Stuck Patrol

[Izak]

I paged through the 4x4 Megaworld Facebook Page. Found these photo of the Megaworld Patrol stuck on a river crossing in the Kruger. I am glad to see they had enough faith to try the river crossing but I seriously doubt that they walked the intended route. Maybe afraid of the crocodiles??

Have a good weekend

[Russ Kellermann]

I can guaranty you that vehicle would have sailed through if it wasn't towing that anchor through there.

Probably gonna anger many now, but IMO 4wd's dragging ridiculously big and heavy trailers on real tricky routes (not that the kruger is regarded as one) just dont work, they always end up being a pain the ass (of everyone).In essence all you doing is making a highly capable machine, and the very reason you bought it, incapable . (Although i have seen a jeep wrangler modified tow a trailer through Moab's Rubicon! so nothing is impossible)..... Now i'm gonna run and hide behind some armour plating!

[Peter Connan]

Russ is there room behind that armour plate of yours, because I agree 100%

Next observation, how many people are they? That caravan can take 4 (I think) and there's a rooftop tent on the trollie?

[Stefan]

IMHO, you plan your route based on the type of travelling you're going to do.

For our family I would love an off-road caravan, but that obviously (to me at least) would mean you travel routes where you can tow it.

I suspect this was a bit of a 'technology demonstration'

[Russ Kellermann]

IMHO, you plan your route based on the type of travelling you're going to do.

Couldn't have said it better stefan. And, i agree, they must be hellova practical and allows for that extra beer before sundown while everyone else is fighting tent poles!, but as you say, you might not enjoy the more serious backroads you once targeted.

[Saltman]

Hi Russ & Peter

OK let me be the first kleilat gooier - used to beat the gemors out of the rooinekke with a Port Jackson kleilat next to the golfcourse dam in the good ol Seoff Efrica, so here goes:

Enige p*eph*l kan vassit, it just takes a special kinda one to achieve that with a Patrol ...

i agree, they must be hellova practical and allows for that extra beer before sundown while everyone else is fighting tent poles!, but as you say, you might not enjoy the more serious backroads you once targeted.

We are a family of 5 and therefore I tow an Imagine Trailvan. It is one of the few trailers that is sturdy, yet light enough and accommodates all 5 of us inside the trailer for sleeping purposes, so that no-one sleeps on the ground! If we need a quick next to the road sleeping situation whilst travelling, then it takes 3 minutes to open the front and side panels. Obviously for more than 1 day we erect the L-shaped awning which takes about 20 minutes. Then the kitchen is operational, we have plenty shade and sleeping quarters are sorted! Viola, everybody happy!

So, the Imagine has been through Nam, Bots (twice through Moremi, Savuti, Linyanti, Chobe, thick sand an all, river crossings an all, been through some 4x4 routes where the camps are half way through the route etc. And its been through Zam, Tanzania up into Kenia via the Serengeti and Lake Natron and back via Malawi. Ask Wilfred about those Serengeti and Mara river "roads" So far so good! The Trailvan is still in one piece and so is my Patrol!

But, yes I agree there are limitations when towing - most of them imposed by Parks boards, for instance Kgalagadi's sand trails do not allow trailers. And for good reason as the average 4x4 trailer puller behind the steering wheel does not have a clue how to "tread lightly". Engaging centre diffs on permanent 4x4's, locking diffs and engaging 4x4 on vehciles that are normally 2 wheel drive and reducing tyre pressures are not in their handbooks, so the terrain has to suffer.

If I look at the images of the stuck Patrol, I am sure with a bit of pre-planning and less TJM ego, and with the correct approach it would have made it! Just not quite sure that they selected the right spot to cross - looks like soft sand intermixed with rocky outcrops that is sure to have some waterswirl around it ... etc etc

So I am not convinced that the trailer has to burden all the blame ...

[Peter Connan]

Herbie you could well be right. Without being there, I can't say whether they just took the wrong line or whther that was the best possible line and the crossing should not have been attempted.

Also, I suspect that the 4.8's power allows you to do things that guys like Russ and I shouldn't even dream about with our 4.2's (particularly my aneamic and arthritic banger). Mine has to work pretty hard just to get the car through the soft sand in the central Kalahari, and I reckon I would have damaged something if I was dragging a heavy van.

Thank goodness I only have four people , and a largeish roof rack.

[Gerrit Loubser]

I can guaranty you that vehicle would have sailed through if it wasn't towing that anchor through there.

Probably gonna anger many now, but IMO 4wd's dragging ridiculously big and heavy trailers on real tricky routes (not that the kruger is regarded as one) just dont work, they always end up being a pain the ass (of everyone).In essence all you doing is making a highly capable machine, and the very reason you bought it, incapable . (Although i have seen a jeep wrangler modified tow a trailer through Moab's Rubicon! so nothing is impossible)..... Now i'm gonna run and hide behind some armour plating!

There is no question about it that a heavy trailer or caravan reduces the mobility of a vehicle, but on the other hand there are many places (even quite rough places) where it is quite feasible to tow such a heavy off road trailer or caravan and then one can camp in greater comfort than without. We own an Xplorer caravan, probably the heaviest of them all, and while I understand that there are certain places that I will never be able to visit with the caravan in tow, we have taken it to some other places where a normal on-road caravan would never have survived and enjoyed a similar level of comfort as an on-road caravan would have made possible. Comfortable camping can be important if one wants to camp with the entire family and see smiley faces .

We used to tow a Conqueror Conquest trailer and while I am sure it is a bit lighter than the Xplorer, I could not really detect much of a difference behind the Patrol up the hills and through deep sand. There definitely is a difference once you unhitch the anchor, though .

The ultimate setup would probably be to have the vehicle kitted out for "vehicle only" overlanding (e.g. packing system, rooftop tent, awning, kitchen etc.) to use on trips where a trailer is just a liability and to also have a camping trailer/offroad caravan for the trips where they can come along and make things more comfortable. That costs a lot of money, of course ...

By the way, I think the Trailvan is a very nice design that strikes a great balance between the comforts of a caravan and the agility of a much lighter trailer.

[davejones]

The patrol isnt a 4x4MW patrol but LA Sport's very own 4.8..... I imagine that the patrol's offroad abilities gives one too much confidence and so one day, somewhere, the driver gets stuck... and stuck badly!

[Vaatjie]

I wander if this patrol was on loan? This could explain this situation. Anyway, I tow a imagine, same as Herbie and did a lot of swimming in Botswanna with trailer. Lost a LC 105 on one of the crossings and had to load the LC on a load bed truck for SA. With the right planning you should go anywhere. My planning always starts with tyre pressure, and my "fillocify" is always to low (0.7-0.8 bar) then a tat to high (1-1.2 bar), because to backup with a trailer in mud, sand and water is fatal.
Do not gamble with the power. Select low rang and make sure that lockers are working before entering the death trap. Once you in, the only way out is forward. (and through the windows)
Cheers