Arctic Circle road trip - a blog

[Watchman]

The Norwegian road charges caught up with me. I have paid, of course. I had a great time in their country so why not - 51 quid. It must be expensive to move around Norway, even if they get a discounted rate compared to mine.

Edited by Watchman on Monday 8th June 13:53

[anonymous-user]

Watchman said:

The Norwegian road charges caught up with me. I have paid, of course. I had a great time in their country so why not - 51 quid. It must be expensive to move around Norway, even if they get a discounted rate compared to mine.

Edited by Watchman on Monday 8th June 13:53

About the same price as a couple of beers IIRC

[Watchman]

catweasle said:

About the same price as a couple of beers IIRC

Maybe. I've heard it's expensive but I only bought diesel and hotel rooms while I was there.

My brother said Iceland was crazily expensive and then we joked about why people go there for discounted frozen foods. Dad jokes etc...

[bolidemichael]

Watchman said:

catweasle said:

About the same price as a couple of beers IIRC

Maybe. I've heard it's expensive but I only bought diesel and hotel rooms while I was there.

My brother said Iceland was crazily expensive and then we joked about why people go there for discounted frozen foods. Dad jokes etc...

Iceland is a ferry ride from Hirsthals, Jutland and there's an eight hour stop at the Faroe Islands during which one can disembark their vehicle and go for a wee tour...

[Watchman]

bolidemichael said:

Watchman said:

catweasle said:

About the same price as a couple of beers IIRC

Maybe. I've heard it's expensive but I only bought diesel and hotel rooms while I was there.

My brother said Iceland was crazily expensive and then we joked about why people go there for discounted frozen foods. Dad jokes etc...

Iceland is a ferry ride from Hirsthals, Jutland and there's an eight hour stop at the Faroe Islands during which one can disembark their vehicle and go for a wee tour...

That sounds like an excellent tour. I would like to try that.

Panzer is in "the shop" again. I replaced the air springs a few weeks ago (not nearly as easy as YouTubers make it look) and while doing the front ones, I pushed the bottom wishbone down too hard and popped the drive shaft out of the diff. Although I put it back in again, I have damaged a seal, and my "Nordic" diff fluid leaked all over the drive. Funny though... a week without the car on the drive and all the fluid has gone. No trace at all. Thought it might have damaged the drive but when I went out with a bucket of soapy water to try and disperse it, it had totally dried up.

Anyway, I don't like working underneath this car - it's sheer bulk scares me to be honest - so I've given it to a not-very-local garage to fix (he was recommended). It's been with him a week so far. He sounds like a good guy from my colleague's recommendation. He also found an engine breather was releasing oil onto the manifolds which is why I could smell burning oil occasionally - however he's struggling to get parts for this or the diff seal at the moment. Mercedes are largely closed and other parts shops have loads on back-order.

But, when the job's done, Panzer will be ready for the next adventure.

[Oi U]

A great read.
For anyone else contemplating a similar trip post lockdown, here is one I made earlier:
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

[S80]

Best thing I’ve read on the internet for ages. An hour well spent. Thanks for posting!

My god how the world has changed since you set off on this trip!

I guess the Russia - Turkmenistan trip is off for a while, sadly.

I admire you for taking such a car. As someone with no experience of big Merc’s, I’d have been terrified of something going wrong. Must be my poor perception of them! Although after reading this thread I’ve grown to love and admire it. Hope you still have the car and are planning another SUV trip soon.
I’ll be ready come 2024 for a big Europe trip when I can get the extra time off work. Hopefully st will have calmed down a bit by then too!? Who knows. I’m sure there’d be some folk here who’d love a big trip by then, though!