In most cases, it’s a comfort knowing that you’re overlanding with a second vehicle just in case something goes wrong. That is unless the support vehicle in question is either a Land Rover Discovery or a Vanagon Syncro. It’s therefore deeply unsettling when Thunderbird Snapping Crankshaft and HMS Chocolate Gearbox decide it’s a good idea to make friends and head into the mountains on a joint adventure. So, who are these maniacs? Well, the Land Rover is driven by professional Norwegian photographer and videographer Kasper Høglund, and the Syncro is owned by some stupid English bloke (a.k.a. yours truly).
I first heard about Kasper through some mutual friends who told me about some guy living full-time (even during the brutal Norwegian winters) in a Discovery to pursue his photography. I looked up his work on Instagram and was completely blown away. Over the years we became friends online and we agreed that when the stars finally aligned, we’d spend some time adventuring together. One pandemic later and we found ourselves both in Lofoten and decided to hit the road. Kasper has recently gone viral online and has been focused on creating more videos for his Youtube so I was stoked to assist in creating a short film that documented our time together. One of the key themes throughout this instalment is the pros and cons of choosing a rig that’s not the obvious choice for overlanding. In addition, we noted that despite our rigs’ reputation for mechanical issues we’d collectedly travelled hundreds of thousands of miles with very few problems (a testament to routine servicing and preventative maintenance).
The video also explores the sacrifices and challenges we face to make life on the road possible and the value of meeting other adventurers on the road. Kasper explains that when living in the city it’s much easier to return to an apartment and not speak to anyone but traveling encourages more interactions with like-minded people. This has allowed him to become a “well-functioning introvert.” Finally, we take a closer look at my Syncro and some of the upgrades I’ve made to make full-time travel more comfortable.
If you’d like to learn more about Kasper, the Land Rover Discovery LR4, and his upcoming plans then head over to his website or consider subscribing to his Youtube.
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