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 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

Relative sizes of Hiace, Sprinter, Hilux and Canter

There is no 'best' travel vehicle, and not even a 'best' campervan. It's all a question of the tradeoffs you

How efficient are 3:1, 4:1 and 5:1 pulleys?

We've always been taught that doubling a winch line back to the vehicle is a 2:1 mechanical advantage (MA), so

Nobody is being entirely truthful about the NVES – New Vehicle Emission Standard

I'm reading up on the New Vehicle Emissions Standard and it's hard going because, as usual, we have two conflicting

Is a bow wave a good idea during water crossings?

A recent discussion came up on my Facebook page about the merits of a bow wave during water crossings, so

« Previous 1 2 3 4 … 37 Next »

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.