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 […]
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 […]
Yes, we have hot water again in The Turtle V. VERY hot water. The Espar D5 Hydronic, or the engine if it is running, pumps heated coolant through the heat-exchange plates of the FlatPlate double wall brazed plate heat exchanger. That means the engine coolant can be as hot as 210°F. The D5 Hydronic has […]
We have become so soft, when the air conditioning system starts to blow warm air, we say “what’s that about?!!”, forgetting the days of our Land Rover when we had neither AC nor power steering nor power brakes nor cruise control. When our AC started to act up, the soon-to-be great automotive technicians at Sahuarita […]
The primary purpose of building a garage and shop with a 14-foot ceiling was to allow our Turtle V expedition truck to fit. A second advantage has been to add mechanical lifts that bring our light storage boxes, ice chests and even our Old Town canoe up out of the way, making room for our […]
Major problem!!! Our grey water tank had developed a serious leak, and the custom aluminum tank was built into the walls and cabinets of the camper. The great guys at Sierra Trailer in Nevada City found a way to cut a section of the Nida Core body out to access the ugly hole and patch […]
In our absence attending the Overland Expo 2011, progress on our new shop and garage slowed down. Late winter and early spring snowstorms didn’t help. Nevertheless, things are moving along. Lights, water and much of the plumbing are finished. It was nice to be able to pack The Turtle V in a relatively warm and […]
Overland Expo 2011 was bigger and better that ever. The Turtle V was on display, with some of our long-time sponsors represented. We were kept busy teaching seminars on Financing Your Overland Adventure and Staying Happy and Healthy On the Road, along with several “Ask The Experts” Round Tables. As always, it was great to […]
THE TURTLES The Ultimate Backroad Adventure Vehicles From our first travel/adventure vehicle, a 1967 109 Land Rover, to our most current, the all new Turtle V, a 1999/2000 Ford F-550 with its custom European-style Tortuga Expedition Camper, The Turtle Expedition’s backroad exploration and camping trucks have often been described as “The Ultimate”. Our continuous search […]
MODERN-DAY VAGABONDS ON THE ROAD OF ADVENTURE! If you had stopped Gary Wescott on his way to journalism class at San Diego State University in 1967 and told him he would spend his life traveling around the World; or if you could have caught Monika Mühlebach Wescott as she peddled her bicycle home from school […]
