ISSUE ZERO
PROVEN OVERLAND STAFF Michael Stolz
Erik Olsen
Founder / Publisher
Director of Business Development
ABOUT Proven Overland is an online magazine that is passionate about vehicle based adventures. We are striving to bring something unique to the world of 4WD and off-road magazines; a more clean and simple format. We are keeping the gear reviews and ads to a minimum, because isn’t the best part of overlanding the stories behind it all? Proven will highlight the raw tales of real people exploring our world and getting out there- featuring the victories and challenges along the way.
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FEATURES Featured Overland Rig 1999 GU Nissan Patrol Alex Garner Adventure Story Going Down South Roving Places - Lilli and Lukas Adventure Story Rescue, Mud, Adventure Live Overland - Mark Bucio Adventure Story Discover The Outback Alex Garner Featured Overland Rig 2013 79 Series Landcruiser UTE Ronny Dahl
ALEX GARNER’S
GU Nissan Patrol What is your vehicle make and model? This vehicle is a 1999 GU Nissan Patrol with a 2.8 turbo diesel engine (about as slow as they come) What event(s) led or inspired you to invest in the vehicle you own today? I grew up overlanding in a Ford Maverick, which is actually an early model Nissan Patrol re-badged by Ford. I owned one of these myself as my first 4wd vehicle which I suppose cemented my status as a Patrol man. I got into the newer GU Patrol you see here for some added comfort and reliability as the old maverick was pushing 600,000km old! What is your vehicle mainly used rims. Up the front is a Nissan factory steel for? I.E. daily driver, off-road, winch bar with some old, but brilliant Hella Rallye 4000 spotlights but no winch as of overland adventures. yet. A set of ARB steel side steps save my panWell it’s not my daily driver. The Patrol els from damage, and a steel rear bar with a comes out when I need to haul a trailer, spare wheel carrier and twin jerry can holdseat more than two people, and of course ers tie it up on the rear. Other things boltit’s always ready to get out and adven- ed up around the outside include a snorkel, ture! Otherwise it sits in the driveway and 4 roof bars which carry the Howling Moon makes everybody jealous. roof top tent and a steel roof basket, an ARB awning, rear work light and reversing camCan you give us a quick run through era and at either end you will find two rated of the modifications you have done recovery hooks. to your vehicle and any future modifications you have planned? The engine has been left alone mostly with just a 3 inch mandrel bend exhaust bolted Uh oh, this could take a while! It’s been a up to it. It’s still slower than a wet weekend, steady build over a number of years which but at least it sounds good now! There’s a started with a 3 inch suspension kit from dual battery setup under the bonnet, and a Old Man Emu and a set of 285/75 (ap- Uni-filter washable air filter but that’s about it. proximately 33 inch) tyres on steel
Inside it’s got new speakers and head unit, nothing to blow my ears off but it’s better than standard. A pillar pod houses a boost and exhaust gas temperature gauge, a turbo timer was on the vehicle when I bought it. The UHF is one of those fancy hidden ones with the controls on the hand piece. There’s a HEMA HN5i for off and on road mapping, and I built a second glove box where the passenger airbag usually goes (they never installed them on this model). I’ve built my own false floor to help keep things organised, and mount my ancient fridge on a slide back there too. A Holden Commodore cargo barrier somehow kinda fits in there and stops the whole lot falling onto the passengers heads. That’s about all the exciting stuff, don’t wanna ramble on forever! If you could redo your build would you do it the same or change anything? There are heaps of things I would do different if I built this again. I probably wouldn’t have a full steel rear bar, and if I did I’d spend more money and get a good one. I would set the battery system up with a good DC-DC charger, build the false floor a little higher, swap the tow bar for a Reece hitch and probably change the way I have my roof set up. What is your favorite recovery story involving your vehicle so far? This vehicle hasn’t been in too many tricky recovery situations, except the one time I came close to rolling it on a steep hill climb. None of us had a winch and nobody could get in front of me with a snatch strap. We ended up running a sling around a tree, joining a few snatch straps; and doubling back to the vehicle behind. As I reversed down the hill, the vehicle at the back had to come up to feed more strap through. It was dodgy, but it worked! Yep, I need a winch… ..............................................................................................................................................
Instagram: @intentsoffroad Website: intentsoffroad.com
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ADVENTURE STORY
GOING DOWN SOUTH
I
magine one of the weirdest places on earth. Around nothing but empty vastness and a silence that is so absolute that you can almost hear your own heartbeat. It’s a beautiful night and the milky way in it’s full glory stretches from horizon to horizon with a cosmic shower marking clear cut lines across the sky. We are the only humans for miles, that amount of free space gives you time to contemplate. How exactly did we, two city bred Europeans, both barely finished with uni, end up here? Well... that story goes back a bit.
It all started with an idea (like most things, really). Around mid 2014, the end of our degree was closing in fast, we started thinking about what to do after. Our families would have loved for us to continue with our masters right away or get a job, but it was clear that neither was an option for us. We wanted to get out, wanted to get far away from our hometown and see something new. There are a lot of options if you come to think of it, but most young people do the same thing. Hop over to Australia for a year of work&travel. We’ve never been to Australia, but from what we imagine it must be full of germans because literally everyone is there or has been there. Not wanting to do what everyone does, cushy Australia was out of the question, so we started looking into all-around-theworld tickets, but were quickly deterred by the price tag.
All the while we would look around for a Land Rover Defender. First Lukas’s dream car, Lilli got infected rather quickly. The dream of our own Defender was quite far stretched though (or so we thought), so wedreamed about it more than we actually thought of buying one. That was until we came up with the rather silly idea of driving through Africa. And of course, if we were to do that journey, what car would be better suited for an overland journey of that scale than a Land Rover? Legend has it that 70% of all Land Rovers that have been built since the first version in 1948 are still on the road, and we had to get one. Surely there would be one for us? We won’t bore you with the whole story how we actually got ours, let’s just say we were really lucky finding a Landy that we could afford which wasn’t only a collection of rust. One thing though, we bought it very spontaniously and had to change our initial plans of driving all the way from Hamburg to Cape Town a bit. We ended up shipping the car to Cape Town and starting off on an 8 month round trip that lead us through Namibia’s desolate and stunning vastness, Botswana’s mind blowing contrast between desert and lush delta, Zimbabwe’s expensive currency crash and Zambia’s beautiful valleys teaming with game so far. On the way we tackled everything from hairy 4x4 tracks to deep sand and dunes to wild animals blocking our way and scary looking guys with rifles or machete’s visiting our camp (who turned out to be very friendly every time, just checking who’s camped in their neighborhood). One morning we were even woken up by monkeys alerting us to a pack of lions running in the riverbed we were camped at.
And now, a few months into the journey we are somewhere in Malawi, with our very own Land Rover Series III called Harry. He’s not one of the younger, beefed up versions of the Defender that looks brutal and is packed with accessories for everything that foolishly tries to get in it’s way. Not by a long shot. He’s actually 32 years old (so he could be called the senior on our journey) and came with a proper licenceplate for historic cars. With him in almost original state, we are travelling without the major gizmo’s. We don’t have a snorkel or a winch, couldn’t afford a roof top tent and went so far as hectically building the wooden interior ourselves in about a weeks time. Sleeping two people on a mattress of 1m x 2m in the heat of africa doesn’t sound like fun, but it sure works for us and is actually quite snug. I know what you are probably thinking by now, and we did the same thing. What exactly do two youngsters with next to no mechanical knowledge whatsoever buy an oldtimer for. Especially one from a brand that is jokingly known for it’s reliability to break down more often than not. But rest assured, we didn’t have any major problems so far (at least non that we couldn’t handle) and we are sure that Harry will behave that way until we reach our final destination. And even if he doesn’t, there are enough competent bush-mechanics around that can fix an old Landy up with a bit of duct-tape and a screwdriver. So what’s next for us? Well, we are working our way up to Tanzania as of now, the furthest north that we’ll go on this trip. We don’t really have a fixed route in general and live on a day to day basis, so we are not really sure where we’ll go, but one thing is certain: we’ll head cooler grill first towards adventure. After exploring the inner secrets of Tanzania we’ll head for the Indian Ocean, meet up with a good friend in Dar es Salaam and basically follow the coastline through Mozambique and South Africa until we finally reach Cape Town at the end of February next year. If it were possible, we would just carry on travelling with our trusted Landy, driving it all the way home through western Africa or shipping it over to South America to have a go at the famous Panamericana, driving from Tierra del Fuego to Alaska. But that might have to wait until we are finished with our masters and saved up a lot of money. And after that? Who knows where we’ll be. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Website: rovingplaces.com Instagram: @rovingplaces
ADVENTURE STORY
RESCUE, MUD, ADVENTURE
I
get a phone call from my parents. “We’re trapped!” Hearing their frantic voices say those words made my stomach drop. Huge mud slides caused by the combination of torrential rains and extended drought trapped many people inside the little town of Frazier Park, Ca. After hanging up, I look at my wife and both her and I knew we had to rescue them. All I could feel was my heart beating out of my chest with anticipation as I step into my Jeep Wrangler. Ears perked to the radio, I knew the police had warned people that it was too dangerous to be driving and that police had closed roads. But I thought, “Lucky for me. I know a trail that can bypass all the police roadblocks.” So we turned off the freeway onto a small crumbling dirt road, just as the rain slowed... and ran right into a Land Rover sliding around a muddy corner. Lightning flashed. Thunder hammered the air. How could such a familiar place, become so alien? Did I belong here? Was this too risky? My sense of adventure emboldens me though as I continue to press forward, splashing into every mud puddle we come across. I start to notice in the distance the gate we must go through in order to descend down the mountainous trail. Coming upon the gate my heart dropped, the US Forest Service locked the gate, the gate that stood between my wife and I, and being able to rescue my parents. Up to that point the rain was very mild, just little drizzle here and there. I decide to get out of the vehicle. I feel the water drops falling from the trees and the smell of wet dirt fills my nose. I walk over to the gate to confirm that it is indeed locked. “Why is it locked?” I try to think of a solution, frantically looking back and forth along the gate and fence. I see there is a gap just big enough to get my Jeep around the gate and once again we are on our way to complete this rescue expedition. Down the trail we go; we start to see the effects of the rain with all the mini mudslides that cross our path which the Jeep handles without any problem.
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Looking at the huge ravine with penetrating fog through the trees, everything is wet and still, what an incredible view. A peaceful spirit came on us, like our conquest is a righteous one. As we traverse on, very quickly heavy rain comes and starts to rush down the trail, and in my mind I was thinking about the possibility of being trapped by mud on this trail. I can hear the engine whine as we negotiate, the steep, windy, rocky trail. Going around the corner I see the police blockade in the valley below, so many cars stuck from people trying to cross the thick muck.’ Finally my wife and I get to the end of the trail, as we pass the house at the foot of the trail we see the home owner waving us down. I pull up to him and roll down my window, “There is no way you can get out, another mudslide took out our road.” Oh no, my wife looks at me with utter despair, going all this way just to get stuck. I continue on and sure enough, a 4 foot thick by 30 foot wide slide stood between us and the main highway. I notice on the other side of the mud a red quad stuck up to the handle bars and man trying to rig it with a chain. Through the wall of rain I see the man frantically waving at me. As I open my door I inspect the slide and notice that it was not moving. First step my foot is submerged in mud, next thing I know is the mud is at my waist but I continue to press forward. Once getting to the man, he asks me if I could give him a hand with his quad. Looking at his chain and his 4WD I figure that I can trade help for help. “Not a problem once I get you unstuck can you stick around just in case I can’t make it past the mud?” “Oh yeah sure” he replies with a big grin. Sloshing through the mud, I look at the way he had his quad rigged. “Around the front tire?!” I think to myself. Knowing that he would just rip the tire off, I changed his rigging. I yell at him, “When I wave at you start driving!” Acting as a counter balance, I give him the signal to go. My ears are tuned into the the revving of his engine. I begin to feel the quad move and tilt from the battle between the mud and SUV. “IS THE QUAD IN NEUTRAL?!” he screams out. “YEA! KEEP GOING!” Inch by inch, foot by foot we go. Finally we get it out of the mud. The man runs over to me and thanks me for my help and I again ask him to stay just in case. Making it back to the Jeep, my wife chuckling says, “You’re filthy.” I start to smile but something stops it as quickly as it came. The man whom I helped was gone. He must have took off when I was trudging through the mud. I start to feel sick, “why did he leave?” “Honey, I’m not sure if I’m going to make it across.” I see the expression of my wife’s face when I said that, she’s scared. Taking a deep breath. I put the Jeep into 4-low, lock both axles, and begun to pray. “Are you ready?” I ask my wife. Her voice so comforting answers, “Yes.” I floor it.
organize + outside made in america. Hitting the mud feels like slamming into a brick wall, almost all our momentum being absorbed at impact. The engine whines in protest as I press forward, turning the steering wheel back and forth trying to gain whatever traction I could muster. Third of the way through, I enter the deepest part of this slimy abyss. My mind starts to rush around, every worst case scenario floods my psyche. My Jeep without mud tires, without a lift, and just bare bones is refusing to give up. Even though we were moving just a half mile per hour our Jeep pressed on. Are we going to make it? All of the sudden I feel the steering wheel jerk, the front end of our vehicle bounced up. Almost immediately the vehicle lunged forward from what I can tell was traction from a big rock. Two thirds in and this boost launched us to three quarters. The steering wheel then got stiff, we hit asphalt. Excitement came over me, I can feel tears of joy coming down my cheek. “Almost out, almost there! Keep going!” my wife shouts. We made it. Out of excitement we both shouted to the top of our lungs. Our stock Jeep did what we though was impossible. Sitting there I was recalling in my mind what just happened. “Did that really just happen?” “Yes it did” I pull onto the highway, I see all the people hunkered down to wait out the slides. Finally we make it to my parents. Reaching them was such an accomplishment for both my wife and I. We did something that many people would do for their parents but not everyone would be capable of. .............................................................................................................................................. Instagram: @liveoverland
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DISCOVER THE OUTBACK WEST AUSTRALIA’S GOLDFIELDS
T
he West Australia gold country is home to some of the richest gold mines on the planet, the discovery of which can pretty much all be attributed to the discovery of gold at Fly Flat in 1892. Almost overnight a new gold rush was sparked. A town named Coolgardie sprung up out of the dirt, reaching a peak population of 15,000 people in just 8 years; making it the third largest town in Western Australia behind Perth and Fremantle. With two stock exchanges, 3 breweries and 26 hotels; Coolgardie was the perfect base from which the gold hungry prospectors would venture further.
Our first day of travelling took us 556 kilometres (345 miles) from Perth to Coolgardie, and north from there to Kunanalling. When the shiny yellow stuff was first discovered here in 1895, the find was referred to as “25 Mile” due to its proximity to Coolgardie (you can guess how far). It was later officially named Kunanalling, and today the town site is well worth taking a look around. It’s quite incredible how the bush can so quickly consume what was once a fully-fledged town, but with a little digging around; the remains of vertical mineshafts, boilers, water tanks, bric-a-brac and of course the spectacular ruins of the old Premiere Hotel could be easily found. We spent our first night out here, photographing the ruins under the night sky. Stars don’t get much clearer than in the Aussie outback!
The following day see’s us push on northwards for a look at Rowles Lagoon - which we had heard mixed reviews on. Our tyre pressures didn’t budge much from highway pressures; due to the excellent quality of the gravel roads out here. This region is still mined heavily, and the need for quality roads for the haul trucks is obvious. Another benefit to the road quality is travel time. The 34 kilometres (21 miles) takes us only half an hour or so, minus time taken to pull over and inspect just a couple of the hundreds of mineshafts dotted like giant anthills across the landscape.
Rowles Lagoon is a whole lot more than we expected! Crystal clear fresh water and an abundance of bird life replaced my expectations of a muddy salt lake, and if time travel was an option; I would probably have opted for a quick visit to Kunanalling and camped here instead! This place must have been a lifeline both for the Aboriginal people who called this area home, and the mining folk scrambling to make a living from the dusty soil. I’d say we landed it lucky with Rowles Lagoon though, without recent rains the lake would more than likely be a mosquito filled quagmire at best. From here, the choice was to backtrack 10 kilometres for the unique outback pub of Ora Banda, or push on north to the abandoned town of Davyhurst. So with beer on the mind we set a course roughly east for the pub. Having stood vacant and decaying since 1950 when the gold began to run out, the Ora Banda pub was eventually rebuilt in 1981 when the town became commercially viable again. Visitors and miners alike flocked to the newly restored pub, and all cruised along nicely until an altercation with a member of a motorcycle gang in the year 2000. The argument wound up with said gang member being fatally shot by the publican at the time. Retaliation from the gang came in the form of a firebomb dealt to the poor old pub, and a vehicle bomb sending the publican sky high. This time, the pub lay in tatters for a lesser amount of years before being restored to its current day glory. Before heading out to the Goldfields Highway for our drive north towards Leonora, we made a quick stop at another abandoned town named Siberia. In 1893, word of a find at Siberia reached Coolgardie. Many of the diggers set off on foot to the find, despite warnings of there being no water for a 70 mile stretch, nor was there any at the find itself. Of course, most of the men ignored the warning, gold is more precious than water right? The few who didn’t turn back or perish along the way wound up stranded at Siberia with no energy or hydration to dig, or make the long journey back. The atmosphere at Siberia is one of desolation. The rocky, dry earth and stunted trees and shrubs sure make it feel like an inhospitable place. There’s not really a trace of any town left, but the entire area has been turned over for gold leaving plenty of old shafts to poke around. We unashamedly took part in the childish act of dropping rocks down the holes, challenging one another to find the deepest one. This activity could have taken up an entire afternoon - as such our lunchbreak had stretched well beyond an hour. So worth it!
We pass through Menzies on the way through to Leonora for the night. There’s not a whole lot to Menzies, although it’s a very clean and well-presented town. The old mining machinery and vehicles at the little information bay are worth a look, but otherwise it passed by in the blink of an eye. Our sights were set on a camp at Malcom dam, about 120km (75 miles) on from here. You can take your own track and make a campsite around the dam. However; taking to your own track isn’t without its risks out here. Mallee trees are the dominant form of vegetation in a semi-arid area like this, and they are one of the hardest types of wood you’ll come across. Further to that, termites seem to have a habit of eating them into the form of sharp pointed stumps that can easily punch through tyres, and probably your sump too. Keep an eye on those ones! The wind howled that evening, and when the temperature dropped instantly with a change in the wind direction - everybody was up and stashing chairs undercover with barely a word said. 5 minutes later, just as the last swag was being zipped up – the rain came. Surprisingly though, it wasn’t an epic desert downpour; just enough precipitation to make me glad I was sleeping on the stretcher. Everyone awakens early that morning, keen to head back into Leonora to check out the old mining town of Gwalia; an aspect which our entire trip had been planned around. Gwalia is a mostly abandoned town, although a few residents still live here. The town existed as residence for the miners, as well as the variety of businesses which supported the Gwalia mine and its workers. This place is far more than your regular ghost town, thanks to the hard work of the volunteers and the previous residents of the town. They have worked to restore just about every building just as it was before the mine closed in the early 60’s. Most of the buildings are open to walk on through; complete with furniture and old appliances - just as it was when people called these places home. As if this wasn’t intriguing enough, the Gwalia Ghost Town & Museum website is accessible through your smart device; providing an interactive map, stories, and information on each building. Needless to say, we were stuck there for about half of our day; and it was easily the highlight!
By now it has gone lunchtime already and we intend to be spending the night at Lake Ballard. The Leonora Mt Ida Road is a little less maintained; but nothing a slight drop in tyre pressure and careful management of speed can’t smooth out. The 151 kilometre (94 mile) stretch between Leonora and Lake Ballard is dotted with more ruins and bores, the latter of which are often announced by the presence of numerous cattle mulling about. Gotta keep an eye on them! Lake Ballard is best known for the sculptures which adorn its surface, placed there by artist Antony Gormley in 2003. 51 eerie figures stand guard over a 10 square kilometre section of the salt lake, but in my opinion; the place would still be special without them. From the comfort of our camp chairs we watched the setting sun change the salt crust from stark white, through golden yellow and fiery red; finally settling into a purple hue as the evening descended. Hands down the most amazing moment in our journey. Admiring the entire collection of statues upon the lake is no small feat, the official information recommending several hours and a reasonable level of fitness to take in all 51 of them. We opted for the novice route around the hill and back, nice and early before the flies woke up. In hindsight, I would choose to stay a second night at Lake Ballard. I’m not normally the type to sit around, I like to get out and explore; but I left the lake feeling as though there was much more that I needed to experience here. I’ll be back!
The Golden Quest Discovery Trail, which we had remained on for most of our journey, continues south from the turnoff to Lake Ballard through Davyhurst and back past Rowles Lagoon. Our plans took us east instead to Mt Elvire Homestead. Mount Elvire Pastoral Lease is a sheep station no more, having been claimed by the Department of Parks and Wildlife. Why? Well, in 1990 it was discovered that the leaseholders had taken less interest in shearing sheep, and a great interest in growing cannabis plants. Thanks to their little slip up, the whole place is free for all to enjoy! Unfortunately, our crew found it to be the least pleasant part of our journey. I think that comes down to expectations; we were expecting to find a nice shady campsite to relax for a few days. Instead we found the homestead to be rather run down, and barely a shady tree in sight. You can’t win em all I guess, we still managed a rather pleasant camp under a rocky outcrop for the night, and cooked up a feast spread out between 3 dutch ovens. With one night now freed up on our itinerary; we cruised back in the direction of Perth, stopping at the sight of a cluster of Quandong trees for a nibble of these local bush tucker delicacies (they were actually quite bitter, like a peach but with extra acid). We also hopped into a pub meal for dinner on the way back, at the weird looking Cunderdin pub; modelled on the Footrot Flats cartoons. A trip into the Aussie desert always leaves me feeling inspired, I’m ready to go again!
Instagram: @intentsoffroad Website: intentsoffroad.com
RONNY DAHL’S
TOYOTA LANDCRUISER
First off, thank you for taking your time to share your Landcruiser with us. It is one of our all time favorites. Can you tell us the exact make and model of your vehicle? 2013 Toyota 79 series V8 Dual Cab GXL Landcruiser (VDJ79r) What event(s) led or inspired you to invest in the vehicle you own today? The 79 series V8 LandCruiser Dual Cab ticked all my boxes. Wanting a reliable solid axel 4wd made from actual steel (not plastic) with a diesel V8 and easy to modify with-out having to re-engineer anything and it came with factory diff lockers Front and Rear. Also having 5 seats was a must having a family of 4. What is your vehicle mainly used for? I.E. daily driver, off-road, overland adventures.
My 79 series Cruiser is my Daily driver, weekend toy and overland adventure truck all in one. I also run off-road tag along tours so my truck is the lead vehicle 90% of the time. In the short time I have owned it it’s been on nearly every terrain possible apart from snow. There is not a lot of snow here in Western Australia… Can you give us a quick run through of the modifications you have done to your vehicle and any future modifications you have planned? Near endless list here, I planned this modification plan over 12 months and had the funds saved and ready so the build plan came together pretty quick. I needed the crusier to be able to handle the rough and tough stuff with ease so 3.5 inch EFS xtr heavy duty lift kit 35inch Nitto Trail Grapplers, bar work and winch was added right away transforming the 79 DC from a utility to a trail truck overnight.
After that everything listed below was added: Drive train: Factory Toyota diff lockers front and rear Tyres: Nitto Trail Grapplers 315/75/r16, front rim offset is 0 and the rear rims are -55 to correct the track line difference. Engine mods: Unichip Q4 with a 5 map selector tune (can change tunes while driving), Twin 3 inch exhaust with a great note. K&N Air filter, second diesel filter (to protect against bad dirty fuel and water), Safari Snorkel replaced the not so water sealed factory raised air-intake. Interior: Overhead roof console, Icon 80ch UHF radio, GME 80ch UHF radio (secondary radio), HF radio for long range communications (3000km+ range), Hema 6 off-road GPS, Spot GPS locator, Paper maps. Exterior & bar work: Oppostie lock Bull bar, side steps & brush bars. Tracklander Roof-rack (light weight alloy), 2 roof LED bar lights, 2 HID 35w Spot lights, 2 rock lights under bull bar, 4 rear facing LED lights (for reversing in the bush and camp lights), Warn winch 9500lbs. An Ostrich awning which wraps around the Cruiser with not tie downs required. The rear: Full custom built alloy canopy designed by me, Full power board with double ARB air compressor, 2 invertors (150w and 1000w), 60l ARB Fridge, plenty of storage space, water pump and 50l steel water tank under the heavy duty steel tray & 2 spare wheels. Recovery Gear: Warn winch 9500lbs with dyna rope, Full winch kit and recover gear. High lift jack, rated recovery points and plenty of spare slings for moving trees. I hope that everything… Future mods: –Mainly engine mods, upgrade turbo to gain more torque at lower RPM (not after top end power as it’s a diesel 4WD not a race car), crossover pipes (for better air flow), 4 inch snorkel and bigger air box plus bigger intercooler. This won’t happen over-night… A lighter canopy setup which is interchangeable and easy to remove, watch this space…
5. If you could redo your build would you do it the same or change anything? I planned my build very carefully and everything is spot on how I’d like it apart from maybe the rear canopy which I have been rethinking lately. I’m halfway drawing up something new for the rear to suit my needs a bit better and to cut out a lot of the weight as she is a bit heavy in the rear. 6. What is your favorite recovery story involving your vehicle so far? Recovery stories I have quite a few of but the one that came to mind first was out in the outback of Western Australia. We had permission by a land owner to explore his land, after hearing about an old truck from the early 1930’s stranded near a rocky outcrop we decide to try and find it. We were a convoy of 6 four wheel drives, after some driving through dense bush lands loosing sight of the overgrown track and picking it back up now and then we came to this clearing (a low grassy plain). On the other side we could see the track again, so being the lead vehicle I headed straight for it at about 30kph in low 3rd 4wd when all the sudden the entire front sank into the grass almost like a sink hole! We were all surprised and could not believe it! I managed to simply just reverse out with both diff lockers engaged which surprised everyone again. After getting the cruiser out my Dad (Brian driving a Jeep Wrangler) said “get out of my way I’ll show you how to cross” thinking the section 5 meters to the left of my sinkhole was firmer, he headed at full steam and sank both front and rear to the point of being completely stuck. There was no way he was getting out so out comes the winch from the cruiser pulling out the old boys Jeep... Oh what a feeling hahahaha.
Instagram: @ronny_dahl Website: www.4wdinWA.com YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/channel/UChz00vupzP_mNPIYD8GSmBw
#PROVENOVERLAND A curated selection of photos from our instagram hashtag. You can submit your photos by hashtagging them with #provenoverland for a chance to be featured on our instagram page or inside the magazine as well!
Photo by Northern Overland, Instagram - @northernoverlandak Rig Owner: Jason Beard
Photo by Josh Taylor Instagram - @joshtaylor__
Photo by Mirla and Olaf, Instagram - @thismustbethepace
Photo by Michael Stetson, Instagram - @mulchiro
Photo by Michael Stolz, Instagram - @michaelstolz