It sounded so easy sitting at home. Head to Jaguar-Land Rover’s head office in Mahwah, New Jersey, pick up a fully-duded, limited-edition Defender 110, and head off-roading. For someone who embraces a sedentary lifestyle, the three-kilometre run that included a hill climb, balance beam, lugging 20-litre water barrels and clambering over a 1.5-metre wooden wall, it was a rude awakening, and this task was just to get the blood pumping!
It’s part of something called Trek, an exercise used by Land Rover to teach dealer personnel teamwork and problem solving skills while experiencing the ability and versatility of the vehicles they sell. The event takes place over a gruelling 24-hour period that includes camping and a cook-out. Of course, as the brain tires, so does the ability to think logically, which made the tricky tasks more difficult and a test of perseverance.
After that heart-starting run, there were a few more tasks before departing on a time/speed/distance rally over a four-hour route. Using nothing but the trip odometer and line diagrams, the task called for managing speed while navigating the route without getting lost. The good news is that we arrived at theVermont Land Rover Experience Driving Centre at the Equinox Resort without issue.
Here we set up camp, cooked dinner, and got some much-needed sleep! The next morning’s coffee was ready at 5:30 am, although few stirred until the sun finally rose around 6:30 am. This was the main event day, with a series of interestingly different and difficult tasks. Of course, it started with another lengthy run that called for hauling the Defender up a steep hill using a rope. Having pulled a muscle, I sat this one out. It turned out to be a massive plus given what lay ahead — a series of brain teasers each with a 15-minute time limit. The time crunch made things more difficult, as we had to decide how to tackle the problem and then attempt to get it done in what felt like little more than the blink of an eye.
The first challenge was to winch the Defender up a steep hill. The challenge was that the winch cable was not allowed to touch the ground. Having anchored the cable to a tree atop the hill and positioned logs beneath it to keep it out of the dirt, it was time to pull. The issue was that the hill was steep enough that it taxed the winch, so the driver had to help things along by adding a little engine muscle. It was a delicate balance, easing the winch’s load without letting the cable sag and touch the ground. Task completed, and without leaving the winch cable looking like an ugly ball of wire!
Next, we used a farm jack to drag the rear end of the Defender — which was sitting on a log — a metre sideways and then back within the allotted time. It sounded easy, but overcoming the tire’s traction and getting the 2,200-kilogram Defender to move was not as simple as it sounded.
After anchoring one end of the jack to a tree and the other end to the Defender, it was time to pump the jack handle. We managed to get the Defender about three-quarters of the way along the log in the time allowed. Not the best outcome, but rewarding given none of the team had seen — let alone used — a high-lift jack in this manner!
The next task was the easiest, at least from a physical perspective. Each team member had to drive the Defender around a boulder-strewn course. Simple, but all members had to do it in the same time, or as close to the same as possible. Of course, any form of timing device was outlawed. The difference boiled down to 27 seconds, which was not too shabby.
Now it was back to the physical, as we were tasked with swapping the left front wheel with the right rear wheel. The obvious solution was to remove the spare tire, jack up the Defender, pull off the left front tire and replace it with the spare. Then jack up the right rear and swap the tires, go back to the front with the right rear tire and swap it with the spare before returning the spare to its home. Clear as mud! We managed to short-circuit the process by finding a large boulder and using it to support the Defender while we swapped the tires. This simple move eliminated the need to remove and reinstall the spare tire — after all the winching, driving, running and jacking, anything that made life easier was a mighty bonus!
The final task was to drive the Defender through a steep, undulating course while hitting a target on the right front corner of the roof with something that resembled a plumb bob. It sounded so simple as it was explained, but it proved to be a convoluted exercise. Beyond the need to accurately position the Defender while negotiating some serious mud and ruts, the trick was to use the height-adjustable suspension to lift and/or lower the vehicle so the plumb bob and target touched. Four out of six targets was better than expected.
Land Rover’s Trek proved to be a lot of fun and a steep learning curve that forced all participants to look at a seemingly simple task and find an innovative solution. The tough series of tests left me physically sore and mentally exhausted, but with a sense of achievement.
Keyword: Land Rover Trek is not for the faint of heart