Bearbonesnorm wrote:Mike and me met them ^ the other week ... amongst the Landrovers, Discoveries, etc was a very serious looking 4x4 VW van

Something like this?

Yeah that kind of thing Nigel but this one was a panel van rather than a bus ... seemed to be doing very well.

Some years ago I'd been winter climbing in the Lakes and got back to the car just as a huge dump of snow arrived. Going through Windermere we came to a jam due to various drivers having panicked and slid to a halt thereby blocking the road. One of those (or something) very similar was racing around pulling everything from a mini to a small bus out of the way. 20cm of snow was nothing to it. We just waited until everything was clear and carried on, mind you what should have been a ninety minute drive to get home took six hours

That doesn't actually look that different from my patents Mitsubishi Delica, except ours is covered in full camo vinyl wrap*
Theres way to many spares in the boot but if you knew how often it breaks down you would see how essential they are...the big 2tonne jack has come in handy far too often...

I still wonder if peoples boots would be so full if they have to peddle the damn thing...human propelled vehicles make you appreciate light kit


*we planned on wrapping cars,bikes,ect as a side to our business given we had half the kit anyway...way more hassle (and time) than its worth...props to anyone that does it 9-5

In response to FLV, back in the old days the car boot used to contain all my tools, a tow rope, jump leads, a gallon of fuel and some water. I only owned old wrecks back then. I just tipped out the car boot last weekend to sell my current car and it only contained water, windscreen washer fluid, a snow shovel and some bags for life. I couldn't afford breakdown cover in the old days, but it is so cheap now it seems daft not to.

The last long cycling tour Shetland to the Sussex coast and back (but failed badly) my luggage weighed 45kg. Good job I have a strong bike. Admittedly I started to post stuff back home once I reached Montrose. There will be much less carried on the next one for the benefit of my Achilles tendon.