Last year these 2 gents drove their ’89 wooden 240 wagon across Europe, clad in nothing but towels.They covered over 4000 miles in 2 months They visited 12 countries, starting in the UK and traveling to Prague, then Stockholm, then back home to Sevenoaks, England. They were on a mission to help fund brain tumor research and they report collecting $5000 for the Samantha Dickson Brain Tumour Trust.
A sauna company helped sponsor the ride so they decorated the entire brick in wood paneling and dubbed it “The Sauna”. They kept the heat on the entire trip even though they made the trip in July and August.
Unfortunately at one point the wooden brick caught fire:
We first noticed something was awry when a faint whiff was detected in the cabin. A whiff in the cabin is not in itself unusual – undesirable yes, but not unusual. The whiff however was quickly identified as burning friction material on the brakes. We stopped (after a fashion and more by luck than judgement) and allowed the old girl to cool before ploddering hesitantly on towards Bormio in Northern Italy through a serious of treacherous Alpine passes.
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We then sauntered off down the pass after a meal, admiring the truly stunning alpine scenery, scraping motorcyclists off the woodwork and listening to Jimi Hendrix at full volume… feeling, all in all, very smug.
That was when the brakes caught fire, suddenly, dramatically.
Using the handbrake to take pressure off the main brakes is only a good idea if you’re handbrake isn’t awful. Ours is.
So, we’re a fire extinguisher down, no sweat. We cooled off for half an hour, enough time for the whole population of Stelvio to mistake Chris for an Italian and then headed off on the rolling roads of Austria, past lakes, twee villages, and interested Austrians who huddled round the Sauna for a picture. Fantastisch.
They documented the trip on their blog, thesaunablog.blogspot.com. You can see more info from before the trip on their nutty website.