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 […]
Just to give you a break between the Tunnel of Death in Tajikistan and our continued travels along the Silk Road, here is a little current information about the amazing SEMA Show in Las Vegas. This is probably the largest automotive aftermarket parts display in the world and many of our sponsors are here. With […]
It was a crisp morning in Cappadocia. Like melting butter, the warm sun was just oozing across the bizarre landscape. People of Göreme discovered that soft rock could be carved into houses. How imaginative! We explored the area on foot and in a hot air balloon.
Meerschaum, (German for foam of the sea), is a soft white clay mineral also known as sepiolite. Pure white Turkish meerschaum has been prized for centuries. The first recorded use for making pipes was around 1723. Our trail led us to the town of Eskişehir and then to the countryside where our search for meerschaum ended at a hole in the ground about 20 feet deep.
We are market junkies, and we’ve wandered through some of the best, but there is only one Grand Bazaar. Call it a “shopping mall” if you want to homogenize it, but Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar is much more. It started as a small market in 1455, and grew into an important trading center on the Silk Road, expanding into what must be considered a city within a city.
After a quick Shish Kebab on the street and a glass of fresh-squeezed pomegranate juice, we headed over to the astounding and fascinating Topkapı Palace and museum, home of the Ottoman Sultans for nearly 400 years.
