Rollover potential

[Rosie]

Just wondering what thoughts/stories are out there on potential and real rollovers with Land Rovers. With a short wheel base and a tall profile, is rolling over a consideration?

[scott]

roll over should always be a consideration with a 4wd. on pavement we tend to go faster than these vehicles were intended to turn at. off road we think they're little goats.

drive like an old man in town (easy for me cuz i'm there) and practice off roading every chance you get so that you can find that point just at the end of thrill and just before regret. you'll know you're there when the heart is reving high than the rover and the mouth is not spewing explicatives

[greenmeanie]

Been there and done it and have the scars to show for it.

You have a short tall and narrow truck on drum brakes that was built in the 60's as a farm truck. The designers were thinking of it travelling at 30mph and not 65 mph. You do not have all the idiot computers that compensate for drivers of modern vehicles so you are in charge. Drive it with that in mind.

One other thing is to make sure that if you ford anything or just drive through deep puddles learn to dry out the brakes. Wet brakes make for interesting times. Ask me how I know.

Sctt has it right abot off roading. IIRC I read somewhere that most people feel uncomfortable beyond 20° and most feel like they are almost vertical when they are held at 45°. No substitute for practice and going out with an experienced group.

[Jim-ME]

My 2 cents. Just remember that a Rover isn't a car or even a modern truck and that just because you have 4 wheel drive it doesn't mean you can go faster. It means that under most conditions you can get there. Use common sense and you will be fine. These are after all simply a mechanical vehicle nothing more or less. The fact that people feel that they will go anywhere is simply because they know how to drive or are very lucky. They will get stuck or worse yet roll over with the best of them. Nothing more or less. Be cautious until you are comfortable with it's capabilities and be mindful of it's short commings.
Jim

[Jeff Aronson]

Rollover Potential

In 18 years I've put over 400,000 miles on my '66 II-A. Mindful of its 1950's design, I've been careful but also exposed to all the nuttiness on today's back lanes and interstates.

In all those miles I've had only one rollover, and that's when I put the car in a ditch unsuccessfully avoiding a horse in the middle of a road. The problem was not the severe braking or sharp turn - it was the rear wheels going into a ditch that flipped the car on its side. It was running the roads two days later.

I have no fears about the handling of my car in emergencies, but that does not allow me to be nonchalant on the roads. The Series Rover is a now- elderly design that uses leaf springs, drum brakes, slow steering and a torquey but low horsepower engine. The advice given by others here is astute, but you don't have to fear driving the car on today's roads; today's drivers are another matter . Driving defensively never made more sense to me than it does today.

Jeff

[badvibes]

...or a pound of cure?

roll over should always be a consideration with a 4wd. on pavement we tend to go faster than these vehicles were intended to turn at. off road we think they're little goats.

Is that a load bearing goat?

An ounce of prevention is worth what to you? First mod I made to my Heep, soft top only, was a roll cage. I knew I would be using the truck in situations that might lead to a roll. First mod I made to my Series, station wagon with a hard top I don't remove, was seat belts. Not just lap belts but 3 point belts. The thing I fear most in the Series, I don't push it as hard as the Heep, is that steering wheel with no collapsable column meeting my chest abruptly. I learned my lesson from a buddy who was always preaching safety. He had a Toy FJ 40 that he put an over-built cage in with 5 point harnesses. He rolled it offroad once, soft flop onto its side no problem. His girlfriend rolled it driving home one night, road from Zuni back to Albuquerque. 50+ mph, multiple rolls, the cage and harnesses saved her life, truck was totalled. If you are never going to drive offroad then you may not need a rollcage. If you know you're going to push the envelope then there may be no such thing as overkill. Even with the cage in my Heep, 6 point tied to the frame, I think I'd be OK in a low speed roll. I don't know about a high speed roll in a soft top vehicle. For on road driving good belts and as mentioned by others driving very defensively should be a minimum.


Jeff

[JimCT]

our bug eye

Black ice at about 50mph

[badvibes]

JimCT-

Your truck? How many times did it roll? The hard top looks like it held up fairly well. I've wondered how they would fair in a rollover. Hope everyone was OK.

Jeff

[LaneRover]

I have never rolled and on two occasions I have even had both wheels on one side off the ground. I am not saying that I am a completely credible off-roader who really knows the limit of his truck. Both times it was in a situation where I had cross-axled and wasn't getting through a section. Both times I was probably pretty stupid and solved the problem with a bit more speed. The first time it happened, my buddy in his Ford pick-up saw both wheels on the right leave the ground and was wondering how we were going to get my truck back on its wheels, but the Rover just plopped back down on its wheels and I continued through.

I guess that I am saying that though it is a tall, skinny truck, most of the weight is down low. If you occasionally off-road you will chicken out long before your truck will tip over. I think that everyone is giving you good advice about remembering that it is an older design that doesn't have all the electronic aids to keep you from suffering at the hands of your own careless driving like modern cars and trucks have.

Don't try to drive it like it is a sedan on the road and you will be fine.

Brent

[adkrover]

If you want to see the limits of slow speed off road action, spend a little time searching youtube. It's pretty easy to find videos of people rolling and nearly rolling their wheelers on trails. It's amazing how far you can go before it will actually tip at low speed. High speed is another matter. It's pretty easy to roll even a new vehicle with too sudden of a course correction. Especially if it's to bring the vehicle back up onto a shoulder after drifting a bit to far to the right.

[derekchace]

this is what happens when a rover rolls. It not fun get a roll bar!

http://s251.photobucket.com/albums/gg298/steeltiger22/car%20crash/

dont do what I did

[Tim Smith]

Was waiting for Derek to pipe up there.

Rolling is never fun but the nice thing with these trucks is that they are old and slow. That helps up keep ourselves out of trouble. But you never know when that deer is going to jump out or if that cell phone addict will. Play it safe.

With that said, I've seen 85 get passed out by the long needle (another story) and more madness in series rovers... but in the end, there is always something to remember. If there is the slightest chance that a pedestrian or other motorist could pop out when you least expect it, they will. So never play rough on public roads.

On a lighter note. At least some vehicles were designed to rollover.



If thats your game, I'm sure we could find you one on the cheap!

[badvibes]

derekchace-

OUCH! I mean OUCH! Hope you and your passenger both recovered without deficit.

Jeff

[daveb]

On a lighter note. At least some vehicles were designed to rollover.

great video tim. here is a friend's response:

"There was that court case
in the UK when the local constabulary could not catch a Robin on the M1
that was doing a ton. Had to set up a road block. The judge laughed the
case out of court, criticising the police for being unable to catch the
Robin."

[Tim Smith]

great video tim. here is a friend's response:

"There was that court case
in the UK when the local constabulary could not catch a Robin on the M1
that was doing a ton. Had to set up a road block. The judge laughed the
case out of court, criticising the police for being unable to catch the
Robin."

I can only hear that in a Yorkshire accent.