Ep7 Towing offroad campers down Van Zyl's Pass in Kaokoland, Namibia
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 24 เม.ย. 2020
- This was probably the best moment of the Namibia trip.
Turns out that the Van Zyl's pass is not that difficult even when towing a trailer or caravan. We do recommend that you have some level of experience when doing so.
The route D3703 going to the Van Zyl's camp is much harder and a challenge when towing. The campsite was ok but next time we'll wild camp.
The Marienfluss road to Camp Syncro is simply just amazing and one of the things you have to do when visiting the northern parts of Namibia.
This is worth another mention. Comment made by Hugh. You will note that make a few comments about the trail being "easy" or "easier than expected" and it has been pointed out to me that this may be misleading to the general public and encourage inexperienced people to tow down the pass. So to this point I must make it clear that we are quite an experienced family when it comes to 4x4'ing and have done our fair bit of trails and travels that tested our skills and broke our vehicles. Many times we got into situations where we asked ourselves "Why did we do this", " How are we going to get out of this", or "How much is this going to cost to repair". We spent almost a year preparing for the trip and carried a lot of extra equipment and parts to cater for the "just in case" situation. All vehicles and trailers were well serviced and prepared for the trip and extra parts ordered from overseas before we left to make sure we were OK if something were to happen out in the Bush. We carried a satellite phone with us for medical emergencies. So although you hear us saying it was " easy", please do not underestimate the preparation needed to make it "easy" and to this day I swear that coming down the steepest bit with my foot hard on the brake and not being able to stop while a big heavy trailer pushes you forward into an off-camera right hand turn was one of the scariest moments of my life.
The key here is that you guys were well prepared. And that you planned the route in advance. In the video I could hear that you had good communication asswell. Welldone, waiting to see the rest of the tour.
instaBlaster...
And track conditions vary with the impacts of weather & road-users / travel (shifting rocks & loose materials, eroding road-edges & gullies etc).
Well done - preparations, journey, family participation, driving, video etc
Well done. A nice relaxed but precise way of doing things . Great video of how to do it in a controlled manner. No shouting and screaming and no showing off like teenagers. Very glad that I watched this. Here's to many more great Namibia trips
Thanks Dennis. Controlled technical driving is key for safety especially when having your family with you. Yes, same... here's to more great Nam trips.
Who on earth shows off "like a teenager" when you are an adult ánd a parent with your entire family with you on holiday facing a very dangerous situation - preposterous.
Well coached, fantastic drive. Two key lessons from this, only ONE lead, and take it easy, no panic. The driver knows what to expect from what the lead communicates.
Well done guys.
Thanks. 100% agree.
I stumbled upon this channel last night and have been binge watching ever since.
❤️ it, especially because I also have a Mountain Goat.
Thanks for the great content. 💥🤙🏻
Hey Johannes, thanks. Appreciate your message. The Mountain Goat is a champion... we'll be publishing the Jimny's review in 2 weeks so will be keen to get your feedback. Tomorrow is the next video upload. Hope you enjoy.
I have conquered North, East, Central Africa. Southern Africa is beautiful, and I have yet to come there. My rig is a Toyota Fortuner V6 Petrol, and I tow an Invader Quattro. Thank you for sharing this overlanding knowledge to us. It'll definitely keep me prepared when I venture into Namibia, Van Zyl's Pass.
I am pleased that you have made a pinned comment - that is sensible...
I am an experienced off-roader but most of my experience is in Australia. However, I have seen a few descents of van Zyl's Pass now and there is no doubt that it is a potential killer - of vehicles and people.
That is why real preparation and experience count! And, yes it is a great feeling to do a tough expedition and get home with no damage to the vehicle (or the occupants)...
This is brilliant. Now I must go! Thanks for sharing this detailed video.
Thanks.
What is that music at the end, freaking awesome.
Very nicely done indeed!
I have subscribed and are looking forward to watching the rest of your videos!
Awesome, thank you!
Great drive and camera work, thanks for a very good video. Question: What would you say to doing the pass in the opposite direction without towing anything?
Amazing Performance
Very nice. Would you remember what your tyre pressures were?
Nice video, we saw you guys at Marble camp. Asome riggs.
Awesome. Thanks for the comment. Come over for a beer next time.
Hi Tommie. Good to hear from you again! I clearly remember you guys....always good to see other Patrolman enroute. I loved your TD42 that you have rigged for taking clients out on tours. Amazing setup.
Good Morning All
We from "Simple Life Overlanding" hope you all enjoy the footage. Please check out the other videos we've posted to the channel documenting our trip.
Last year July the family did a 6500 km round trip from Cape Town up to Epupa Falls and back.
I towed my Conqueror Confort with my Patrol, my brother-in-law towed his Bushlapa with his Cruiser, and my parents-in-law followed in their Suzuki Jimny.
If you consider the vehicles and the trailer and caravan we towed I'm sure you'd agree that we created a great platform to compare arguably some of the most discussed 4x4 vehicles as well as caravan and trailer brands in South Africa.
Before we did the trip we probably watched all the content we could on TH-cam about the trip and specifically the Van Zyl's Pass so in my opinion I believe we have created one of the best quality videos of us descending the pass using various camera angles to view the descent from different sides of the vehicles and get a really good idea of challenging it is to descend while being pushed down the hill by your caravan or trailer.
Some points about the descent:
- The Conqueror had a busted leaf spring at the time and still made it down without a hitch. You'll notice some squeaking in the video attesting to the broken component.
- I pulled up the handbrake of the Comfort before the descent to help reduce the amount of pushing, but that didnt help that much once the auto-reverse kicked in, which disables the brake. My brother-in-law couldn't use his handbrake on the Bushlapa because it's one of those brakes which is either completely on or off.
- The grinding noise heard from the Bushlapa during the descent is the sounds of the front right corner of the chassis being dragged across the rocks. The difference in distance between the Patrols rear axle and Comfort vs. the Cruiser rear axle and Bushlapa is 800mm where the Cruiser is longer, which played a significant roll is traversing terrain with severe acute and obtuse angles.
- Both my brother-in-law and I had our feet 100% on the breaks while making the descent at the steepest part despite it looking as if we came down too fast. Brakes and tires dont mean much at all when you've got 1.5T of load pushing you from behind on loose gravel on a rocky surface.
You will note that make a few comments about the trail being "easy" or "easier than expected" and it has been pointed out to me that this may be misleading to the general public and encourage inexperienced people to tow down the pass. So to this point I must make it clear that we are quite an experienced family when it comes to 4x4'ing and have done our fair bit of trails and travels that tested our skills and broke our vehicles. Many times we got into situations where we asked ourselves "Why did we do this", " How are we going to get out of this", or "How much is this going to cost to repair". We spent almost a year preparing for the trip and carried a lot of extra equipment and parts to cater for the "just in case" situation. All vehicles and trailers were well serviced and prepared for the trip and extra parts ordered from overseas before we left to make sure we were OK if something were to happen out in the Bush. We carried a satellite phone with us for medical emergencies. So although you hear us saying it was " easy", please do not underestimate the preparation needed to make it "easy" and to this day I swear that coming down the steepest bit with my foot hard on the brake and not being able to stop while a big heavy trailer pushes you forward into an off-camera right hand turn was one of the scariest moments of my life. Will I do it again? Yes, but without towing!
Cheers
Hugh
@@hughkirby2416 . Yes we Patrolman do not "SOMER" mis another good looking vehicle, especialy yours. Both your's and your brother in law's riggs looked the part.
Hi.
Am I correct that the Patrol was a Petrol Automatic?
And do you know the loaded weight of the Comfort it was towing?
We are planning.... 😉
Hi Francois. Yes, it is an automatic
I can assume that you use first gear in low range. Did you engage the difflock as well?
Hi Koos. We used 1st gear low range. We did not use diff lock as it limits steering control. Lots and lots of braking required with the heavy towing weight pushing from behind.
Hi Koos. I didnt have my (rear) locker on in the Patrol when descending ,because at the time I felt that it would affect my steering. However, I've since leart through various 4x4 channels and forums that engaging the rear diff will actually help prevent runaway of the vehicle where one of the rear wheels loses traction while braking. I've not yet tested this theory myself, but I think it's worth considering and giving it a test under the right conditions. Each driver should decide on whether this works for them or not.
On a slightly different topic, the line that a big vehicle takes vs. a smaller vehicle makes a big difference in the descent. The Jimny has no lockers on it at all and easily did the descent. The small size of the vehicle allows the driver to choose a much better line when compared to a larger vehicle.
Its mad scarry without a trailor but I would honestly shit my pants with one
If my foot wasn't so hard on the brake I may have just done that🤣
Respect ✊ but never in my life 😂
:-) i hear you. I doubt that we'll go down VZP towing again but you never know. Such a great experience it was but man it was nerve-racking at times especially when you start thinking about what to do in the event of brake failure.
Vibrations to sleep
Not sure what the fuss is about - I could have done it in my mother's Polo!;)
Anything is possible. Just wash the Polo before you return it... bit dusty in the Marienfluss as you exit the pass 😉
Didn't know one was allowed to tow anything going over Van Zyl's Pass 🤔
Hi. Yes you are allowed. Perhaps not a great idea. We will not be towing VZP again but it was an adventure to remember.
Please ... take away the music. I (and I'm sure others) want to listen to the ambient sounds and the grinding of the tires on the gravel. I makes us feel that we are there. The music takes away half the experience. That last bit with the video sped up a bit with you driving over the flat sands ... there the music was fine.
We got both versions of the comment... thanks.
Chris, we don't specialise in video editing. Heck, we just enjoy whats in front of us and unfortunately our audio was really rubbish due to wind I recon and therefore we had to use music in most clips. Not your cup of tea and probably many others too (as you clearly mentioned) and that's ok. Luckily people don't need to sub and can quickly search for better videos. The beauty of life. Have a lekke one.
@@SimpleLifeOverland Sorry
In my very first comment I was a bit quick to speak. Make no mistake, the quality of life that you impart on us (through your experiences) ... video-graphically, is awesome. I have subscribed and will stay subscribed through all your future endeavours.