Iceland overland trip

[wildslammer22]

Hi, I'm at the early stages of planning a trip to Iceland next year. The idea is to tour the island over a 4 week period, I have a T6 4motion with lifted bilstein suspension (shocks and springs) and AT tyres. I'm seeking advice from anyone who has done the trip whether I should be looking at a raised air intake and underbody protection? Both seem overkill as I'm not planning on any extreme off-roading and i'd rather avoid the cost and extra weight if possible. My main concern is the number of river crossings, it's a once in a lifetime trip that I don't want to spoil by getting stuck or wrecking the van! I've done plenty of gravel/fire road stuff in UK and the Pyrenees and the Cali in its current configuration has taken it all in its stride.

Thanks in advance

 

[RockinNRollin]

When I was there I stuck to the perimeter but got the impression the F roads are probably mostly passable by most vehicles, it’s the odd more extreme sections (loose stuff, rivers with gravel beds etc) that are the challenge. It could all be for show, but there were a lot of seriously hardcore off road vehicles in Iceland.

Suspect a lot of it could be covered by common sense. I would check your insurance too; good chance you won’t be insured on F-roads in any Cali?

 

[bvddobb]

Been there, done that. See our travel report on this site, or the overview of the off road mods on our van.
Wouldn’t do river crossings without raised air intake (don’t need a snorkel, really) and drive train air vents: we had crossings that were easily 70 cm deep.
We didn’t do the raised intake/exhaust for the camping heater: when water gets in there, it easily gets out again.
The volcanic gravel on e.g. the F27 can be quite sharp. You need to let down tyre pressure, so a compressor to bring pressure back comes in handy.
When looking at the scratches and dents on our underbody protection, we don’t regret having it fitted!

 

[flying banana]

How do you get the van to Iceland? Do you sail from Norway?

 

[bvddobb]

How do you get the van to Iceland? Do you sail from Norway?

The ferry sails from Hirtshals, Denmark, via the Faeroer. One can also ship ones Cali to Helsinki from various ports in Europe.

 

[AndrewCook680]

We took our lifted Toyota Hilux there in 2015. Our 6mm Underbody armour plates never touched anything as tracks well graded and not rutted, they close them if they are on the interior F roads. But the Hilux has a lot of ground clearance with 40mm lift.
we spent a lot of time in the iceland highlands on gravel F roads and I lost count of number of river crossings, I definitely recommend a raised air intake and think about differential breather and gearbox breathers, if they can be fitted to a van ? Easy on 4x4 like a Hilux to fit.
we had to abort on one river over 60-70cm deep becuase a discovery in group didn’t have a snorkel and it was too risky for it.
it was amazing trip, out of this world ! The views and travelling Amazing
we took ferry from Hirtsals - it was tedious at times as 2 days each way. But worth it.
enjoy the planning