Life’s too short for boring cars

I’m Robert Pepper, a journalist specialising in 4X4s, sports cars, towing and camping. This is my professional site where you can find out more about what I do and check out some of my work – I make videos, write books, blogs and articles, and maintain an active Facebook page. Here’s my latest writings:

The Stories of Cars – Motorclassica reborn as Motors & Masterpieces

In late 2022 I attended the now-defunct Motorclassica show and lamented that it was essentially Cars and Coffee in a

How slow can you drive Big Red in the Simpson Desert?

The key to sand driving is tyre pressure, first and foremost. After that there's a whole range of techniques, but

Why the SES’s “15 to float” is wrong, but the message is still right

Just had a reader ask about a post from VicRoads saying that it only takes 15cm of water to float

Yankum Offset Snatch Ring Review

I've reviewed Yankum's Offset Ring and you can find the video at end of this post. Here I'm going to

The Boring (?) Reality of the Simpson Desert, for an hour.

There are plenty of videos about the Simpson Desert. If you want all the information you could ever need on

The 4×4 Campervan that Doesn’t Compromise Offroad (much)

There is no perfect travel vehicle. Even if we take cost out of the picture entirely, you have a tradeoff

What is a ‘snap of oversteer’ in Formula 1?

You hear it all the time - "...and he had a snap of oversteer..." or a "...big snap of oversteer....",

Which is the most popular “automotive platform” in Australia?

An email landed in my inbox this morning proclaiming drive.com.au as " Australia’s second-most-visited online automotive platform in February 2024." That

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And more about what I do:

Video

My YouTube Channel is where I create videos explaining how things work, techniques to use and plenty more. It’s a bit different to the average automotive channel. I don’t do hyped-up enthusiasm, insincere product promotions or gush about awesomeness. I also interview people with interesting things to say for my webinar series.

Facebook

I’m proud of my Facebook page where a small but loyal group of people interested in my work discuss all sorts of related topics. It’s a tough crowd at times, so knowledgeable but fair.

Calculators

I’ve written two calculators, one for towing weights and the other for tyre sizes.

Books

I’ve written four books, and you can find more about each of them on this site:

The 4WD Handbook – a very comprehensive book on offroad vehicles, covering how they work and lots of different driving techniques.

The 4WD Glovebox Guide – designed as a field reference for offroaders on trips, covering key driving techniques and instructions such as tyre repair. The Glovebox Guide complements the 4WD Handbook which is more detailed.

4WD Treks Close to Melbourne – describes twenty offroad trips accessible to all levels of driver and vehicle, each of which is less than two hour’s drive from Melbourne’s CBD.

GPS Vehicle Navigation in Australia a specialised offroad navigation book.