How they do things in Europe
Those looking for the ultimate off-roading vehicle regardless of its practicability might consider something like this monster seen here at the Abenteuer & Allrad off-road show in Bad Kissingen, Barar...
Forum Discussion
Sounds like a lot of Australian dirt "roads"
Yes, I guess 2000 kilometres of soft sand dunes alternating with constant washboarded roads between the dunes and tough shrubs growing over the road might fit the bill. That is the Canning Stock Route. The one that brought down the crack Mercedes Benz factory 4WD team while Betty and I trundled the full length in an unmodified (but very overweight) 20 year old Australian built 4WD truck without incident.
http://ninemsn.carpoint.com.au/news/2011/large-4x4/mercedesbenz/big-shock-for-mercedesbenz-expedition-26071 and the links below the story tell part of the story, albeit in typical journalistic puffery-speak. Straight out of the factory unmodified vehicles??? Yeh, right!
This story is possibly slightly more honestly-written But only slightly as this reader pointed out
With all due respect, your article should have mentioned that this journey was ONLY able to be completed after parts for 6 of the 7 vehicles were flown in from Melbourne (including the need to specially charter an aircraft to get those parts to the remote location).
Without that key information, it is totally disingenuous to suggest that these vehicles satisfactorily completed the journey.
Particularly the references to other makes that were passed abandoned seems rather poor, when perhaps the owners of those vehicles did not have the benefit (nor bank balance) to be able to call on flown in help?
To sum it up, Mercedes crashed and burned on the Canning Stock Route but even then they tried to make the best of it by selective reporting that fooled nobody
THIS PAGE - which had the Australian four-wheel drive community rolling in the aisles.
Or last time across the Simpson Desert (also hundreds of soft sand dunes) when rare rains turned the last 50km into a grey-clay bog and every second vehicle coming into Birdsville had to get brake components replaced because the gritty mud wore them out.
No Good Sam either although the Birdsville recovery truck might be able to get you out if you have enough money.
All good fun.
Back in the US in a few months. White rim trail looks interesting. Might see if the Airstream is up to the trip.
