jerdog's Discovery 3

[jerdog53]

I made the transition from being a long standing jeep guy to a Land Rover guy.

Jeeps I have had include CJ5s in 1955, 1976 and 1983 vintages then a 2005 Lj Rubicon which I just sold end of last yeas.

So with the sale of the Lj I purchased a bone stock 2008 LR3 with a little over 55K miles on the ticker after two separate independent pre purchase inspections.

That was in November 2014 I have since added big mud tires…

275/65 R 18 Goodyear Duratracks specifically along with a set of Sasquatch adjustable lift rods giving me roughly 2" worth of hight.

I then scored on some prototype rock sliders at a very reasonable price so those to were added…

Also have a 2 meter 40 cm handheld Ham rig with an external antenna and appropriate GPS devices.
Other additions to happen will be a roof rack and rear ladder most likely from Urban Offroad. A rear drawer unit from Front Runner and more sump guards at some point.


"Explorers are we intrepid and bold. Out in the world amongst wonders untold, equipped with our Rover, a map and a snack, were searching for fun and were on the right track!"

 

[jerdog53]

We originally were going to go with a Disco II but after driving a likely candidate were left uninspired. I have always liked the lines of the LR3 (Disco 3) and had been kind of following their development since introduction in 05 and seeing the positive reviews and accolades that LR has received for both on road and off road prowess it wasn't a big leap to go looking. We test drove 4 different LR3 from 07 to 09 and this one felt right so a deal was struck and the purchase was made. The wife loves it by the way she was a little intimated by the size at first but moved past it quickly. Not long after that she was like you are going to need a roof rack and a snorkel and we'll need a winch bumper you know because its cheep insurance.....

I've created an monster.
I do fully intend to take this truck any where I would have taken my LJ and will do so in much more comfort and refinement than the LJ and use less gas. Colorado pin striping will be welcomed as a badge of honor although let's try and minimize it....

 

[jerdog53]

Ok so a few less poser photos!

Went out on a scouting trip trying to find spots we used to go to in collage and had no luck but good photo op!!

In the Red Feather Lakes area.

 

[jerdog53]

A few more…

Who said you don't need a snorkel in Colorado?

 

[jerdog53]

Scored a OEM G4 roof rack off Craig's list with a rear ladder. Was not intending to go this route but couldn't pass up on the price...

 

[jerdog53]

Triaxide dual battery install.

Power feeder runs down the drivers side.

Rewires the existing power port on the drivers side in the cargo compartment

Adds an additional port forward cargo to fuel the refrigerator.

also adds provisions for a solar panel connection down the road out back.

 

[jerdog53]

With this little switch to control it all…

 

[jerdog53]

I had built a rack to hold the jack and a shovel on the hinge bolts of the hood of the LJ and of course when the Jeep went away the rack stayed. We it took me a little while to arrive at a solution and source some proper attachments.

Rack started out like this:

Pretty basic 1/8" mild steel.

Fabricated some brackets out of 3/16" aluminum with a proper bend.

and was able to attach the whole thing to the OEM roof rack.

the reflection in the glass is a little confusing.

So far so good, the real test will be after 100 miles of bad road....

 

[jerdog53]

Added lift gate LED lights, only the two right in the middle should work well for my needs.

 

[SLO Rob]

This is awesome!

 

[Daniel Etter]

Looks good! I've always wanted a discovery!


Sent from my iPhone using Overland Bound Talk

 

[Disco_Berty]

Nice looking D3. Love the LED install you did, very discreet and yet so bright. Will be adding a second battery to my D3 with split charger, inverter and extra charging points. Love the rack - I have the cut down version. Dont bother paying for the D ring accessories. I needed 4 recently and land rover wanted £79 each. I took standard M8 hex head bolts, reduced the head depth with a sander. then took four washers and sanded down two sides on each. then spot welded the bolt and the washer together and they worked a treat. cost me less than £5 to do. another £6 to buy the D rings.

 

[jerdog53]

I found tie down items at my local metric hardware store so currently I'm in good shape. I did add a 1600 watt inverter to the second battery circuit for mostly the wife's flat iron and the rice cooker....

 

[Ezalis]

Those are some awesome usability changes!

 

[jerdog53]

Newest addition...

 

[jerdog53]

Small addition.
Wanted to do something more permanent for the Ham radio antenna installation but was a long time deciding on what to do. Saw what somebody else had done to another LR3 so I went that route.

Bent up a piece of 3/16 aluminum and attached it to the underside of the hood.

Ran the Coax through the hole in the firewall above the break booster.

Hood all the way open it has plenty of clearance.

When not in use with the antenna removed it is rather discreet and you may not even notice it was there at all or wasn't the factory radio antenna location when installed.

 

[diabetiktaco]

Very nice. One of my favorites trucks out there.

 

[QCNR]

Maybe it is just me, but your pics no longer show.

 

[jerdog53]

Its not just you, Photobucket can suck it!

 

[jerdog53]

I sourced a salvaged OEM air tank, cut off the mounts welded on some new mounts and painted it. Took the OEM air inlet fitting out, drilled the hole out then cut new 1/4"NPT threads into it. Installed an 1/4" NPT 90 degree elbow and attached a 3/8" barb to that and reinstalled all that into the air tank. Pressure tested it to 150PSI with shop air and inspected to leaks, none found. Connected 3/8" ID air hose to the 3/8" barb and installed the tank in between the frame rail and rock slider on the passenger side slightly aft of the front passenger seat mirroring the stock OEM tank location on the Drivers side. Routed and tied up the air line into the engine compartment forward of the second battery on the drivers side.
Next will be an ARB air compressor installed under the hood plumbed into a manifold and connected to the tank. Once its complete I'll get some photos posted of all of it.