Expedition Overland - Mackenzie Trail 2016 - On YouTube soon!

Well thank you!

 

Why did you post all three!?!?! I have work to do...lol

 

Will season 3 consist of only the 3 episodes or will it be another 12 episodes?

 

I assume it's only 3 parts, because they had finished the trail.

 

So I'm midway through E2 (Thanks for crashing, shitty Frontier internet...).

These episodes are very good.

This came to mind in regards to the level of "better"...

https://youtu.be/y4EyYHRLAAE

 

Awesome. I think this is the best series so far.
I would have been freaking out about running out of fuel.

 

Watched all three episodes today. Great job guys! Very jealous of the trip. Congrats!

 

Ok, finished them. Here's my assessment, Kurt, since I know you are jonesing for it!

Overall: Well done. I enjoyed the episodes very much.

Here's my pro and con thoughts:

These were as enjoyable as the original NA episodes, and better than the Yukon and SA episodes.

Pro - I think there was less focus on the brand of equipment (other than it being in the background as a catalyst for adventure - I think the only stuff referred to by brand name was the Maxtrax and trailer a few times and the Grabbers once), so it didn't feel like a commercial. South America at times felt like an adventure gear infomercial.

Pro - There was less ancillary bullshit about meeting so and so and hanging out at this island or at this guy's house like there was in South America; it was pure focus on overcoming the obstacles while respecting the trail. The few people brought in to the episodes were there by virtue of their being fixtures / residents along the trail. I didn't feel like I was watching home movies of a reunion of people I don't know. I think this is a significant improvement and I recall there was some other people who agreed with my assessment of SA that it needed more "off roading" and less social hour... these three episodes clearly delivered exactly that.

Pro - Cinematography was top notch. It always has been, really. In all the series, I've been impressed with the professional level of film work. The drone shots were nice.

Con - I felt like the crew was kind of in the background for a lot of these episodes. Kurt and Clay got a lot of play but the others, not so much. The new guy (Zach, maybe?) had like zero air time. I would have liked some extra camp scenes and such simply to "get to know" some of the guys that weren't front and center. But, pro - I see Ryan E is back, cool. I like him. Probably because he's a ADV rider. It did seem like you guys are all pretty much a well oiled machine at this point with so many miles and days together.

Pro - you guys did a great job of opening up that trail and hopefully creating the catalyst for others to use it, thereby keeping it more open for the future enjoyment of others. I'm sure the information you guys gleaned will make other people's travels better and safer. Good job on that. Actually, there's a thread over on t4r.org about a few guys that did the trail shortly after you guys, and they clearly had an easier time because of the labor you'd put in.

Pro - the ending was awesome. Loved finding the rock and the engraving done by Mackenzie. Absolutely perfect way to end that trail.

Neither pro nor con - I understand the need for the extra space with the trailer, but in every series, starting with NA and the Morrison Jeep Trail, a trailer has caused issues or annoyances - harder to turn, back up, gets you stuck, reduces fuel range, etc. Surely you can find a way around dragging a trailer everywhere, for the sake of improved off road operation?

I think that's about it. Oh, I kind of laughed at the historical image of Alexander Mackenzie in the beginning of E1... and I think we all got Clay's self-analogy to Mackenzie... but they actually kind of look alike....hmmmmm......

 

So question, I just watched episode 1 last night. When they did the river crossing, they put their trucks in 4Lo, ATRAC off, VSC off, Diff locker ON. Is it really a good idea to turn off the ATRAC? Is that the best way to river cross? doesnt that open up the differential?

 

ATRAC applies the brake to any spinning wheel, and sends torque to the other wheels with grip. It also controls the engine output. Sometimes this can counter what drivers may be looking to do in certain conditions. Especially for a river crossing, you'll want all wheels spinning. Given that most riverbeds are rock/boulders, you'll constantly be on/off rocks with/without traction for each wheel. It's smoother and easier to turn ATRAC off and roll through then try and have the computer turn each brake each wheel on-off-on-off or cut engine power when you might be truing to give it more.

 

Subbed

 

For anyone interested in that trail, there are some good write-ups from other groups that have also done this trail in recent years. Here's a few of them.

2008:

http://red90.ca/photos/land-rover-trips/Mackenzie Trail 2008/

2013:

https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/alexander-mackenzie-trail-2013.681268/page-10

2015:

Re: Alexander Mackenzie Trail Trip for 2015

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrWdnFflDKk&ab_channel=Alretdi

 

Hey Kurt, out of curiosity, why didn't you guys elect to tow with one of the 4runners with their shorter wheelbase to make them more maneuverable in the tight spots? I always towed trailers with the FJ over the DCLB tacoma when I was able for just that reason.

I'm loving seeing you guys back in my old stomping grounds. Every time I heard you guys call Quesnel (kwu-nell) kwezznel I had to chuckle a bit. I also thought it was funny that as soon as you and Clay were out of camp, the salad was off the menu.

 

Good point with the trailer. My gf has an FJ and really wants an "expo trailer" so I may be starting that project soon(ish). How did you find towing one with an FJ? I'm slightly against the idea because my DCLB Taco is already tough to maneauver in some tight spots, but with the shorter FJ it may not be so bad?

 

No experience with a proper expo trailer. Just enclosed cargo trailer, flat decks, and a travel trailer. Towed a boat trailer with my DCLB as well as with a 2013 4Runner and the shorter wheelbase makes 3 point turns WAY easier. FJ with an expo trailer is a pretty great adventure rig.

 

2 words came to mind watching episode 3.




also... where's the shotgun? That's mean grizzly country.

You boys should work in the logging industry in BC. They'd let you winch trucks and cut down trees all day every day. They'd likely even pay you to do it.

Great season.

 

Loved this series. Like mentioned earlier this was definitly more about teamwork and the adventure, than a commercial for exoficio like the South America series. Felt like the earlier seasons again

 

Okay So question for everyone... I've seen this video and the Camel Trophy video's and all the other classic overlanding videos all of which feature Land Rover's, which is fine and dandy, but why? At this point in time, Land Rover's reputation is synonymous with failure at every turn. Yet, they were the gold standard for overlanding before overlanding was a thing. So when/at what point did Land Rover go from being an expedition capable rig to a mall crawler that required a AAA Membership for confident use??

 

Watch this, then reconsider.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puaPTmxwwhg&ab_channel=schirello

No other vehicle stacks up to Toyota for dependability. Aside from that category of measure though, there are a ton of good qualities that these old british pieces of shit possess to make them great on the trail. Just don't park them on a concrete driveway if you're worried about oil stains.

 

We finished episode 3 last night. Great season! I like that it was more about the trail and less highway stuff that you could do in any old station wagon.

I'm a little puzzled about the ending. Maybe it'll make more sense once I see a map of the route. Wouldn't the end of the trail be the rock that was signed? It said "by land" yet you visited it by boat. So what was the end of the trail you actually did?