Since back in the early 80s when we met one of the founders of K&N Air Filters, Ken Johnson, we have used K&N High-Flow Washable Air Filters in all of our expedition vehicles. From the silt bed traps of Baja California to the Atacama Desert in Chile and across the frozen Steppes of Siberia, K&N […]
With the help of Jack Wardlow, an old friend and an expert woodworker himself, we finished the outside workbench on the new garage, a place for dirty tools like grinders and a drill press. With many projects to tackle on The Turtle V expedition truck in preparation for the upcoming Trans-Eurasian Odyssey, it will prove to be […]
In our preparation for The Trans-Eurasian Odyssey, every system on The Turtle V must be tested and retested. While not a serious winching job, moving a huge boulder in front of the new garage driveway was a perfect opportunity to familiarize ourselves with the Warn 16.5ti Winch, (www.warn.com), mounted in the new Buckstop Bumper, (www.buckstop.biz), […]
Exploring some backroads around Northern California, we found a good place to take some photos for SEMA NEWS. Sporting our new Buckstop bumper, The Turtle V will be on display in the Specialty Vehicle Area at this year’s SEMA SHOW in Las Vegas, November 1 thru 4, 2011.
As the details of our new Buckstop Heavy Duty Bumper for The Turtle V took shape, practical ideas from previous designs merged. Of course, we added 2” receivers on both sides, off-set so when we are pushing a trailer into a tight place, the driver can see where it’s going. Dual receivers open the possibility […]
Working with Dorian Hartfield, owner of Buckstop, and his chief fabricator, Gabriel Arreola, the process of hand-carving our custom Buckstop bumper for The Turtle V began with the design of cross bars and a light bar. This is the frame around the picture, so both function and great looks were equally important. Tube bending is […]
After studying the designs of our last nine bumpers, we realized that the upright support bars needed be at an angle that would push large animals like deer, cows and burros away from the truck, not up into the windshield. The basic shape of the Buckstop Outback was a good compromise. The welded box design […]
While the Reunel bumper on The Turtle V had served its purpose, it had always lacked the really functional elements that the custom Rickard Engineering Compartment Bumpers on The Turtle III & Turtle IV used. Paul Rickard died a few years ago, and his mastery of engineering and design was a great loss to those […]
When we originally designed The Tortuga Expedition Camper, we installed a microwave oven. In real life on the road, we used it only occasionally to reheat coffee or a bowl of soup. Since propane is the best way to cook, and it is readily available everywhere in the world, the microwave was really an unneeded […]
For those of you who are familiar with The Turtle V and its European-style Tortuga Expedition Camper, you may recall that to maximize use of space, the shower and Thetford Porta Potti are in the doorway, a space that is always there. The Porta Potti simply slides out when needed. The problem was that the […]
