Getting to the places you want is half the fun, right? Picking an Overland/Adventure support vehicle is one of the more important areas as you start your build. It has to be reliable, accommodating and even efficient as possible.

Determining the best combination of each of these categories is necessary based on where you plan to go and how long you plan to be there. After owning an assortment of many mid-sized and small SUV's I knew the basics of what i wanted. Full-Time 4wd for the Mid-West winters, Locking center and rear differential, towing capacity of over 6000 LBS, lots of cargo storage and a huge support system. An argument can be made with any of these requirements but this is what i assessed for my needs.

Land Rover LR3 HSE

Enter the Land Rover LR3. It not only met but generally exceeded the requirements I had set. It has more cargo room for the footprint it carried. It would tow 7,700 lbs and from the YouTube videos, they seem to go anywhere with just a tire upgrade. I did find a low mileage 2006 HSE version with the HD Package that included the locking rear differential. It had been previously owned by a local older couple and serviced at the JLR dealer regularly. I was able to pick up this vehicle for my $15,000 budget plus the cost of the biggest warranty I could find. I have to say, that after 75,000 miles of ownership and sitting at 130,000 only minor issues have cropped up with the exception of needing a rear differential rebuild.

I immediately set out to see what it would accomplish. Even on the standard tire, the truck had unlimited amounts of available traction and with the air suspension completely raised, it seemed to have miles of clearance. I often would take the truck to an OHV in Indiana and meet up with other Rover or Toyota guys for a little off-road excursion. The point when I knew I made the right choice was on a rock crawling course when the owner of a Toyota aftermarket shop exclaimed "Holy Shit! That thing never lifted a tire!" while he had just watched a few 4Runners and FJ's teeter their way through the climb.

The truck started its life in Illinois where the Overlanding scene had really taken off and the need to find new adventures were becoming more and more complicated. The problem is that Illinois sits directly where very little offroad adventures exist, so driving several hours or days was always part of the plan. Nicole and I took a trip to Colorado, while Makayla, my Mother and I embarked on a 10 day adventure from Chicago, to Los Angeles, up to Yosemite and to Lake Tahoe then back across I-80 to home. The thing was, even with days behind the wheel, the truck never faulted or became uncomfortable. It was amazing. Since then, the truck has climbed to 130,000+ miles with only minimal repairs. Overall, this has been an absolutely amazing vehicle but like every good thing, it eventually comes to an end.