Having just done a 500 mile round trip to get my first Freelander 2 at the weekend one of the things I really fancy doing is to at least do a flavour of what it's built for.....

Does anyone here know of any other Forums that cover Green Laning etc around the Central belt of Scotland?

Cheers!

No byways (green lanes) as such in Scotland. Most is private forest tracks that you need permission to drive.
http://www.freel2.com/forum/topic8401.html
Or head south to the Lake District  * GONE. GS TD4 Manual MY2013. Orkney Grey with privacy, cold and clearview packs, armrests (a must!) and a spoiler.
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Look on th web for Scottish Green Road Club. They organise access permissions for runs in private roads. Just been mentioned on their forum that thay have 150+ members now so it could be a long convoy! Everyone can spread it - Anyone can catch it. Stay home - the life you save can be your own!

Thanks guys - These links look exactly what I'm looking for!

Probably pretty tame to most but an ideal place for me to start & take it from there.....

They got a mention in this months LRO.

Just spent an interesting couple of hours looking at a number of the Galleries & watched a number of Videos from previous 'Green Laning' events in Scotland.

One thing I have noticed is that even in 'Green Laning' is just how few Freelanders seem to be taking part and that these events are almost completely dominated by Defenders & Discovery's.

In the scheme of Green Laning just how much more suitable / capable is a Discovery for example ?

Cheers.....

Not too sure about the suitability as such, more can you afford to.
I used to do a fair bit of green landing in Devon/Cornwall area and I used my Defender.
Owning both now a Defender and a Freelander just the cost factor I would never take my freelander down the lanes, a lot of the lanes down here are so over grown with branches/brambles you would have no paint left after one day laning.

I'm happy to do that in my Defender but could not afford to do that to a £15/20k wagon personally.

I would take the freelander on non damaging open moor type driving

Regards
Ben (GONE) FL2 2008 SE (manual) Santorini Black, the expensive one
(LEFT WITH) 300tdi Defender 90 the cold, reliable & sensible one

yes I would agree with Ben, too much damage would be done to paintwork to justify it.

best use an old Discovery/Defender and you wouldn't need to worry as much.

but I would imagine an FL2 would just be a capable if used.

Iain

Hi Guys,

The reasons behind the FL being less common as an off road tool is that they are undersold on that aspect. Whilst I am not really qualified to comment on this forum (but currently have FL1 and FFRR and have been off roading for 27 yrs and looking to purchase FL2 later this year -so maybe you can forgive me).

I have an FL1 which is off roaded monthly. It was let down by the lack of ground clearance initially, as was the FL2 that came on the FFRR green lane day on the Salisbury Plain last year. However, I have mud-terrain tyres and importantly a 40mm lift and a couple of proper guards fitted to it and when I go out with Disco's and Classics it is now the point vehicle sent to try any new lane. It will go nearly anywhere a Defender will and sometimes more due to the traction control. The FL2 that joined us last year got stuck once due to beaching on some deep ruts and that was after being told not to attempt it!

If you are doing soft off roading in a standard car then treading lightly then keep out of the ruts if possible and plan your route. If you do get stuck then you will need to spin the wheels to allow the traction control to do its work.

As for the paint, the polishing out of scratches a couple of times a year is part of the deal, although you could help others by pruning the worst before driving through, I used to polish out the FFRR monthly (it was only a year old then).

If you don't do it you are missing the whole point of the vehicle! FL2 HSE Lux 2013
I-Pace HSE 2019
MX5 1998

I've been out with dozens of Defenders and Discos and no matter which way you look at it they can go further off road because they have more clearance and bigger wheel diameter. The height off the ground about half way between the front wheel and the back wheel is greater in them than in the FL2 so they can straddle obstacles like rock steps that hang us up. They can handle deeper ruts as well. In all other ways the FL2 can match it with them even without low range. The FL2 is way better on road though.

The ground clearance is the limiting factor. Even more crucial is that the lowest point is the fuel tank! So when your dragging your freely out of deep ruts just hope you don't snag it on something imovable. Saying that, on a day offroading with LRE Honiton, my freely kept up with disco's, defenders, and a jeep with no problems. The aforementioned low ground clearance only came into play with a well placed manhole cover sticking up in a lane!

Exactly my point. The FL is crippled by the ground clearance and until mine was lifted (tyres and suspension) it was always a struggle against the rest of the crowd. Now people ask if it can ever get stuck. Good guards allow you to use momentum if you need to without fear of large lumps being left behind.

If your motor is standard then the compromises have to be made about what and, more importantly, how you tackle the obstacles. Even unmodified its an awesomely capable vehicle. FL2 HSE Lux 2013
I-Pace HSE 2019
MX5 1998

BossBob wrote:

The ground clearance is the limiting factor. Even more crucial is that the lowest point is the fuel tank! So when your dragging your freely out of deep ruts just hope you don't snag it on something imovable. Saying that, on a day offroading with LRE Honiton, my freely kept up with disco's, defenders, and a jeep with no problems. The aforementioned low ground clearance only came into play with a well placed manhole cover sticking up in a lane!

Mantec Tank guard

+1 FL2 HSE Lux 2013
I-Pace HSE 2019
MX5 1998