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This week on the podcast we talk with Amy Lerner from Team Learner Reina about her upcoming trip to Australia to compete in the Australasia Safari. Amy and her sister have previously competed in the Rally Achia de Gazelles in Morocco and have now moved on to this new challenge. Its exciting to talk with ladies involved in offroading and to see how they are shaping the future of the sport and activity.
Amy will be driving a Jeep JKU Wrangler that has been modified by AEV. There’s a long list of modifications and you’ll have to listen to the show to find out what all AEV has been done. The modifications continue in Australia as I type this so that their rig meets the race safety specifications.
The Australiasia Safari takes competitors over a wide range of terrain as is stretches across the western coastal area of Australia and the outback. It is Australia’s most grueling challenge and is in a similar format as that found in the Dakar Rally. As a matter of fact, the Safari could get Amy and her sister pre-qualified for the Dakar Rally and result in their entry fees and shipping costs being covered! For more info on Team Lerner Reina be sure to like them on Facebook, follow them on Twitter and check out their website.
NEWS
In the news we talk about Land Rover testing an all-electric Defender. An all-electric vehicle might not be what you want when you’re way out in the middle of nowhere but there are some cool features that would be nice to have. A very nice range extending feature is the ability to generate 80% of the battery power while braking down hills. Do you think that all-electric vehicles will proliferate over the backcountry within the next 15 years? Check out the full article at Autoblog.com
The 2014 Toyota 4Runner has received a huge refresh for the model year but in my opinion, its got an ugly front end. I’m not talking Jeep Cherokee ugly; instead it has exaggerated features that don’t look like they are doing anything to increase aerodynamics which makes it ugly for the sake of ugly. While the Toyota 4Runner isn’t the most aggressive offroad vehicle, it certainly has more civility. Pricing starts at $32,820 but you’ll want the Trail model ($35,725 base) which comes with multi-terrain response system, crawl control and hill start assist. You could even step up to the Trail Premium for $38,645 and get a Kinetic Dynamic Suspension System which basically disconnects the sway bars automatically. Check out the full article at Autoblog.com.
When I was a kid I thought that the old Meyers Manx was the coolest vehicles ever made. The open top beach buggy design has become iconic but for the most part, mostly forgotten. VW has applied for a patent for a vehicle had has a strong resemblance to the older buggy. That doesn’t mean you’ll be able to by one, but VW is starting to look at the market viability. Are you interested in a VW Up Buggy? Check out the full article at Autoblog.com.
Storage options in a Jeep Wrangler are extremely limited. Dirt Bagz looks to solve that problem with their Wheel Well Saddle Bags. They are large enough to store some goodies but my concern would be the ability to lock the storage down to prevent theft. The full article is available at GrabAWrench.com.
We at The 4×4 Podcast love Goal Zero products. If money were no object I would totally spring for the Yeti but it might be a bit large for my offroading setup. It would be great in a trailer though! Just think about all the possibilities around camp with that much power on tap. It makes for a great backup power system for the house. Pair it up with the right solar panels and you’re in business!
Outdoor Edible
Our recipie for the week is one of my Dutch oven favorites; Apple Crisp!
Ingredients:
· 6 apples sliced and chopped
· 3 tbsp cinnamon
· 1 tbsp nutmeg
· 3 cups quick oats
· 1 cup flour
· 2 cups brown sugar
· 1 tsp baking powder
· 1 tsp salt
· 1 cup butter
· Coarse sugar
· Caramel sauce
Directions:
Mix apples, cinnamon and nutmeg in a bowl. Mix oats, flour, brown sugar baking powder, salt and butter to make the crust. Press ½ of the crust into the bottom of the Dutch oven and then spread the apples across the crust. Drizzle a light coat of caramel on the apples. Spread the remaining crust on top of the apples.
Bake for about 45 minutes at 350 degrees (try using 6 coals on the bottom and 15-18 coals on top). Once crust is crispy, remove from heat, drizzle more caramel sauce on top (I really like caramel!) and sprinkle with coarse sugar. Feeds 8-10.
Offroad APPtitude app of the week is the GoPro app for iOS and Android. Since the GoPro was introduced, it has improved by leaps and bounds. The Hero 3 is the current generation and it comes in three different flavors; white, silver and black. The white edition is the lowest of the family and the black is the big daddy. One of the features that makes the Hero3 special, regardless of edition is that WiFi is built-in. WiFi allows you to use the remote and the GoPro apps to remotely control the camera.
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