Despite the fact that we reached Denver under blue sunny skies, weather was on the way. The temperature had dropped back down into the low 30s and flakes of snow were drifting around when we arrived at the Gates Corporation World Headquarters. It was a pleasure to meet some of the people behind the company […]
Like a good first aid kit or a winch, we hope we never need chains, but we know better. In snow, packed ice or mud, chains are often mandatory, even with our aggressive Michelin XZL tires. From experience, we know that chains on the rear wheels are often enough to move forward, but in very […]
While The Turtle V looks ready from the outside, before we head east to ship to Europe, we wanted to know what was going on inside the engine, differentials, transmission and transfer case, as well as the coolant that not only cools the engine, but also heats the camper and our FlatPlate hot water system. […]
Whether you travel in a car, SUV, pick-up camper or expedition motorhome, it’s easy to overlook one of the smallest parts of the drivetrain. When you think about it, all of the power in our big engines is channeled through the transmission and back to the rear wheels (and front wheels if you have four-wheel-drive) […]
In the process of replacing the water pump belts and hoses at Ken Imler Diesel Performance, we took care of a couple of other problems. Plastic is convenient for lightweight manufacturing, but it doesn’t last forever under a hot engine compartment. Our overflow tank was deteriorating and the plastic brackets were cracking. The fan blade […]
An equally important part of the cooling system is the serpentine belt that powers the water pump as well as power steering, alternators and the fan blade. During a recent demonstration video shot at Ken Imler Diesel Performance in Sacramento, we installed the new Gates Heavy-Duty FleetRunner® Belt that provides twice the service life compared […]
One of the most critical components of our truck’s diesel engine is its cooling system. In preparation for our three-year Overland Expedition following the Silk Road, every component had to be checked and if possible, replaced with something better than factory. First, perhaps most important, was the water pump itself and the thermostat. The experienced […]
Today, we are starting a series of stories from Baja California & Chihuahua, Mexico and Western United States previously published in various magazines. Please keep checking the Adventures’ page. The first one to be published is: Baja Testing The Turtle V It includes an exciting trip up the spine of Baja to visit century-old ranches, […]
Many people have asked us how we get that 130 pound spare tire up on the back of the truck and how does it stay there. The answer is very manual and quite simple. Rather than use an electric winch that could fail after months of disuse, we use a simple 1-ton manually operated Maasdam […]
While our new Rickson Truck Wheels were round and true and reversible from front to rear, there was a major problem that should have been taken care of before they were powder coated or certainly before I mounted five new Michelin XZL 335/80R20 tires. These new wheels absolutely had to have valve stems on both […]
