Johannes Dutch left this in the comments at today’s L-series post. I watched and was mesmerized. This is one of the more remarkable automotive feats on video. It’s almost unbelievable that this battered old truck made it through, both in terms of not getting stuck as well as in not breaking down. Amazing.
CC Video: A Battered Old Mercedes L-Series Truck Conquers the Most Brutal “Road” In Africa
– Posted on December 8, 2018
I bet that is not the first time that truck has made the journey down that road, nor will it be the last.
That was amazing. The guys adding coolant at the end while the truck was going down the trail was something else. I’ll bet they would try to change a tire (and probably succeed) while the truck is moving as well. And who needs suspension articulation when the frame flexes that much front to back.
It makes the average Jeeper over here look silly. No super knobby mud tires, no shiny winch, no hi-lift jack etc. Those guys probably make that run several times a week, the one big rut near the end was deeper than the entire truck. Great video!
This reminded me of the movie “The Sorcerer” from the 1970s.
…which itself was the remake of the 1953 “Wages of fear” . So it is like Wages of fear part 3.
Having said that, i believe this clip is assembled from different trips (different setup of front mask, radiator and some protective clothing are visible in sequential scenes), but still mighty impressive.
The tires are shredded, chunks are missing, belts are flapping around, and it just seems unstoppable! The articulation this truck has is amazing.
The perfect vehicle for Paul to base his next camper on. Really would have to try hard to get stuck anywhere in this truck. Although the required pit crew would need to bring their own tents😁
Simply amazing! Compare that with this recent incident in Texas, also with an MB, in this case a Unimog https://expeditionportal.com/guy-flips-unimog-in-big-bend-forcing-trail-closure/
Diff lock engaged and some weight over the drive axle it pretty impressive where it will go
I had a harrowing trip on Oriental Mindoro, Philippines, where I took a Jeepney from Calipan to Puerto Galera, circa 1998. The road was not paved, and there had just been a typhoon. The Jeep was loaded to the rafters with goats, chickens and people, so my buddy and I stayed on the roof the whole trip.
Going up switchbacks in knee deep mud was amazing, and the drivers were very skilled. The engine boiled over, so a boy crawled out in the good and filled up the radiator.
That was a fun trip, but I don’t wish to do it again.
I went to Madagascar a couple years ago, and keeping these old trucks and cars of similar vintage running is pretty common here. They do what they can with what they have. Plus most of the roads are pretty rough there also so these things thrive over there. I’ll have to take pictures the next time I visit.
Paul you have to tell us any modifications that you can tell by watching the video!
It definitely appears to have a driven front axle, and seems like the entire front axle is wider than original. It also looks significantly lifted, right?
It looks like a factory L-series 4×4 (AWD) truck to me, the fender flares are clearly missing, so the front wheels stick out and it seems to be lifted because of that.
Below a factory 4×4. Well, not the motorhome body, but the chassis-cab.
And the driving is simply incredible!
Mesmerizing is the definitive word for this.
The driver is amazing and I’d love to know how tires with some tread would improve this rig.
I laughed out loud with the guy pouring coolant in while moving.
This is a great video!
That got me too. You know life is hard where it’s easier to replace a water pump with a human. An “A” for effort for sure.
I have an indelible impression of carers leading a huge, loved, near-blind and greatly battle-scarred animal home one last time.
You should see the old Pigot ‘s fhey have there, actually for the same reason why they have these Mercedes: Repairable on the spot.9
Years ago there was a doc about medicine distribution in some African land, much to my surprise on the outskirts of the city there were flocks of 505 Breaks, old battered and worn they call taxi- brousse, they all do a region and packed not with 7 but 12 people or more, the roofrack full of stuff; these cars are the lifeline for the locals.
I don’t know about these days, but I read a decade or so ago, long after the Peugeot had left the American market, that diesel-powered Peugeots were the top-selling car in Africa. I’m sure it was a vestige of French colonialism. I used to really like the Peugeot 505 sedan, nice looking with good proportions. The last 505 (maybe any Peugeot) I’ve seen in Florida was around 1990. HOA president of a condo complex I serviced had a 505 wagon. It was pristine, but it was likely new and one of the last sold around here. I will say while I liked the sedan, the wagon was too long in the back end.
The same Youtuber has this video of street scenes in Madagascar’s capital city of Antananarivo:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_kDvA5Diz0
Amazing to see the variety of vehicles there — a turquoise Citroen 2CV drives by at about the 0:55 mark.
This L-series video was absolutely amazing — thanks to Johannes and Paul for posting it here.
I love watching a grizzled, battered old vehicle that refuses to give up.
Unbelievable. Kudos to the people who keep those tough old trucks going and who drive them in conditions most of us would shy away from. We complain about crumbling roads in Canada and the US, but these people keep on going even when their governments can’t (or won’t) spend money on infrastructure. A great Sunday morning watch.
Thanks Paul, this video definitely deserved its own article! And a salute to the driver, the other crew-members and their ol’ Benz L-series (without any doubt one of the most durable and capable heavy truck models ever).
Amazing journey. Tough old truck, but I’m not sure I believe it made the journey without a chase vehicle. Not sure exactly what it was transporting. Empty drums?
I’ve seen several videos of Russian trucks traversing seemingly impossible terrain, also. However, they’re oftentimes semi-tractors, usually pulling serious loads. But this video takes the cake for “bad roads”. As I said, incredible journey.
“On the trip back, I’ll drive and YOU walk in front!”
I don’t think the TÜV inspector is going to look favourably upon those headlamps’ state of
aimrepairpresence.UPDATE: Never mind. Forget my smartalecky quip about the headlamps. That’s some serious I-literally-cannot-even material right there. And here I was dragging my feet on running errands in my Accord because it’s raining out.
If you’d hadn’t seen the evidence, you wouldn’t……..etc etc