-rated tires of some kind, given that you had the 18” wheels so there are a number of great ones to choose from. That would have caused a lot less drama and stress.
I jumped on here to add this. I've heard soooo many issues with Duratrac sidewalls being for sh*t. That certainly isn't the Defender's fault. And this isn't a new issue. They've been crappy for a decade plus.
Considering going that spec except but with the coil suspension and doing a small lift. I tend to defer to simplicity when I can. Any opinions on air versus coils after owning this rig? Great video, last time I traveled Elephant Hill and that area was in my D1 5 speed. Such a great area. Kudos for doing it in that weather, that’s hardcore. Have been running a few Land Cruisers since and currently an E series Sportsmobile that we love but seriously considering a base 110 as both a daily fir my wife and a more capable off-road platform for minimalist trips. We have three kids so back seat space is kind of important. I had similar issues with Duratracs but switching to KO2’s has been great and the softer compound is better in snow and ice too. Anyway, great video
@@cmtexperts4825 idiots messed up the order, delivered it with coil springs instead of air suspension. Told me I have to wait another 8 months. I got my money back and bought a Wrangler I found on stock.
Is there any noticeable difference in ride with the 1 inch lifts in normal height and does the truck still go to extra height? Thinking of putting same lift on mine but want to be sure. Thanks.
I’m curious, do you have the standard headlights? I have a base 2022 coming next month but they made me upgrade to the higher end headlights when I added the air-suspension, which is no longer standard on the 2022. Are those the stock size Duratracks? Great video!
I’ve just ordered near enough the exact same spec and colour. I’ve owed and overlanded plenty of older defenders and I think you got the specs exactly right. You need a battery to battery charger for the aux battery, not a VSR
Great video. Big disappointment on how the Goodyears did puncture wise. What are your thoughts on that issue? One of the knocks on the defender is with the large brakes (good) comes at the cost of large wheels (bad). I believe a 17 inch wheel is the smallest you can mount and clear the breaks. So do you believe your punctures were due to tire? Lack of sidewall height? Driver mistake? Just interested in your thoughts.
I really enjoyed your video. (and your Defender) I’ve been exploring the western deserts here regularly for the last 30 years. I drive a late model 2 door Wrangler. (3” lift, on 35” BFG K02’s) They’re expensive tires, but they’ve never let me down, and work especially well aired down to 15 psi through these rough trails. They’re also known for their excellent sidewall durability. I can’t recommend them enough. Looking forward to your next video.
@@dwahnsinn Hi Roman, I’ve been overlanding for many years in 4WD Pickups and got tired of carrying WAY too much gear with me. It was a challenge to cut down on the number of things I was taking with me, but I did it. I’ve also wanted a 2 door Jeep my whole life. The two door gets me into areas a bit easier, and keeps me constantly thinking about weight in everything I take with me. I do sometimes wonder if I shouldn’t have gotten a 4 door though. It would be nice to sleep in the back.
@@seanmiller140 nice answer! i love the 2 door also. and to minimise the own luggage is a good thing to learn to live with less. but i also have to agree with the sleep space. how you solve it ?
fantastic video, thanks for documenting the drive and your experience with the defender so beautifully and comprehensively. you show the defender is very capable, but the double tire failures has me worried that it can't fit enough tire to make it the perfect overlander. its comfort and general coolness might still have me wanting one .. but idk if it's enough to overcome the fear of getting stranded.
This is fantastic! How does one get access to that google map of your with markers? I’m getting a defender later this year and would love to do portions of this.
A very good video! Stunning scenery and good driving. Why did you change roof racks? You went from Front runner to the LR one. It’s a shame about the tyres as I’ve ran Duratracs on my Disco 3 for years but the sidewalls on them are a weak point and it’s one that’s never been fixed. A sad flaw on an otherwise excellent tyre.
We though the frontrunner rack was causing the satellite radio to lose reception because a bar was right over the shark fin, so a couple days before the trip I bought a factory rack thinking the cutout will solve the problem. The radio still cut out. After we got back we brought to the dealer to fix it, they did a software update and called it fixed. It had the same problem on the way home. We will have to bring it back at some point but we are doing trips and it is hard to be without it. I am now using an external bluetooth speak and playing music off my phone.
I was lured here by the title as I'm currently looking at the Defender as a touring car with some off-road thrown in - but really enjoyed your video. I keep reading about reliability issues with Landrovers but I can't really find anyone who's had any major problems with this new model. Taking into account that the video was uploaded six months ago, how has the vehicle been going for you in general? Thanks for sharing and all the best from Australia 👍
I love my new Defender! In 6 months I put 20,000 miles on it without a single problem, and I don't have a commute so almost all of those miles were from going on trips. I can highly recommend the 4 cylinder, even doing US highway speeds, cross country, fully loaded and with slightly larger and heavier tires (added after Utah trip) I feel it has plenty of power and gets a pretty consistent 18.5 mpg. I will try to post a review on my experience at some post.
Your vid link was placed on the AULRO site and has probably been viewed many times since. Great trip and report. It seems that Defender tyres are its ‘Achilles heel’ so try to get tyres with carbon fibre sidewalls or at least Light Truck tyres. (Oh; wear a hat when hiking in those desert zones!) Lol Cheers 👍🏻🙏🏽😷🦘
@@mikesandone2652 Here in the UK, you can get the BF Goodrich All-Terrain in LT255/70 R18 117/114S size rated to Load Range D, so has sufficient load rating for the Defender. I'd imagine it's also available in that size in the US, and would be better than the XL-rated Duratracs for your purpose. They've also got the 3-peak mountain snowflake symbol so classed in Europe as being a winter tyre.
@@mikesandone2652 Just discovered your videos. Really enjoy them. How are the (slightly) bigger tires on the Defender? Any rubbing? Is there a way to reset the speedometer for the slightly larger diameter? Any sluggishness? Thanks!
Hey. I am really wanting to get a defender just like that. Can u let me know exact order and send to me with total cost? I'd like to order next week and hope to get by end of year
The tires that LR includes with this thing are for soccer moms. You may as well sell them off immediately if you want to go climbing rocks or keep them just for mall crawling. Get proper tires with strong sidewalls for rock climbing.
Duratracs are awful - the sidewalls are rubbish. Switch to nitto ridge grapplers if you want a strong hybrid tire. It’s such a bummer about how JLR ducked up the new defender so bad with such limiting tire and wheel setups. The vehicle should be able to run 17s or 18s with BOTH engine choices, as well as 35” tires with no clearance issues. 🤬
I think 35" tyres are an American thing, because I note that from personal experience in Europe and Africa, nobody runs tyres even close to that size, max. 32-33" which is what the new Defender's tyres run in size wise.
@@cameronwood1994 remember though that Americans off road for fun and lots of the most popular trails are difficult and challenging, especially out west. It’s not uncommon for myself to do a trip that takes me from sea level to 11,000 feet through completely different ecosystems, temperatures and trail conditions. The trails where you cut your tires would have been far easier using 35’s, and that’s kinda my point.
@@escdefender I understand your thinking, but also remember that Land Rover have got to sell a vehicle that meets all global legislative demands with as few modifications as possible, and cater for as many buyers as possible. They know that 99% of buyers won't even consider 35" tyres, but also know that 32" will do for Africa, Europe, Australia etc. Should they have fitted, or at least made available tyres of an LT construction? Possibly, but again these tyres often have insufficient speed rating for the vehicle's maximum speed (in many markets, that's a legal requirement), they're more expensive and in Europe not that common relatively speaking. BF Goodrich are the only manufacturer I can see that does an LT tyre in Europe in 255/70 R18 size, and even then the S-speed rating is insufficient for many European countries. The Jeep Wrangler Rubicon comes on smaller tyres for Europe than it does for North America, for much the same reason, and sales here are very small in comparison. I think we should be grateful that Land Rover offer an off-road tyre at all for the new Defender, I know Toyota certainly don't.
The more I see of this extraordinary vehicle, the more I want one, and not at all for the "status symbol" aspect of owning one ("Look at me -- I've got a Land Rover Defender"), but for the fact that it would meet all the practical requirements in a vehicle I'm looking for. The major downsides are the reputation for LR unreliability and that the very interesting diesel engine is not available in the US. Diesels would be more prevalent if our fedgov would adopt the European emission standards for diesel-powered vehicles, and that would result in much more fuel economy for the nation. Isn't that what we want?
It could be. I don’t have any experience with 18” wheels but I usually air down the 16s on my old defender to around 18psi. I aired down to 22 psi but after the punctures aired back up to 35 psi.
@@mikesandone2652 I've heard that the Duratrac has a notoriously thin sidewall - I purposely keep mine aired up to protect myself from a sidewall puncture. Next tire will be a KM3. I forget where I saw it, but someone did a cutaway of a Duratrac sidewall compared to its competitors and it's pretty embarrassing. I'm somewhat ashamed that I purchased these tires for a second time.
@@mikesandone2652 If terrain is very rugged and / or you have a lot of weight on board, 35 sounds about right. Let the traction control take care of managing grip. Even strong sidewalls have limited tolerance to being squeezed between rim and rock. Great video. Many thanks.
@@mikesandone2652 I did a 2000 mile trip around SoCal - the 5 desert trip. And I aired down to 20 psi on my Cooper S/T MAXX with no issue for both sand and rock crawling. I disagree with Ken above - I find that with proper E-rated tires, you can and should drop the pressure to lengthen (not widen as it’s incorrectly understood) the contact patch.) But you can only do that with tires that have proper sidewall strength and the Duratracs are not those tires.
Please don't do this people. Properly air down on rocky trails. An aired down tire is more supple and can flex. A firm fully aired tire is more likely to resist flex and allow a sharp rock or tree to puncture. Airing down also takes the abuse off the vehicles suspension and frame. People refusing to air down are idiots.
The problem with all those new generation of claimed "off-road" is that in a relative few years no more spare parts will be available and electronic is not like mechanic (where you can even build a part from scratch by yourself). Thise means that in 2040 F100 still will be usable, while new series of cars will be unusable because of lack of electronic suitable spare parts!! Vehicle producers are trying to kill car longevity by giving us a lot of nice stuff... Offroad is an adventure, if becomes like a video game... looses its flavour!
Air suspension 🤣🤣🤣drive through the rift Valley in africa this will not make it in the bush my series 3 is as old as I am I also own a toyota landcruiser this is not a 3rd world offroad it's a Californian plastic girlfriend who thinks the bush is the thing that should be shaved once a week who doesn't want her nails to brake and thinks she can save the Wales this is what bear grills use when he's selebs go to overnight at the lodge.the old landrover is to go to uncivilized places in a civilized way ,well with this you might need a backup vehicle this used to be a pickup .the Americans will love this but it's just not ruff and tuff
