Welcome to my channel - Discovering the World, One Road at a Time
Join me, Zoef, on an extraordinary journey through diverse landscapes in my custom-modified VW UP. My channel is dedicated to bringing you along on exciting road trips, starting with the Arctic and expanding to many more destinations.
Hey man, absolutely LOVED your series of going to the arctic circle so far. Really captivating stuff. You are motivating me to attempt a similar thing by myself one day, tho with some hotels in between lol and a better equipped car that has all-wheel drive and is a wagon. Has lots of space to sleep in, stretch out and some modern day useful features like heated windshield wipers and double glass windows for great insulation from the cold. You are amazing for attempting this with a freaking VW Up and not using any hotels at all! I remember my Dad telling me stories how he drove thru Europe with an original VW Beetle and this must be the equivalent to it lol. You will have lots of cool stories to tell eventually ! I have a couple of questions that i would love for you to answer, which engine oil did you use? Mind telling me the oil weight and brand? I currently use 5w-30 but it seems too thick for potentially -30C so im looking at a 0W-30 weight oil with a low cold viscosity, so the oil doesn't freeze when i turn off the car overnight. Which leads me to the next question, you mentioned in one of your videos that you turned on the car's heater overnight in addition to the diesel generator if i understood correctly, so did you leave the engine running overnight all the time or sometimes only turned on the Diesel generator and turned off the car? Also when you slept in the car without the Diesel heat generator or without the cars climate control, were you concerned of CO2 levels being too high or did you occasionally let in fresh air in between or turn on the car's climate control? Sleeping 6 hours in a closed space with no source of fresh air sounds like a recipe for CO2 poisoning. My last question is, did you leave the car running while fueling it in the freezing conditions when you went to the gas station at <-30C or did you just turn it off without any worry that it wouldn't turn back on again? Im not sure if i missed it or if you already answered these question but i think many would appreciate a video of you addressing similar concerns and going into the technical part of what to look after when attempting anything similar. Hat off to your courage, keep up the great work!
First of all, thank you for the time you took to write a message! Really interesting questions as well. What I learned is that I should make more visits to paid campings, as there are all the facilities. The Up was also budget related, low taxes, low maintenance cost and low fuel consumption. While also offering basic luxury like cruise and AC. 1. You mention double glass against the cold, but I found out everything against the doors or floor got frozen anyway. Window insulation is more for use as a curtain :). The double glass is not going to do a lot. 2. The 5W30 works fine. Had no issues with it thanks to the broad bandwith of viscosity. Although be sure to measure the protection of your coolant before leaving! 3. I was learning about the heater through exeperience, what works and what not. But the diesel heater had a squashed air intake, so combustion and heat were compromised. That's why I left the engine running sometimes. However, the car blows in fresh air from outside, and the diesel heater does as well. However, I always had the rear window slightly open, a few mm. You can push it outward a few cm normally. This is exactly where I am with my head while sleeping, so always fresh air. Nevertheless, I had a CO2 alarm with me. 4. I did leave the car running when there were not too many people around it, because the car is not locked this way and all my stuff is in there. Important lesson here is to always take a 2nd key with you, so you can lock the car while idling. 5. The next video is in the final stages now (best one I ever made by quite a margin). After that there is only 1 video left of this trip. If the theory implemented in EP6 works like it should, EP7 should be easier to put together. After this I will create a giant QA and lessons learned video.
Hola! I'm working my ass off on the next video. It must be better than all the others. And I get stressed out when everyone is asking when the next video is, so I dcided not to look for a moment until I'm almost done 😂
Leuke video, maar als tip wil ik even meegeven dat ik die onderbrekingen waar je achter het bureau zit erg irritant vind. Ik zou ze gewoon als voice over doen.
Its amazing , everyone speaks english :) i could survive their althou would need yo be summer for me :) your videos are so professional , is that your job?
Thank you so much for your kind words! I would love to visit the north in the summer, maybe next year! It's not my job, just a lot of practicing I think 😅
If you have frozen locks , heat the key with a big lighter , glycol will work to :) looks amazing trip. Think the gas stove is butain which freezes not propne which is better at colder temps
@@ZoefontheMove I would have frozen to death :) especially that snow shower, ouch. Are you a professional at making video , your videos are so polished :) mine are pathetic :)
@@lookoutleo @lookoutleo What I learned to do, is rewatch the video a 1000 times, on different devices. Phone, TV, PC. And each time I'm getting bored, I cut this piece out or change it. What also works really well, is let someone else watch the video on your phone (save it as mp4 somewhere). When they are bored, or want to skip the video, change the video in those places. Maybe this helps you forward! Scotland roadtrip is still on my list! Never been there, while it isn't even that far away from here.
@@lookoutleo It's not my job, and I use Adobe Premiere Pro. Keep the pace up, come to the point quickly. And turn of the audio, and watch the video. Because some people watch without sound. Is the video still interesting?
I've been cycling in summer from Amsterdam to Groningen, wish I had popped in for coffee :) Netherlands are great for cycling , I was wild camping . You are so organised
Hola! Vorige week was ik de volgende serie aan het opnemen in Zwitserland. Afgelopen week moest ik werken. De komende weken ben ik weer vrij om te editen.
Had my license for a year now (got it on the 23rd of August last year). My first winter in Norway made me realize how cautious you have to be in these conditions. You've got no idea until you experience it yourself. Excited for this winter though, I have my fun as well.
People calling me out for being a danger on the road here, but like you say: You have to be really cautious. With time you'll build experience and get a feel for all sorts of situations, and can handle them safely. During that time, you may learn things the hard way. But that's what learning is about.
when you drive in the snow, you should turn the traction control off, otherwise the car wil always want to correct but it can't, it can cause a lot of electrical issues.
The North Cape with it's "monument" is NOT the northernmost on the European mainland / continent .....since it's located on an island named Magerøya. You even drove through a 6,7 km long under-the-sea tunnel to get out to that island. The northernmost point on the European continent is named Kinnarodden near Mehamn some 70 km further east in air distance. "The road is the worst you ever... ....and there is nobody to call for help...". Well....I would rather say that there is nothing wrong with the road ....only there is some seriously wrong with the driver and his equipment ....which is unfit and illegal to put on the road. You obvious don't understand that both conditions and some law regulations require you to be properly equipped for being on the road. I can only say it's totally irresponsible. ....and what was the problem with being out there "on your own".... Dude the whole way you have 5G mobile phone coverage.... You can make a phone call to whoever for help ....at any time. So stop spreading false info. The last thing we need is such people on the road.
IN HET NEDERLANDS ZOU HET 100 KEER BETER ZIJN. Je had van mij veel erkenning gehad. Wees uniek, niet een schaap zoals de rest youtube staat al vol met dit soort video's.
@@r0ebiess In het NL is het bereik van een video veel te laag. Het doel is veel content maken, en meer video's. Maar dan moet er eerst geld binnenkomen. In het Engels is die kans het grootst.
I liked the video´s very much ! Hope there wil be more to come ! Ik vind het een zeer stoere rit in je Up, zonder spijkerbanden vind ik weer beetje dom .
Het was de 1e keer, en ik wilde slapen zoals thuis. Dus eigen kussen, eigen dekbed en matras ligt hetzelfde. Dan slaap ik iig goed. En dat ik die dubbele dons mee had, was ook omdat ik wist dat het -40 zou worden. Stel de auto gaat stuk ergens, of ik beland naast de weg in de middle of nowhere, dan vries ik iig niet dood. Dat was het idee, als backup dus.
Mooie video, maar zo rondrijden zonder spike banden of kettingen.... levens gevaarlijk! kan een heel duur grapje worden bij controle of een ongeval....
@@ZoefontheMove Misschien ben ik verkeerd voorgelicht door de banden boer ? Zou natuurlijk ook kunnen.... Maar ik vond het iig gevaarlijk , vooral op de " ijs wegen"
@@Wijkkie Spijkerbanden zijn niet verplicht, en kettingen al helemaal niet. Je kunt er niet mee door al de tunnels rijden. Die zijn soms wel 6km lang. Spijkerbanden hier monteren kan ook niet, dus dan moet ik ze daar huren misschien? Heel gedoe ook. Gewoon normaal doen, en niet overmoedig zijn. Was de langzaamste op de weg, maar zonder schades vanaf gekomen. Prima uitkomst!
Rural Norway...4X4 and spiked tyers. I'm a 52 year old Norwegian living in the middle of the forest. Subarus, Suzukies, Hi-Lux, Jeeps...it's malmost a must when you are sort of living off the grid. :) Rigth now I drive a Subaru Forester, it's ok. But I miss my Hi-Lux and my two Suzuki Grand Vitara XL-7. I had one diesel and a V6 gasoline. :)
I am from north and used to drive in snowy roads. The brake problem is probably a low car getting closer to the snow which can stick to the brake system, and when you turn of the car the snow and wet will freeze, and next time you start the car the brakes will not function properly. You either have to get into a garage to unfreeze the car, let everything melt. It can take a day, depending on how warm the garage is. The Second option is that or you have to start the car and let the car just run for 30-60 minutes before you drive.
It was only the right side not working, the side that is exposed to the most snow on the sides of the road. The center is often cleaner. Something got frozen as later that day with cleaner roads the issue went away. But there will be other brake issues later as well.
That's so interesting! Never thought about that possibility! However, it worked fine at -30 before. Going to check the color of the fluid when I get back to the car though!
@@ZoefontheMove I am also from the Netherlands and here people think its all fine not to replace it but this is what happens when you don’t do it. Especially for such climate and going on such trip its wise to replace all fluids and I believe they also use thinner oil there for winter.
@@nickdegroot2445 Hoi Nick! I think most if not all people don't have an understanding about this topic, and let the garage take care of it. I measured my coolant protection level, and oil is 5W30. Which works great in colder climates. Had no issues with that luckily. Not sure about my plans for the winter yet, but before I'll make sure the fluids will be checked and replaces when neccesary 💪🏼
if you’re coming north in winter get yourself proper tires, especially without 4wheel drive you need studded tires. too many tourists think they can just drive around wherever and then getting in accidents
There is no way to mount studded tires in the Netherlands, and drive up to the north. And mounting tires there for an unplanned roadtrip is not an option as well. Just be extra careful and drive slow, no need to keep up with the locals.
really love your content! i am also fascinated by driving in the nordic countries. got the chance twice in iceland and it feels damn similar to your experiences. I have to admit it raised my eyebrows when I saw that a dutch guy will drive a VW Up to Scandinavia (general dutch traffic makes me slap my face), but you do wonders with that lil car😂
