We’ve just completed our 5-month overland journey through Colombia, covering diverse terrain from Caribbean coastlines to high-altitude jungle tracks, remote Andean valleys and desert conditions.
View attachment 7907724
View attachment 7907718
Iggy has performed superbly in all conditions, with one exception nearby Jardin, west of Medellin, where things took a turn.
At the time, Jardín had been largely cut off by landslides, and the only way in or out was via a rough, high-altitude jungle track - steep, narrow, and soaked by weeks of rain. We were on a remote section of this trail, over 3,200 meters above sea level, when we managed to cook off our engine cover. We quickly extinguished it - but not before various electrical connections and ancilliary systems were compromised.
Conditions at the time included slow speed, high-range crawling, high engine loads, high altitude, high humidity, and reduced airflow, on steep/slick/soft surfaces. We have operated Iggy in the Simpson Desert at over 50 celsius ambient temperature with no problem, so I suspect it is the combination of airflow, altitude and humidity that made the difference here.
Fortunately the Grenadier is built tough, and after insulating some of the damaged wires I was able to start Iggy up.
Getting out of that situation was its own adventure. The track was bedlam - several vehicles had been bogged deep in the mud, blocking the only passable route back to Medellin in several locations. Armed with MaxTrax and our winch, we worked our way down the track, addressing one vehicle at a time. In addition to negotiating diversions we had to complete recoveries of three other vehicles to get off the mountain. MaxTrax Pros are solid enough, turns out, to recover a Class 4/5 truck (“¡Gringooooes!”).
Over two days we limped Iggy back to Medellín under his own power, and with Ineos’ assistance we immediately got down to planning the repairs. A cautious approach was taken, with all remotely affected components flagged for replacement. From there things moved quickly. However, while Ineos got on top of things immediately in terms of logistics, Colombian Customs was more of a challenge, and our parts shipments from the US and Belgium were held up in red tape for more than two months.
Ineos support was excellent throughout, regular communication was required across the US, UK and Colombia in order to navigate the bureaucratic labyrinth and all points of contact were outstanding.
Repairs were ultimately completed in Medellín again with assistance from Ineos, using a lift bay and additional hands provided by
Agreste 4x4 Garage. A great team if you’re in Colombia in need of service, repair or tyres (they are the Colombia Falken/Kenda/Cooper distributor).
Iggy has since continued south into Ecuador without issue, including further high altitude (>3,500m) offroad work.
Experience in defence and resources is that sustained arduous use will eventually result in failures and breakages no matter the vehicle type. Ineos coordinated quickly and effectively on an international basis to support our long range operation of the Grenadier platform, beyond the reach of the dealer network. Hugely encouraging stuff if expeditions are your bag.
A less vehicle-centric update than what you see here is on our
website if you’re interested in Colombia as a destination.
