Posts Tagged ‘4×4’
Check out this innovative river crossing by our friends from SA Adventure!
The SA Adventure Land Rover ‘Juho’ Crossing the Rovuma River between Tanzania and Mozambique via Fishing Boat Ferry, on the Northward Bound Tanzania Expedition.
This weekend (10 – 12 June), sees the Outdoor Adventure and Travel Expo in Gauteng.
Our friends at SA Adventure have built a 4×4 track, and you can drive the track at the expo for a tiny donation. While this track is mainly aimed at the ‘soft roaders’ amongst us, after the recent heavy rains, there is definitely place for the hardcore offroad specialists too! On our initial test today, I managed to get my Hardbody 4×4 properly bogged down, and thanks to Tim’s guidance, found my way out of the thick mud… eventually.
This year’s expo is at a new venue: Inanda Country Base, close to Midrand. Be sure to check out the directions on the Expo’s web page.
There is a special challenge to all ladies who drive the track this weekend – they will get free membership to the SA Adventure 4×4 Ladies Club!
Below are some videos of a Nissan Murano testing a couple of the more tame obstacles today.
And lastly, the 4×4-insurance.co.za Nissan Hardbody 4×4 testing the gumpoles obstacle.
See what our friend Andrew St. Pierre White has been up to lately…
Some awesome customisation on this Toyota Prado!
Many people choose to spend their December holidays in Mozambique, Botswana or Namibia and all those other beautiful secluded places just to the North of our borders. For good reasons too: After a relatively accessible drive in your 4×4, most of these destinations offer a perfect getaway from the stress of the office and a long year of work.
But there are some very important things to do and check before you leave on that holiday:
- Make sure your 4×4 is properly maintained, and serviced. The last thing you want to do is get stuck with a breakdown before you reach your destination. Ensure that your 4×4 recovery equipment is in good working order.
- See your Doctor to get that Malaria tablet prescription (if you’re going to a malaria area). On the subject of health – also make sure you have all the necessary emergency medicines and a proper First Aid kit.
- Make sure your 4×4 complies with the regulations of the country you will be visiting. Things like the triangles, ZA stickers, insurance documents as well as the registration papers of the vehicle are going to be checked at the border.
- Get your GPS’s maps updated – a GPS without up to date maps is no good!
- Make sure your insurance company is aware which countries you will be visiting, and get a border letter from them. If your 4×4 is still financed you will need to get authorisation from the finance company as well.
- Some countries require you to buy a once off liability (3rd party) insurance. This can be purchased beforehand and should save you some time getting through the border.
- And of course: You need to make sure you have the proper 4×4 insurance when travelling outside SA’s borders!
Why you need proper 4×4 insurance when travelling outside South Africa:
Towing Costs: Did you know that very few insurance companies cover towing and recovery costs outside of South Africa? Let’s say you have an accident (heaven forbid) en route to your holiday destination, 200 km from the border. That is going to cost you several thousand Rand, if your insurance company does not cover the towing costs. Our recommended products not only cover the cost of towing to a repairer in SA, but also the cost of recovering your vehicle back to South Africa.
Repatriation: Imagine the cost of getting back to South Africa after an accident? Our products cover repatriation of the driver and passengers back to South Africa, not only after an accident, but also after a breakdown!
Cover outside South Africa: Most ‘normal’ insurers cover your vehicle for use in South Africa, and some of the surrounding countries. Only our recommended products provide cover all the way up to Kenya.
Emergency medical evacuation: Our recommended products also include airborne emergency medical evacuation. So in the case of injury or illness you will be swiftly returned to South Africa so that you can get treatment in a proper hospital.
Breakdown of winching equipment: If you’re going far off the beaten track, you’re sure to have a winch to help recover your 4×4 when you get stuck. Now, imagine the winch breaks? Your average motor insurer will never pay that claim — but our products cover that too!
So, before you pack your bags and leave for that annual holiday in your 4×4, speak to your insurer and make sure that they cover you for ALL of the above points. If not, you need to speak to us!
Some more questions to ask your 4×4 insurance company:
- Do I have cover for damage to the engine caused by water?
- Do you charge an additional excess if I damage my 4×4 while driving off-road?
- Am I limited to any specific driver, or do I have cover if my friend drives too?
- Is there a 24/7 emergency number that I can contact in case I have an accident, breakdown or injury while outside South Africa?
Finally, once you are all packed and ready to go: lock the house behind you, relax, it’s time for that holiday… drive safely.
PS: Remember to pack the sunscreen – it’s hot in Africa!
A 4×4 vehicle usually has quite a few accessories which you can install to make them more effective and do better on off-road tracks. One of the popular accessories to be included are snorkels. There are quite a few reasons why some people have their vehicles fitted with a snorkel. Below are some of the most important reasons why snorkels are fondly fitted to 4×4 vehicles.
The first reason is that snorkels actually help to cool down your engine. Engines usually perform best when they are surrounded with cool air. Most of the vehicles these days have engines that suck hot air from underneath the bonnet, which in turn provides a warm environment to your engine. With the installation of a snorkel, the hot air is kept away from the engine bay and as a result your engine gets only cool and ambient air. There have been numerous tests done to prove that a cool engine will perform better and it has also been known to help to reduce fuel consumption.
Another reason is that snorkels help to circulate cleaner air to your engine. It has been mentioned above that most of the vehicle designs these days have engines that suck air right from underneath the bonnet or sometimes can also suck air from under the front fenders. The location where air is sucked is also prone to dust build up, especially when travelling on to gravel roads. Snorkels can help by sucking the air from above so that no air can be sucked from the engine bay or underneath the fenders. This however is only effective when there is not much dust in the air. When you do find yourself driving under very dusty conditions, make sure to turn the snorkel intake pointing backwards.
Probably the most misunderstood concept about snorkels is that they can turn your vehicle into submarines. In the real world, this is not how snorkels work. There is a lot of damage that can be done to your vehicle when submerged underwater; that’s why it is advisable to avoid water as much as possible. Snorkels provide valuable protection to your vehicles by not allowing water to be sucked into your engine. When you do decide to take your vehicles underwater, you have to make sure that all of the joints that are running along the pipes are tightly sealed and that the drainage holes in the airbox have been completely blanked off.
One of the most common questions about snorkels is: What would happen when rain water gets into the snorkel?
Snorkels have been designed to break up any rain water or water droplets before they get returned to the snorkel. Once this happens, water can easily run off to the drainage slots. If you are expecting to go up against heavy rains or submerging in deep puddles of water, then it might be a good idea to turn the head around.
Among all of the brand manufacturers that produce great snorkels, Safari Snorkel and TJM Airtec Snorkels are usually favourite choices. Whichever brand you choose however, you just have to make sure that the pipes are routed to the airbox and check if there are any restrictions to the airflow in any way.
There have been a lot of discussions about why these snorkels are so expensive when they should only cost you a few hundred rand. To answer this query, you have to consider the immense effort and materials used in setting this up.
Source: 4x4 Vehicles
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