Again in March a modified Ford F-150 fell by way of some ice near the Tasmania Islands at the Arctic Circle. The truck was element of a circumnavigation journey referred to as the Transglobal Car Expedition, which returned 5 months later to recuperate the car from the Arctic Ocean. The team utilized divers, air bag flotation equipment, and a helicopter to get well the truck.
The rig was no everyday F-150. It experienced been seriously modified by Arctic Vehicles to its AT44 spec, which indicates it sported substantial 44-inch tires perfect for holding the truck “floating” on deep snow. If the company appears acquainted to you, which is since it is the identical 1 that outfitted Leading Gear’s modified Toyota Hilux trucks for its journey to the North Pole. The bulk of its conversions are based on Toyotas, including the Land Cruiser, equally the unique and the Lexus GX equal, but the business also modifies Isuzu, Nissan, Mercedes Sprinter, VW Amarok, and Iveco vans and SUVs.
Arctic Trucks’ work entails frame modifications to the F-150, and while its entrance suspension is lifted about an inch, the rear is held at stock height to maintain a very low center of gravity. Locking differentials and cabin-operated air-up/air-down units are also a must have additions when traversing off-grid.
Unfortunately, the outfitting was not plenty of to keep the Ford from breaking via the area when trying to ford (ha!) an ice-covered Franklin Strait on March 23. Driver Torfi Birkir Johannsson recounted the harrowing problem:
I suspected swiftly that it is deep drinking water underneath and we will be dropping the vehicle, my thinking went “what do we need to have most in advance of we reduce it”. I evaluated if I ought to go again into the automobile to get a few dresses there, my telephone, my computer systems, and so forth., but resolved to bounce on the roof rack and get the extra significant clothes all four of us experienced stored on this car.
I managed to free of charge two straps and the 4 bags, my contemplating was we would need this especially if the other car would also go down and jumped off to deliver these baggage to safer ice.
No other automobiles ended up dropped, but the crew claims they preferred to leave the internet site in as pristine condition as doable. So they spent the months considering the fact that figuring out how to recuperate the sunken Ford. The alternative was for seasoned arctic divers to connect big air luggage to the truck and float it to a nearby island.
There, it was inspected and secured as a sling load to a Tremendous Puma helicopter to close by Taloyoak in Nunavut, Canada. The mission in just one of the most remote areas of the world proved successful, as Automobile and Driver noted. The Ford now awaits the future ship that can just take it to Montreal.
The team learned important classes from this endeavor, which is only a demo run for the precise longitudinal circumnavigation. That 25,000-mile excursion will start out in September at the southern idea of Argentina, head north by means of South and North The usa just before reaching the North Pole.
The system is to depart the F-150s in Resolute, Nunavut, and move forward with the added four Russian Yamelya 6-wheeled amphibious automobiles. From there, the staff of 16 plans to cross the arctic and vacation south through Greenland. They will get there by ship to Denmark right before crossing Europe and Africa. Ultimately, they system to traverse Antarctica again to Argentina, arriving in January 2024.
The objective of the expedition is to “unite persons all around the environment in a single common journey,” in accordance to the group’s web-site. The staff is made up of Americans, Canadians, Russians, Ukrainians, and Icelanders.
