Roving

Overland (to Iowa)

London to Singapore. Trans-Africa. Cairo to Capetown. Now, add Minneapolis to Decorah, Iowa to that illustrious list of overland epics undertaken in a Land Rover. Well, on second thought, let’s wait until that last one is actually accomplished. 

After three years, almost to the day, of Land Rover ownership, the furthest afield I’ve driven it has been maybe 25 miles? I’ll admit a fair helping of trepidation when it comes to long distance travel in a 40-year old British truck. Because while Land Rovers are known as “go anywhere” vehicles, the footnote that no one reads is usually a long list of breakdowns and spare parts needed along the way. But damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead. 

That “full speed” is about 60 miles per hour. Downhill, with a tailwind, thanks to the new Roamerdrive overdrive unit I had installed this past summer. Whereas previously, top speed in this 70 horsepower 4x4 was around 45, limited by its low range gearing, now I can finally cruise at rural highway speeds without annoying too many people in the following queue of cars that will no doubt stack up in my rearview mirror. Also adding to this grand touring setup are four new parabolic springs, which may have been the single best upgrade I’ve done. The ride quality is night and day, meaning we’ll arrive at our destination with kidneys intact and spines aligned.

We chose our destination, Decorah, not for its scenic bluff country and meandering Upper Iowa River, but because we have some extended family at the other end, who conveniently live on a large piece of rural property. I’ve longed to get the Rover out on country roads, in the mud, across a field or two. It’s what they call “green laning” in Britain. We’re breaking our journey in half with a night of camping in a State Forest campground near the Mississippi River. Getting there will take around three hours by county highways and side roads and, assuming we arrive intact, it should provide ample Instagram-friendly scenes of an old 4x4, a campfire, and some single malt.

This should be a good time to undertake the trip. This summer, the Land Rover has had extensive repairs and upgrades, including the aforementioned springs and overdrive, but also a new stainless steel exhaust system, new brake lines, and a new rear half axle to replace the one that broke a few weeks ago. Will the other half hold? Time will tell. I did not pack a spare.

To prepare for the journey, I changed all the oils from bumper to rear crossmember, which is no small chore. Front differential, front swivel housings, transfer case, gearbox, engine oil, rear differential (which got changed when the axle was swapped). I’ve also re-installed the headlamp cages for full overlanding effect (and to prevent stones from cracking the lenses), mounted a fire extinguisher on the middle bulkhead, and filled a 5-gallon jerry can with gas, since the onboard fuel tank only holds about 10 gallons and gets about… 10 miles to the gallon. 

Packed in back will be roughly equal parts spare parts (plugs, distributor, drive belt, radiator hoses), tools, a few jugs of engine and gearbox oil, plus coolant, and of course, the camping gear. Due to space restrictions, we’re going spartan, without the usual plush of car camping. Mornings I’ll be under the truck checking fluids for the next leg. 

The weather is cool this week, which should make for pleasant driving on weekday/pandemic empty roads. With any luck, we’ll be back home, safe and sound, by Saturday night. Total mileage will be a little over 400 miles. Not quite London to Singapore, but it’s a start. And if all goes well, and it should, I’ll be swaggering around next week, full of overlanding dreams. Where to next? Alaska? Patagonia? OK, maybe Duluth. And if you see a flare go up from the general direction of southern Minnesota, send help.