Registration plans…..shafted

If you were hoping to read that my truck was finally registered and on the road in Dubai…….well, so was I! In fact I rushed to the Warsan registration centre near the Dubai sewage treatment plant (I get all the best gigs) when I heard it was on a flat bed, finally clear from Dubai Customs and on its way to the Tasjeel test and registration centre. Imagine my excitement when I saw it pull up, on Dubai soil for the first time and just minutes away from being mine, all mine, registered and on the road…..

And imagine my incredulity when I drove it off the trailer and realised it would not move unless I engaged the diff locks. You don’t have to know much about vehicles to know what that means – that there’s a drive shaft or coupling or complete differential somewhere which is, to use the military vernacular, FUBAR. Yep, somewhere in my poor truck’s brief 127km history, it would appear, I think, that someone had engaged the diff locks whilst on tarmac, which had lead to the inevitable damage to the transmission. After 20 minutes of stunned silence (apart from a little gentle sobbing), I abandoned the idea of registering the vehicle, had it loaded onto another flat bed, and delivered to my office in Dubai where I have room to store it. Not the happiest journey I have made…

Right now I’m in the process of obtaining a new front left drive shaft (it didn’t take long to find the broken part) and getting my truck  repaired ASAP. With a bit of luck, I shall be in a position to try again next week, when I hope to have rather better news! Until then, I guess I picked the wrong month to quit drinking…..

2 comments on “Registration plans…..shafted

  • Hi Tim,
    Came across your website looking for information on Oberaigner 6×6 campers. Will certainly be following your site the next couple of months and look forward to read about your experiences with your camper. Enjoy your trip and truck. Would also be interested toe read about the equipment you chose (ie. refrigerators, heating, etc). Please include some information on that on your website at some stage?

    • Sorry for the long delay between my last two posts Coen. I’ll be covering every part of the build in detail but just to let you know, my freezer and fridge are Isotherm (webasto) marine spec units, the heating comes via either LPG OR the additional diesel heater (Webasto). More detail in future videos.

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