Blast from the past
- Thread starter Mickldo
- Start date
Mickldo
Adventurer
whatcharterboat said:Thom.
Took this pic at World Expo ‘88 in Brisbane. IIRC it was at the Canadian Pavilion. Sort of what you are talking about.
Not sure if he is still in business, but there was a guy around the corner from our workshop that was building caravans on this concept. Haven’t seen him for awhile. Anyway they had a very low roof height and everything was down low (about halfway to the floor). The entry was from the rear and the floor of the central aisle way dropped down to the ground and was sealed by a waterproof vinyl type screen that dropped with it.
Ok. So it was very aerodynamic and much easier to construct than a pop-top but the biggest advantage was that it was wheelchair accessible. How cool is that? Don’t you think there would be a market for a motorhome like this, based on a front half of a 4x4 truck ??
Sure a wheelchair lift can be easily adapted to a rear entry motorhome but how much easier would entry/exit be if the floor of the motorhome were right down at ground level?
You’re a clever guy Thom. I can hear the cogs spinning in your head from here.
That's the ute I was thinking of.
whatcharterboat
Supporting Sponsor, Overland Certified OC0018
Mick There was someone here building utes like this (think they were called Rhinobacks or something) based on late '90s early '00s frontwheel drive VW cab chassis. Were you thinking of one of them.
Heaps of old albums but all my really good pics are on slides and I don't have any way of scanning them as yet. Also the old black and whites are from old books. Have plenty more old Landie pics of guys doing the Darien Gap in the "60s and "70s. Will post them on the weekend and cause Julie (to quote Roothy: the handbrake) runs an old book shop, I've got her on the hunt so I hope to continue this thread for awhile to come (till someone complains anyway. Haha).
whatcharterboat
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Beach Travel
How do you get 2 adults, 4 or 5 kids, and enough camping gear for the entire school holidays into an old WWII Jeep?
I think this pic was in one of the current mags and was taken on the beach at Teewah. Just north of here and a gateway to Double Island Point and Fraser Island. The beach was declared as an official road back in the ‘80s and therefore ALL road rules now apply. They even get the occasional speed camera and RBT (Random Breath Testing van).
On my first trip up (early ‘70s) I can remember seeing 4 or 5 guys standing on a timber deck with a handrail around it, a large ice box in the middle and all their fishing rods tied on out the back. Just looked like they were leaning on the verandah of a house having a few beers. Only the deck was bolted straight on top of an old Jeep chassis (like this one)!!!
How do you get 2 adults, 4 or 5 kids, and enough camping gear for the entire school holidays into an old WWII Jeep?
I think this pic was in one of the current mags and was taken on the beach at Teewah. Just north of here and a gateway to Double Island Point and Fraser Island. The beach was declared as an official road back in the ‘80s and therefore ALL road rules now apply. They even get the occasional speed camera and RBT (Random Breath Testing van).
On my first trip up (early ‘70s) I can remember seeing 4 or 5 guys standing on a timber deck with a handrail around it, a large ice box in the middle and all their fishing rods tied on out the back. Just looked like they were leaning on the verandah of a house having a few beers. Only the deck was bolted straight on top of an old Jeep chassis (like this one)!!!
ntsqd
Heretic Car Camper
I've read just a tiny bit on those late 20's era "RV's". Most commonly I see them referred to as "House Cars."
On the Dodge (?, looks like a Dodge mid-size pick-up) "drop-bed", I see the rear suspension as being the hardest feature to design. You end up with a long boom that you're putting a twisting load on the end of. Then that boom has to have hinges in it for suspension travel.....
Wouldn't a powered & articulated ramp be easier?
[hijack]
A friend of mine is in a chair. Some time ago he built himself a CJ7 to go off roading in. Mounted the front fenders on hinges at the cowl so that pulling two bolt out of the grill allowed him access to the engine bay. About 4 years ago he decided that he wanted to go desert racing, so he built a truck. The adaptation needed for him to drive the truck actually makes rough trails & tracks easier for me to drive as well. No foot pedals, twist throttle and push the throttle arm fwd for brakes. Does tend to tire your left arm........
[/hijack]
On the Dodge (?, looks like a Dodge mid-size pick-up) "drop-bed", I see the rear suspension as being the hardest feature to design. You end up with a long boom that you're putting a twisting load on the end of. Then that boom has to have hinges in it for suspension travel.....
Wouldn't a powered & articulated ramp be easier?
[hijack]
A friend of mine is in a chair. Some time ago he built himself a CJ7 to go off roading in. Mounted the front fenders on hinges at the cowl so that pulling two bolt out of the grill allowed him access to the engine bay. About 4 years ago he decided that he wanted to go desert racing, so he built a truck. The adaptation needed for him to drive the truck actually makes rough trails & tracks easier for me to drive as well. No foot pedals, twist throttle and push the throttle arm fwd for brakes. Does tend to tire your left arm........
[/hijack]
whatcharterboat
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Another Blast
This definitely a Blast from the Past and as this trip was briefly mentioned in a thread recently, I thought I’d post these pics.
They are of course from Major Bashford-Snell’s famous Alaska-to-Cape journey in 1971-2 using Range Rovers. Undoubtedly the highlight of the military expedition was the crossing of the Darien Gap between Central and South America.
The Range Rovers turned out not to be as all conquering as expected and the group found this battered old Land-Rover in Panama and flew it in to the jungle to use as a pathfinder for the remainder of their jungle crossing.
I love this bit about the old Land-Rover. This came from Russell Braddon’s book, “The Hundred Days of Darien”> “Setting up their Tirfor jacks, attaching ropes to the apparently lifeless Land-Rover, they winched it upright and hauled it diagonally back on to the track. Never a thing of beauty, it now looked more derelict than ever. But the Land-Rover is tough and without conceit. As if capsizing into jungle ditches were something routine, she responded to the first touch of the starter.”
Many believe that this was the first vehicular crossing of the Darien Gap but apparently Richard Bevis and Terry Whitfield set out from Toronto and did the Darien Gap leaving Panama City in February 1960. These guys also used a Landie. An 88” Series II. Get this They took 134 days of hacking and winching through the jungle into Columbia without any sponsors, radio links or air support and Bevis said they built 125 palm log bridges and got no less than 90 punctures!!!
Referenced from “The Land-Rover: Workhorse of the World”
This definitely a Blast from the Past and as this trip was briefly mentioned in a thread recently, I thought I’d post these pics.
They are of course from Major Bashford-Snell’s famous Alaska-to-Cape journey in 1971-2 using Range Rovers. Undoubtedly the highlight of the military expedition was the crossing of the Darien Gap between Central and South America.
The Range Rovers turned out not to be as all conquering as expected and the group found this battered old Land-Rover in Panama and flew it in to the jungle to use as a pathfinder for the remainder of their jungle crossing.
I love this bit about the old Land-Rover. This came from Russell Braddon’s book, “The Hundred Days of Darien”> “Setting up their Tirfor jacks, attaching ropes to the apparently lifeless Land-Rover, they winched it upright and hauled it diagonally back on to the track. Never a thing of beauty, it now looked more derelict than ever. But the Land-Rover is tough and without conceit. As if capsizing into jungle ditches were something routine, she responded to the first touch of the starter.”
Many believe that this was the first vehicular crossing of the Darien Gap but apparently Richard Bevis and Terry Whitfield set out from Toronto and did the Darien Gap leaving Panama City in February 1960. These guys also used a Landie. An 88” Series II. Get this They took 134 days of hacking and winching through the jungle into Columbia without any sponsors, radio links or air support and Bevis said they built 125 palm log bridges and got no less than 90 punctures!!!
Referenced from “The Land-Rover: Workhorse of the World”
This definitely a Blast from the Past and as this trip was briefly mentioned in a thread recently, I thought I’d post these pics.
They are of course from Major Bashford-Snell’s famous Alaska-to-Cape journey in 1971-2 using Range Rovers. Undoubtedly the highlight of the military expedition was the crossing of the Darien Gap between Central and South America.
The Range Rovers turned out not to be as all conquering as expected and the group found this battered old Land-Rover in Panama and flew it in to the jungle to use as a pathfinder for the remainder of their jungle crossing.
I love this bit about the old Land-Rover. This came from Russell Braddon’s book, “The Hundred Days of Darien”> “Setting up their Tirfor jacks, attaching ropes to the apparently lifeless Land-Rover, they winched it upright and hauled it diagonally back on to the track. Never a thing of beauty, it now looked more derelict than ever. But the Land-Rover is tough and without conceit. As if capsizing into jungle ditches were something routine, she responded to the first touch of the starter.”
Many believe that this was the first vehicular crossing of the Darien Gap but apparently Richard Bevis and Terry Whitfield set out from Toronto and did the Darien Gap leaving Panama City in February 1960. These guys also used a Landie. An 88” Series II. Get this They took 134 days of hacking and winching through the jungle into Columbia without any sponsors, radio links or air support and Bevis said they built 125 palm log bridges and got no less than 90 punctures!!!
Referenced from “The Land-Rover: Workhorse of the World”
The quintessentially British part of Bashford-Snell's expedition was the building of a motorized wheelbarrow to carry the bridging ladders which would otherwise have overloaded the Range Rovers.
He did another kayak expedition somewhere, the beginning of which involved unloading the mold, cloth and resin from the plane, laying up the kayaks and then getting on the river. Not the typical start of a modern kayak expedition.
Did Bevis and Whitfield write up their account somewhere?
whatcharterboat
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Bevis & Whitfield
Hi Kerry. I tried to find out more about them but the only published reference I can find is as I stated from The Landrover: workhorse of the world by Graham Robson, 1976 on page 66. Just a couple of sentences, most of which I have paraphrased in that post, so hopefully such an incredible journey was recorded for prosperity sake in more detail somewhere in cyberspace.
BTW How did you get on with your new spare? Has it turned up yet?
Hey, also Kerry I meant to ask you > Was that your trailer sailor I saw in an old thread a few months back?
Hi Kerry. I tried to find out more about them but the only published reference I can find is as I stated from The Landrover: workhorse of the world by Graham Robson, 1976 on page 66. Just a couple of sentences, most of which I have paraphrased in that post, so hopefully such an incredible journey was recorded for prosperity sake in more detail somewhere in cyberspace.
BTW How did you get on with your new spare? Has it turned up yet?
Hey, also Kerry I meant to ask you > Was that your trailer sailor I saw in an old thread a few months back?
whatcharterboat
Supporting Sponsor, Overland Certified OC0018
Kerry Speaking of motorised wheel barrows > have a read of this. Is it just me or does this seem just a little crazy?
http://www.ferret.com.au/n/Power-carrier-conquers-Simpson-Desert-n698847
And this was the same as the one he used. Sorry about the pic size.
mtnbike28
Expedition Leader
Did Bevis and Whitfield write up their account somewhere?[/QUOTE]
the 4wdonline.com link had these
1971-1972 British Trans-Americas expedition, led by Major John Blashford-Snell, drove two Range-Rovers from Alaska to Cape Horn. A SWB Land Rover SIIA also helped over the Darien Gap:
* Russell Braddon, The Hundred Days Of Darien, 1974.
* John Blashford-Snell, Where the Trails Run Out, 1974.
on Amazon the 100 days book is $155, the Trails Run Out is $14 put appears to be more about all his travels, not just the Gap
Sounds like fun reading
the 4wdonline.com link had these
1971-1972 British Trans-Americas expedition, led by Major John Blashford-Snell, drove two Range-Rovers from Alaska to Cape Horn. A SWB Land Rover SIIA also helped over the Darien Gap:
* Russell Braddon, The Hundred Days Of Darien, 1974.
* John Blashford-Snell, Where the Trails Run Out, 1974.
on Amazon the 100 days book is $155, the Trails Run Out is $14 put appears to be more about all his travels, not just the Gap
Sounds like fun reading