Arctic Trucks

Arctic Trucks is an international company founded in Iceland and with operations in the United Kingdom, Norway, Finland, Poland, Russia and the United Arab Emirates. Arctic Trucks specialise in the re-engineering of four wheel drive vehicles to allow them to be used in challenging conditions.

Arctic Trucks
Founded1990
HeadquartersIceland, United Kingdom, Norway, Finland, Poland, Russia, United Arab Emirates
Products4 wheel drive vehicle engineering
Websitewww.arctictrucks.com

They have supplied vehicles for a number of high-profile expeditions in the Arctic and Antarctic.

History

In Iceland the difficult terrain led the locals to experiment with larger tires and low tire pressures on the snow. In the mid-1980s, practical solutions began emerging and in 1990 Toyota in Iceland (P. Samúelsson hf.) established their own re-engineering division, calling it “Toyota Aukahlutir” (Toyota Accessories). This division grew very quickly and soon 20% to 70% of all new Toyota Hilux, Land Cruiser and 4Runners were re-engineered before delivery to customers - and in 1996 this division became Arctic Trucks.

In 1999 Arctic Trucks Norway was established. In 2005 Arctic Trucks was separated from Toyota Iceland, and began working more with other brands.

Additionally, Arctic Trucks offers self-drive tours in Iceland since 2008 under the name "Arctic Trucks Experiences".

It also offers support services to explorers, broadcasters and scientific surveys in the Arctic and Antarctic regions.

Arctic Trucks Engineering
The Toyota Hilux Arctic Trucks AT38 which was driven to the magnetic North Pole by Top Gear.

Arctic Trucks was established in Iceland in 1990 and specialises in the re-engineering and conversion of four-wheel drive vehicles for extreme conditions. Arctic Trucks have driven to both poles. They visited the North Magnetic Pole with BBC's Top Gear, and in the Antarctic a fleet of four and six wheel-drive vehicles are used by scientists to support their work. Arctic Trucks vehicles also set the record for the fastest journey to the South Pole in 2010.[1]

Vehicle Categories and Services

Arctic Trucks offer 3 different categories of vehicle:

  • Sports and Utility
  • Professional
  • Exploration

AT converts HiLux trucks to electric vehicles with 28 or 56 kWh battery for mining and construction.[2]

Exploration Support, Training and Adventures

In addition to vehicle engineering services and sales Arctic Trucks also provides logistical support, training and tourism services in the Arctic and Antarctic regions.

Expeditions

Arctic Trucks has developed and built vehicles to take on some of the world's biggest extremes, in most cases the donor vehicle, that the expedition vehicle was built on, has been a Toyota Hilux setup for 44 inch tires "AT44". The list below has expeditions with Arctic Trucks vehicles and in most cases Arctic Trucks has also organised and with Arctic Trucks personnel.

International expeditions:

  • December 1996 to January 1997 – Antarctica Expedition organized by the Swedish Polar institute. Two rebuilt Toyota Land Cruiser 80 on 44 inch tires supported scientific research, driving over 3000 km.
  • May 1999 – Greenland. Three rebuilt Toyota Land Cruiser 80 in 44 inch drove over 800 kilometers across the Greenland icecap back and forth.
The Toyota Hilux pickup used for the Top Gear expedition.
  • April 2007 - Magnetic North Pole with BBC Top Gear. Two rebuilt Toyota Hilux AT38 along with one Toyota Land Cruiser AT38 drove from Resolute, Nunavut, Canada, to the 1996 Magnetic North Pole. A first and only time a car has been driven this way.
  • November 2008 to February 2009 – Antarctica. Supporting a South Pole Challenge ski race and a crew from BBC filming the TV show On Thin Ice. With unexplored crevasse area and a route never driven before, four Arctic Trucks Hilux AT44 drove from Novo to South Pole and back with film crew, doctors other service crew. Combined the vehicles drove nearly 30,000 km on the high plateau of Antarctica.
  • November 2009 - Antarctica. From Novo to 83:20 degrees in Antarctica, preparing a fuel drop. Two Arctic Trucks Hilux AT44 drove over 3000 km each to service a fuel drop on the Antarctic plateau with temperature falling well below – 50 C. On route they scanned the route through the Shcherbakov Mountain Range with GPR. When traveling the vehicles were averaging over 500 km per day.
  • April 2010 - Iceland. Taking BBC Top Gear filming crew to the erupting volcano Eyjafjallajökull.
Eyjafjallajökull Arctic Trucks
  • November 2010 – Antarctica. From the Indian scientific base Maitri to the South Pole and back, nearly 4700 km. Four Arctic Trucks Hilux AT44 carried scientists and equipment up to 3400 meter altitude with temperature measured at -56C.
  • December 2010 – Antarctica. Two Arctic Trucks Hilux AT44 took a team from Kazakhstan, Russia and Iceland from Novo to the South Pole and back. The expedition to South Pole, 2308 km took only 4.5 days.[3] Following their trail back, the return journey from South Pole to Novo runway took only 3.5 days, averaging 660 km per day.
  • December 2010 to January 2011 - Antarctica. Four Arctic Trucks Hilux AT44 and two Arctic Trucks Hilux AT44 6X6 supported an Extreme World Races program with ZDF and ORF TV production team filming the TV show Der Wettlauf zum Südpol where an Austrian skiing team competed with a German team for the last 300 km to the South Pole.
  • November 2011 to February 2012 - Three Arctic Trucks Hilux AT44, one 4x4 and two 6x6, started up from Fimbul Iceshelf next to Novolazarevskaya on an expedition that ended up with 9500 km in total. The expedition was setup by Extreme World Races and had multiple tasks. First supporting a team of Austrian skier for the last two degrees to South Pole, then crossing over to Ross Iceshelf making the first crossing of Antarctica between Fimbul Ice shelf and Ross Iceshelf, then returning to South Pole and onwards to Pole of Inaccessibility as defined Soviet Union Research. From there they went back to the fuel depot at S83°23 E20°29E and the two 6x6 took on supporting a team from BBC filming Blue Peter going to South Pole. Once this was over both vehicles drove back to the Fimbul Iceshelf finishing a double crossing of Antarctica.
  • November 2011 – Antarctica. Three Arctic Trucks vehicles, two Hilux AT44 and one Land Cruiser AT44, started from Novo runway and drove to South Pole, The Kazakhstan National Geographical Society visited the South Pole for the 100 year anniversary of Scott and Amundsen race to South Pole then driving back to Novo Runway.
  • December 2011 to February 2012 – Antarctica. Five Arctic Trucks vehicles, four AT44 Hilux and one AT44 Hilux 6x6, started off from Novo runway to support an Extreme World Races ski race, a film called “Cold Sweat”. To acclimatize to the thin air of the Antarctica plateau, the film crew, the competitors and the Blue Peter team got supported by the 5 vehicles as they acclimatized walking up through the Shcherbakov Mountain Range. Once there, three vehicles continued to the fuel depot at S83º23 E20º29 and met up with the double crossing team but the two other vehicles waited with the group until the Basler came to pickup them up. The Basler flew the group to the fuel depot with now 6 Arctic Trucks vehicles waiting having already prepared a skiway. With 100 years since Amundsen and Scott raised to be the first to South Pole, 7 ski teams, including a teams from Norway and UK raised the last 780 km to South supported by 4 of the vehicles. The last two vehicles supported the Blue Peter project. All vehicles then returned to Novo runway, three made the extra 15 km to the Fimbul Iceshelf.
  • December 2011 – Antarctica. One Arctic Trucks built AT44 Tacoma was used to set a new world fasted time from Patriot Hills to South Pole,[4] 1100 km distance. No Arctic Trucks personnel was on this expedition.
  • November to December 2013 – Antarctica. Four Arctic Trucks vehicles, two AT44 Hilux and two AT44 Hilux 6x6 supported a ski race between three teams of wounded soldiers, Walk With The Wounded. The vehicles and the support team drove ahead 2000 km and set up a runway for the ski airplane bringing in the ski teams. After supporting and filming the ski race and both the film crew and skiers flown back to Novo runway but the car team was split in two, two vehicles went on to Ross Iceshelf to support Maria Leijerstam in her cycle attempt and the other two returned to Novo runway, laying out fuel depots for a Massey Ferguson expedition the following season.
  • November 2013 to January 2014– Antarctica. Two Arctic Trucks vehicles AT44 Hilux drove from Novo runway to the fuel catch at S83º23 E20º29, setting up ice runway, setting up and preparing for a fuel Para drop and servicing flights between Novo runway and South Pole.
  • December 2013 – Antarctica. Two Arctic Trucks vehicles one AT44 Hilux and one AT44 Hilux 6x6, double crossed Antarctica, Expedition 7 (http://www.expeditions7.com/) starting from the iceshelf below Novo Runway, to South Pole and onward to Ross Iceshelf. It took the team only 20 hours to drive from the Amundsen coast to the South Pole.
  • December 2013 – Antarctica. One Arctic Trucks vehicle AT44 Hilux 6x6 took drove Parker Liautaud, Doug Stoup[5] together with film and support team from Union Glacier Ross Iceshelf, at Amundsen coast. Then followed and filmed Parker and Doug as they walked unsupported to South Pole in 21 days http://www.willisresilience.com/ fasted skiing time from coast to South . After the skiing the team returned to Union Glacier.
  • December 2013 – Antarctica. Two Arctic Trucks vehicles one AT44 Hilux and one AT44 Hilux 6x6 drove Maria Leijerstam from South Pole to Ross Iceshelf at the Amundsen coast and supported her cycling to South Pole before driving to Union Glacier. Maria set a new record as the first person to cycle all the way to South Pole.[6]
  • December 2013 – Antarctica. Two Arctic Trucks vehicles one AT44 Hilux and one AT44 Hilux 6x6, following the support of Walking With The Wounded, laid out two extra fuel depots on the route between Novo runway and South Pole for supporting a Tractor Expedition, Antarctica2 https://web.archive.org/web/20170524121923/http://www.antarcticatwo.com/ planned the following season
Walking With the Wounded Challenge Arctic Trucks
  • November and December 2014 - Antarctica. Two Arctic Trucks vehicles AT44 Hilux drove from Novo runway to the fuel catch at S83º23 E20º29, setting up ice runway, setting up and preparing for a fuel Paradrop and servicing flights between Novo runway and South Pole.
  • November 2014 – Antarctica. Two Artic Trucks vehicles both AT44 Hilux 6x6 supported Mano Ossevoort (the Tractor Girl) driving a Massey Ferguson tractor from the Fimbul iceshelf below Novo runway to South Pole and back.[7] This expedition was under the name of Antarctica2 https://web.archive.org/web/20170524121923/http://www.antarcticatwo.com/
Walking With the Wounded Challenge Arctic Trucks
  • January 2015 – Antarctica. Two Arctic Trucks vehicles both AT44 Hilux 6x6, supported the Brazilian scientific research starting from Union Glacier 1.700 km drilling for and collecting snow samples in Ellsworth land for their research program.
  • November and December 2015 - Antarctica. Two Arctic Trucks vehicles, one AT44 Hilux and one AT44 Hilux 6x6, drove from Novo runway to the fuel catch at S83º23 E20º29, setting up ice runway, setting up and preparing for a fuel Para drop and servicing flights between Novo runway and South Pole.
  • December 2015 – Antarctica. Two Arctic Trucks vehicles did a short expedition to Lake Undersee from Novo runway. The expedition was for studying the route and as part of IAATO membership approval.
  • November and December 2016 - Antarctica. Three Arctic Trucks vehicles, two AT44 Hilux and one AT44 Hilux drove from Novo runway to the fuel catch at S83º23 E20º29, setting up ice runway, setting up and preparing for a fuel para drop and servicing flights between Novo runway and South Pole.
Shackleton Returns
  • November to December 2016 - Antarctica. Three Arctic Trucks vehicles, two AT44 Hilux and one AT44 Hilux 6x6, drove from Novo runway to the fuel catch at S83º23 E20º29, setting up ice runway, setting up and preparing for a fuel Para drop and servicing flights between Novo runway and South Pole.
  • November 2016 to January 2017 – Antarctica. Two Arctic Trucks vehicles, one AT44 Hilux and one AT44 Hilux 6x6 established a land route between Novo runway and the landing site of the South African Icebreaker, Agulhas II, S72 º14 W02º42. The expedition along the Fimbul Iceshelf crossed two large ice rises and the notorious Jutulstraumen Glacier. The expedition returned along the same route to Novo runway before searching for a land route to WolfsFang, a large blue ice area south of Kurze Mountains. The expedition used 450Mz Mala ground penetrating radar and satellite imagery for navigating the highly crevassed areas.
  • December 2016 – Antarctica. Four Arctic Trucks vehicles, one AT38 Hyundai Santa Fe, two AT44 Hilux 6x6 and one AT44 Hilux drove from Union Glacier to McMurdo via South Pole and back with the great grandson of Ernest Shackleton, Patrick Bergel. After visiting the Discovery hut where his great grandfather had stayed, Patrick and the team returned the same way back to Union, a total of 5800 km. This was the first car crossing of the Ross iceshelf itself.
  • January 2017 – Antarctica. Three Arctic Trucks vehicle, one AT44 Hilux and two AT44 Hilux 6x6 drove to South Pole with a group of clients, all vehicles returned to Union Glacier.
  • November - January 2017/2018 - Antarctica. Two Arctic Trucks vehicles, one AT44 Hilux and one AT44 Hilux 6x6, drove from Novo runway to the fuel catch at S83º23 E20º29, setting up ice runway, setting up and preparing for a fuel Paradrop and servicing flights between Novo runway and South Pole.
  • December 2017 - Antarctica. Two Arctic Trucks vehicles scanned for a shorter route between the landing site for Agulhas II and WolfsFang
  • December 2017 - Antarctica. Two Arctic Trucks vehicles drove from Union to Ronne Ice shelf and onward to South Pole. Taking clients from South Pole to Ross Iceshelf and then return to Union via South Pole and Ronne Iceshelf making the first double crossing between these two ice shelfs.
  • April - May 2018 - Greenland. Three Arctic Trucks vehicles, an Expedition7 in co-operation with Arctic Trucks made an expedition, the first vehicle crossing on the long end of Greenland from South to North starting at Isortoq reindeer farm, driving on see ice, over land, frozen rivers and lakes to the icecap, driving along the west side of the icecap, crossing over to the east side half way for fuel and then to the center up north to Wulff Land. The expedition returned south and came down of the icecap east of at Kangerlussuaq before driving Arctic Circle Trail to Sisimiut.
  • December 2018 - Antarctica. Gamania Cheerup Foundation skiing challenge, three Arctic Trucks vehicles drove from Union to Ross Iceshelf with a team of 5 skiers and two film crew which documented the expedition and filmed the team successfully ski and bike the last 3 degrees to South Pole before returning back to Union Glacier.
  • December 2018 - Antarctica. One Arctic Trucks vehicles followed a Solar vehicle driving from Union Glacier 300km towards South Pole and return to Union Glacier.
  • January 2019 - Antarctica. Three Arctic Trucks vehicles drove from Union to Ronne Ice shelf and onward to Ross Ice shelf via South Pole with clients from Kazakhstan, Germany and China. The Expedition return to Union via South Pole.
  • December 2019 - Antarctica. Three Arctic Trucks vehicles drove from Novo Runway to the fuel catch at S83º23 E20º29 to service a skiway, two vehicles did a 400km food drop for kiters and return to Novo Runway. One Arctic Trucks vehicles continued to South Pole and onwards to Union Glacier.
  • January 2020 - Antarctica. Two Arctic Trucks vehicles drove from Union to Ronne Ice shelf and onward to South Pole. From South Pole the expedition drove to Pole of Inaccessibility before continuing to Nivlsen Iceshelf making a 4630km crossing of Antarctica in 16 days.
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References
  1. "New World Record for Fastest Vehicles across Antarctica to the South Pole". Business Wire. Business Wire. 2011-10-12.
  2. Paal Kvamme (2019-03-15). "ARCTIC TRUCKS : Norske Arctic Trucks skal bygge Toyotas arbeidsjern om til elbil". Teknisk Ukeblad. Retrieved 2019-03-15.
  3. "Iceland’s Arctic Trucks in Guinness World Records", October 12, 2011, icelandreview.com
  4. "Fastest overland journey to the South Pole (average speed)". Guinness World Records.
  5. The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/25/teenager-sets-record-for-fastest-trek-from-antarctic-coast-to-south-pole. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. Guinness World Records http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/first-person-to-cycle-to-the-south-pole. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  7. Guinness World Records http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/384922-first-expedition-to-the-south-pole-in-a-wheel-tractor. Missing or empty |title= (help)
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