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Trip Report - Faces of Namib Desert Trip and Northern Bots
Posted: 31 May 2017 19:47
by Chris Skinner
Hi Guys
Here's Chapter 1 of my trip report to Namib and Bots - enjoy!
Re: Trip Report - FAces of Namib Desert Trip and Northern Bo
Posted: 31 May 2017 19:50
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?
Re: Trip Report - Faces of Namib Desert Trip and Northern Bo
Posted: 31 May 2017 19:52
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!
Re: Trip Report - Faces of Namib Desert Trip and Northern Bo
Posted: 31 May 2017 19:54
by georgeb
Chris Skinner wrote:Struggling to add the attachment!
Too big in file size?
Re: Trip Report - Faces of Namib Desert Trip and Northern Bo
Posted: 31 May 2017 20:40
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
Re: Trip Report - Faces of Namib Desert Trip and Northern Bo
Posted: 31 May 2017 20:57
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...
Re: Trip Report - Faces of Namib Desert Trip and Northern Bo
Posted: 01 Jun 2017 10:53
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!
Re: Trip Report - Faces of Namib Desert Trip and Northern Bo
Posted: 01 Jun 2017 11:03
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....
Re: Trip Report - Faces of Namib Desert Trip and Northern Bo
Posted: 01 Jun 2017 11:08
by Jorrie
Thank you for the report Chris. I will be studying it as I am planning a similar trip for mid 2019.
Re: Trip Report - Faces of Namib Desert Trip and Northern Bo
Posted: 01 Jun 2017 11:12
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....