Are we wasting our time?

[defuzz]

All the money we spend on off road vehicles, loving them like our own children and playing with them at weekends, Top Gear have just shown you can drive across the bloody desert in a 40 year old Opal, a 26 year old Lancia, a 20 year old Merc and ableeding VW Beetle!!!!!


On the other hand, it has made me REALLY want to save up to go on a Land Rover Desert Adventure

[Evilgoat]

Hmm

MC Desert trip anyone? ;)

[cardiff_gareth]

I loved that old Opel, what was did Hamster name it again  :lol:

[mill2020]

I think it was Oliver?

[Drift]

It was fantastic to watch, but they couldnt have done it without the back up crew holding all the survival gear  

[Lucy1978]

I but they couldnt have done it without the back up crew holding all the survival gear  

Try reading Cape Cold to Cape Hot by Richard Pape.  He completed the first crossing from Nordkapp in Norway to Cape Town in South Africa overland by car.  He did it in 1955 I think, in an Austin A8, no 4wd, no support crew, not even tarred roads in Spain at that time, yet he still managed Oslo to Gibralter in 36 hours.  He crossed the Sahara in the Summer too.  
That was an achievement and there's nothing Top Gear can do to even come close to matching it.
ps I've still got the scars from stacking my kite buggy on those salt flats  :lol:

[strapping young lad]

jupiter's travels by ted simon (on his own with a motorbike) is a good read

[littlepow]

I'm getting more tempted to switch from 4 wheels to 2 for offroading.

Vehicles are cheaper and more economical.

[V8MoneyPit]

Try reading Cape Cold to Cape Hot by Richard Pape.  

I've got a copy of that book. A great read. I seem to remember it was an Austin A90 Westminster. I like the section where they are literally hacking their way through the jungle in the Belgian Congo (IIRC) and they come to a clearing where a british couple had built a house. After tea and biscuits, awfully British, they carried on through the jungle  :lol: Just fantastic!

The TG challenge was fun, as always. Although, I do hope they clear up their junk afterwards  :D

[hairyasswelder]

I'm getting more tempted to switch from 4 wheels to 2 for offroading.

Vehicles are cheaper and more economical.

Been there    got the medical record to prove it  :roll:  :roll:  ouch :shock:

[landroverkeith]

sticking with 4 wheels nothing about riding a hairdryer across the mud appeals to me lol at least the disco has a radio for when im waiting to be pulled out

[redneck]

I used to do production car trialling. Standard 2wd production cars on off road courses. It's amazing what you can get a standard 2wd car to do but there's no substitute for having drive to all of the wheels when the going gets really tough  

[wellieboot]

I'm getting more tempted to switch from 4 wheels to 2 for offroading.

Vehicles are cheaper and more economical.

Been there    got the medical record to prove it  :roll:  :roll:  ouch :shock:

Yeah, I was going to say - a fourbie hurts a lots less to fall out off than a two wheeler does to fall off of!  #-o

[clbarclay]

For a 4x4 driver Hammond's river crossing technique was  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :twisted: I suspect the few minuets before that was spent much like any pay and play with the support crew egging him on to do something he had no chance of making :twisted:


A program on after the laugh a minuet was 'Long way down', I don't care much for bikes but the Toyota support vehicle looked very nice.

[Range Rover Blues]

Thing is they were sort of having a go at 4x4 owners but they were driving in the best of conditions and in cars that werw quite frankly falling apart.  None of them had brakes by the end of it and I had to keep fixing that damn Lancia I'd be 1 car and 1 match worse off by now.

Did make that old Opel look good though, had it not been for that river crossing it would have been 100%, as far as the editing would show.

But takinb it with a pinch of salt, what did they prove? other than how to waste the licence fee and have a laugh doing it.

[redneck]

For a 4x4 driver Hammond's river crossing technique was  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :twisted: I suspect the few minuets before that was spent much like any pay and play with the support crew egging him on to do something he had no chance of making :twisted:


A program on after the laugh a minuet was 'Long way down', I don't care much for bikes but the Toyota support vehicle looked very nice.

Nissan Patrol  

[DiscoveRay]

Can't remember where I read it:

"Driving a car is like watching a movie, riding a motorcycle is like being in a movie."

Didn't mention deserts tho'

Ray

[Big Rich]

sticking with 4 wheels nothing about riding a hairdryer across the mud appeals to me lol at least the disco has a radio for when im waiting to be pulled out

Do you have a disc changer mate  :lol:

Rich

[landroverkeith]

sticking with 4 wheels nothing about riding a hairdryer across the mud appeals to me lol at least the disco has a radio for when im waiting to be pulled out

Dou you have a disc changer mate  :lol:

Rich

 :shock:  lol ooooooo cheeky lol










yup and 3 mp3 players fully loaded  

[Big Rich]

Only joking mate. I've been stuck enough in the past. Thats why I sold my renault 19  :D

Rich

[clbarclay]

For a 4x4 driver Hammond's river crossing technique was  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :twisted: I suspect the few minuets before that was spent much like any pay and play with the support crew egging him on to do something he had no chance of making :twisted:


A program on after the laugh a minuet was 'Long way down', I don't care much for bikes but the Toyota support vehicle looked very nice.

Nissan Patrol  

 :oops: Looked like an 80 series at a glance to me, they should have spent less time showing bikes so could get a decent look.

[redneck]

For a 4x4 driver Hammond's river crossing technique was  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :twisted: I suspect the few minuets before that was spent much like any pay and play with the support crew egging him on to do something he had no chance of making :twisted:


A program on after the laugh a minuet was 'Long way down', I don't care much for bikes but the Toyota support vehicle looked very nice.

Nissan Patrol  

 :oops: Looked like an 80 series at a glance to me, they should have spent less time showing bikes so could get a decent look.

I know what you mean chris, I was much more interested in the support vehicles  

http://www.automotoportal.com/article/nissan-patrols-conquer-africa-on-long-way-down

[redneck]

There's a good article in Total Off Road magazine this month all about the support vehicles  :D