What a great opportunity to explore some of Ontario’s off-road / overland locations!  The crew at Gravel Travel have consistently put together a great adventure with nothing but good people and wonderful locations!  FIRST off… thank you to those guys that do all the behind the scenes work!

The event was approximately 600 Km of a combination of back roads and 4wd routes, with nothing but the best to offer, views of lakes, amazing landscapes and more…  OH and don’t forget all the great participants!!!

Our setup at different stages:

Met so many really cool people, like minded… those that enjoy a journey to some destination and are at ease in the back country.  I had the privilege of hanging out with the LRAA and OLVR crews!  WHAT a time…

Rover performed well.. despite little growing pains of the motor rebuild, NO major issues 😀 that was awesome!  The work done by Diesel Rovers did not disappoint.  (Highly recommend Adam and his team, small business but great service and knowledgable!)  On the trails with Ryan and I were several land rovers, a Pinzgauer, (oh) and a jeep ;).

The group consisted of some amazing people who made this adventure ‘epic’ and one that will be unforgettable.  Thanks! (you guys know who you are)  I have to admit that I did have some envy going on, those defenders looked amazing, just cruising along on the trail like nothing would stop them – and full of that ‘British’ class…

Now no trip with my Disco would be complete without some drama… right?  Well you guessed it there was some mechanical drama.  On day two, I thought I felt some kind of drive-line surge.  Not sure what it was, but not wanting to stop either…. 😛

So pressed on, all day dreading a *snap* or *bang* stranding me in the middle of Ontario… BUT day two, no trouble.  Continued on with day three… and still feeling the surge, AND one serious *crack*… stopped figuring a front axle broke 😦

Well… luck would have it we had two experienced mechanics and my tinkering ability… to diagnose.  AND nothing wrong.  Mystery continued for another hour or so.  BUT finally took a few minutes to analyze it.  Well the jerry-cans are full on the rear bumper….

YOU GUESSED it.. 60 lbs of sloshing fuel, caused a surging feeling.  The sounds were from the carrier loosening off – might have snapped a weld (Tactical Rovers gear is awesome… but look after your gear, maintenance / inspection is important).  Trouble shot the issue and fixed it! yeah!

If I have not said it enough… this trip was amazing.  Had a great navigator 😀

Thanks Ryan… you were great company!!  Till next adventure….

A long time waiting for the mighty Rover to get going… the shop has started to work to get the motor back.  Here is the block getting the ‘royal’ treatment,

this will be a 4.6 with tophat liners and fully rebuilt. Will be a great setup, with 1000’s of mile of adventuring…. 🙂 super excited to be getting the Rover back on the road.

Just in time for the 2019 Roaming Rally and perhaps a test run out with the Land Rover Adventure Association (LRAA).

More to come… stay tuned.

So, sadly the Rover falls victim to a series of bad events… I know it will be back and running but seriously!  You work to ensure that you go to the right ppl pay the big bucks to get ‘good quality’ work, parts, etc so the Rover is treated right – all things we can do AND this happens.  I am sad that those I trusted didn’t provide the level of service I thought they were capable of… and that I recommended them to other Rover enthusiasts 😦

The Rover is in for the ‘TLC’ and I get the news… ‘sorry the motor is worn out…’ Well, here we go… I have that gut wrenching news – gonna have to rebuild the engine from the ground up.  It is never a good thing to hear, but I am hoping that I will be happy in the end with the outcome.

Rover, getting ready for surgery

Pulling the parts…

Carbon anyone…?

WTH!!!

So the plan right now is to have the worn out 4.6 Bosch revitalized, yup – bring it back to life please.  Hopefully we’ll get lots more enjoyment from this Rover!!

I am putting my Rover into the capable hands of Adam Chappell of Diesel Rovers The engine will get:

• All new gaskets
• Top hat liners (video to show what this is)
• overhaul of the heads
• ARP studs
• etc etc.. (All the goodies)

As the process moves along I’ll put out updates on how the Rover is doing, right now ETA to be back on the road is looking like 6 wks, it will feel like FOREVER… but to get good quality work and have the piece of mind that the rover is in TOP shape I believe that it is just the price to pay.

Don’t worry, the Rover will be back up and running for the Summers plans… Roaming Rally … and all!  Next update won’t be for a while.

STAY TUNED

So, been a busy few months, moving, school, new house… etc etc etc (lots of excuses to not get out) – but the stress builds up AND I just need to get out.  So this was adventure 2, we headed out to Effingham lake. A large lake only accessible form the North by snowmobile / ATV trails – right up the alley of the Rover.

Have to say that the off-road adventures in Ontario are much different from Colorado 🙂 BUT still a great time none the less…  The trails are fun, lots to do and see.  AND man the colours and the lakes – wow!!

Today was a success….from the point of view that I got to get out enjoy the outdoors, time with my family 😀 and the Rover was it’s normal Rover self… 😀  Had the chance to stop by the lake short for lunch and just explore a bit, what a great area…  we also enjoyed a meal thanks to the Jetboil 😉

Amazing times!  Here is to future adventures….