biotect
Designer
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Why Tibetan Altitude Matters
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Over in the “High Altitude Heating” thread I've made a strong pitch for Tibetan altitude as an important design consideration for a “globally capable” expedition vehicle – see page 3, post # 21, at http://www.expeditionportal.com/for...BEST-High-Altitude-Solution-for-Heating/page3 (standard ExPo pagination).
Just recently I posted in that thread about:
I've probably posted enough in that thread to convince those whose “automotive imagination” is truly global that Tibetan altitude matters, and should most definitely be taken into consideration when designing a world-capable expedition motorhome. But those who've had negative experiences with high-altitude, who've gotten sick above 14,000 feet, and/or who are not European, will probably still disagree. This is an American website, after all, and Tibet is a very, very long way away from the United States.
Some Americans reading about Tibet in the “High Altitude Heating” might think to themselves,
“What's that got to do with me, or anywhere that I am likely to go with my expedition vehicle, in this lifetime?”
It's then perfectly understandable if American expedition motorhome fabricators and their customers are satisfied with vehicles designed to handle just Altiplano altitudes in the Andes, i.e. roughly 13,000 feet. Why over-design a vehicle for altitudes it will never encounter?
In that thread, Diplostrat suggested that I may be “overthinking” the whole question of high-altitude cooking and heating, but I'm not so sure. As suggested in that thread, for European overlanders geography “feels” different that it does for Americans, because Europeans are Eurasians. Europeans live on a Eurasian continent that includes Tibet. Indeed, a Eurasian continent that includes China and India. After having researched and created those posts, and then researched some more, I am now even more convinced that Tibetan altitude matters – for European overlanders.
Moreover, Tibetan altitude matters especially for the design of the “TerraLiner”, a 6x6, fully integrated, “bad-road” motorhome that should in principle be able to go just about anywhere.
I'd then like to post some more material that continues the argument. However, the “High Altitude Heating” thread is LoRoad's creation, and its theme is “Heating”, not expeditions that have crossed Tibet. So what follows next in this thread is a series of posts that continue the argument first developed over in “High Altitude Heating”; a series of posts that demonstrate just how strongly Tibet now figures in specifically European “automotive imagination”.
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1. The Importance of Central Asia in European Automotive Imagination
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To repeat, Europeans are Eurasians, and they live on a landmass that includes Tibet. So from the earliest days of automotive history, crossing Eurasia has served as a kind of “litmus test” of automotive technological prowess.
The first Paris-to-Peking rally was held in 1907, over 100 years ago – see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peking_to_Paris and http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/news/vintage-speed/the-worlds-10-longest-auto-races-3#slide-3 :
Paris-to-Peking has been repeatedly re-enacted by Europeans ever since the Soviet Union dissolved, and it has once again become possible to cross Eurasia by private motorcar. See for instance http://www.endurorally.com , http://www.endurorally.com/pages/past-rally-events , http://www.endurorally.com/pages/peking-to-paris-1997 , http://www.endurorally.com/pages/2007-peking-to-paris-motor-challenge , http://www.endurorally.com/pages/5th-peking-to-paris-rally-2013 , http://www.endurorally.com/pages/the-peking-to-paris-motor-challenge-2016 , http://www.abc.net.au/tv/pekingtoparis/default.htm , http://www.shanghaidaily.com/feature/Modern-Marco-Polos-drive-along-Silk-Road/shdaily.shtml , and http://en.sib.fm/stories/2013/06/17/hold-on-old-sport :
It's worth noting that the first re-enactment of “Paris to Peking”, in 1997, took a southern route that – you guessed it –crossed the Tibetan plateau:
See http://www.endurorally.com/pages/peking-to-paris-1997 and http://www.endurorally.com/pages/peking-to-paris-1997-route .
See also Overland 13, a historic “Milan to Shanghai” expedition undertaken by an Italian team in 2010, using all-electric solar-powered Piaggio minivans, described on page 23 of this thread, at http://www.expeditionportal.com/for...pedition-RV-w-Rigid-Torsion-Free-Frame/page23 , posts #222 – #224 (standard ExPo pagination):
To prove the technological capability of these driverless “autonomous” vehicles, VisLab did the natural and obvious thing, for a European company: demonstrate that they can cross Eurasia.
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CONTINUED IN NEXT POST
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Why Tibetan Altitude Matters
**********************************************
Over in the “High Altitude Heating” thread I've made a strong pitch for Tibetan altitude as an important design consideration for a “globally capable” expedition vehicle – see page 3, post # 21, at http://www.expeditionportal.com/for...BEST-High-Altitude-Solution-for-Heating/page3 (standard ExPo pagination).
Just recently I posted in that thread about:
- Altitude sickness
- German tour-operators that lead motorhome convoys on trips around central Asia
- Two recent “Mercedes Benz Offroad” G-wagen trips, Berlin to Kolkata, that crossed the Tibetan plateau in 2011 and 2012, each with a full complement of paying customers
- Another “Mercedes Benz Offroad” G-wagen trip, Stuttgart to Hanoi, that will cross the Tibetan plateau in August/September/October of this year (2014), again with a full complement of paying customers
- A series of blog-posts from another website, that discuss diesel-engine issues at Tibetan altitudes
- How overlanding possibilities appear from Europe
I've probably posted enough in that thread to convince those whose “automotive imagination” is truly global that Tibetan altitude matters, and should most definitely be taken into consideration when designing a world-capable expedition motorhome. But those who've had negative experiences with high-altitude, who've gotten sick above 14,000 feet, and/or who are not European, will probably still disagree. This is an American website, after all, and Tibet is a very, very long way away from the United States.
Some Americans reading about Tibet in the “High Altitude Heating” might think to themselves,
“What's that got to do with me, or anywhere that I am likely to go with my expedition vehicle, in this lifetime?”
It's then perfectly understandable if American expedition motorhome fabricators and their customers are satisfied with vehicles designed to handle just Altiplano altitudes in the Andes, i.e. roughly 13,000 feet. Why over-design a vehicle for altitudes it will never encounter?
In that thread, Diplostrat suggested that I may be “overthinking” the whole question of high-altitude cooking and heating, but I'm not so sure. As suggested in that thread, for European overlanders geography “feels” different that it does for Americans, because Europeans are Eurasians. Europeans live on a Eurasian continent that includes Tibet. Indeed, a Eurasian continent that includes China and India. After having researched and created those posts, and then researched some more, I am now even more convinced that Tibetan altitude matters – for European overlanders.
Moreover, Tibetan altitude matters especially for the design of the “TerraLiner”, a 6x6, fully integrated, “bad-road” motorhome that should in principle be able to go just about anywhere.
I'd then like to post some more material that continues the argument. However, the “High Altitude Heating” thread is LoRoad's creation, and its theme is “Heating”, not expeditions that have crossed Tibet. So what follows next in this thread is a series of posts that continue the argument first developed over in “High Altitude Heating”; a series of posts that demonstrate just how strongly Tibet now figures in specifically European “automotive imagination”.
************************************
1. The Importance of Central Asia in European Automotive Imagination
************************************
To repeat, Europeans are Eurasians, and they live on a landmass that includes Tibet. So from the earliest days of automotive history, crossing Eurasia has served as a kind of “litmus test” of automotive technological prowess.
The first Paris-to-Peking rally was held in 1907, over 100 years ago – see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peking_to_Paris and http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/news/vintage-speed/the-worlds-10-longest-auto-races-3#slide-3 :
Paris-to-Peking has been repeatedly re-enacted by Europeans ever since the Soviet Union dissolved, and it has once again become possible to cross Eurasia by private motorcar. See for instance http://www.endurorally.com , http://www.endurorally.com/pages/past-rally-events , http://www.endurorally.com/pages/peking-to-paris-1997 , http://www.endurorally.com/pages/2007-peking-to-paris-motor-challenge , http://www.endurorally.com/pages/5th-peking-to-paris-rally-2013 , http://www.endurorally.com/pages/the-peking-to-paris-motor-challenge-2016 , http://www.abc.net.au/tv/pekingtoparis/default.htm , http://www.shanghaidaily.com/feature/Modern-Marco-Polos-drive-along-Silk-Road/shdaily.shtml , and http://en.sib.fm/stories/2013/06/17/hold-on-old-sport :
It's worth noting that the first re-enactment of “Paris to Peking”, in 1997, took a southern route that – you guessed it –crossed the Tibetan plateau:
See http://www.endurorally.com/pages/peking-to-paris-1997 and http://www.endurorally.com/pages/peking-to-paris-1997-route .
See also Overland 13, a historic “Milan to Shanghai” expedition undertaken by an Italian team in 2010, using all-electric solar-powered Piaggio minivans, described on page 23 of this thread, at http://www.expeditionportal.com/for...pedition-RV-w-Rigid-Torsion-Free-Frame/page23 , posts #222 – #224 (standard ExPo pagination):
To prove the technological capability of these driverless “autonomous” vehicles, VisLab did the natural and obvious thing, for a European company: demonstrate that they can cross Eurasia.
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CONTINUED IN NEXT POST
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Last edited:
, for a portion of something (“Teil”
