Finding our way from England where The Turtle V will be shipped to and on through Germany, Switzerland and southwest to Lisbon, Portugal, and then east crossing 26 very different countries all the way to Beijing, China will be a daunting challenge. Thanks to Lonely Planet travel and guidebooks and our Garmin GPS, we at […]
Many people have asked us how we get that 130 pound spare tire up on the back of the truck and how does it stay there. The answer is very manual and quite simple. Rather than use an electric winch that could fail after months of disuse, we use a simple 1-ton manually operated Maasdam […]
While our new Rickson Truck Wheels were round and true and reversible from front to rear, there was a major problem that should have been taken care of before they were powder coated or certainly before I mounted five new Michelin XZL 335/80R20 tires. These new wheels absolutely had to have valve stems on both […]
For years we had suffered with our Stockton Wheels on The Turtle V. They were never true, and because we had gone from dual rears to singles, the offset was different from front to rear, meaning we could not swap the rear or spare to the front. Rickson Truck Wheels came up with a compromise […]
Back in the days of our 1967 109 Land Rover, (https://www.turtleexpedition.com/vehicles/turtle-i-2/), we had two vents under the windshield. We called that AC. Funny how we’ve become addicted to the luxuries of air conditioning, power steering, power brakes and cruise control over the years. Our AC had been malfunctioning off and on for months and recharging […]
Driving back from Chico, the traffic was heavy. I stepped on the brake and it went all the way to the floor. Hummm! That’s not good. I managed to limp home and stop with the emergency brake. Turns out there are three brake lines running forward from the master cylinder to an ABC device under […]
On an extended expedition like our upcoming Trans-Eurasian Odyssey from Lisbon, Portugal to Shanghia, China, the only thing worse than major health problems would be an engine failure. Even with our Amsoil Dual Filter Bypass system, we need to carry an adequate supply of quality oil for occasional filter changes and normal consumption. Quality synthetic […]
When The Turtle V stops, our primary means of transportation will be walking. During our 28-day John Muir Trail trek,, we discovered La Sportiva boots, and Superfeet Insoles. No more blisters and no re-occurrences of the painful Plantar Fasciitis that can quickly ruin any hike. Unlike even the best out-of-the-box insoles, the Superfeet can be […]
Storage in a small expedition camper like The Turtle V is critical. Clothes for four seasons, medical supplies, camera equipment, computers, tools and spare parts, food—it’s a long list, whether it’s for three days or three years. In addition to the Weatherguard box on the front rack, we needed more storage for light equipment and […]
Some things would never see a flea market. With an acre of property, there are plenty of places to hide stuff. Pallets, dead dishwashers, paint buckets, wine barrel rings—a 13-year collection that tipped the scales at the local recycle yard just under 1/2 a ton.
