Hi, Guys.
Just flipped on National Geographic Channel today by chance and saw a show where the host was taking a 4wheeling trip up a Mountain in the Sani Pass at Lesotho near Southern Africa. This hill goes up 6000-9000 feet at least, and the road is accessible by vehicle. The host was driving a classic 4 door Land Rover wagon, white, with right side drive. I only saw the last 25 minutes of this so my description will not be as comprehensive as I'd like, but it will be brief.
When I turned the show, the host was about 2/3 up the road, and he had already lost the half shaft in his rear axle, and was going on with just front wheel drive. The terrain was about what you'd see if the unpaved sections of the road to Mt. Washington in NH was the whole road. The road itself was not difficult, but lots of turns and narrow in sections, and constantly going up for the most part. At one point, he came across a fairly steep section and couldn't make the grade with the Land Rover's front drive only operating. At this point, he turn the rig around and backed up this section, going very slowly. I presume he started this trip in the mid or late morning, and by this time it was afternoon, and the sun sets at about roughly shy of 6pm, so he now starting to fight the clock. He made it up the tough section and was continuing on. The scenary on this mountain was gorgeous, as breathtaking as virtually any drivable mountain trail you'd want to take, and as a photographer I was very envious.
The host continued on by his estimation for another 45 minutes when suddenly he felt a real jolt underneath his floor pan, and he looked for a safe place to stop and inspect the Land Rover. At this point, he lost his hand brake and had to back in part way into a ditch.
The drive shaft broke. Now he had no front drive, and the Land Rover was now and oversized paperweight.
Lucky the host had a satillite phone (and the Nat. Geo. film crew) and telephoned for assistance. Help came in the form of a Nissan Frontier-like 4 door 4WD pick up and he was able to tow the vehicle further up the road to spot where people can stay the night, and the host called for mechanical help to come the next day.
Help came in a Suzuki pick up with mechanics. They said the drive shaft was toast and could not be repaired on location, that would have to be done in shop. But they were successful in repairing rear drive, by replacing the half shaft, and the host continued a bit longer, then stopped his vehicle when he got to a tough spot not able to be run without 4WD. He got out and hiked to a spot where he was to meet with a guide who would take him to a secret spot where ancient native artwork was on rock walls. That was the end of the show for the most part.
Now the thing that gets me is, why was that Land Rover so delicate? I've wheeled twice since I got my latest 4Runner, and both trails - even the stock run at FG - was tougher than this mountain dirt road in Southern Africa. I couldn't help but to think that I could take my stock vehicle up that road right now and not worry about it too much. Ditto for any Land Cruiser owner or mini truck owner. The guys who went up the trail in the Nissan and Suzuki seemed to have no issue at all. I realize this is only one truck, and by no means do I mean any disrespect to Land Rover, who make good 4x4s, but that was a little shocking to see. I'm betting I could have made it in Ford Explorer.
Anyone have any thoughts? Just food for discussion, and I know it's difficult without seeing the show (hopefully it will repeat itself or maybe you can get it on On-Demand), but just wondering why this could have happned, short of being absolutely lazy on proper maintenence.
MJC
(Blackhawk1)
Just flipped on National Geographic Channel today by chance and saw a show where the host was taking a 4wheeling trip up a Mountain in the Sani Pass at Lesotho near Southern Africa. This hill goes up 6000-9000 feet at least, and the road is accessible by vehicle. The host was driving a classic 4 door Land Rover wagon, white, with right side drive. I only saw the last 25 minutes of this so my description will not be as comprehensive as I'd like, but it will be brief.
When I turned the show, the host was about 2/3 up the road, and he had already lost the half shaft in his rear axle, and was going on with just front wheel drive. The terrain was about what you'd see if the unpaved sections of the road to Mt. Washington in NH was the whole road. The road itself was not difficult, but lots of turns and narrow in sections, and constantly going up for the most part. At one point, he came across a fairly steep section and couldn't make the grade with the Land Rover's front drive only operating. At this point, he turn the rig around and backed up this section, going very slowly. I presume he started this trip in the mid or late morning, and by this time it was afternoon, and the sun sets at about roughly shy of 6pm, so he now starting to fight the clock. He made it up the tough section and was continuing on. The scenary on this mountain was gorgeous, as breathtaking as virtually any drivable mountain trail you'd want to take, and as a photographer I was very envious.
The host continued on by his estimation for another 45 minutes when suddenly he felt a real jolt underneath his floor pan, and he looked for a safe place to stop and inspect the Land Rover. At this point, he lost his hand brake and had to back in part way into a ditch.
The drive shaft broke. Now he had no front drive, and the Land Rover was now and oversized paperweight.
Lucky the host had a satillite phone (and the Nat. Geo. film crew) and telephoned for assistance. Help came in the form of a Nissan Frontier-like 4 door 4WD pick up and he was able to tow the vehicle further up the road to spot where people can stay the night, and the host called for mechanical help to come the next day.
Help came in a Suzuki pick up with mechanics. They said the drive shaft was toast and could not be repaired on location, that would have to be done in shop. But they were successful in repairing rear drive, by replacing the half shaft, and the host continued a bit longer, then stopped his vehicle when he got to a tough spot not able to be run without 4WD. He got out and hiked to a spot where he was to meet with a guide who would take him to a secret spot where ancient native artwork was on rock walls. That was the end of the show for the most part.
Now the thing that gets me is, why was that Land Rover so delicate? I've wheeled twice since I got my latest 4Runner, and both trails - even the stock run at FG - was tougher than this mountain dirt road in Southern Africa. I couldn't help but to think that I could take my stock vehicle up that road right now and not worry about it too much. Ditto for any Land Cruiser owner or mini truck owner. The guys who went up the trail in the Nissan and Suzuki seemed to have no issue at all. I realize this is only one truck, and by no means do I mean any disrespect to Land Rover, who make good 4x4s, but that was a little shocking to see. I'm betting I could have made it in Ford Explorer.
Anyone have any thoughts? Just food for discussion, and I know it's difficult without seeing the show (hopefully it will repeat itself or maybe you can get it on On-Demand), but just wondering why this could have happned, short of being absolutely lazy on proper maintenence.
MJC
(Blackhawk1)
