The Turtle V Expedition Camper A One-of-a-Kind Build After constructing a wood prototype—stick and staple—an aluminum exoskeleton was fabricated and welded at all joints. Inside this exoskeleton, 1 ½ “ panels of honey-comb Nida-Core were hand laid with fiberglass and attached to the aluminum frame with marine Sikaflex adhesive, secured with marine pop rivets where […]
The cab is our office on the road. First we applied Rhino Lining to the floor, and to further reduce road noise, the floor and doors are insulated with vibration-dampening Dynamat. Kraco floor mats are easy to clean. For ease of entry, Kodiak Sidewinder automatic folding steps were installed that drop down when the door […]
Not the least important part of any vehicle, the drivetrain of The Turtle V has been carefully selected and designed to do a job, reliably. The front differential of the F550 is a heavy duty Dana 60. We added an ARB Air Locker and protected it with the Dynatrac Pro Series off-road differential cover. […]
The Turtle V gets a Buckstop front Bumper The front bumper is a custom design by Buckstop Truckware in Oregon, incorporating some of the features of our previous bumpers like lockable storage compartments, two trailer hitch receivers, headlight protection bars and rock deflector in front of the steering cooler. Mounts for a Go Pro camera […]
The Turtle V project was full of challenges. First, we had to get rid of the dual rear tires. Duals don’t work on rocky roads and they plow sand, mud and snow. Michelin XZL’s and Rickson steel wheels After some experimentation, we chose Michelin XZL 335/80R20s and mounted them on custom 20X11 Rickson steel […]
The latest in the 48-year dynasty of Turtle Expedition research trucks, The Turtle V and its European-style Tortuga Expedition Camper have gone through a continuous process of refinement since it was conceived in 1999. Back then it was an experiment. Now, with over 200,000 miles on the odometer including a two-year/40,000-mile expedition through 26 countries following […]
Everyone insisted we had to see Sintra and the magnificent Pena National Palace along with the Moorish Castle.
In the 19th century Sintra became the first center of European Romantic architecture thanks to King Ferdinand II who turned a ruined monastery into a castle and park.
First occupied by the Romans but abandoned in the 5th century, in 713 the Moors established a fortification on this mountain. In 1148, Obidos was retaken by the first King of Portugal, Alfonso Henriques, and it was one of the last battles in the final stage of the conquest of the Extremadura region. King Alfonso […]
During our short stay at Praia da Vagueira we had the opportunity to watch the fishermen who still use traditional methods to set their nets.
