Building The LR3: From Weekend Warrior to Expedition Rig
The build that took us to the bottom of the world.
Outfitting our home away from home was as exciting as it was stressful - it was the first tangible outcome of the decision to make the Pan-American expedition happen, but it was crunch time with 8 weeks until departure.
About 12 months into Andy’s 18-month Visa in the USA as a Land Rover technician, the LR3 drove into the shop and it turned out it needed a new transmission. The owner decided he was better off selling it. Andy jumped at it. It was a steal and he knew he could do the swap himself. Now coming to a close on his Visa, it was adequately equipped for weekend warrioring, but it was hardly ready for 20,000+ miles of off-the-grid living.
Naturally, the bulk of the parts made it to us about three weeks before departure which meant long hours and late nights ahead - not to mention the laundry list of installs. The team at CARRS4x4, a local shop in Huntington Beach, came to the rescue, opening up their doors, rolling up their sleeves and diving head first into the project with us. The build team was made up of Abrham, Andy and two other Land Rover technicians that Andy worked with, Daniel and Chris, who all four poured their hearts and souls into build. We truly wouldn’t of been able to pull this off to the degree that we did, in the amount of time that we did, without this wave of support. Within 8 weeks we went from two weekend-ready vehicles to two expedition-ready vehicles complete with roof tents, gear cases, roof racks, new tires and wheels, light upgrades, dual battery systems, rock sliders, refrigerators - the list goes on.
We’d like to give a huge thank you to the team at CARRS4x4 for opening up their garage to us and for all of their help with the build out - a lot of blood, sweat and beers went into this beaut.
Here’s a look at the LR3 specs!
EXTERIOR
TIRES + WHEELS // BFG Goodrich KO2s Tires, Black Rhino Overland Wheels
ON THE ROOF // Front Runner Roof Rack, Tepui Explorer Series Autana 3 Rooftop Tent, ARB Awning, Pelican 1650 Protector Case, LifeSaver Jerry Can
LIGHTS // Baja Designs XL80s Driving/Combo (4), Baja Designs Kartrek Squadron Pros (4), Baja Designs Kartek Squadron Sports (2)
REAR // MaxTrax, Rear Tire Trash-A-Roo
FRONT // WARN 9.5 XP-S Winch, ARB Deluxe Bumper
INTERIOR
DRAWER SYSTEM // TruckVault Drawer System
FRIDGE // Dometic CFX50
SEAT COVERS // Knightsbridge Overland
SWITCH PANEL // Carrs4x4
GEAR CASES + DUFFELS / Pelican
UNDER THE HOOD
DUAL BATTERY SYSTEM // RedArc Dual Input 25A In-Vehicle DC Battery Charger with 2 Odyssey Batteries (34M-PC1500 and 34-PC1500T)
AIR COMPRESSOR // ARB On-Board Air Compressor
Making the Leap: The Decision to Take on the Pan-American
Deciding to go for it is half the battle. Deciding to set off on our Pan-American expedition, from California to Argentina, was no exception.
Day Dream to Decision
Who would’ve thought a campfire conversation could turn into nine months of thrilling adventure and 25,000 miles of conquered terrain. We’d spent the last two years scurrying off to the mountains and desert as often as we could, “escaping” the ever-popular vacation destination of Orange County, California for somewhere wilder and a little less trodden. Away from the city, with more room to breath, we always found ourselves dreaming up the “one day” trip we’d take. We’d talk about it in great detail as we bobbed and weaved through the trails of Joshua Tree, or Big Bear, or Utah. Wherever we went, it seemed that dream trip conversation always found its way into the vehicle with us, and with each weekend trip away it continued to get more vivid and detailed. Until one day, over dinner at our favorite little taco joint Andy looked over at me and said “We should do this”. I laughed nervously, and tried to figure out if he was serious...His visa was due to run out in a few months, so conversations of what to do next were frequent but I hadn’t ever really considered doing a long-term overlanding trip as an actual option. I immediately rattled off a list of 50 reasons why it wasn’t feasible - money, career, and time being the top of the list…but, I knew although he had positioned it as a hypothetical, he had already made the decision to go. He was going to make this dream a reality and now I needed to decide if I would cling on to comfort, or plunge into the unknown.
The Plunge
I would be lying if I said I was quick to come around to the idea. We’d dreamed up this entire trip together, but for some reason I couldn't pull the trigger on it. Fears flooded my mind. Would I be able to walk away from this perfect little life we had built in sunny California for something far less “comfortable”? Would I be able to put my career on hold, something I had always put so much importance around? Would my family support the decision, knowing the risks associated with a journey like this? Would I even want to put my family/friends through that?
With each excuse, there was one resounding question that overpowered the others - would I be able to watch Andy live our dream trip, the trip we had spent years unknowingly “planning” on our weekend trips away, without me in it? The answer, quite simply, was “no”. It seemed like everything in our lives had been leading up to this pivotal moment and I was certain I would regret it for the rest of my life if I watched this dream unfold without me in it. So as we drew nearer to the departure date, I made the decision, put in my notice at work, put our apartment up for rent on AirBnb, and began whole-heartedly planning this soon-to-be new reality.
Making it a Reality
Like most things in life, when all your energy is being poured, whole-heartedly, into something you’re like an unstoppable train, barreling down the tracks towards the final destination. We made the decision and fully committed to it. Mind you, most people would likely commit to something like this a year or so in advance, we had a mere 4 months from once we both decided to pull the trigger to when we set off. Regardless, we were determined and willing to get creative to make it happen.
For the next 4 months we worked our tails off. Converting our Land Rovers to expedition-ready rigs (read more about the builds in our Pan-American Build-Out Blog Post), setting up a business to run from the road, and converting our home into a rental-friendly property.
The weeks flew by, and before we knew it it was December. On December 2nd, we rolled out of our driveway in SoCal, loaded down and ready, eyes set on Argentina - ready for the adventure of a lifetime.