FridgeFreezer Posted July 3, 2023 Share Posted July 3, 2023 A bit of internet drama, a couple of interesting articles and youtube videos, and a ridiculously over-specced over-priced and over-loaded "overlander" RV thing breaking itself: First article - found abandoned in the desert: https://www.theautopian.com/i-found-a-1-million-rv-abandoned-off-road-heres-how-it-failed/ Quote Early this month, while off-roading my 1991 Jeep Wrangler YJ at Rowher Flats off-road course just north of Los Angeles, I stumbled upon a $1 Million RV called the 27North Ascender. It was in rough shape. The driveshaft was twisted up like a Twizzler, the winch line was wrapped around the driver’s side mirror, and the camper unit was leaning hard to one side. It seemed to me that the primary problem had to do with too much skinny pedal, too much weight, and too steep of a grade, though the company’s CEO claimed a significant cause of the failure was a defective wheel bearing from Ford. 2nd article - follow up with more info: https://www.theautopian.com/we-finally-have-the-full-story-behind-how-that-1-million-rv-ended-up-stranded-off-road/ Quote After Donut notes the truck’s lack of dual locking differentials, one host, Justin, decides to get behind the wheel and try the climb. As shown in the screenshot above, it does not go well. The vehicle appears to hop a bit, and then the driveshaft fails, leaving the vehicle immobile right in the middle of the sketchy hillclimb. Donut tries backing and then towing the vehicle out, but the Ascender is too heavy for their tow rigs. The culprits: The field repair & recovery: Can't help but think 8 tonnes is a bit much for a camper pickup... Bonus video - I hope this guy wore his brown trousers: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fmmv Posted July 3, 2023 Share Posted July 3, 2023 Nice trail repair though. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elbekko Posted July 3, 2023 Share Posted July 3, 2023 That thing is horrifyingly ugly too. At least the Earth Roamer stuff is functional and decent-looking, even if they weight more than the moon. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted July 3, 2023 Author Share Posted July 3, 2023 The amount of lurching, leaning, twisting and wobbling is unnerving, I know they say it's an exceptionally steep hill but 25 degrees up a pretty firm track seems like it should not really tax the abilities of something like this. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landroversforever Posted July 3, 2023 Share Posted July 3, 2023 I saw the Matt's offroad recovery video of this..... never ever thought it would be worth that much. It's horrific . 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anderzander Posted July 3, 2023 Share Posted July 3, 2023 That can’t be $1m surely !?! It looks like ship. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snagger Posted July 3, 2023 Share Posted July 3, 2023 What a sack of sh**! That isn’t worth anything more than the base price of the F550 underneath it. Al these oversized campers are dangerous and miss the point anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreePointFive Posted July 3, 2023 Share Posted July 3, 2023 Matt's Off-road Recovery seem like the biggest load of cowboys going. The lack of forethought, risk assessment or basic care about things even novices have drilled into them from day one is just alarming. I cannot believe they've not injured anyone yet. Stupid stuff like applying the handbrake before putting a rolled vehicle back on its wheels, not walking over a rope or hanging out downhill of vehicles being recovered. I like Donut (or used to) but hearing the way they talk about MOR seems so wrong to anyone that has half a clue. Oh yeah, the camper seemed pants too and they knew it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miketomcat Posted July 3, 2023 Share Posted July 3, 2023 This one looks better but still massively over weight. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happyoldgit Posted July 3, 2023 Share Posted July 3, 2023 That F550 based thing is ludicrous and, well, just ludicrous. The recovery guy in the second video provided some truly @rse puckering moments. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miketomcat Posted July 3, 2023 Share Posted July 3, 2023 Having looked again I think it's the same one. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happyoldgit Posted July 3, 2023 Share Posted July 3, 2023 2 minutes ago, miketomcat said: This one looks better but still massively over weight. Mike Is that a jet assistance pack on the back of the roof? Are the propshafts made of thin walled tinfoil on that one too? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted July 3, 2023 Author Share Posted July 3, 2023 1 hour ago, ThreePointFive said: Matt's Off-road Recovery seem like the biggest load of cowboys going. TBH I've watched a few videos by these off-road recovery outfits on youtube and they ALL seem less than professional to say the least - haven't seen a single one that actually impressed me with their techniques. Seems odd in the land of the lawsuit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L19MUD Posted July 3, 2023 Share Posted July 3, 2023 6 minutes ago, FridgeFreezer said: TBH I've watched a few videos by these off-road recovery outfits on youtube and they ALL seem less than professional to say the least - haven't seen a single one that actually impressed me with their techniques. Seems odd in the land of the lawsuit. The one I like to watch (for entertainment purposes only!) is Heavy D Sparks where they often come up with creative ways to get really heavy kit out of remote areas. All a bit ye-haw but quite fun to watch and is shot beautifully most of the time 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elbekko Posted July 3, 2023 Share Posted July 3, 2023 27 minutes ago, FridgeFreezer said: TBH I've watched a few videos by these off-road recovery outfits on youtube and they ALL seem less than professional to say the least - haven't seen a single one that actually impressed me with their techniques. Seems odd in the land of the lawsuit. The Trail Mater crew is by far the best and most professional. Casey LaDelle is decent, but does silly things as well. MORR has gotten more professional, but still very much sand-recovery-with-a-rope guys that now also have winches. Heavy D is a commercial with cool equipment. But by far the most yee-haw and sketchy of all. Cool shots, godawful editing. If you want to watch someone do very safety-minded (non-off-road) recovery, go watch Ron Pratt operate his rotator, that is impressive to watch. On the flipside, most people on here think even looking at a kinetic rope will murder a bus of nuns... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smallfry Posted July 3, 2023 Share Posted July 3, 2023 Eight tons ? Really ? On those tiddly little tyres, and the breakover angle. I wouldn't even want to take that over a speedbump. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snagger Posted July 4, 2023 Share Posted July 4, 2023 9 hours ago, FridgeFreezer said: TBH I've watched a few videos by these off-road recovery outfits on youtube and they ALL seem less than professional to say the least - haven't seen a single one that actually impressed me with their techniques. Seems odd in the land of the lawsuit. To be honest, cowboy mentality seems to be prevalent over there. I see it all the time whenever I go there on work trips. They are bumping aircraft into each other on the ground every fortnight at the moment - if that recklessness is so common in that industry, I hate to think how bad it is in others, but think back to NASA launching shuttles against the advice of their own engineers… Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted July 4, 2023 Author Share Posted July 4, 2023 9 hours ago, smallfry said: Eight tons ? Really ? On those tiddly little tyres, and the breakover angle. I wouldn't even want to take that over a speedbump. I just realised, given the weight & drivetrain that thing is basically an overloaded 7.5 tonner dragging itself around, only difference is a driven front axle and probably a fairly under-built base vehicle for the application... Compare @qwakers race lorry build and I'm not even convinced the F550 is getting you any further than a 2WD truck would with some knobblies on it and a locking diff. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fmmv Posted July 4, 2023 Share Posted July 4, 2023 Thank goodness it isn't a Land Rover or we would have something to complain about. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreePointFive Posted July 4, 2023 Share Posted July 4, 2023 14 hours ago, miketomcat said: Having looked again I think it's the same one. Mike Ah, the school of More Lights = More Off-road Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted July 4, 2023 Share Posted July 4, 2023 14 hours ago, Happyoldgit said: Is that a jet assistance pack on the back of the roof? Are the propshafts made of thin walled tinfoil on that one too? I think they are either outdoor speakers with which to pleasure your neighbours in the wilderness/RV site, or a stylistically compromised AC system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L19MUD Posted July 4, 2023 Share Posted July 4, 2023 1 hour ago, FridgeFreezer said: Compare @qwakers race lorry build and I'm not even convinced the F550 is getting you any further than a 2WD truck would with some knobblies on it and a locking diff. I am not sticking up for the silly Ford thing on here but I have had 7.5 tonners stuck in places Transit tippers find a walk in the park! 🙂 Most amusing was an empty 7.5 beavertail (no diff lock) that got stuck in a stubble field where the stubble had been left quite long. The stubble laid flat and the wheels just spun on it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonr Posted July 4, 2023 Share Posted July 4, 2023 The off-road repair looks like a fairly typical day out at Walters in a Land Rover 😉. I suspect most of us have had to improvise something similar. I want to know what these 'pods' on the roof are: Speakers? Vents? Lunar Landing Modules? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muddy Posted July 4, 2023 Share Posted July 4, 2023 solar spatchcock chicken cooker 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted July 4, 2023 Author Share Posted July 4, 2023 33 minutes ago, simonr said: I want to know what these 'pods' on the roof are: Looking at those and the ones built into the side of the thing, they're speakers so you can entertain all the other campers in a 1/2 mile radius while enjoying your outing to the unspoiled wilderness in your million-dollar hotel room on wheels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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