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:

Lessons from Formula 1 courtesy of Helmut Marko and Isack Hadjar

The timing doesn’t coincide with for RU OK day and various similar initiatives, but events happen when they happen. The

Thinking through a fast lap

I'm in the zone, that feeling when everything needed for a time attack has come together. The car is running

Some accessory manufacturers are starting to understand weights

I recently praised TuffAnt for providing a detailed weight breakdown. Someone pointed out that TJM do the same, so...thanks TJM!

Why is PHEV fuel consumption so low?

Just read a media report which claims the Ranger PHEV would have a range of 2400km. They have taken the

The reality of insurance companies and caravan water tanks

Imagine you crashed your car and van. You survived, and next morning you find yourself in a motel room, aching

BYD seem to have fixed the Shark 6 traction control issues

Last year I tested a pre-production Shark 6, and found the brake traction control to be, well, terrible. It was

What’s all this about Great Northern Brewing Co Beer and National Parks?

What happened? A social media campaign was mounted by 4WD TV to get Great Northern Beer to withdraw its support

Who can weigh my caravan/trailer in Australia? List of mobile weighbridge professionals

I have produced a lot of content explaining how towing works; what the weights are, what causes sway, offroad driving

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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.