RV FEATURE
DOWN AND DIRTY
The first obstacle was an example of a‘ chicken track’ – a track carved into the terrain as a safer alternative route. It consisted of a sharp right-hand turn immediately followed by a rise. In a solo 4WD, it would’ ve been a piece of cake. With a big van on the back of Chris’ 300 Series, the tight turn wasn’ t a problem, but the rampover as he negotiated the rise was. The A-frame of the van became hung-up on the crest, and he wasn’ t going anywhere.
“ We just had to help the van wheels to pop up a little bit so that the A-frame didn’ t have as much friction. But we have engineered the A-frame that it can handle that reverse deflection when it rubs the ground.”
The message to the throng of Vision RV customers watching the demo: don’ t hang your chassis or A-frame up on a crest every day, but if you find yourself in that situation, the van has been designed to handle it.
In any event, Chris eventually resorted to his vehicle’ s winch. The van crested the rise, undamaged. The lesson: if you’ re going into gnarly territory, be prepared. Without that winch, he would’ ve been stuck for some time.
With the Elysium stuck and going nowhere, Chris talks about caravan recovery with the crowd of Vision RV owners at the muster.
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