Vaughn Micciche, 26, resides in Baltimore, MD, and on his family’s farm in Stewartstown, PA. When he’s not riding bicycles, farming or straining his Land Rover, he works as a web and database consultant –ed. Text & photos: Vaughn Micciche
So I bought a Land Rover. I am not sure why I pulled the trigger on the Discovery II. I didn’t get such a great deal and about three months later gas prices rose rapidly. I do remember hopping in for the test drive and falling in love. I felt like if I were a truck I’d probably be this one.

At the time I worked as a data geek for an investment firm in Baltimore, MD, requiring a 45 minute commute from my family farm in southern Pennsylvania. Right away the Disco changed the way I looked at commutes and farm chores. If the tractor wouldn’t start, which seemed to be the norm, I’d just hook the hay wagon up to the Rover.
My first real off-road experience came on the commute to work one morning. (…)

Imagine our dropped jaw look as this really neat and unique Land Rover Discovery II pulled up to Rovers North in the middle of winter 2003! Just dropping in to say “hi” the owner and wife were traveling the USA from Switzerland and were magically attracted to Northern Vermont. The all aluminum hand-crafted custom roof rack was a work of art. It looked very heavy but, was indeed lightweight. I love the European fenders on the mountain bike, nice touch.

By Jeffrey B. Aronson
A fisherman friend came up to me in our island’s village parking lot, a wharf on the edge of the main harbor. “You know, Jeff,” he said, “You can actually buy cars made after 1980.” He then touched the door handle on his family minivan and watched the door slide open electronically.
So what if his door moved automatically? Does his car provide him with health benefits? I don’t think so! Performing even the simplest maintenance on a Land Rover gives you a fitness workout usually accomplished only with the aid of those strange devices extolled by Chuck Norris and introduced by lovely blondes on late night infomercials.
The Land Rover exhaust is a series of bolted together pipes. Replacing them gives you the chance to get eaten alive by bugs while lying on the ground, chew on rust flakes, spit out dirt and search for nuts, bolts and washers that fall onto the ground. And it’s free! (…)

Story by: Sonja Palomino Photos by: Janet Poelsma
It’s the Day After Tomorrow in Davenport, Florida. Today is February 16 at the Wallaby Ranch, the new site for the Florida Winter Roundup. It’s a freezing Friday night. Now I know what you’re thinking… freezing…in Florida…yeah, right. Really, it was freezing! As the sun dropped, so did the temperature. By 11:00pm, frost had covered the tents of the assembled enthusiasts. Some gathered around the blazing group campfire to join in warm conversation about the day’s events. Several of us remained by the fire for several hours, mostly out of fear of walking away from the heat just to go into a cold tent and praying that your sleeping bag will be thick enough to keep in the body heat. Remember, we are Florida folk. At about 3:00am we stoked the fire by adding several large logs hoping that in the morning we would be able to get it going with little effort. (…)

Story by: Jeffrey B. Aronson Photos by Calef Letorney & Jeffrey B. Aronson
Forget March – February is the cruelest month. Yes, it’s short and for many people, it includes a vacation weekend to buy cars in honor of forgotten Presidents. There’s a small sop to romance with Valentine’s Day. It’s also brutally cold [whoever heard of a February thaw?] and this year, much of the continental US witnessed its first major blizzard. Forget frozen pipes! Forget the pain of the simplest errands! It’s February and time for off roading. There are numerous events around the country held this time of year, but for the northeast corners of the US and Canada, it’s hard to beat the Maine Winter Romp.
For 11 years, Bruce Fowler of Unity, ME, has lent out his time, Land Rovers and his land for the President’s Day weekend event. (…)

Story and Photos by Rik Olsen

[Rik Olsen, Hastings, MN, owns a 1960 Series II 88” and a 1996 Discovery Series II SE 7. With his young son, Dane, he spent July 14, 2006, in the mud in Backus, MN. Here’s his story –ed]
To my 4 year old son, Dane, it was a “Just Boys” trip. Not that we were excluding anyone, it’s just that no girls signed up. The Minnesota Land Rovers club trip coincided with Bastille Day, and so the French national holiday became the name of our event, too.
The group had historically been trail riding in the Foothills State Forest Area, but has swung to the east side of northern Minnesota recently. There is an OHV (offhighway vehicle) recreation site in Gilbert, Minnesota that is always open where as the Foothills has erratic trail closures that could really ruin a trip. We were able to coordinate two trucks from our group of about 70 members. (…)

Repairing ABS problems in the Discovery II
By John Robison
Welcome to the techie column for the Fall edition of the Rover News. In this column, we’re going to look at some of the common problems with the antilock brakes on Discovery II models. The Discovery II electronic braking system, called SLABS (self leveling anti lock braking), is made by Wabco of Germany. Wabco is a subsidiary of American Standard, a company better known to the public for toilets than brakes. In the automotive field, Wabco specializes in braking and suspension systems for trucks. According to the company, two out of three commercial vehicles with advanced braking systems are equipped with Wabco products.
The Land Rover system includes four-wheel antilock braking, hill descent control, and four-wheel traction control. The SLABS control unit also controls the self-leveling suspension, if the vehicle has that feature. The Discovery air suspension is also a Wabco product. (…)