[BlackPearl]

Originally Posted by Unavowed_X9

BlackPearl, can we expect you to join us?

I wish I could join you guys. Anyways, next time. Eagerly waiting to hear your story!

Originally Posted by Sawyer

Those look like hair raising places, given that videos and photos tend to make things look easier than they really are.

I notice a reverse to make a hairpin at one point - having used a Gypsy extensively and cursed its turning circle often, I think both driver and car would struggle on this road. It appears that Thar has a smaller turning circle.

From whatever little I have driven the Gypsy, I have felt that the Thar CRDe has better turning radius. Not sure about the Thar Di. The Bolero 4WD that I have has a large turning radius as well and may be compared to that of the Gypsy. Experts can throw light on this.

[Uprasenjit]

Originally Posted by BlackPearl

The stretch from Sandakphu to Phalut was far more beautiful and treacherous than that from Maneybhanjan to Sandakphu, though the inclines were not as steep.
Here is a small video that will give an idea -
===
Thanks extreme_torque. The climbs in the video were done in 4Low second or first gear.

That road is too narrow Hats off to your skills...

[Sawyer]

I agree. It brings to mind the Bolivian Death Road - cyclists using this have lost their lives!

[BlackPearl]

Originally Posted by Uprasenjit

That road is too narrow Hats off to your skills...

Originally Posted by Sawyer

I agree. It brings to mind the Bolivian Death Road - cyclists using this have lost their lives!

@Uprasenjit and @Sawyer, the road looks narrower in the wide angle lens of the Dash Cam, it is not that narrow for a single vehicle. It creates problem only when a vehicle comes from the opposite direction.

[Unavowed_X9]

Guys.

Just back from Sandakphu in my Gangsta (2003 Pajero GLX-incidentally done 2.18lac kms!), with a Thar and an AWD Duster for company.

Im superglad that its probably the 1st Pajero to have done Sandakphu.

As for the trip, we could manage to resume from Kalipokhri at about 1730 hrs. Weather got inclement with zero visibility, but my Gangsta made it to Sandakphu without as much as a flinch!

Surprisingly, I was told that the last stretch to Sandakphu was not being used by the LRs themselves as it had deteriorated! Not having known that, I managed it with my Gangsta..and the performance of this magnificient beast amazes me with each passing feat.
Im not a travelogue penning guy, but I hope some of my team members may write a travelogue..as the description of the night ascent, the treacherous terrain and the other factors send a chill along the spine even as we think about it.

Feels so good to bust the myth that a LWB vehicle cant handle the turns, because after the first 2-3 hairpins, I never had to reverse my Gangsta to tackle them either while ascending or descending. During the descent, as I was following a couple of LRs from Chitrey, Gangsta was right behind them, and we did it in 13mins 45 secs along with the LRs. Shall ask to upload a video shot by a fellow bhpian to show how it worked!

Thanks BlackPearl for giving valuable insights into the trip and prepping up.

Warm Regards,
Unavowed_X9

[GhostRider28]

Originally Posted by BlackPearl

Here is a video of the Duster going up the last 3 Kilometers of the trail to Sandakphu.

Moreover, Duster might be having problems with engine overheating at high altitudes. It was nothing against your driving. Even Pawan (PapaBravo) had mentioned that his Duster was overheating in Sikkim. As far as I remember GhostRider28 (Sayantan) faced some coolant level issues in Ladakh. If there is really a problem, we should highlight it in this forum so that Renault can pay heed and rectify it. It will only make the Duster AWD an even better vehicle.

Fantastic travelogue once again BP! Rated a very well deserved 5 stars. Camping site looks super! The videos are very instructive, so much so, that I have almost made up my mind not to torment the Duster by pushing it up to Sandakphu

It is a great all rounder in a good driver's hands, but definitely not a specialist off the road. I remember facing some coolant level issues at very higher altitudes, but more than that I personally feel that, for me
1) Limited from driver's seat (more due to my height than car's design )
2) Usable torque at lower RPMs at higher altitudes
3) Not-so-rugged monocoque design
are points that I will consider very carefully before pushing the Duster to its limits (after 22000 Kms in the Duster).

[BlackPearl]

Originally Posted by Unavowed_X9

Guys.

Just back from Sandakphu in my Gangsta (2003 Pajero GLX-incidentally done 2.18lac kms!), with a Thar and an AWD Duster for company.

Thanks BlackPearl for giving valuable insights into the trip and prepping up.

Warm Regards,
Unavowed_X9

Well done and thanks! Heard that the Duster had a tough time with the engine heating up. Please share some more details and preferably a travelogue on your experience

Originally Posted by GhostRider28

Fantastic travelogue once again BP! Rated a very well deserved 5 stars. Camping site looks super! The videos are very instructive, so much so, that I have almost made up my mind not to torment the Duster by pushing it up to Sandakphu

It is a great all rounder in a good driver's hands, but definitely not a specialist off the road. I remember facing some coolant level issues at very higher altitudes, but more than that I personally feel that, for me
1) Limited from driver's seat (more due to my height than car's design)
2) Usable torque at lower RPMs at higher altitudes
3) Not-so-rugged monocoque design
are points that I will consider very carefully before pushing the Duster to its limits (after 22000 Kms in the Duster).

Thanks GhostRider28. Good that you don't want to torture your vehicle. As I have said before, the Duster AWD is an excellent all-rounder, but a few things are best left to the more rugged body-on-frame utility vehicles

[Unavowed_X9]

Guys.
Here is the link for the video of the return jny.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B_...m1BbXVZZTVSYW8

[Rahulkool]

Originally Posted by BlackPearl

The stretch from Sandakphu to Phalut was far more beautiful and treacherous than that from Maneybhanjan to Sandakphu, though the inclines were not as steep.
Here is a small video that will give an idea -

Thats some excellent driving skills mate, i am sure inclines much be very steep videos generally it does not show. You are doing justice to thar

[Unavowed_X9]

The descent from Meghma once the blacktop started was done in 4H in Pajero. Was also able to climb at most places in 4H except at rocky inclines and when crawling was required. In a way..it was effortless!

[Unavowed_X9]

Originally Posted by BlackPearl

Well done and thanks! Heard that the Duster had a tough time with the engine heating up. Please share some more details and preferably a travelogue on your experience

Yes. The Duster heated up. But that was temporary and driver induced probably due to the harsh weather, zero visibility and other factors.
The problem was moving up from standstill due to lack of low end torque and absence of crawl mode.

I have requested some of my friends who accompanied me to write a travelogue. I hope they do soon.

[IndiaSierra]

As usual a wonderful travelogue. Rated a well deserved 5 star.
It was wonderful meeting you at Sinclairs,Darjeeling. Unfortunately we could not take a selfie but I have the picture of our machines which you had captured.

[dr. sen]

Belated Congrats to Blackpearl for getting the D Bhpian. Since you are the only one in the whole forum, and I am sure perhaps in India, (on the assumption, that why would anybody from rest of India other than West Bengal, try this summit.); who has conquered the summit and beyond, i would request you to list the type vehicles, who had made it to sandakphu and beyond; beside the L.R.; THAR, BOLERO.

I am sure you had asked these to the hoteliers and the LR drivers and other Tea Stall owners, on the way. This is just to enlighten our fellow Brethrens.

Any idea whether any Gypsy, Safari, Xenon, Jonga made it or not.

Your detailed report on 4x4 v cross, isuzu, had led me to believe, that i should go for it.

Do You think, your THAR could have managed to pull a 2 wheel mini trailer (like the water carrier in the municipality, but without the tank), all the way to the top. I think, yes, after studying all the videos, in all the posts. after all its only 1 ton more, and it has its separate brakes also, if one wants. You for sure know, why one wants a trailer.

Thanx in advance.


Regards

[itwasntme]

Amazing, thank you for the lovely travelogue.

A few queries I had:

1. Was the Duster on OEM tyres?
2. Was the engine bogging down on the hairpin apexes or were the tyres losing traction (and hence slowing down the vehicle too much)?
3. Finally, could this have been avoided if the Duster had wider and/or knobbly tyres?

[BlackPearl]

Originally Posted by IndiaSierra

As usual a wonderful travelogue. Rated a well deserved 5 star.
It was wonderful meeting you at Sinclairs,Darjeeling. Unfortunately we could not take a selfie but I have the picture of our machines which you had captured.Attachment 1511523

Thanks IndiaSierra! It was nice meeting you and your parents as well. Thanks for the pic of the Thar :-)

Originally Posted by dr. sen

Belated Congrats to Blackpearl for getting the D Bhpian. Since you are the only one in the whole forum, and I am sure perhaps in India, (on the assumption, that why would anybody from rest of India other than West Bengal, try this summit.); who has conquered the summit and beyond, i would request you to list the type vehicles, who had made it to sandakphu and beyond; beside the L.R.; THAR, BOLERO.

Thanks dr. sen. I am not the only one on this forum, many others have gone to Sandakphu. One person from Bangalore also went there if I am not mistaken. Maybe I have gone to Sandakphu the most number times till date
The vehicles that I know have scaled Sandakphu except the regular Land Rovers are are -
1. Bolero 4WD
2. Bolero Di 4WD (the longer wheelbase one without Power steering)
3. Thar 4WD
4. Scorpio 4WD
5. Pajero
6. Endeavour
7. Gypsy
8. MM550
9. MM540
10. Mahindra Marshal 4WD
11. Bolero Pickup Double Cab 4WD
12. Duster AWD

Originally Posted by dr. sen

I am sure you had asked these to the hoteliers and the LR drivers and other Tea Stall owners, on the way. This is just to enlighten our fellow Brethrens.

Any idea whether any Gypsy, Safari, Xenon, Jonga made it or not.

I am not sure about the rest, but my friend had taken his Gypsy a few months back.

Originally Posted by dr. sen

Your detailed report on 4x4 v cross, isuzu, had led me to believe, that i should go for it.

It is a lovely vehicle. I am dreaming about it almost everyday, but alas I don't have the money to buy one.

Originally Posted by dr. sen

Do You think, your THAR could have managed to pull a 2 wheel mini trailer (like the water carrier in the municipality, but without the tank), all the way to the top. I think, yes, after studying all the videos, in all the posts. after all its only 1 ton more, and it has its separate brakes also, if one wants. You for sure know, why one wants a trailer.

This is a tricky question, ideally a Thar should be able to haul a trailer up those inclines. However the turns are the problem. Every turn has to be taken with utmost care. Even then I am not sure if it will possible to do it with the trailer. I have to see a few videos on youtube to see how a trailer behaves on sharp turns and I have no prior experience of hauling a trailer.

Originally Posted by itwasntme

Amazing, thank you for the lovely travelogue.

A few queries I had:

1. Was the Duster on OEM tyres?
2. Was the engine bogging down on the hairpin apexes or were the tyres losing traction (and hence slowing down the vehicle too much)?
3. Finally, could this have been avoided if the Duster had wider and/or knobbly tyres?

Thanks itwasntme.

1. Yes, the Duster was on OEM tyres
2. I am not sure about this, sinsha has to respond to this query. As far as I know, the engine was not bogging down. Since sinsha was not sure of the exit points of the steep turns, he was slowing down. Picking up from standstill was becoming a problem as the Duster does not have a low ratio GB.
3. Yes, better tyres would have definitely helped. But more than anything else, it was lack of torque at low rpms that caused the problem for the Duster. The Thar with full load was having no problem in those stop/start situations.