Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2017 i Leisure Wheels

Ever since we left Cape Cross in March 2000 until recently, every step of our journeys has been planned, mapped and recorded on a GPS. In the recent past, I have written quite a bit in our monthly Voetspore diary about these navigation tools. I see this as just as much a part of a safari as Old Man Emu suspension, winch, long-range fuel tank and all-terrain tyres. Yet now, after completing the Indian Expedition, I believe that we are witnessing the death of the GPS as we know it. Over the last few decades, we have experienced tremendous development in the field of electronics. We have witnessed the development of fax machines, PCs, cellphones and the GPS. Pocket-sized electronics are not science fiction anymore. Today it is science fact.…

DRIVING more than 3 000km, with a heavy boat in tow, just to go fishing? You bet! That’s exactly why I recently reported at 4×4 accessory company Opposite Lock’s head office in Olifantsfontein, along with two other souls. Opposite Lock Africa was one of the sponsors of the 2017 Okavango Bream Classic, hosted on the Okavango River. Opposite Lock, as well as one of their dealers in Botswana, High Range Safari City, had entered teams to compete in this ‘bucket list fishing competition’. We were heading north in Opposite Lock (OL) frontman Darrell van Zeil’s Toyota Hilux 3.0D-4D 4×4 double cab. As expected, his bakkie is kitted to the hilt with OL gear, as well as some other kit, too. The first leg took us from Olifantsfontein to Gaborone, a…

The new Nissan Navara test unit happened to arrive at our office the same week that the long-awaited new Mercedes-Benz X-class was launched in Cape Town. As you probably know, the new Benz bakkie is based on the Nissan’s underpinnings. So the same chassis and the new coilspring, five-link rear suspension, as well as – for the entry-level Benz – the twin-turbo 2.3-litre four-cylinder diesel engine. We were a bit tempted to stick a makeshift drawing of the threepointed star over the Nissan badge, and drive around like that. Nissan probably wouldn’t have minded too much. Come to think of it, maybe the timing of the units that suddenly became available to the media four months after the initial launch wasn’t such a coincidence. Be that as it may, the…

Speed kills... especially when you’re sitting 15cm from the windscreen and are protected by nothing more than a thin piece of metal caressing your knees. A few decades ago, back when people generally had a more laissez-faire approach to safety and seatbelts were seen as superfluous; forward control (FC) vehicles had a strong following. These days, though, they are practically extinct. Regulations have made passenger/ leisure vehicles with this sort of set-up just about impossible to create. In fact, the only area where these vehicles survived until fairly recently was in commercial applications where high speed was unlikely, if not impossible. Yet, there is something very cool about an old-school FC 4×4. Sure, they weren’t the safest vehicles around, but they suggested a no-frills-nofuss approach to vehicle design that was…

4x4 MUSCLE TRUCKS This 4x4 trail review is brought to you by 4x4 Muscle Trucks, who specialise in creating off-road leviathans. Their most recent builds include the R2 million Hilux called Godzilla and Hellboy, the big and mean Jeep Wrangler featured on these pages. 4x4 Muscle Trucks is owned by Hansie Coetzee, who also owns TJM Pretoria-East. More information: Tel: 012 809 0090; tjmptaeast.co.za THERE we were, standing at the base of the intimidating Koos se Klim, one of the Moegatle 4×4 Trail’s most fearsome challenges. It’s a seemingly impossibly steep climb up a massive rock. A few metres into the climb there is an axle twister that has made wheels lift... and subsequently caused the death of a few 4×4s over the years. A young man was standing next…

IN 1995, Pro Auto Rubber started producing automotive extrusion rubber products. At the time, there was a clear gap in the market for the supply of extrusion rubber products such as door seals in the world of classic car restoration. Nowadays, the company still supplies specialist products for the classic car segment, but the business has evolved and expanded into many other sectors, too. Pro Auto Rubber now specialises in the following fields: automotive, bus and truck body, railway, military, canopy, container, construction, garage door manufacturers, original equipment sub supply for vehicle manufacturers, gasket manufacturers, solar industry, shipping, building and the mining industry. The headquarters are based in Boksburg in Gauteng, but it also has official outlets in Cape Town, George, Pinetown and Durban. Additionally, Pro Auto Rubber products are…

IN A (FAVOURITE) NUTSHELL: Food: Hamburger. Drink: Tonic water. TV Show: Bundesliga. Favourite sport: Handball. Movie: Steven Spielberg’s The Duel. Band: Coldplay. Place on Earth: Ayers Rock, Australia. Holiday destination: Venice, Italy. Rainer Zietlow has spent his life doing crazy things with cars. In 1988, when he was 18, and just six weeks after getting his licence, he set off on a road trip with some friends. They travelled from Germany to Niger, where they sold their Mercedes-Benz 230E and headed home. He was immediately hooked. This was what he wanted to do with his life. In 1996, he undertook his first round-the-world vehicle tour, and these days he spends his time setting new vehicle records. He has partnered with Volkswagen and Goodyear for these record attempts, and he supports the international…

I knew as a result of reading everything that I could lay my hands on that there was a campsite at Siabuwa, but had no further details. The road from Karoi to Siabuwa was long and arduous, and I figured that if we were going to find the campsite, I’d better get on with it. Bill’s VW Syncro wasn’t designed to cope with the potholes, middelmannetjies and all of the other anomalies that this stretch of road had to offer, but I knew that Cobus would stick with him so I barrelled on ahead to locate the campsite before dark. Just as well. There was nothing in Siabuwa to indicate a campsite, but as we pulled over to wait for the others, about 30 children crowded about the vehicle and we…

Interestingly, in his latest Voetspore diary (in this magazine) Johan Badenhorst shares that until recently, every step of the team’s journeys was planned, mapped and recorded on a GPS. “Yet now, after completing the Indian Expedition” says Johan, “I believe that we are witnessing the death of the GPS as we know it.” Industry giants like Garmin and TomTom are aware of the shifting GPS landscape and both companies have developed GPS navigation apps (along with other applications for sport and fitness). Garmin’s first foray into this space with the Navigator App for both iOS and Android failed and so it rewrote the entire GPS application. It now offers Garmin StreetPilot Onboard, exclusively for iOS. TomTom has had more success with TomTom Go Mobile which, like more and more the…

For more information on any of these tours, or to book your trip: Email: lwtravel@ramsaymedia.co.za Website: leisurewheels.co.za/travel-packages/or phone Inshaaf Amos @ Tel: 021 530 3380 ZAMBIA WITH ZEST (4–26 SEPTEMBER) Ever wanted to travel into the real unspoiled and wild side of Africa? Then this is the safari tailor-made for you. We visit no less than four national parks in Zambia: from South Luangwa, Luambe and North Luangwa in the east, through to Kafue NP in the more central part of Zambia. Included in the price is all accommodation, park entrance as well as vehicle entrance fees at the camping sites. Price: R19 800pp (subject to change) PONDOLAND TRANSKEI WILD COAST (8–14 OCTOBER) Pondoland, on the Transkei Wild Coast, is one of the destinations so many people would like to…

WE kick off with some global news: the Nissan-Renault Alliance has taken over the mantle as the world’s biggest volume seller from January to June this year, recording a total of 5 268 079 sales. It also means the alliance, which now includes Mitsubishi following the acquisition of the struggling Japanese firm last year, outsold the likes of Volkswagen, Toyota and General Motors. It’s the first time that the alliance has managed to outsell the traditional Big Three, and it augers in an exciting new era for the multi-franchise company. For interest’s sake, the global brand-by-brand breakdown of Nissan-Renault’s record sales were as follows: Nissan: 2 894 488 units Renault (including Dacia): 1 879 288 units Mitsubishi: 494 303 units Infiniti: 125 000 units In South Africa, the alliance’s sales…

Mazda has revealed its upcoming CX-8 SUV. The company's first new-generation model to feature three rows of seating is scheduled to go on sale in Japan before the end of the year. Mazda's latest newgeneration model, the CX-8 will serve as the flagship of the brand's SUV lineup. According to Mazda, it’s a new kind of crossover SUV for people who both appreciate quality and need to seat more than five individuals. “It has the looks, performance and high-end feel customers expect from a Mazda, yet even adults can sit comfortably in the third row. Mazda designers worked to add a new dimension of maturity to the KODO-Soul of Motion design theme for an enduring edgy look that will continue to excite customers for many years to come. As the…

THE Arusha Land Rover club was founded in November last year. Landy enthusiast Yussuf Khatry founded the club for local Land Rover enthusiasts and tour guides to get together and explore some remote parts of the stunning countryside around Arusha and the foothills of nearby Mount Kilimanjaro. Currently there are 26 members with 90s and 110s. Yussuf’s 1998 110 pick-up was in the workshop being put back together again after barrel rolling down a hill... on the last trip out. I hoped that this time, the only dramatic thing was going to be the landscape. He picked me up in a friend’s 110 with a fake UN aerial on the front bumper and a bank of speakers behind to play a music CD filled with obscure 1980’s pop music. Africa…

T: (012) 524 9700 W: rfsauto.co.za E: info@rfsauto.co.za One of the biggest mistakes second-hand buyers make is to purchase what they can afford, instead of what they need. As mentioned last month, you can often find great deals on large, luxurious SUVs on the used market, but it’s important to fight that fear of missing out on a great deal. Before buying a vehicle, take some time to assess your needs. Here are some questions you should ask yourself before purchasing a used SUV or 4×4. WHAT DO I WANT TO SPEND? Decide exactly how much you want to spend. Consider the deposit you will put down, the monthly instalments, the cost of insuring the vehicle and what you’ll be paying for fuel on a monthly basis. Find a figure…

“Don’t shoot what it looks like. Shoot what it feels like.” So says renowned American photograpger David Alan Harvey, who incidentally took his first photo in 1956 – the same year a bunch of adventurers decided to ‘drive’ a VW Beetle up Sani Pass. BEETLE JUICE! In 1956, former Spitfire fighter pilot Sy Symmonds, along with a small group of adventurers that included Ewold von Bergen (who would later become a South African rally champion) scaled the infamously tough Sani Pass; in a VW Beetle. It was the first two-wheel-drive vehicle to make it up the pass, which was in much worse shape in 1956 than it is now. On the way down the slippery, steep pass – which was partly covered in snow - the driver’s door was removed,…

To understand Hauk Design’s Rock Rat, you first need to be familiar with the term ‘rat rod’. A rat rod is a lot like a hot rod, but there are some key differences. These days, the term ‘hot rod’ is typically used to describe an accurate recreation of those iconic racers from the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s. Cars, in other words, that look like those from old films like Hot Rod Rumble and The Wild Ride. These are vehicles that try and stay as close as possible to the original hot rod design. Then you get the rat rod. A rat rod is an exaggerated version of a hot rod. They look like something from a comic book: big, boisterous and over the top. An important aspect of a rat…

WELCOME to Leisure Wheels Customs – a new division of our magazine that provides Average Joes with great 4×4 accessory packages. Rome wasn’t built in a day though, so while we’re working on exclusive packages on Ford’s Ranger and Isuzu’s KB, we kick off the Customs game with some To yota Hilux alterations. We haven’t employed a bunch of bearded, tattooed mechanics that swear a lot and play pranks on each other while they turn old wrecks into exotic machinery. Instead of swinging spanners and trying to reinvent the wheel, we’re offering some exclusive offers through existing 4×4 accessory and other retail outlets. It works like this: we’ve partnered up with 4×4 Mega World, General Tire, Racing Hart Concepts and Front Runner. At first, there will be two packages available…

THE term ‘dune buggy’ has become a catchall name for just about any little open-topped, open-wheeled recreational vehicle. When anoraks refer to a dune buggy, however, they usually mean the Manx created by Bruce Meyers. Meyers didn’t quite invent the concept, but for many, a Manx is the quintessential buggy. Having built boats from fibreglass, Meyers applied the same idea to dune buggies, and created a light and fun little recreational vehicle that was surprisingly capable off-road. Now, while there is a certain retro coolness to a Manx buggy, some would argue that it is a bit dowdy by modern standards; more children’s toy than race car. Enter Derek Jenkins and his very modern Manx. Jenkins is a true petrolhead. He’s worked as Volkswagen’s chief designer at the company’s California…