Tom Sheppard is an ex Royal Air Force test pilot and 4x4 consultant to major manufacturers. He has accumulated more than 100,000 desert and overlanding miles and is also the author of the outstanding book “Vehicle-dependent expedition guide”.
In a rare and exclusive interview, Go4x4.eu gained insight into Tom Sheppard’s personal view on vehicle choice, his favorite overland destinations and experiences, personal motives behind expeditions and several other interesting topics like future propulsion technologies and the taxation of 4x4 vehicles.
Sounds interesting? Then enjoy reading our interview below!
1. You have traveled to a lot of countries by car - what is your favorite country for vehicle-based expeditions and why?
Algeria. It has unrivalled scale and enormous variety of terrain and landscape. Being about the size of Western Europe I guess it has the potential and the space but the best bits are supreme for their majestic scenery. I have made proposals to the Algerian Government for the establishment of a Protected Area in the south-east which would, for foreign visitors with 4x4s, predicate payment of a large, 90%-refundable, Security Bond on entry, lay down certain equipment minima and the banning of damaging yahoo ‘raids’ and the like. It would however permit small-party travel off-road to enjoy the solitude and beauty of the desert for the serious, properly equipped and motivated expeditioner. Algeria has a heritage and legacy in the Sahara that is unique on the planet and nearly pristine. It must be protected from the casual damage and desecration that humankind is so good at inflicting. It would take only a few simple rules.
2. What was the most extreme situation you found yourself in during an expedition?
The one certainly uppermost in my mind occurred on my last solo Sahara trip. Hoping to clear a difficult area before camping, I continued driving in poor light just after the sun had set and got into a really severe soft-sand bogging. It turned out to be an ‘overnighter’; I had to cease the extraction till the next morning when lower ambient temperature afforded a little bit more flotation and traction. (This, and other episodes, is related in my book Quiet for a Tuesday in graphic detail!) Next to this, a prolonged high-tension heart-stopper was driving off-tracks, direct, 900 miles from Tombouctou to Reggan, solo with a thirsty Range Rover and trailer for the fuel, navigating (late '70s) by star shots. Solo with a trailer is not a good idea!
Ah now, how much space have you got! For a start there is, undeniably for all overlanders, a sense of satisfaction in being a well-planned self-contained unit operating, with margins, within the capabilities of the both yourself and the vehicle. Then there's the rest. My other book Quiet for a Tuesday is, among the tales of journeys and adventures, a hymn to the space, majesty, the solitude, the peace, beauty and wonder of the Sahara. And this, especially when solo, is ample testimony to what I find irresistible and addictive. But a couple of pages in the book also highlight that, as much as I love the desert for what it is, I also love it for what it is not. My tirade is probably more emotional and pointed than it should be but it is honest and refers to the pushy, overcrowded, graceless overcast to the society in which we as westerners live with our pervasive grubby media. It probably says as much about me as the aspects of the society against which I rail but if that is the case, then so be it. Either way, there is something about the desert that lifts the spirits and fires-up a unique sense of freedom and awareness. Awareness of the staggering geology, the sculpture of wind and weather and awareness yet of the smallest detail, tiny lizards and plants surviving in all that wilderness. The mighty, the Almighty and the minuscule.
4. Although you should always be well prepared - if you could bring only 3 items on an expedition (besides your passport, your expedition vehicle and necessary paperwork/slips), which items would it be?
Assuming real off-tracks exploration, with the superb electronic aids we have nowadays it has to be, 1: a bulletproof Lowrance GPS, 2: Google-Earth map print-outs of the region you are visiting with detailed lat/long overlay and, 3: a Thuraya satellite phone for emergencies. (Three items is a bit limiting. My normal expedition kit list runs to 23 pages of A4! Everything, and where it is stored, is listed.) If you weren't going off-tracks I guess it would be, 1: A dead-accurate tyre pressure gauge, 2: A fan-cooled, continuous-rated electric inflation compressor (eg TruckAir) and spare, 3: A full tyre-removal and repair kit with appropriate expertise and practise. And a gentle right foot!
5. If you were to buy an expedition vehicle right now, which one would it be and why?
A late-build Mercedes G-Wagen Type 461 van – like the one I have but in current spec. News is that this now-superseded, almost non-electronic model (selectable 4x4, manually selected diff locks front and rear, auto) has been selected for the Australian armed forces and also is to be assembled in a part-Gulf-owned facility in Algeria together with Unimogs and Sprinter vans. If this was not available then the PEV prize (Perfect Expedition Vehicle) undoubtedly would go to the Toyota HZJ-78 or 79 Land Cruiser, Australian-spec ‘troopie’; simple, straightforward, diff-locks, long-range tanks ... . Perfect!
6. As an expert - do you prefer automatic or manual transmission for off-road driving?
Auto without any doubt. They say there is no greater enthusiast than the newly converted. And that’s me with my first auto in 40-plus years! My G-Wagen has the hallowed Mercedes OM602 5-cylinder turbo-diesel matched to perfection to an old-style 4-speed auto box. I never know what gear I am in but the flow of smooth torque and undetectable gear-changes is unbeatable in those ominous deteriorating soft-sand situations. Nor, despite the traditional 4-speed auto not having lock-up on the upper ratios, is fuel consumption a problem. Running at around three tonnes gross weight, all off-tracks in the Sahara on 265/75x16 BFG All-Terrains, I get a predictable 20-22 mpg – that’s around 12.8l/100km if my maths are right. (The G-Wagen also has a synchro, change-on-the-move, transfer box for low-to-high changes at up to around 50kph; invaluable.)
7. Which 4x4 vehicle(s) do you currently own?
See above! I bought my G-Wagen in 1999. It’s done six Sahara trips and has around 80,000km on the clock. Of this, all but around 10-12k km have been done going to, from, or in the Sahara. There’ve been a few problems: see Quiet for a Tuesday and the ‘Fall-2009’ issue of the US magazine Overland Journal.
8. Following the current discussions in the automotive industry: 15 years from now, which will be the dominant form of propulsion in cars?
I am no expert on this but it seems to me the answer, as ever, depends on two things – battery technology and the country-wide re-charge/re-fuel infrastructure. As a broad guess I would have thought that short to medium term we are looking at hybrid-electric (high-efficiency turbo diesels topping-up on-board batteries) and home-charge electric vehicles for shorter ranges. Later, hydrogen may take over when costs have been lowered and infrastructure allows. Battery technology does appear to be making steady, if agonising progress – look back 10 years to what was on offer in terms of range and performance and now check the potential of lithium-ion polymer units. Again the usual high-cost horrors are cited but pundits say that the economies of scale will in due course overcome that.
9. Given the current political climate and emission-based vehicle taxes in some European countries, should there be a tax relief for people who use their 4x4 mainly for expedition purposes, as those people obviously depend on such a vehicle type?
I don’t think so. To achieve the overall aims of such legislation a higher fuel tax would be fairer and a specific large-vehicle tax based on CO2 emissions should be minimal. That way the essential point – how much the vehicles are actually used and what pollution they cause – would be addressed. Just having a hulking 4x4 in your garage is not harming the environment one little bit. My G-Wagen is used only in exceptional circumstances in the UK. My prime transport is an F800GS BMW bike, and if I really need four wheels, a recently-acquired Toyota iQ; both these vehicles average about 65mpg or 4.35l/100km.
10. “The most important advice I can give to everyone out there going on a vehicle-based expedition is....”
... keep a low profile – environmentally, physically and culturally. Learn, be sensitive, respect. And be kind to your vehicle.
Fot those of you who got interested in reading more about Tom and his adventures, you can order his books on http://www.desertwinds.co.uk/. And don't forget...drive safely!
Your Go4x4.eu-Team