Description
Skills for vehicle dependent expeditions. This course will aim to develop a mindset of mechanical sympathy; helping those dependent on motor vehicles in remote areas to both reduce the chance of mechanical failure and find creative solutions to unexpected mechanical emergencies.
This course isn’t focused on providing a list of set solutions to specific problems, but rather to provide you with the knowledge and confidence to develop your own solutions to mechanical failures in an austere environments; understanding that you often don’t have any choice about the vehicle you use and that when the time comes you probably won’t have a chest full of tools and a bag of spare parts.
The ethos is very much, “what ever gets you home”, by employing solutions that would have dealership mechanics muttering profanities, and drawing inspiration from the bush mechanics the world over who can seemingly fix anything anywhere, with just a hammer and a length of fencing wire. Rather than looking at the fantastical, we will examine the common stuff, the things that are most likely to go wrong; often the simple things you don’t think about, until they stop you in your tracks far from home. We’ll also examine subjects related to vehicle dependent expeditionary travel, such as remote area driving, utilising the vehicle in a survival situation, and the fine art of negotiating foreign boarder crossings.
Experiential learning will feature heavily throughout this course, expect to be hands on with all vehicle components and regularly presented with problems without obvious solutions. Please bring a pair of overalls, robust footwear and protective gloves (washing up gloves are perfect).
- Days: Fri PM – Sun PM (2 Nights)
- Location: Claife Heights, Lake District, England
- Food & Accommodation: Fully catered and includes camping fees
- Activity: Bush Mechanics
- Group Size: 6-14 (Av.10)
- Physical Rating: Easy
- 2022 Dates: TBC
Highlights
- Mechanical Sympathy
- The vehicle as an expeditionary tool
- Realistic vehicle preparation, weight factor, modification vs stock etc
- Vehicle recovery equipment and its use
- Recovering a stuck vehicle without equipment
- Submerged vehicle recovery
- Improvised repairs including cooling system, suspension, drive chain, brakes, tyres, ignition and fuel systems
- Improvised welding
- Repairing and reseating tyres
- Utilising an unrecoverable vehicle in a survival situation
- Jedi and the art of border crossings
Inclusions
- This course is fully catered throughout – we do our best to source food that is wild, local, organic, seasonal and nutritious. (This negates the need to buy food and bring stoves, fuel and cooking gear – it also maximises your learning time with us).
- The free loan of specialist bushcraft camping equipment – hammocks, tarps, laplander saws, fire-steels, billy cans, etc.
- Camping fees are included.
- We offer a complimentary pick-up and drop-off service from and to the nearest railway station at set times.
Ben Sheppard (verified owner) –
Fantastic 2 day course. Structure of the course is brilliant and delivers both the skill and mindset to approach vehicular problems in remote areas, all based in an incredible location with equally as impressive instructors. I cannot recommend it highly enough!