SteveS
Member Since: 05 Oct 2010
Location: Devon & Berkshire
Posts: 388
 
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| Nordkapp 2012 - Experiences 5 Things I'd do differently | |
These 5 articles reflect MY experiences and MY thoughts on the subject. I am NOT an expert in Arctic survival and therefore you must do your own research and your own preparation and do not rely on the information presented here in good faith.
I hope you find these 5 articles useful/informative
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Things I’d do differently
1 - More insulation around the floor and footwell area; the metallised plastic door liners I think worked OK.
2 - Even though I have a 5 seat county utility the area behind the front row seats was cold and held its cold temperature due to the huge number of clothes, bags and suchlike not allowing warm air to flow around the truck – this is both positive (less air to heat) and negative (the ice-box conditions on the rear floor);
3 - I wouldn’t go out of my way to buy a rad-muff for a TDCi – it seemed to make little difference;
4 - For extended trips (say to Siberia) I would consider an air-heater to supplement the Webasto in the coldest conditions to keep the occupants warm. Consider a ceramic fan heater to keep the inside driver’s and passenger’s door window clear of ice on the inside;
5 - Fit an oil breather heater to TDCi;
6 - Keep my Snow boots in a heated environment when not in use. Wearing boots that have been stored in the truck overnight at say -20C means that you will bathe your feet in this temperature for hours;
7 - The reindeer skins we purchased in the UK (sealed skin backs) worked very well at keeping warm but they were a pain to store – they were always in the way and unravelled – find a simple strap solution to keep them neatly rolled up. We initially had them on the two front seats but this became impractical;
8 - Try not to burn/melt clothing on the Eldfell stove – difficult to find a solution except for being careful;
9 - Take more rock pegs (16 rather than  and a heavier mallet – I suggest a small 7lb club hammer rather than a wooden mallet. You need serious purchase to get through the frozen ice/ground conditions if the snow has been blown away;
10 - Gernally the washer fluid additives work to -15C or -20C and start to get marginal at these temperatures when in the freezing wind. I would consider a heat-shot system to keep the windows clear. In general the windows kept pretty clear at the colder temperatures of the north (no salting). I bought some Comma brand -25C from Halfords before I left.
Things that worked well
1 - Use of the fridge to stop items freezing – worked well. I have an insulated cover for my 40L Waeco which helped.
2 - The camping gear
3 - Generally the truck except for the blocked oil breather pipe
4 - The Webasto
5 - Dual battery set-up, although you could perhaps ‘survive’ with a good single battery – the Webasto makes all the difference to the need for serious cranking amps. The Odyssey batteries performed flawlessly. Consider that you will need lighting, heater, rear demist etc etc all on and probably on full-blast too – this puts serious load on the battery systems. Even though you may take a fridge realistically this will only run during the day with a warm cab – overnight temperatures will get it to meet its set-point and switch off
6 - LED light bar, although being mounted overhead would be a problem in heavily snowing conditions and cause a degree of white-out. Was useful to ‘remind’ locals to turn down their lights
7 - BFG Mud Terrains – no appreciable difference to the ATs. One of our group said that if they returned they would consider proper winter compound tyres to provide extra grip – they had had a bit of a snaking moment
8 - Cheap wi-fi internal/external temperature sender – this gives good feedback about the changing temperature conditions which you would otherwise be oblivious to (it all feels very cold) and allows you to prepare for overnight camping and clothing, fires etc;
9 - Helly Hanson thermals and other warm clothing – layers being the secret. Seriously cold temperatures quickly play havoc with your skin and core temperature
10 - Contact lens system – I had no trouble except that the cold temperatures slowed down the chemical reaction of overnight cleaner (and could of course freeze it). I had a 12V baby bottle warmer as back-up if this became a problem – but chose to sleep with my lenses in when in the tent;
11 - Silicone spray on the door rubbers – applied before the trip, we never had a stuck door because of this. On the coldest sections we occasionally had a door lock that would not latch properly or open – used lock de-icer to free up the mechanisms
All information offered in good faith but you must do your own research to confirm that you have adequate preparation for the trip you intend
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21st Feb 2012 8:39pm |
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bpman
Member Since: 21 May 2008
Location: Oslo
Posts: 8069
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exellent write up Steve - thanks 
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21st Feb 2012 10:23pm |
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