Interviewed by Expedition Extreme

Having returned from Germany in the early hours of Friday last weekend, by mid afternoon I was heading off in my Series II Discovery towards Sweihan, to meet up with the Land Rover Owners Club of the U.A.E. for their first camp out of the year. Whilst there I met up with my friend Shaun Meyer, himself an extremely experienced off road driver & overlander from South Africa, who recently created his YouTube channel; Expedition Extreme. We had a chat about my truck, which can be seen below.

As you can see, we’re seasoned pros who got the whole thing done first time in a single take.
Just a minute, my phone’s ringing….it might be Hollywood. Got to go…….

Testing the Oberaigner Sprinter 6×6 in Oman

Oberaigner 6x6 Sprinter

This is the video I helped to film in Oman in 2015 with Oberaigner. As a result of driving the 4.5 tonne, 6×6 Sprinter for four days on tarmac, gatch track, rocky trails and the Wahiba sands desert, I was suitably impressed with its performance  and ordered one later that year, as the basis for my ‘Travel Truck’.

As you’ll see in the video, the Oberaigner 6×6 also has an impressive wading depth (600mm) and has the benefit of five differential locks and a low range transfer box for all terrain capability. I’m having mine fitted with a PTG tyre inflation system, which can fully inflate all 6 tyres to an operator specified value in less than three minutes – about 15 minutes quicker than using a garage compressor, or a small capacity unit like a BushRanger. Tyres on mine, and as fitted to the vehicles in the video, are BF Goodrich A/T 285/75/R16s. Ground clearance fully loaded is 257mm.

We also had with us a 4×4 Sprinter fitted out as a troop carrier. We used this as our ‘main store’ for all our provisions, luggage and recovery equipment. Although you can’t see it, the 6×6 body was filled with enormous truck tyres and some spares for the Sprinters. This was done to bring the vehicles weight up to around 4.5 tonnes, so as to create realistic test conditions. Watch the video carefully and you’ll see the 6×6’s front and rear axle articulation, which is really quite impressive and helped it to perform so well in the sand. At one point you’ll see it climb up a 1:1 dune slope with ease – not bad for a ‘delivery van’ !

And so, the journey begins

Ladies, Gentlemen, and those of you who’ve not checked recently, WELCOME.

Congratulations, for being one of the first ever readers of what will, over time, become the world’s greatest travel blog. Possibly.

Pour yourself a large one, pull up a comfy chair, sit back, relax, and please, no snoring, or I’ll know I’ve bored you senseless.

Strap yourself in, tighten your six point harness, plug in your Peltor, grab your pace notes and brace yourself for one hell of a ride!

Tim
Teller of tales, traveler in trucks, taker of tiffs, and allegedly, talented taster of tiramsu.