Don't like the adverts?  Click here to remove them

Arctric Trucks 120 - Monster drive from Oslo to Aberdeen

AndyCook

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 16, 2010
Messages
3,789
Garage
Country Flag
scotland
a friend skiing at Glenshee ski centre sent me a picture of an arctic trucks 120

and there is an article in local paper about it today
http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/2583948

----------------------
Monster drive from Oslo to Aberdeen

Published: 25/01/2012
Bookmark with:

Slav Gnatetske at Glenshee with his Toyota Landcruiser and Hilux Arctic Trucks. KEVIN EMSLIE
Perfect for winter conditions

More Pictures
<

Slav Gnatetske at Glenshee with his Toyota Landcruiser and Hilux Arctic Trucks. KEVIN EMSLIE
Perfect for winter conditions

>
Slav Gnatetske at Glenshee with his Toyota Landcruiser and Hilux Arctic Trucks. KEVIN EMSLIE

It’s hard to believe that anyone can get behind the wheels of these monster trucks.

When I say anyone, I mean anyone; this is the company that decked out Toyota Hiluxes for Jeremy Clarkson et al to drive to the North Pole. If you think back to that programme, and how these amazing machines handled massive ice spikes, scarily thin ice sheets and endless snow ruts, you begin to understand just how hard core these 4x4s are.

“You can go wherever you want, but it’s at your own risk,” said Slav, 29, a mechanical engineer who lives in Aberdeen.

“I originally went over in 2010, when the Eyjafjallajökull volcano went off. My parents’ friend Mike Herbert supplied two Toyotas to Arctic Trucks, and asked us to go over and drive them.

“The ash was getting quite thick, to the point where we couldn’t see much about 1km from the volcano, but thankfully our truck was kitted out with GPS so we could find our way back. It was scary though; it was so noisy and dusty, and there were rocks the size of fists coming down.”

Having got a taste for adventure, Slav headed back to Iceland last year, and decided to take on a bigger challenge.

“I was part of a group who drove to the top of Iceland’s largest glacier, Vatnajökull,” he said.

“It’s 1,700m above sea level, and at the top, Grimfjall, there’s a cabin built by scientists that you can stay in. Not many people have been to it, but it’s this amazing geothermally-heated rustic hut. You get out of the truck in sub-zero temperatures, and this little cabin is toasty.”

Obviously some of the driving conditions can be treacherous, but the trucks are kitted out to deal with pretty much any eventuality. Arctic Trucks has participated in three major expedition projects outside Iceland – Antarctica, Greenland and the Magnetic North Pole.

All the cars used in the self-drive tours are modified for either 38in or 44in tyres so they are ready for all circumstances in the tough highlands of Iceland.

All trucks are equipped with a front and rear airlocking system in the differentials, air compressor, a GPS navigation system, VHF radios, tyre repair tools and other equipment needed for the specified tour. All the cars also have a recovery kit with shovels, a high-lift jack and kinetic rope. On each convoy travelling there is at least one winch, a snow anchor and a snatch-block.

These modifications are nothing new in Iceland; modifications were originally focused on off-road capabilities for utility companies and farmers. Owning a modified vehicle was second nature to those travelling in the highlands, getting to the beautiful glaciers, lava tundra, green fields and mountains.

Thankfully Slav never needed any of the hardcore equipment, but this gave the truck’s owner an idea.

“It took us a full day’s driving to get to that glacier, and we never encountered anything as extreme as the Top Gear team did, though we did have to dig ourselves out of deep snow quite often,” said Slav, who was born in Russia.

“We had to use a land anchor, which is like a spade you stick into the ground and the truck then pulls itself out using a winch at the front. The weight was the scariest thing – the trucks are heavy; they have a 180-litre fuel tank and an extra auxiliary one so they can carry 250 litres of fuel.

“I told Mike, who owns the trucks, that people in Aberdeen would love these, seeing as we had such a bad winter in 2010, so he asked me to drive them to Scotland to see what people thought, which I was more than happy to do.”

So, after some planning, Slav set off from Oslo in the modified Toyota Hilux, while the Toyota Land Cruiser was shipped over from Iceland. Disappointingly, Slav noticed there wasn’t much snow as he drove through Norway – a sign of things to come.

“It took me two-and-a-half days’ driving on my own to get from Oslo to Aberdeen,” he said.

“In Norway, they only had about 2in of snow, when usually they have 3ft. I thought I’d be ok when I got to Scotland, since we had such a lot of snow last year. I drove from Oslo to Christiansund, took a ferry to Harwich in Essex, and then drove it up here.”

What with our white Christmas turning into a drizzly, grey Christmas, Slav realised that he and Peter’s plans to show off the Arctic Trucks may be in jeopardy.

“I arrived on December 23 and our original plan was to take the trucks up the Cairngorms, but as it’s not privately owned we weren’t allowed. We thought Aberdeenshire would be safe enough given the amount of snow it normally gets,” he said.

“Soon I realised you don’t need snow to get a reaction in these vehicles. I had so many people just stopping in their tracks looking at me with a blank expression, in awe of these monster-sized trucks.”

Slav finally got to see some snow when he took the trucks to Glenshee Ski Centre, but he admits he quite enjoyed driving them around town too.

“The Hilux is just like any normal 4x4. I can sit at 70mph on the dual carriageway no problem at all, with no wobble or roll,” he said.

“Once you get into the Land Cruiser, which has 44in wheels, then it’s a bit different. It’s not built for speed so it’s a bit hairy on the dual carriageway. I got about 22mpg from the Hilux which wasn’t as bad as I expected.”

Slav drove the Hilux back to Oslo a couple of weeks ago, and said getting back into his Audi S4 has been a bit of an anti-climax.

“Getting out of the Hilux and into it makes the Audi feel like a little go-kart,” he said.

“Hopefully next time I get to drive the Arctic Trucks, Scotland will have a proper winter.”

For more information on Arctic Trucks, visit www.arctictrucks-experience.com
 
Back
Top