Overland Journal Fall 2009

Here are the photos I promised you from our motorpool on Forward Operating Base in Baghdad. In the group photo, the main gun is over the back deck in the stowed position, which is how they are always parked (so the driver can get out). Left to right: Major Brian Hill (AH-64 pilot), Captain Shane Evans (Series IIA 88), myself (Defender 110), Major Mathew Fitch (Disco I), and leaning on the tank is Lieutenant Richard Merrill (one of his tanks). Most patrols are in armored HUMM-VEEs and MRAPs (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected) now. The Iraqi government doesn’t like us rolling in tanks anymore. I can’t imagine why. You can’t quite see it, but these tanks have add-on armor on the sides and bottom, because Al Queda’s IEDs are getting even bigger.…

Graham Jackson Graham Jackson was born in Lesotho in southern Africa. He grew up racing motorcycles in the dirt as well as helping his father design, build, and race all-terrain buggies. Graham completed his first safari across the Kalahari at age 10 in a Range Rover with his family. This trip planted the seed for Graham’s lifelong overlanding obsession. In 2004 he completed a 30,000 mile overland adventure from London to Cape Town. He has guided expeditions in Africa and the American West and has been an active supporter of the global overland community. Sinuhe Xavier Sinuhe Xavier started his photography career in front of the lens as a sponsored skier for The North Face in Bozeman, MT, working with National Geographic photographer Gordon Wiltse. While studying architecture and photography at Montana State…

In this issue you’ll find what I believe is Overland Journal’s finest technical equipment test yet: Graham Jackson’s comprehensive, laboratory-backed investigation of water filters and purifiers. Graham didn’t just see which systems were easiest to use at a nearby creek. He procured a large batch of clinically contaminated water, arranged to use some extremely sensitive analytical equipment, and found out exactly which units lived up to their manufacturer’s claims for removing or killing hazardous organisms—and which didn’t. (See his sidebar to find out what happens when you accidentally get sprayed in the face with lab water laced with a seething colony of Escherichia coli.) Since I’ve conducted at least four or five reviews of water filters over the years (although mine were strictly in the try-them-at-the-creek category), I was particularly interested…

There’s an axiom among guides, whether they lead sea kayaking tours or African safaris: Keep your clients well-rested, well-fed, and well-sloshed, and they’ll be happy. With scant modification, the same guidelines will serve you well for keeping a couple or a family cheerful on a camping trip. Comfortable, weatherproof living arrangements and an efficient kitchen system will accomplish the first two; a 12-volt fridge will help with the second and handle the third (and after all, kids like their Coke cold too—a caffeine-saturated 12-year-old counts as “well-sloshed”). Last issue I introduced our long-term Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon, which in dead-stock configuration represents a vehicle capable of handling virtually any overlanding trip you might consider. So, as promised, the first few “modifications” have nothing to do with the Jeep itself. Instead I’ve been…

With the Discovery’s suspension working well, my next priorities were additional 12V power, communications, and really cold Dunkelweizen; not necessarily in that order. Installing an auxiliary electrical system on a vehicle used for camping and exploration is often the single most complex aftermarket modification an owner will attempt. This is primarily because all the work is best done once, beginning with a schematic for all the electronics, outlets and loads the system is expected to support. This allows for a single, comprehensive wiring harness to be assembled and documented, which ensures the greatest degree of reliability and serviceability. I began by listing all the anticipated loads and control centers, and their locations in the truck. From front to back, they include a pair of HID auxiliary lights, a remote winch controller, an…

That Italian Company We’ve heard a lot about Fiat recently, in its new role as Chrysler’s co-signer. Let’s face it, to American consumers who remember the products, the company rarely evokes fond memories (notably excepting a few gems such as the 124 Spider). So consumer reaction to the acquisition was guarded at best. But what is the average consumer reaction to a Ferrari? Or a Maserati? International Harvester? Case? They’re all Fiat, or more precisely, part of the Fiat Group, which since its inception in 1899 has been involved in almost every imaginable aspect of modern industrialism, from typewriters to airplanes—and, of course, in all aspects of the automotive industry. So what do Ferrari and Maserati have to do with overlanding? A lot less than another Fiat brand you might recognize: the Industrial Vehicle…