This is a somewhat stressful situation out on the trails, where running water can dramatically shift the conditions around you. That wasn’t the case during the latter half of our first leg, when the first proper rainstorm in weeks began. The weather in Eastern Oregon has been tremendously dry this season, playing a role in the wildfires that smoked out much of the horizon as we left. A far cry from the last $100,000+ rig I brought to the trails, yet more enticing.Īfter loading our gear outside of Boise, Idaho, the group made our way to our first camp location on some government-owned land near the banks of the Owyhee River. One could happily daily such a ride, should your future off-roader need to be a multi-talented machine. Thanks to the X/T tire’s clever tread layout, the SUV was even reasonably quiet during the bookending highway commutes. One would be hard-pressed to find a more well-rounded truck for less money. A quick search shows that one could reasonably get a similar truck for under $10,000, though some extra savings for the inevitable British car maintenance bills won’t hurt. That ease of use combined with the supreme ride quality provided by the truck’s infamous air suspension system makes for an inviting off-roader. Yet the aging SUV was the fan-favorite among all of the drivers, thanks in no small part to the ease with which it tackled obstacles. The truck wasn't some pristine example either, with more than 178,000 miles.
The Land Rover LR3 in the convoy was the prime example of this, arriving with no modifications but a set Firestone Destination X/Ts. The trip was less a capability test, and more a reminder: Off-road fanatics don't need to spend a year's salary to see some incredible parts of the world. That is excusable considering that friends of the outfit owned all but one of our test vehicles, but gives us little chance to test the limits of the tires. That said, it is not one that lends itself to pushing our Firestone tire-equipped vehicles to their limits. Our guides with Differential Overland made sure to select a trail that would accommodate all of these skill sets. The experience level among the group is equally as eclectic, mixed between life-long wheelers and recent additions to the off-roading family alike.
#Backtrack trailer hubs pro#
Our rides for the trip were far from uniform either, the pack containing everything from an aging Land Rover LR3 on up to a brand new Nissan Frontier Pro 4X. The paths switch from gravely roadways to more jagged and larger rock-laden trails. I've been fortunate enough to drive on trails all across the country, but no single place has offered such a variety of scenery. Occasional lava flows from eons past scar the Earth, while ongoing wildfires continue that tradition during our journey. Red-hued cliff faces do their best Arizona impression, interspersed between greener plateaus that wouldn't look out of place in Utah. Eastern Oregon might not spring to mind as an off-road destination in the same way as parts of the American southwest, but the state’s terrain is chock-full of the region’s scenic highlights.
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