Text: Wooley // Photos: Jonathan Walker
How much do you trust your own abilities? Really.
Because every time you get behind the wheel of the car you’ve wrenched on yourself, you’re subliminally asking yourself that question.
Do you trust yourself enough to get around town everyday? Yeah probably. But how ‘bout the track?
When was the last time you went through suspension components just for routine maintenance? Or checked your hoses… even the small ones in the back? How long have you been riding on that torn CV boot? Exactly how far past that scheduled timing belt change are you? How often do you brush off some cling/clank until ‘this weekend maybe’, because it doesn’t sound that serious yet? Thinking back – are you 100% sure you got all those bolts tight after that brake job… now that you’re running down the freeway at 80mph. Did you ever go back and re-torque those aluminum spacers? And seriously though – where the hell did that 1 leftover mystery-bolt come from?
Don’t be too hard on yourself, most of us probably just winced at a couple of those questions. And that’s because we’ve learned to lean heavily on the civilized world around us. Slide through life with half-footing… because ‘rescue’ is always just a phone call, text, or status-update away.
Few are willing to go… and that’s what makes it so worth it.
We don’t get pushed to our limits anymore. We’ve become slack. The world is a safe space. The modern man’s problems are something like – the internet not working, or being out of ketchup. And for a lot of people, that feels comfortable. But for some, it’s a little uncomfortable. An itch left unscratched in our DNA. No one here is rejecting prepared food, a warm bed, and easy communication – these things are blessings. But some people out there, still feel driven to test themselves from time to time. Survival instincts need a little exercise… in order to be at the ready.
These trucks are out of Reynir’s garage in Iceland. The shots were taken in October, but when winter comes, it’s a different story. Most of the population lives around the coastal areas. But during the dead of winter, Reynir & his crew gear-up and go into the frozen desolate inland – adventuring.
In the beginning of this article, we talked about trust in your abilities: Do you trust them enough to get in your 4×4 and head towards the Arctic Circle… 30-below, 50mph winds, and minimal visibility? These guys do. Of course they run in numbers for safety, but to prepare a truck for this environment takes more than ‘parts’, it takes ‘an entire working system’. Engines, suspension, and electronics must not only be reliable, but must work in subzero temperatures, and be backed-up & built with redundancies wherever possible. The team must be prepared with a plan for various worst-case types of scenarios.
Preparedness is everything. Don’t over-rely on any one component. And try to avoid situations where if some component fails, another has to pull double-duty. Run through the scenarios in your head, “If this fails, what will I need?”
This environment will swallow you. Few are willing to go… and that’s what makes it so worth it.
