Club 80-90 Forums

tforturton wrote:I find a wide-necked drinks bottle solves that problem.

On ground level maybe .........

some kind of a funnel and pipe system maybe

syncropaddy wrote:
The new guy from Finland has said it all really. Prepare for the conditions before you go

Thats funny.. I remember being new and from Finland...

bikermike87 wrote:
Tyres & Chains: I have A/T's with M+S logo on them. So not proper winter tyres. Should I be getting proper winter tyres fitted? Chains, I'm guessing some places specify, but this will be at the End of March / Start of April, so do we need them? Do all tyres need to be the same make?

get yourself some bfg at´s, they are snow rated and will get you through anything

hugomonkey wrote: get yourself some bfg at´s, they are snow rated and will get you through anything

The difference between a BFG A/T and a winter tyre is that with both types you can go almost anywhere in the snow and ice. The thing is try going down an icy hill on a BFG A/T and see what happens!

They dont use 'em in Scandinavia.

syncropaddy wrote:

hugomonkey wrote: get yourself some bfg at´s, they are snow rated and will get you through anything

The difference between a BFG A/T and a winter tyre is that with both types you can go almost anywhere in the snow and ice. The thing is try going down an icy hill on a BFG A/T and see what happens!

They dont use 'em in Scandinavia.

yes they do? i run winter tyres and i am regularly out with friends on bfg at´s and they can do anything i can, of course if your driving on sheet ice then only winter tyres with studs will do the job but they are not allowed in most of europe so unless he wants to take two sets of tyres with him then we would have to find the best tyre for early spring that would also be good in the snow and be legal in the countrys were its a legal requirement in winter conditions, i wonder what tyre that could be

syncropaddy wrote:

hugomonkey wrote: get yourself some bfg at´s, they are snow rated and will get you through anything

The difference between a BFG A/T and a winter tyre is that with both types you can go almost anywhere in the snow and ice. The thing is try going down an icy hill on a BFG A/T and see what happens!

They dont use 'em in Scandinavia.

So does this mean I do need chains, you got me excited when you said you just took some spare bulbs and a pair of jeans

It seems to be that I just need to be happy that my van is running ok and I get an eber fitted (and buy chains and standard recovery set).

Take warm stuff and pack spirits only, beer takes up too much space.

hugomonkey wrote:we would have to find the best tyre for early spring that would also be good in the snow and be legal in the countrys were its a legal requirement in winter conditions, i wonder what tyre that could be

Nokian, Cooper, Continental, Goodyear, Maxxis to name but a few. All these guys make a tyre suitable for a Syncro which will be legal in Scandanavia and Northern Europe in winter and are equally suitable as a year round tyre. The Continentals I have on my van are such a tyre

syncropaddy wrote:

hugomonkey wrote:we would have to find the best tyre for early spring that would also be good in the snow and be legal in the countrys were its a legal requirement in winter conditions, i wonder what tyre that could be

Nokian, Cooper, Continental, Goodyear, Maxxis to name but a few. All these guys make a tyre suitable for a Syncro which will be legal in Scandanavia and Northern Europe in winter and are equally suitable as a year round tyre. The Continentals I have on my van are such a tyre

I stand corrected! i didn´t realise that all of these tyre producers made non rotational decent AT tyre with a Mountain/snowflake symbol on

Can't help any with the mechanics but it looks like there's plenty of expertise in that department already. But I do know cold - spent time in Northern Labrador working with indigenous communities and often camped out in temperatures of -40C, so I feel I can offer some advice on the sleeping bag. Don't trust the label, all manufacturers use a different method of judging comfort and survival rating. Since you'll be in the van go for a down bag, the only disadvantage is weight (not a problem) and loss of insulation in the wet (hopefully not a problem). I heartily recommend Alpkit bags, I used one for a week-long show-shoe trek across Quebec and Labrador (-50c one night) and never felt cold, but they seem to have supply problems at the moment . The wife and I have a cheap double bag that goes over our individual bags in winter, it cost £30 and makes a huge difference - shared body heat and all Consider a bivvy bag too, even if your in the van, to stop condensation freezing on the bag during the night and then melting into it in the morning and making it damp.

Have a great trip, hope it goes well. Oh and don't forget the sunglasses, snowblindness is a bitch.

Dom