Where quad-cab pickups rule

South America could be referred to alternatively as The Land of Quad-Cab Pickups. In the 6,000 miles we drove, the proportion of quad-cab models to standard cabs was at least fifty to one, if not greater.

The manufacturer range is extraordinarily broad. In Argentina, Chile, and Peru, the Toyota Hilux predominates in spite of its age (little changed since 2005). Manufactured in Argentina, it’s normally powered by the 1KD-FTV 3.0-liter four-cylinder turbodiesel, a bombproof powerplant that takes advantage of significantly cheaper diesel fuel prices here, but is beginning to lag in the power department with 172 hp and 260 lb.-ft. (A redesigned Hilux will soon be entering the market, but reports are that engines will be largely held over.)

Two other brands offer newer models arguably superior to the Hilux, at least on paper. The handsome Ford Ranger T6 has a 3.2-liter turbodiesel that produces significantly more power than the Hilux (197 hp and 346 lb.-ft.) ; the Ranger also boasts a greater fording depth.

The Volkswagen Amarok (which means ‘wolf’ in Inuit—and we get the ‘Tacoma’?) manages up to 177 hp and 310 lb.-ft. from a tiny but hyper-efficient two-liter turbodiesel. Despite their more modern design, neither the Ranger or Amarok seems to have cut far into Hilux sales. We also saw a few of the new and impressively specced Chevrolet Colorados, set to give the U.S. Tacoma some competition.

The Mitsubishi Triton appeared to be the second-most popular truck in a lot of areas, despite its (to me) ungainly styling and middling turbodiesel. Speaking of ungainly, in Chile the Mahindra is extremely popular, and I have to admit its wonky looks are growing on me—it’s definitely styling by Bollywood compared to Detroit’s Hollywood, but I like the huge window area.

Much more conservative is the Great Wall Wingle 5—the Chinese managed to combine an awesome brand name with an utterly dorky model name (but then there’s ‘Tacoma’ . . .). How long will it be before a Chinese vehicle manufacturer mounts a serious import campaign in North America?

Korean manufacturer Ssangyong fields a stylish pickup called the Actyon Sports. With all-coil suspension and a long list of family-friendly features, it appears to be aimed at a more urban audience.

Finally, we spotted just an example or two of a mid-size truck called the Xenon from Tata, the Indian megacorporation that owns Land Rover and holds the fate of the Defender in its hands.

And, we had some indication that the South American fondness for quad-cab pickups is perhaps not a recent phenomenon:

Now it can be told . . .

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Bear with me for a bit? Sometime in the early 1980s I happened across an intriguing article in a U.S. four-wheel-drive magazine. In it was a photo of a fellow standing in a sandy expanse of desert, next to a very early Range Rover. A line bisected two words scrawled in the sand: ‘Mali’ and ‘Algeria.’ The fellow leaned on a shovel, apparently the tool used to scribe this middle-of-nowhere border.

That was my introduction to Tom Sheppard, ex-Royal Air Force test pilot and the leader of the first west-to-east crossing of the Sahara Desert, the Joint Services Expedition, in 1975. In the years to come I followed his (frequently solo) excursions through the most isolated regions of the Algerian Sahara, often completely off-tracks. In 1999, when I heard he had published a book called Vehicle-dependent Expedition Guide that would be available at Land Rover dealers, I drove 120 miles to the swank showroom in Scottsdale, and stood in line to pay for a copy behind wealthy urbanite Range Rover buyers picking out Africa-themed spare tire covers.

Fast forward eight or nine years, when I was fortunate enough to work with Tom during my time as editor of Overland Journal. A year or so later, Roseann and I had the opportunity to meet him on a trip to England. To my amazement, there was not a trace of the ex-test-pilot-Sahara-explorer-RGS-medal-winner arrogance I would have expected. Instead, we were welcomed by a quiet, humorous, and steadfastly self-effacing man who doted on the horses and sheep that grazed on the farmland adjacent to his modest cottage. Over the next few visits we became friends.

Fast forward again to 2014. We’d been trying to convice Tom to publish a fourth edition of VDEG (‘veedeg,’ as he and everyone refers to Vehicle-dependent Expedition Guide). The third edition had sold out in half the time he expected. He agreed it was needed—but then sent me a mockup of the proposed cover, which (as you can see from the header image) was a complete shock. 

So now, after seven months of exhaustive research and writing on both Tom’s and my part, I can announce that the fourth edition of Vehicle-dependent Expedition Guide, by Tom Sheppard and Jonathan Hanson (woo hoo!) will be out in mid-May, with copies also available at the Overland Expo. This edition has received the most extensive updating and expanding since the original, with much more content specifically relevant to North American readers than in previous editions. Total content is up by nearly 20 percent—it's now a 600-page book.

Any verbose attempt on my part to explain what an honor this is would be futile. So I’ll just say I’m thrilled and humbled to have contributed in a very minor way to a classic in the field of expedition literature. If you don’t yet own a copy of VDEG, or if you have previous editions and need to complete your collection, please follow this link and put your name on the waiting list. As before, VDEG 4 will be produced by Tom’s one-man publishing enterprise, Desert Winds, and quantities will be limited.

Surefire Minimus Headlamp

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    A headlamp is a useful piece of kit when you need light and both hands free, whether you are camping, caving, working on your car, walking your dog, or, in my case, using it almost every day for work. 

    I’ve used a few different types of headlamps over the years, and for the most part inexpensive models have worked satisfactorily for once-in-a-while excursions. Recently, however, I started working for a local family owned HVAC company doing installations. Although my working conditions change daily they are usually dark, cramped, and can be dangerous, and I quickly found that the headlamp I used for casual camp chores was not going to do the job and would not survive its rigors. After a few days of frustration with a broken switch, dead batteries, and simply insufficient light, I called Surefire. 

    Surefire is a vendor at the Overland Expo, and I had the chance to take a look at their products at the last show. The company builds a variety of high-quality products for the military, law enforcement, and rescue teams. If Surefire lights can withstand that abuse they should be able to hold up to what I could throw at them. 

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When I first opened the box containing the Surefire Minimus headlamp, several things struck me. It’s bigger than some other lamps on the market, yet surprising light thanks to all-aluminum construction. After setting the strap and positioning it on my head I realized the size would not be an issue and the light weight would be a big plus. The moisture-wicking head pad was and remains comfortable to the point that you hardly realize you have it on your head.

The Minimus lamp unit can pivot a full 180 degrees within the headband, which allows you to aim light exactly where you need it. Many other lights either do not adjust or are limited to a smaller range. I found this feature extremely useful, as there are times I need to crawl into some pretty tight areas. Having a full range of adjustment is a good thing when you don't know what to expect. Usable light is obviously a priority, and the Minimus has the best of any I have used. The high-power LED and well-focused lens assembly provides a strong, broad beam of light. With many other headlamps I’ve used the light pattern is either too narrow or too diffused to be of any real use. 

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with camera flash

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with headlamp light only (no flash)

Surefire claims the Minimus can be adjusted with one hand. I found this to be true except for turning on the unit and setting the brightness. This is done via a dial on the end of the unit, and I need two hands to prevent the light barrel from rolling. However, the dial is robust and, unlike a conventional switch, cannot inadvertently turn on in your bag.

All but one of the four Minimus versions use a single, now-common lithium CR123A battery (the exception takes a AA). These can be expensive if purchased by the pair at a hardware store, but become quite affordable when bought online by the dozen. (They’re still uncommon in many developing countries; take spares in your carry-on—they’re not allowed loose in checked baggage.) I squeaked out a solid twelve hours of use at an estimated 75 percent brightness from the single battery in the Minimus. I found full power (Surefire’s 100-lumen rating) too bright for most up close work. I also tried slightly more expensive replacement batteries from another company, found their performance to be inferior to the Surefire branded cells. I did note that the listed run time on the Minimus seems relatively short compared to Surefire flashlights that use a single CR123. Whether this is due to a different emitter used in headlamps I don’t know.

Using the light constantly for work I found I was depleting a battery every two days on average, so I ordered Surefire’s rechargeable kit, which includes two cells and a charger (120VAC and 12V capable). I added two extra cells. Surefire says the rechargeable cell has about half the run time of the lithium cell, and I found this to be accurate. For my situation this works perfectly. With the amount of use this unit sees, the savings of the rechargeable cells will more than cover their cost.

I’ve now been using the Minimus in the field for about two months, and it’s become my go-to light for many other uses. It now stays with me in my backpack, not my tool bag. Although the batteries are a bit more expensive than your typical AA or AAA cell, the quality of light you get from the Surefire unit more than makes up for it. 

Pros:

• Aluminum construction shrugs off abuse. 
• Comfortable headband and moisture-wicking forehead pad.
• Adjustable brightness from 1 to 100 lumens using a dial.
• 180 degree adjustment of light beam.
• Perfectly focused pattern.

Cons:

• Lithium batteries cost more than alkaline cells.
• Relatively inefficient run time.        

Find out more about the product at Surefire. 

Our ride for the next month . . .

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A little over a month ago we got a call from Lars Caldenhoven, the co-owner of PeruMotors. Lars and his partner lead long-distance motorcycle tours in South America, and also rent 4WD vehicles for self-drive journeys. They've been vendors at the Overland Expo several years running.

Lars had a problem. He was about to lead nine motorcyclists from Peru to Ushuaia, Argentina, in Tierra del Fuego, and was to turn around immediately and lead nine more back to Peru. A support truck, a Nissan Navara, would be left in Ushuaia and had to be back in Peru by the end of February. He needed someone who could drive it, and . . . there was a question mark at the end of the sentence. Roseann had tickets booked in 15 minutes flat.

The Navara is the world-market counterpart to the Nissan Frontier sold in the U.S. Unlike Toyota's Hilux and Tacoma, however, the Navara/Frontier is essentially the same truck, including the stout, fully boxed chassis on both (listening, Toyota?) The only thing the version we just picked up has that the Frontier does not is the superb YD25DDTi four-cylinder turbodiesel*, an engine for which many Frontier owners would gleefully sell close family members into slavery. Despite 188 horsepower at 4,000 rpm and 332 lb-ft of torque at a properly trucklike 2,000 rpm, it should be capable of fuel economy in the high 20s even on the back roads of Argentina, Chile, and Peru. We'll report. In the meantime, we're enjoying the Southern Pacific-like pull when the turbo kicks in at 1500 rpm or less, flattening the precipitous streets of Ushuaia. It will snap your head back and chirp the tires at 2,000 rpm in second gear.

*One thing Toyota and Nissan apparently share is a mania for dense strings of numbers to identify engines.