Driving 600 km off-road from Andorra into Spain - Land Rover Defender 130

We are Ben, Lizet and Buddy. Now living two months full-time in our Defender 130 called Turtle, with an Alu-Cab Khaya Camper. We are new at off-road driving, so this is a learning experience for us! Come along on our week long trip in the Pyrenees, driving from the border of Andorra into Spain.
If you want to drive the same route we did, you can find the roadbook on www.4x4discoverytravel.com. (4x4 only ;) )

[@4x4adventure_pl]

Offroading euphoria: where every twist and turn becomes an exhilarating adventure tale.

[@DefenderPuma]

I love Turtle en ook Buddy :) I think you were getting stuck in the mud because you are using the brake and clutch. When you are in first low you are going very slowly and do not need to go any slower. It's also dangerous because if you lock the breaks the car will begin to slide. When losing traction you should accelerate slightly. Do not brake! Another big tip: When it's muddy, the areas next to the road often offer better traction.

[@anthonybaiocchi3028]

You are both very brave going out there on your own, without a Land Cruiser recover vehicle.

[@BenenLizet]

😂😂

[@grahamatsea3575]

This is the first video of yours I've watched and I really enjoyed it. Thanks for taking us along with some great scenery.

[@BenenLizet]

You're welcome! We're glad you like it 😊

[@wittesocrates]

Kwam jullie auto tegen in Javea. Supertof om te zien wat jullie er van gemaakt hebben 👍Leuk om te zien wat voor avonturen jullie beleven. Zijn zelf aan t rondreizen door Spanje voor 6 maanden maar de manier waarop jullie het doen blijft een droom….echt heel tof!!

[@offroadtravels]

Nice off road route, good video!!!

[@mjvanputten]

Wat een leuk verslag! Van genoten!

[@teunbuijs5085]

Mooie beelden ❤

[@salvadorg4127]

Hi guys, for first time off-road you did it very well. Good luck!

[@BenenLizet]

Thank you! Practice makes it better, so we will keep driving off-road 😄

[@not2ropey]

Wow, what an amazing trip! Thanks for the upload… liked and followed and looking forward to watching more of your adventures

[@BenenLizet]

Thank you! More adventures are definitely incoming! At the moment we are at Picos de Europa 🗻

[@user-jh9iq1nw7x]

Great film!! With real cliffhangers😅

[@user-ys8nf9oq4q]

正に冒険ですね。 素晴らしい動画です。 オオカミには、気を付けてください。

[@bertju100]

Groot devender voor trip succes be save

[@stevestott1514]

Great video you two enjoyed it very much thanks for sharing it with us . Cheers from Steve Stott in Sutherlin Oregon U.S.A. :) :) 🐕:) 🍻😁👍🏼

[@BenenLizet]

yes we certainly did.thanks for watching our video. greetings from Spain Ben and Lizet 👋🏽🐾

[@stevestott1514]

@@BenenLizet ..😁👍🏼

[@VISTATREKKER]

One day I’ve got to do this. What a trip. Thanks for bringing us along. Wishing you many happy trails ahead. By the way, that’s some serious rig for a starter rig. Only way to justify that expenditure is to keep traveling - Duly liked subscribed 💪💪

[@BenenLizet]

Thank you! We're definitely going to keep travelling! For now the plan is to go to other parts of Spain, Portugal and Marocco. After that we'll see, Europe. The end goal is Indonesia.

[@VISTATREKKER]

@@BenenLizet wow, not just max trax, max adventure!

[@sydneyraj]

Very nice video. Welcome to Australia, you will love Victoria High Country and Snowy mountains. And we have many other off-road challenges to suit your taste.

[@BenenLizet]

Thank you! Who knows, maybe we will end up in Australia. First we travel through Europe, all the way to Indonesia.

[@pieter86dekker]

wat genieten toch elke keer weer. ! Hahah Lizet is wel een beetje schijterd hoor xd!

[@BenenLizet]

Hahaha, I know. Ik heb echt mega hoogtevrees 🤣 face your fears zeggen ze altijd, ben ik mee bezig 😋

[@Lordoftheflatbush]

Wat een mooi avontuur! Jullie Defender ziet er erg zwaar uit.

[@BenenLizet]

Dankjewel! Ja, hij is zeker zwaar 😅 We zitten op max gewicht, de Khaya camper zelf is zwaar en dan nog al onze spullen erbij

[@HeliRy]

That’s awesome, well done you two! I’ve always loved the 130 myself. But as an avid off-roader, that huge turning radius always kept me away from them. You made it work though 👍👍

[@BenenLizet]

Thanks! Yeah, the 130 isn't loving the tight corners, but so far we've gotten through with going back and forth 😅 what kind of car do you have?

[@HeliRy]

@@BenenLizet Currently a 2012 Disco 4 with the v8 😃

[@BenenLizet]

@@HeliRy Niiiice!

[@zirlianamatthew4598]

Amazing ❤🎉for me

[@NicHeek]

Ben pas op de helft, nu al geweldig. Batterij is bijna leeg 🥴

[@viagra4x4]

get yourself a nice detroit locker for the rear diff. makes off roading more comfy. treat the 130 for x mass.mooie presentatie by the way

[@BenenLizet]

Thanks voor de tip :) We hebben inderdaad nagedacht over lockers voor het diff, maar wilden eerst ervaren hoe het is zonder aanpassingen.

[@charliesmith1112]

Hello I've just watched your video of your trip it looks amazing I'm on about doing a trip across there with friends could you tell me where to find the maps for the same trails your driving on thanks in advance

[@kiluakun]

first of all, the video and the adventure it self look amazing! nice job!! one question though, 23.000 meter mountain? that's more than twice Mount Everest highest peak!

[@BenenLizet]

Haha, oops, honest mistake 😂 must have been 2300 meters

[@That_Guy_Outside]

Yeah - I caught that too but it was an obvious misstatement - in a second language! Great adventure!

[@igorversec1016]

Love the video! Just to much for me watch overloaded top heavy defender. Please make him a favor and get rid off the you don't need!

[@BenenLizet]

Thanks! We know it's heavy, but we live in it fulltime. Kinda need all the stuff we have with us 😬 Not ideal for the off-road circumstances, we'll make it work 😊 the car is a strong Turtle!

[@rogermellie8068]

Excellent video thank you, trip of a lifetime I'm sure. I would like to take my Discovery 1 to Galicia, Asturias and the Pyrenees in 2024, would you recommend a good time of year to do your route, was this trip recent? Obviously winter will be deep snow in the mountains.

[@BenenLizet]

Thanks! That sounds like a very cool trip! We did the route a few weeks back, in October. It was cold at night and the tracks were muddy sometimes, however do-able. I would recommend to do it in July - October, depending on the weather. Some of the tracks are closed in winter and spring (until april/may/june depending on the track). Hope that helps

[@rogermellie8068]

@BenenLizet brilliant yes that helps a lot, thank you, safe travels 👍

[@wjg496]

Bueno, esta claro que el clima es importante, pero, yo soy de la zona, y desde el 1 de noviembre hasta final de invierno estas carreteras estan cortadas por pistas de esquí y hielo.

[@MartinPape]

Hi, thanks for the video! I'm also travelling with my Defender (110). I see you have a bike carrier. What brand is this? I'm looking for an offroad-proof bike-carrier to be put on the spare wheel.

[@BenenLizet]

Hi! It's a brandless one, was very cheap (from a Chinese webshop). The bike stayed on the carrier, however one of the rubber snaps broke off. We always have it secured with an extra bike lock, which saved it from falling off. So, it works, but isn't perfect. Hope that helps 😊

[@BenzinioB]

Nice to watch, but in my opinion the truck is a bit overloaded, especially on back, looks heavy and wobbly. I can bet there are lot of stuff you don't really need (like the bike 10+ kg of weight very high at the very end).

[@BenenLizet]

thanks for looking. It is indeed very heavy, but we live in it full time. We also have a bicycle at home because we come from the Netherlands. We do the off-roading because we enjoy it every now and then

[@BenzinioB]

@@BenenLizet Of course it is entirely your own business how you going to equip the vehicle, but weight is the worst enemy of any 4WD, you sill have no experience and take the easy tracks, ones on a challenging track just a few kilograms less could be the difference between fully stuck and safely cross. Weight is bad for the engine, fuel consumption, suspension and so on. Just try to get rid from some of the stuff and replace some with a multifunction gadgets or simply better lighter items. In the case of the bicycle, well one bike for two looks like excessive weight to me. Cant ride and enjoy it together, then it could be additional mean of transport but there are some other lighter options for such purpose, skateboard or electric scooter - you can store it on the back seat and that changes the weight distribution further front between the axles. Any way, keep offroading time will give you the best lessons. All the best!

[@BenenLizet]

We appreciate your advise and know the car probably isn't optimal for offroading. Who knows, in time we might lose some weight. Or get stuck. At least that makes for a nice video 😅 all the best to you as well, hope you keep watching to see our progress.

[@joseaubesosierra6323]

Un vídeo precioso. Yo también tengo un defender y vivo en Barcelona. Me encantaría conseguir esta ruta para hacerla. Al final del vídeo veo que decís cómo conseguirla. Intentaré contactar con Marc. Gracias.

[@BenenLizet]

Mira que lindos mensajes son y que lindo que tú también tengas un defensor. Definitivamente me comunicaré con Mark, un hombre muy amable.

[@davidatkinson2416]

Well done and nice route. Did you get to enjoy any biking?

[@BenenLizet]

Thank you, we really enjoyed it! Ben has biked in Corsica, but not in the Pyrenees. The weather got quite cold, so we decided to travel a bit more to the middle of Spain. We did see some bikers on the tracks we were driving though, they were very muddy 😅

[@TheKmpec]

You might want to engage your lockers if you get stuck (on that muddy ditch where you used your maxtraxx)

[@BenenLizet]

Thanks! We really wanted to try out the maxxtraxx there, haha! Diff lockers would have worked too

[@zakclassics44]

Really like your vids and your adventure I have a 130 camper I would say the same weight equally shared your seems very rear heavy The tracks and area I have been doing every year for 5 years different times of year Your vehicle is capable of much more I am very surprised you got stuck in those conditions I assume you were using low range diff lock ?

[@BenenLizet]

Hi, thank you! It is rear heavy yeah, the Alu-cab makes it so. We did use the low gearing diff lock. It was the first time offroad for us, so we have a lot to learn! Maybe next time we won't have troubles in such conditions 🙂

[@zakclassics44]

@@BenenLizet this is the adventure we seek and the defender will take you to so many amazing places Please keep the vids coming I installed ARB Diff Locks it made a huge difference Hope one day we get to share a coffee over camp fire

[@BenenLizet]

Having a coffee over a campfire together would be cool. Who knows we'll meet someday

[@99Herrie]

Hallo, in your video I missed the whole camping experience part of the trip a bit...

[@BenenLizet]

Hello, thank you for the feedback. In this video we wanted to focus on the route and driving itself. We have planned to make a video about camping in the wild soon. 😊

[@michaelsharman7176]

I’d hazard a quess this vehicle is back end heavy ( also quite heavy overall ). You may find it easier with less weight and more balanced front to back …. I’m surprised only slight mud slowed you significantly

[@BenenLizet]

Yes, it is heavy! As we said in the video, we live in the car fulltime, the Alu-cab is heavy itself. Even though we could detach it from the car, off road driving is not our priority, so probably not the most optimal setup - we do it for fun during our world travels. Thank you for your advice, hope you will keep watching our videos 😊

[@theorionnebula707]

Great trip! What drone do you use?

[@BenenLizet]

Thanks! We have the DJI Mavic 3 pro.

[@jimnyontheroad]

Hi Can you tell me the brand of the bicycle rack on the tyre? Ciao

[@BenenLizet]

Hi! It's a brandless one, from the cheap Chinese online shop. It works, but isn't perfect.

[@papl1341]

Welke camera hebben jullie vooraan op de wagen? Zijn leuke effecten.

[@BenenLizet]

Dat is de insta360 x3. Vinden wij ook we hebben de selfie stick vast gemaakt aan de bumper

[@komunakomunalska1664]

whats your overall weight loaded ? and which engine your driving ? great great videos btw :)

[@BenenLizet]

Thank you! The overall weight loaded is 3500 kg/ 7716 lbs. We have a 2.4 stock engine.

[@komunakomunalska1664]

wow thats impressive, and the engine has enough power to move that weight ?@@BenenLizet

[@wjg496]

Buena Ruta y bonito viaje! Em cuanto a lo pesado o lijero del vehiculo, es poco realista, por estos caminos mismos, nosotros circulamos con tractor, remolque, camion forestal de 40mil kgms. Etc... Por eso siguen estos caminos abiertos... Que un defender es demasiado pesado... Sera opinion de algun urbanita. Saludos.

[@BenenLizet]

Thank you for watching and responding! It is nice to hear your opinion. 😃

[@markbergman2342]

2 bar is nog vrij veel toch? je BFG KO2 kun je vast ook op 1.5 zetten (achter ff in de gaten houden als je heeeeel zwaar bent) en op 18:26, ik zie alleen rechts voor slippen, wellicht je midden sper nog niet gebruikt? Die auto kan echt nog veeel meer.

[@BenenLizet]

1.5 bar zou inderdaad kunnen. Maar met 2 bar was het prima. Op 18:26 inderdaad difflock gebruikt. Haha ja dat zie ik op andere filmpjes voorbij komen maar toch spannend. Het is ons huisje dus dat maakt het gevoel wel anders. Maar we gaan nog zeker andere offroad tracks rijden 💪🏽

[@maybejoke9]

🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥❤️❤️❤️❤️👍👍👍👍

[@pathfinder303]

The BF Goodrich tyres don't seem to be doing too well in the mud.

[@BenenLizet]

Haha, not sure if it's the tires or our offroad skills that make the mud difficult 😅

[@rickfranke4886]

Ziet eruit als een mooie route ook goed te doen met kleine Offroad trailer of niet?

[@BenenLizet]

Hoi, we denken van wel als het een echte offroad trailer is en je auto een niet te grote draaicirkel heeft. Voor de zekerheid kan je het navragen bij maker van het roadbook, die geeft goede adviezen!

[@felixdzidzo7163]

Hello!!! Nice video. Can you share the route waypoints? I think it will be useful for everyone who is living there. Like me))))))

[@BenenLizet]

Hi, thank you! The route (and waypoints) can be found on 4x4discoverytravel.com

[@ChristianBorrman]

nice, where did you end in?

[@BenenLizet]

thanks for watching we ended in Vielha

[@ChristianBorrman]

@@BenenLizet ah nice, was that last archway montgarri refuge? Thought it looked like it! Lovely places

[@BenenLizet]

Yes, it was Montgarri Refuge! We were amazed by all the horses walking around there

[@ChristianBorrman]

It's stunning, I have only ben there in winter, I usually park at the car park in beret and run (yes its 2000m high) or cycle from baqueira but think this year I need to take the landy from at least part of the trip I usually do each summer from northern spain to barcelona and back @@BenenLizet

[@thierryvanhoof5478]

Mooie opname trouwens.

[@BenenLizet]

Bedankt we zijn zelf ook erg blij met het resultaat

[@stevewaterworth8231]

Is 4x4 Discovery Travel still in business? Their FB page has not been updated since 2021 😲

[@BenenLizet]

Yes, it is still in business! The owner told us they used to organize 4x4 group trips and said the website is a bit outdated. However the roadbook on the app is nice and modern! When we contacted them through www.4x4discoverytravel.com they responded quite fast 😊

[@paulmanners1364]

Err andorra is next to spain the distance is 0 meters..

Ha ha ha ha... chinese GPS??

[@BenenLizet]

you are good at topography. there are more roads that lead to rome. we opted for the detour. 😂😂

[@paulmanners1364]

@@BenenLizet then you need to alter the title to reflect that

[@BenenLizet]

What would your title be if you had made this video? If you come up with a good title, you might change it or you might prefer to keep that title for yourself when driving and filming this route.

[@paulmanners1364]

@@BenenLizet the best would be that the title reflects the road book

[@999mrkhaled]

€160 for the book 😮😮😮

[@szmano]

you can literally see how heavy is the vechicle

[@BenenLizet]

Yes, it is true, as we said; we live in the car fulltime, which means weight. Hope you still enjoyed the video

[@roteldorel]

farst time i see same from nederland ofroad

[@pannonianpraetorians6431]

Can you send off road rute😅

[@BenenLizet]

You can find it on 4x4discoverytravel.com 😊

[@Coordinator61]

Stonecoal english.

[@thierryvanhoof5478]

Beste mensen in deze video kon ik goed waarnemen dat de nagels van jullie witte herder moeten geknipt worden. Mfg Thierry

[@niki3151]

You do realize 99,9% of your offroading is literally on a road? Have fun and enjoy. Try not to make a science or fall for all this overlanding jargon ... just enjoy the places you visit!

[@woutervanduijn4331]

a dirt road is still a road.. 🤨

[@BenenLizet]

you are absolutely right, thank you for your answer and watching our video, I hope you liked it 👍🏽

[@That_Guy_Outside]

Keep going! Getting out into remote areas and exploring is what I find rewarding. Trchnically difficult trails are fun too, but that’s not everything!

[@That_Guy_Outside]

And those slippery muddy roads with a heavily loaded defender are nothing like a regular paved road!

[@BenenLizet]

Thank you, we will! Exploring the world is our main goal, so we're doing a combination of on and off road, cities and remote places, a mix of everything!

[@itsruf1]

A groomed trail is still a trail. ref: most all Grand Canyon trails are "groomed" and very safe. This looked easy enough for my girlfriend's Ford Escape. (providing I was driving but she looks a little like Ann Margaret c. 80's Ann.) That said this video shouldn't impress.