Trip Report - Faces of Namib Desert Trip and Northern Bots

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Chris Skinner
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Trip Report - Faces of Namib Desert Trip and Northern Bots

Post by Chris Skinner »

Hi Guys
Here's Chapter 1 of my trip report to Namib and Bots - enjoy!
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georgeb
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Re: Trip Report - FAces of Namib Desert Trip and Northern Bo

Post by georgeb »

Chris Skinner wrote:Hi Guys
Here's Chapter 1 of my trip report to Namib and Bots - enjoy!
Is it just me or is Chapter 1 still to be written?
Groete/Regards,

George Brittnell
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Re: Trip Report - Faces of Namib Desert Trip and Northern Bo

Post by Chris Skinner »

Struggling to add the attachment!

Oops I see max size is 1mb - will have to do in stages...
Will delete this post and start again!
Last edited by Chris Skinner on 31 May 2017 19:54, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Trip Report - Faces of Namib Desert Trip and Northern Bo

Post by georgeb »

Chris Skinner wrote:Struggling to add the attachment!
Too big in file size?
Groete/Regards,

George Brittnell
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Chris Skinner
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Re: Trip Report - Faces of Namib Desert Trip and Northern Bo

Post by Chris Skinner »

Okay - here goes, in Chapters 1-8 to make the files <1,0 mbyte.

Chapter9 etc = Botswana leg and will come later
Attachments
Trip Report Chapter 1.pdf
(775.55 KiB) Downloaded 261 times
Trip Report Chapter 2.pdf
(837.35 KiB) Downloaded 239 times
Trip Report Chapter 3.pdf
(478.93 KiB) Downloaded 231 times
Trip Report Chapter 4.pdf
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Trip Report Chapter 5.pdf
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Trip Report Chapter 6.pdf
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Trip Report Chapter 7.pdf
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Trip Report Chapter 8.pdf
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georgeb
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Re: Trip Report - Faces of Namib Desert Trip and Northern Bo

Post by georgeb »

Very good indeed - I see that on your trip the roads leading to Seeheim were in good shape - just the opposite what we have encountered September 2016 - very bad corrugated - lost one of the hub covers on that ugly dirt roads...
Groete/Regards,

George Brittnell
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Re: Trip Report - Faces of Namib Desert Trip and Northern Bo

Post by Chris Skinner »

One thing I've learned over the years and now confirmed again this trip - tyres are generally a lot more resilient than you think.
I have no pain going as low as 1.5 to 1.2 bar on dirt roads with bad corrugations - did it again in places in Nam and Bots over 100's of km in a day - it makes the ride much more comfortable and I believe the reduced shaking and vibration on the vehicle saves shocks and other wear and tear. After this trip, total 5500kms, with driving the desert 5 days at around 0.7 bar there are absolutely no signs of undue damage or wear or tear on the tyres.
Don't do this if you have Cooper ST3's though - see my report!
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Re: Trip Report - Faces of Namib Desert Trip and Northern Bo

Post by georgeb »

Chris Skinner wrote:Don't do this if you have Cooper ST3's though - see my report!
I am also an advocate for lower tyre pressures. Also don't do this with the previous generation of BFG AT's - mine (previous set) took a beating (tread compound) on those gravel roads last year....
Groete/Regards,

George Brittnell
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Re: Trip Report - Faces of Namib Desert Trip and Northern Bo

Post by Jorrie »

Thank you for the report Chris. I will be studying it as I am planning a similar trip for mid 2019.
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Re: Trip Report - Faces of Namib Desert Trip and Northern Bo

Post by georgeb »

Withe reference to your Chapter 6:

"Topnaars"
Our URI guide last year, Len, is a member of this grouping.

"Amarok struggling":
We had the same experience with a stock standard Navara last year - just could not get it right initially - until such time that an experienced driver took over and gave the driver(s) some tips on how to handle the vehicle - totally different story from there onward - driver skill, not vehicle ability I saw....
Groete/Regards,

George Brittnell
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