Two Guys Garage Podcast Apr 28, 2026

Extreme Conditions Require Extreme Machines

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36:43

Concept

arctic trucks

An “arctic truck” is a truck that’s been changed so it can work in freezing weather and rough ground. Instead of just driving like a normal truck, it’s built to keep running when it’s really cold and the roads are bad.

Concept

snow cat

A “snow cat” is a tracked vehicle designed for grooming or traveling over snow where normal tires can’t grip. The hosts mention it as a comparison point, highlighting that arctic trucks may be similar in purpose (cold/terrain capability) even if they’re not the same kind of tracked machine.

Concept

modified chassis

A truck’s chassis is basically its main frame. When it’s “modified,” builders change it so the truck can carry special parts and handle rough conditions better.

Part

suspension

Suspension is what helps the wheels stay in contact with the road over bumps. On extreme-condition trucks, it’s often upgraded so the truck doesn’t bounce around or lose grip.

Concept

center of gravity (CG)

CG is basically where the car’s “weight balance point” is. A lower CG usually makes the vehicle feel steadier, while a higher CG can help it clear bumps and rocks. Expedition trucks often have to balance both.

Term

ground clearance

Ground clearance is how much space there is between the truck and the ground. More clearance helps you drive over rough stuff without hitting the undercarriage.

Concept

Arctic truck expedition builds

An Arctic expedition truck is specially built to survive in brutal conditions. It’s not just bigger tires—people upgrade the whole setup so it can handle rough ground and extreme cold.

Concept

extreme winter shuttle conversions

They’re talking about turning normal shuttle vans into vehicles that can handle winter conditions. The goal is to keep transporting people safely even when roads aren’t maintained by snowplows.

Car

F 350 front axle

They’re using a front axle from a Ford F 350 to make the shuttle bus tougher. An axle is a major part of the front suspension, and using a truck axle helps the vehicle handle bigger tires and rough winter roads.

Term

44 inch tires

These are huge tires—44 inches tall. Bigger tires help the vehicle float over snow and rough ground, but they also require major suspension and drivetrain changes to work safely.

Car

Volkswagen Bus

The Volkswagen Bus is a classic van that’s known for carrying people and gear. The podcast describes a special version that’s set up like a shuttle with very big tires and a suspension designed to handle rough ground. It’s an example of how the van can be customized for off-road use.

Term

44 inches tall

A 44-inch-tall tire is extremely big. Bigger tires can help the vehicle ride higher and stay on top of snow instead of digging in, but they also change how the truck feels and performs.

Term

soft side ball

This sounds like they’re talking about a softer sidewall on the tire. A softer sidewall can help the tire better match the surface, which can improve grip on snow.

Term

stiff tread

“Stiff tread” means the tire’s outer pattern is built to stay firm instead of squirming. That helps it keep traction and control when you’re driving over bumpy, slippery snow.

Concept

rolling belt

They’re saying the tire works a bit like a tracked vehicle. Instead of just rolling on top, the tire’s shape and tread help it keep traction over snow the way a belt or track would.

Term

tread to stay elongated

They want the tire’s outer pattern to stay “stretched out” in a way that keeps more of it touching the snow. More consistent contact usually means better grip and less slipping.

Term

flotation

Flotation is about whether the tires can “ride” on top of soft snow instead of getting bogged down. If the snow is powdery, you can sink—so the tire’s shape and size help you skim across the top.

Company

Nokia

They say Nokia makes the tire. The point is that it’s a real tire manufacturer, but you can’t just buy it like a normal retail tire—you get it through the off-road specialists.

Term

powder

Powder is loose, fluffy snow. It’s the kind of snow where a vehicle can sink down, so the tire needs to help you stay on top.

Topic

rock crawling

Rock crawling is off-roading over rocks at slow speeds where traction matters a lot. They’re basically asking if a tire built for snow would still be good for rocky trails.

Concept

counter engineer

“Counter engineer” here describes an engineering approach where you analyze what fails in real-world testing and then redesign to address those shortcomings. Instead of only guessing, they test, observe performance gaps, and iterate toward a better solution.

Term

44 inch balloon tire

A “44 inch balloon tire” is a very large tire meant for rough terrain. It helps the vehicle float over soft ground, but it also requires a lot of space and clearance underneath.

Term

minimal amount of lift

“Minimal lift” means they raise the truck only a little to make room for bigger tires. Less lift usually helps keep the vehicle driving more normally and reduces side effects from big suspension changes.

Term

cut away

“Cut away” means trimming or removing parts so the huge tire won’t hit the body or suspension. It’s a common step when you install tires that are much bigger than stock.

Concept

off camber situations

“Off camber” means the ground is tilted sideways. That can make the truck lean to one side, so stability and traction become harder to manage.

Car

Lucid Gravity

The Lucid Gravity is an electric SUV. The podcast talks about keeping the center of gravity low, which helps the vehicle feel more stable when you drive. This is mainly about handling and control rather than engine power.

Car

Ford Expedition

The Ford Expedition is a large SUV made to carry passengers and gear. The podcast points out that it feels stable, especially when it’s loaded. That stability can make long trips with equipment easier to manage.

Term

rollover

A rollover is when the vehicle tips over onto its side or roof. It’s more likely when the ground is uneven or the truck is pushed sideways too hard.

Part

custom flatbeds

A custom flatbed is a truck bed made for hauling gear. For expedition use, it’s built to fit the equipment and make it easier to secure everything.

Part

custom utility beds

A custom utility bed is a truck bed designed to carry tools and gear. Adding racks and tie-down points helps keep everything secured when driving on rough ground.

Term

ride height is adjustable

Adjustable ride height means you can raise or lower the truck. Lowering can help it feel more stable, and raising helps it clear obstacles.

Term

air up the airbags

Some trucks use air-filled suspension bags. By adding air, you can raise the truck and help it sit level, which makes it easier to stay in control on rough or sloped ground.

Concept

stability

Stability just means the truck stays balanced and controllable. On snow, you can’t always tell what’s under the surface, so the truck needs to be set up to avoid sliding or rolling over.

Concept

off grid

Off grid means you’re not connected to normal services like home power or water. The truck would need its own supplies and power so you can live and function out in remote areas.

Term

winch

A winch is like a heavy-duty puller with a cable. If you get stuck, you can hook it to something solid and pull yourself out instead of spinning your tires.

Concept

dead horse Alaska

Dead Horse, Alaska is a place with extremely harsh weather. The point is that it’s so cold that normal vehicles can’t reliably operate there, so the truck has to be built for that reality.

Term

negative 44 degrees

The segment cites “negative 44 degrees” to illustrate the extreme cold that drives engineering decisions. At these temperatures, materials and components behave differently than they do in normal climates, which is why builders focus on cold-rated materials and reliability.

Term

special steel

They’re using a special type of steel that stays strong in extreme cold. Regular steel can get brittle when it’s very cold, which makes it more likely to crack.

Concept

steel becomes brittle in the cold

In very cold weather, some metals don’t bend the way they should—they get brittle. That means a part that would survive in normal temperatures might crack when it’s extremely cold.

Concept

extreme cold conditions

Extreme cold can change material behavior, including making some steels more brittle and less tolerant of stress. The hosts connect this to real-world lessons learned from disasters and harsh environments, and then tie it to why trucks need to be built and equipped for survival and long-term use.

Term

GPS

GPS is a navigation system that tells you where you are. In places with few roads or landmarks, it helps you find the right way and stay oriented.

Term

diesel heaters

A diesel heater is a small heater that uses diesel fuel to make heat. It can warm the inside of a truck or camper even when the engine isn’t running, which is great in extreme cold.

Brand

Lobasto heaters

This sounds like Webasto, a company that makes small diesel heaters. People use them in trucks and campers because they work well when it’s freezing outside.

Car

F 550

They’re talking about a Ford F-550, which is a heavy-duty truck. It’s the kind of truck people choose when they want a strong platform to build an expedition or special-purpose vehicle.

Concept

true six by six conversion

They’re talking about turning a truck into a real 6x6, not just adding extra wheels. It takes more than fabrication—you need the drivetrain and gearing to be set up so the truck can actually drive all six wheels.

Company

East Coast gear supply

They mention East Coast Gear Supply as a supplier for parts used in the truck’s drivetrain. When you change a truck’s setup, the gearing has to be right so it drives properly.

Company

dyna track

Dyna Track is mentioned as a collaborator in developing the axle package for the truck conversion. In off-road and extreme-condition builds, companies like this often provide specialized drivetrain or traction-related components that help the vehicle handle difficult terrain.

Term

six wheels

When people say “six wheels,” they usually mean a truck with three axles. More wheels (and often more driven wheels) helps it grip the ground better in rough, slippery conditions.

Term

living quarters

“Living quarters” means the truck has space for people to sleep and stay warm, not just drive and haul. In places like Antarctica, that can be the difference between working safely and having to rely on tents.

Concept

Antarctica expedition trucks

Antarctica is so cold that normal vehicles and living setups don’t work well. Expedition trucks are built to handle the cold and often include heated, insulated spaces for people to sleep.

Concept

thermal management

Thermal management is basically how you keep the inside temperature under control. In a cold environment, it means using insulation and heating so the inside doesn’t freeze over.

Concept

extreme cold / minus 50 or 70

They’re talking about driving in super cold weather, like −50°F or colder. At those temps, car fluids don’t work normally and the battery struggles, so everything takes more effort and you have to move quickly.

Concept

Dead Horse to Barrow, Alaska (no roads)

They’re talking about traveling between two remote places in Alaska where you can’t just take normal roads. When there aren’t roads, you need a vehicle and plan built for that environment.

Concept

ice-road style driving (22 hours for 200 miles)

They took a long trip—200 miles—in about a full day because the conditions are so rough. When traction is limited, you can’t drive fast, so you have to plan for extra time and wear.

Concept

tundra freezes and they create a road

They’re describing a winter-only route where the ground freezes hard enough for trucks to drive on. It’s not a normal paved road, so driving is slower and more dangerous.

Car

Toyota Tundra

The Toyota Tundra is a large pickup truck meant for work and tough conditions. The podcast mentions it being used in winter when the ground freezes and people can make a temporary road. That helps the truck get traction and move through areas that would be difficult otherwise.

Term

auger

An auger is a screw-like drilling tool used to create an anchor point in the ground. For vehicle recovery, people may bury an auger or use it to secure a winch line so the pull is anchored safely rather than ripping out of soft snow or soil.

Concept

getting stuck in deep snow

This describes a common off-road recovery scenario: the vehicle loses traction and sinks until the body, axles, or frame are supported by the snow instead of the tires. The key problem is that spinning tires don’t move the vehicle unless you restore traction by digging, creating a ramp, or using traction aids.

Term

snow shovels

They used snow shovels to clear snow around the tires. By digging a little ramp in front of the wheels, you give the tires something to grab so the truck can drive out.

Term

aired the tires down to three PSI

Letting air out of the tires makes them spread out more on the ground. That can help you move through snow because the tire can grip and “float” better.

Term

lockers

Lockers are a traction feature that makes both wheels on an axle spin together. That way, if one wheel starts slipping, the other wheel still keeps pushing you forward.

Concept

rocked it back and forth

If you get stuck, you can gently move the vehicle forward and backward to find grip. The goal is to avoid spinning the tires and digging a deeper hole.

Term

spare tire

Sometimes you can use what you have—like a spare tire—as a tool to help the stuck tires get traction. It’s basically about making the ground less slippery under the tires.

Concept

traveling in pairs

Going with another vehicle is safer because someone can help if you get stuck. If one car has trouble, the other can assist with recovery or supplies.

Topic

Top Gear episode with the little red Toyota pickup trucks

They’re referencing a Top Gear episode as a story example. The point is to set up a discussion about outfitting a truck for extreme situations.

Part

E locker

An “E locker” is a type of traction upgrade that locks the differential so both wheels can push together. It’s especially helpful when you’re climbing or driving on slippery ground.

Part

ARB

ARB usually means an off-road traction system that can lock parts of the drivetrain to help the truck grip better. It’s commonly used for tough trails where wheels can easily spin.

Concept

increase capacity for water, fuel, commodities like that

They’re talking about adding space and mounts so the truck can carry more essentials like water and fuel. That helps you travel farther in remote places without running out.

Term

diesel gelling

When it gets really cold, diesel fuel can turn thick and waxy. That can make it hard for the engine to pull fuel through the system. People manage it so the truck can still start and run in freezing weather.

Term

additives

Additives are chemicals you mix into diesel to help it stay usable in cold weather. They help prevent the fuel from turning thick and causing starting or running problems.

Concept

fuel capacity

Fuel capacity is just how much fuel the truck can hold. More capacity means you can go farther before you have to stop for gas, which matters a lot when help or fuel stations are far away.

Term

water tanks

Water tanks would be extra storage for water. But in this discussion, they’re saying they don’t use water tanks for their setup, likely because it’s not as useful (or can freeze) compared with carrying more fuel.

Term

fuel tanks

Fuel tanks are where the diesel is stored. Adding extra tanks lets the truck carry more fuel, so it can keep going longer without stopping to refuel.

Term

coolant system

Coolant is the fluid that helps your engine stay at a safe temperature. It moves through the engine and radiator to prevent overheating and also helps prevent freezing in winter.

Term

winter front

A winter front is basically a cover placed in front of the radiator area. It helps the engine warm up faster and stay warm in freezing weather.

Term

diesel engines

Diesel engines can take longer to get warm in extreme cold. If it’s freezing outside, you may need extra measures to help the engine reach the right temperature.

Topic

cruise event

A cruise event is basically a car meetup where people drive together as a group. It’s usually more about hanging out and showing cars than competing.

Topic

wheeling event

A wheeling event is an off-road driving meetup. People take trucks/SUVs onto trails and obstacles, usually with help for recovery if something gets stuck.

Topic

truck event

A truck event is a meetup centered on trucks. It might be a show, a hangout, or a group drive depending on the organizer.

Concept

shotgun

“Go shotgun” means you sit in the front passenger seat. It’s just a casual way of offering someone the front seat.

LIVE

It is a two guys garage podcast. He's Kevin Byrd. I'm Willie B. and today we got extra

shiver on our topic today. We're talking arctic trucks. Now, what comes to mind when you think

of arctic trucks? You know, when I first met these guys and they said they work on arctic

trucks, I'm like, what is that? Is that like a snow cat but different?

I mean, I'm in Detroit. I feel like this is arctic, you know, like coming from Florida.

Yeah, my truck out on the driveway. That's an arctic truck.

That'll work. No, this is different.

Oh, different in so many ways, man. So, dude, you guys know I live in Colorado. And Kevin,

he lives in Detroit. Well, just north of me in the great state of Wyoming, I met these

guys, I don't know, a year or two ago. I was doing a, actually it was about two or three

years ago when I met them, I was doing a, on the side note, I do cruises for a cause.

And this particular cause was a six-year-old girl who was battling cancer. And may she

rest in peace. She unfortunately lost that battle. But these guys came down and wanted

to get plugged into the, you know, the cause and, you know, the benefit to help out this

particular person. And when they said they were bringing down arctic trucks, initially

I was like, what, what is that? And then they showed up. And I got to tell you, man, it

was wild. And that shows you the kind of people they are as well. Whenever somebody calls

you and says, yo, I'm willing to drive these beast vehicles, you know, several, you know,

hundreds of miles down to be part of this, you know, cruise for a cause and to help out

a six-year-old battling cancer, you know, their heart's in the right place, says a lot

about the company, the people behind it. So they drive down to Denver and, man, I got

to tell you, these trucks, they're different than what you expect. When you think arctic

trucks, you probably think something with tracks or take threads or, you know, wild

beasts like that. You're not too far off, but these things are capable, adequate, can

handle anything you throw at them. You're talking modified chassis, suspension. They

keep the CG low to the ground. Unlike some, some wheel and rigs. You want that CG a little

bit higher for clearance issues, but they have tons of travel and suspension in it. So

it's a different world to think about when you're thinking trucks and how to build it.

But today we're getting all kinds of into it. We're just going into detail about how

they upgrade everything from the chassis, suspension, the tires, the cabs and everything

else. It's going to be wild, man.

Well, think about all those expeditions up in the Arctic, the Antarctic, Greenland,

Iceland, North Canada, like they got across some pretty gnarly terrain, man, like in the

roughest and toughest, most hostile conditions. So there's got to be a lot going into these

vehicles. And it's not just like, you know, the wheels and suspension, right? I'm imagining

just all the support equipment, right? Crazy, you know, sub 50 degree temperatures and all

the winds and just, man, how do you even survive out there? But, you know, I immediately go

to all those guys that are going out to, you know, core ice 1000 feet under and take samples

and, you know, they got to get there somehow.

Yeah, yeah. Yeah, man. It's like, you know, it's like a movie truck. You know, you see

those movies where they're in the Arctic or something like that and how they get there,

how they get back and forth to and from these are the guys that build the rigs for that

stuff. And man, when we talk to Chris, he's going to, he's going to peel back some of the

layers on what they do and how they do it and how they test it. I mean, it's not like

you'd be mid, you know, mid central Mississippi and test out an Arctic truck in your backyard,

you know? So yeah, we're going to get into that and more excited for the topic, excited

for the trucks and excited to share that with you guys. So let's take a break and we'll

bring in the world of Arctic trucks coming up next. He's Kevin Verde, I'm Willie B and

this is the two guys rod podcast.

It is the two guys rod podcast. He's Kevin Bird. I'm Willie B and we have a boy, Chris

on from Arctic trucks. Dude, Chris, welcome to the podcast. Excited chat with you. Talk

to you. Tell everybody where you're at right now and what you're doing. Check this out,

y'all. So right now I'm in West Yellowstone, Montana, up at Yellowstone Park. And I've

been talking with a, the owner of one of the companies that does guided tours during the

wintertime through the national park. Last summer, we worked with these guys, they came

to us and they said, Travis here at Three Bear Lodge in West Yellowstone. He said, like

to build a new shuttle bus and we want to do something different. We've got, we've got

all these trucks on 44, 46 inch tires, but you know, we want something nice and clean

and they really like the Arctic trucks look, you know, with the big wide flares and low

center gravity. So we developed a conversion for an E 350 shuttle bus. So think of what

you see at, you know, the airport and you hop on when you park your car. Well, we took

one of those, we put a F 350 front axle under it, created our own custom suspension, moved

the axle forward and put 44 inch tires under it. 44 inch tires on a shuttle van. So I'm

doing a test drive with them.

Wild man. What a cool, what a cool concept. A shuttle bus with 44 inch tires on it and

suspension that look, I'm telling you, I'll get on that just for the fun factor. I'm like,

I don't know where that's going, but I'm going to get on it. That looks fun.

Right.

Dude, that's funny that you mentioned that because that's the only place I've probably

ever seen anything like what you build was Yellowstone. I took the family out a couple

summers ago, did the whole trek out from Detroit and they had some old beat up vans.

But with these big, giant balloony kind of tires on it and yeah, come to find out it's

for right the winter, right? Trucking around when there's no snow plows and all that stuff.

So yeah, it looked like they could use some upgrading and it sounds like you're the man

to do it.

Yeah, you know, we're not, we're not the first ones to do this, obviously, as you've

seen, but we're trying to do it a little bit better.

We built these using our proprietary Nokia and AT44 inch tire, which is 44 inches tall

and about 18 and a half inches wide, which was a tire developed by the guys in Iceland,

specifically, you know, for traveling across snow.

Like you, like you mentioned in the intro, Greenland and Iceland and Antarctica.

And so we saw a perfect fit for what they're doing up here.

And our tires, they ride better than like the they've been using these big, you know,

chunky, big lug mud tires, because that's pretty much all you can get with, you know,

that size of tire.

So now our tire, now their vans are running smoother.

The customers have a better experience.

They don't vibrate all over the place.

And the vans are getting better gas mileage with our tire.

It's really cool.

Is this something that's unique to you guys?

Is this tire something that you guys have created or just something you found that was out there?

Like that's the starting aspect or thing you should probably see.

But your trucks go vastly different than just tires.

But where'd you, where'd you find or harvest these tires from?

How'd you find them?

Well, this tire is 100% developed by Arctic Trucks.

It's designed specifically with a very soft side ball and a stiff tread so that when you

tear it down, it acts kind of like a track, like a rolling belt.

So we want the side balls to lay down on the ground, but we want the side, we want the tread to stay elongated

so it grows long and gives you better flotation.

But yeah, we, we develop this tire.

We have it manufactured by Nokia.

But you cannot buy it anywhere except through Arctic Trucks.

And you just said flotation.

Like, is that enough tire to semi float the vehicle?

Are you talking water?

Yeah, you know, sometimes you're an ice and then you have really cold water.

Do you get any kind of flotation?

I mean, that may not know this, but ice is just frozen water.

I don't know if anybody has told you all yet.

Yeah, technically, it's all water, right?

Yeah, yeah, when I say flotation, I mean on the snow.

Okay, all right.

Yeah, yeah, especially like the powder where you could just sink down in it and okay.

So you're skimming across the top.

Now, look, before we did, I'm already interested in this stuff before we get into different

aspects of your trucks, are these tires, it sounds like something that well, no one rock

crawlers and the and what I would like to do is sound like a tire that would work

for rock crawling to know.

I believe that it would.

You know, I've I've played around with the idea of us taking a truck with this

forty four inch tire out to Moab and seeing what it'll do.

Yeah, that was one of my questions, too.

Like that tire looks like in the vehicles, like could they do other terrain besides

the snow kind of thing?

And they absolutely can.

You know, we have an Arctic trucks franchise in Dubai, and they build trucks with our

tires for the desert.

So they float on the sand like they do the snow.

Yeah, that's way cool.

Yeah, we built, yeah, we would like to try it.

How does one go about developing a tire?

Like when you said you develop this tire, are you guys just throwing guesses at the

wall and you guys go out and test them?

Or how do you you guys know what works?

I guess you know what doesn't work.

So you counter engineer against it, right?

You see some things that that do work, but maybe not quite as well as you want to.

And, you know, that's part of the engineering as well.

How can I take that a little bit and I can enhance it to make it better?

All right, well, I don't want to waste all this time with tires.

I got a question around the tire.

Like, how do you take something like an E 350 and fit a 44 inch balloon tire under it?

Like, what is the methodology for that?

Well, that is that is the route behind Arctic trucks is we keep it low with the

minimal amount of lift.

And so what that means is you got to you got to cut away and move everything

that's in your way to get that tire in there.

So we do a lot of cutting.

We do a lot of welding patch panels in.

We move wiring.

We do whatever we have to keep those to get those tires to fit and keep the

lift as little as we can.

That's determination.

Yeah.

That's so it's so crucial to the these trucks and how they build them.

Specifically, keeping the lift low as possible.

Now, most people, you know, that are into wheeling, rock crawling, you know, Moab

and the likes, right?

Just did that adventure ride this year, took my rig on some of the toughest

trails in the country.

And believe me, low is nothing you want on a rock climbing trail,

a rock crawler.

So so explain why you want it so low.

Why that minimum lift when you need so much suspension travel?

Yeah, the main thing is that when you are crossing glaciers and, you know,

large snow fields in Greenland or the North slope of Alaska, you might be

hitting, you know, some off camber situations where the trucks can be

leaning over.

And by having the center of gravity as low as possible, you keep the truck

really stable.

When you're on an expedition, you you're going to have all sorts of gear,

luggage, spare parts, everything strapped onto the back and the roof of

that truck, which are, you know, counteractive, they're raising the center

of gravity, you know, but you got to bring all those things with you on a

expedition.

So keeping that truck low as possible, lets you add that weight and still be

stable in all those off camber situations.

Well, I figure if you, if you do a rollover, there isn't really a tree

around a winch off.

No, you build a snowman.

I've fallen.

I can't get up.

Right.

Frosty, you suck.

What other kind of mods are pretty typical on these vehicles, right?

Cause I assume it's not just, well, I got some tires and, and they fit under

their, you know, there's cold weather and just stuff, man, equipment and gear.

Yeah.

What are we talking about?

Yeah.

You know, we'll build, depending on the, the use case for the vehicle, we'll

build custom flatbeds, we'll build custom utility beds that have racks on

them with lots of tie down points.

We do custom four link suspensions with airbag suspension on them so that

the, so that the ride height is adjustable.

And even, even in certain cases, they'll set it up where you can say you're in

an off camber situation and the trucks leaning over to the left, but you just

air up the airbags on the left hand side only and deflate the ones on the right

hand side to level that vehicle out and buy that little bit more before you roll

over, man, all kinds of things to, to help with, you know, that particular

roll over scenario and to keep you, you know, it's all about stability.

Stability is, especially when you don't know, you got a bunch of snow underneath

your tires and underneath your rig, you don't know what's under the snow.

So you got to be equipped to handle just about anything, whether it's a big

drop off, a big hole, rocks, muds, ice, you know, and all the things that can

hide under the snow.

Uh, I'm imagining that's a crazy challenge in its own right.

Uh, we're up against a break right now, but when we come back, can you explain

a little bit as to some of the creature comforts?

Like what is the guy that buys the Arctic truck?

What is he going to see inside the truck?

Is he going to be able to stay off grid?

If you will, what kind of, you know, creature comforts and amenities?

Can you find it in a vehicle that's, you know, hanging out in places called Arctic?

And what do you do when you get stuck?

If you don't have a tree and a winch kind of thing, you know, like, all right,

come back with some scoop for us, man.

Some of us landlubbers that terra firma.

More, more of the Chris Arctic trucks.

U.S. is where you find him.

He's Kevin Burnham, Willie B, and we're back after the break.

It is the two guys garage podcast.

We have a crazy cool topic.

We're talking today.

It's Kevin Bird, Willie B.

We have a boy, Chris on from Arctic trucks, USA.com.

Make sure you check that out.

You're not going to believe some of these platforms.

We were just discussing what kind of crazy creature comforts you have in some of

these trucks.

I mean, you were just telling us in the break there that you were in dead

horse Alaska.

The reason they call it dead horse Alaska because nothing survives up there.

Uh, he used to be called a live horse.

Yeah, man, it's, it's wild negative 44 degrees.

Dude, how do you, how do you build a truck to withstand that on a regular basis, man?

That's crazy.

Well, yeah, when you get into environments like that, um, one of the main

things you have to be careful of to build a reliable truck is, uh, you know,

building the parts, the critical parts out of the right steels.

Um, we use a special steel that is, uh, rated to negative 40 degrees.

Um, and it maintains its strength at that rating, at that temperature.

Um, you know, at those temperatures, regular steel that you'd go buy at the

welding shop will become brittle and can break because of the cold.

Is that part of the Titanic?

Was that a materials problem?

As well as right at giant iceberg, right in the way it hid.

Well, at least some of those ships I remember, or at least there was a

learning curve on ships off of those Titanic that kind of learned the hard

way that steels get brittle, certain steel allies get brutal in those crazy cold

conditions.

Yeah, I don't, I don't know for sure, but I, I would say that that would very

likely be a factor.

Yeah, man, that's, that's what, so when you're thinking about some of these,

some of these trucks and understanding the environment they need to thrive

and survive in, what are some of the additional things that you guys do to

keep the trucks nice to keep them, you know, at the, in the end, you're going

to be in this truck for a long period of time.

I imagine it's not like you're flying 70 miles an hour across some of this

terrain.

You're not stepping out for a smoke break, you know, like, yeah, man, the

pee break is significantly different, right?

So what are some of the creature comforts that you have inside the truck that

make these things so nice and unique?

Well, you know, a lot of, well, like a lot of the trucks that we have that are

running around in Antarctica doing work, we have several trucks that we built

that are on the North slope of Alaska doing work up there, helping the natives

get from village to village safely.

We start with, you know, the Ford F 350 and we usually do like a Lariat package

so that it has, you know, it's very comfortable inside, you got comfortable

seats, you know, we'll do things like we can add mounts for GPS's so that you

can keep those things handy.

Well, we can add Lobasto heaters, you know, the diesel heaters, we can add

those to heat up the cabs or like the trucks we have in Antarctica, they

have one of them, a couple of them have a camper on the back and, you know, we'll

heat that up.

Yeah, I was going to say that the trucks you guys brought down for that, you

know, cruising for a cause, you had one of them on massive huge tires, but it

had a, it was like, you know, you could live in the back of it, not only do

work, but you could actually live comfortably in the back of it for a

period of time.

That was an amazing rig and people were just, they couldn't believe what you

guys did to the inside of it.

I believe that was maybe an F 550, it was a huge truck, maybe the F 550 you guys

deal with.

Yes, that was an F 550, six by, well, it was six wheels, but it was only full

wheel drive.

That's, that's actually one of the things we've been working on this past

year.

We're actually going to take that very truck and we've developed our own

axles with East Coast gear supply and dyna track.

We're going to take the rear axles out of that truck and we're going to make

it into a true six by six.

Now we've developed our, our parts to do that.

I've got a five ton army vehicle, an Oda MD, I think it's what, 539.

That's the six wheel, six wheel drive deal.

And everybody's always perplexed as to how, how it works.

I don't even know how it works, man.

I just know it's huge, but when you drive in six wheels, man, there's not much

you can't get over.

It's, it's wild, but there's not much you're not going to get over, uh, and,

and do so, uh, with ease.

Uh, yeah, that truck was a beast, but had, it had like living quarters.

It had a way for you to prep food and, uh, to sleep and to survive in, in

the ugliest of environments.

You bet.

Yeah.

And we have a couple of trucks very similar to that, um, that are hauling

around scientists and such in Antarctica right now.

Um, and yeah, it's very, that's the same thing.

It's got a living quarter so that the people that are doing the work down

there, they'll have to sleep in tents.

I'd imagine is you got to have it, you got to have the walls thicker or more

insulated, more just a robust, you know, insulation scenario or thermal management

scenario.

How do you guys get around that?

You choose the right materials, um, to have thick enough insulation in the

walls that you can retain some heat.

Um, but you know, when it's that cold out, man, that, that little diesel

heaters just working, pumping out heat.

All right.

I got a question that probably most people are going to be afraid to ask.

Like, when it's that cold outside and you don't have one of those, you know,

full on sleepers and all that stuff, what are you doing?

You got to go to the bathroom.

You man up.

That's, I mean, you know, you can man up, but like, would it freeze off in like a

flash?

Like, you know, it's just, I don't know.

I've never been in minus 50 or 70.

Like, can you, can you do the thing?

You can, you absolutely can.

I need, you got to get in there with a Gatorade bottle and just, you got to do it fast.

Uh, two years ago, I flew up to, uh, Dead Horse and I met two of the trucks

that we built for Alaska and we, we traveled from Dead, Dead Horse to Barrow

Alaska, which there are no roads there.

It's a 200 mile journey.

Um, there's no roads.

They can only drive in the wintertime when the tundra freezes and they create a

road, um, 200 miles.

It took us 22 hours to make that drive.

Um, and we drove straight through and it was, when was blown 30, 30 miles an hour.

It was negative 50, negative 55 degrees outside.

And when you had to get out and go to the bathroom, you just got out and went to the

bathroom.

You just got to do it.

All right.

I was saying it could be where it sounds like it's survivable.

So yeah, if it's survivable, there's a saying I like to drop on men, um, in, in

my world or that I hang out with, look at your man, the world is your urinal.

Do your best.

Just turn your back to the wind though.

Exactly.

Oh yeah.

Exactly.

All about direction at that point, man.

Well, what are some of the, what are some of the, let's say tough scenarios you get

in, you know, getting stuck, getting caught in a ice crack or whatever.

And, and what kind of methods do you use?

I assume maybe you, you bury an auger in the ground if you need to winch.

Like what are the kind of stuff you run into that, you know, like, mm-hmm.

Yeah.

It's pretty common.

Yeah.

Well, there's, there, you know, the trucks themselves, you know, have really good tools.

Um, last spring at the end of the ski season, I was in Canada, um, and I drove one

of our Ford F 350, four door pickups with 40, four inch tires up a ski slope to the

top of the chairlift.

And, uh, we, we hit, we hit a soft patch in the snow and, and sank that thing, set

it right down on the axles and the frame and all four tires were just spinning.

And so we got out and we took our snow shovels and we, in front of the front

axle, we just kind of dug out some snow, made a little bit of a ramp there.

And then I locked in the lockers, aired the tires down to three PSI and just

carefully, you know, kind of rocked it back and forth.

And eventually it just started to crawl up out of the hole, um, you know, letting

the tires do what they were designed to do, which is, is go across that snow.

Um, but to answer your question, if that, if that doesn't work, yes, you, you bury

stuff in the snow, spare tire, whatever it takes, um, usually you're traveling in

pairs, so you're almost always got another vehicle that you could use.

That would be smart.

Yeah, man.

Yeah.

Always go out when you're wheeling, any type of wheeling, go with somebody else.

That's always the smartest move to make.

My question is about the outside of the truck again, man.

It's one thing to come across a herd of penguins.

It's another thing to come across a 10 foot freaking polar bear.

Do you have anything that protects the outside of vehicles in case you were to,

you know, battle a bear or, you know, maybe you got dudes in the, in the, you

know, shooting, you have, you know, thanks for some angry penguins out there.

Just dismiss all of them.

No doubt that imperpenguins tough, man.

Well, if you remember the old Top Gear episode with the little red Toyota

pickup trucks, they did have guns mounted on the bed of the truck.

And then they drove to the North Pole.

So yeah, if, if a customer wants that, we can certainly supply that.

That's awesome, man.

What are some of the wild builds that you guys have done for customers?

Are there other customers that you have unique builds for that?

You're like, wow, this guy is living a good life.

He's got like the craziest truck in build ever.

Cause you build not just for expeditions.

We've kind of been harping on, but for enthusiasts, right?

Military.

So you've got to seen a wide variety of wild.

Yeah, yeah, we've got a build that's just getting started for a guy in Utah.

That's going to be on 44 inch tires.

You know, and it's going to, it's going to get all of our tricks.

It's going to get the four link air suspension in the rear.

So we cut everything off of the frame in the back and weld on our rear suspension.

It's getting, you know, the, the, the locker in the, in the front.

We, you know, we can do lockers.

Most of the trucks will have, most of the four trucks will have a,

the E locker in the back, which is a great thing.

But we'll add like a torsion or an ARB in the front.

You know, we've, we've got lights and light bars.

If you want those, we do winches.

We can put a winch in a bumper.

We can put a winch in a cradle so that you can put it in a receiver in the front

or the rear so you can move it around either side.

You increase capacity for water, fuel,

you know, commodities like that.

Do you have tanks that won't freeze in some of these temps and so forth?

And how to keep, how to keep the diesel from gelling, things like that.

I'm assuming you got, you have to prevent, you know, that stuff from occurring.

Yeah. The diesel gelling, that's, that's always a, that's always a fight.

Yeah. You know, additives are usually used.

There's not much we can do.

But to be honest, we haven't had many problems of diesel fuel gelling.

We've only had two instances so far.

Wow. Of all the, all the, you know, miles that we've got on these trucks.

And so the four trucks do pretty well in the cold, but yeah,

we carry around some additives just in case.

What about capacity? You add to fuel capacity.

Do you have water tanks on there?

Do you increase that capacity for some of these longer runs?

Yeah, we do, we do add fuel capacity for sure.

We can add, we can add fuel tanks if you want, like the,

like when we do the six by six, we'll, we'll add

like 120 gallons, we'll make it 120 gallons worth of fuel.

We'll add on, you know, on top of the factory 40 gallon tank.

We've got the last couple of trucks we've sent to Alaska.

They've got extra fuel tanks in the bed of the truck

with the fuel nozzle so that they can, you know, transfer fuel

to people that need it as well.

That I think adds another 40 gallons of fuel.

You forget about water. We don't.

Yeah. What are we don't do much with the coolant system?

And trucks has been surviving very well up there.

We put a winter front on the front because in those temperatures,

the diesel engines, they just don't build any heat.

Crazy, man. You guys think about it all, man.

And you can find out more at arctictrucksus.com.

That's where people find out and follow you guys.

And if you're interested in one of these builds, check them out, man.

They're always doing really cool things and obviously really cool

expeditions, man, really adventure.

You ought to get somebody just right shotgun of some of these adventures

you guys are on just because it's crazy, exciting in a whole new world, man.

Yeah. Well, if you want to, you want to come, let me know.

I hate the code, but that would be a blast.

All right, one more time, man.

How do people find you socially on all your social handles?

Where would they go?

Our social handles will be Arctic Trucks North America.

For the international stuff, you can just look up Arctic Trucks.

And then our website for North America is Arctic Trucks.us.

They go Arctic Trucks.us.

Dude, what an amazing, cool build.

What an amazing, cool truck.

If anybody out there is thinking about, you know, your next exploration

and you need some sort of crazy winterized truck, man, check out ArcticTrucks.us.

It's wild and fascinating and the people behind it are awesome.

So, Chris, we appreciate your time.

Make sure you check out our show with airs, weekends, undiscovery, turbo.

It also is streaming undiscovery plus, so check your local channels.

Thanks to our producer, Scoop, our senior producer, Justin Carter,

and executive producer, Bob Ecker.

I'm Willie B.

And that's Kevin Byrd.

And this, well, this, my friends, is the Two Guys Garage podcast.

Don't forget to check out our website, TwoGuysGarage.com,

our social everywhere at Two Guys Garage and the Two Guys Garage podcast.

Chris, man, always good catching up with you and hope to see you at another

cruise event, a wheeling event, truck event, cruising event, man.

It's always cool catching up with you guys, man.

Appreciate it.

Thank you.

Thank you for having us, Willie.

It's been great and we'd love to be a part of anything.

And remember, if you ever need a bro to go shotgun, willing Yellowstone

adventures or a polar bear hunting trip, man, I'm your Huckleberry.

Got it.

That I will do, man.

I was just about to say, Chris, I'm really, really liking and really digging you,

but I don't want to meet you on the trail in the Arctic.

Yellowstone sounds cold enough, man.

That sounds awesome.

So let's, let's sign up for that.

Let's do it.

Yeah.

Polar bears mean polar bears and angry penguins.

Just, we don't get along.

All right, gang.

Hope you had some fun with us, man.

Completely different side of the whole modification world.

While this could be, we will catch you on the next Two Guys Garage Podcast.

Take care.

Two Guys Garage Podcast is a production of Britain Productions.

For more episodes, visit I Heart Radio, Apple Podcast, Spotify, or wherever

you listen to your favorite shows.

About this episode

Arctic Trucks founder Chris joins from West Yellowstone to explain how the company builds extreme-conditions vehicles for snow, ice, and remote expeditions. The conversation digs into their signature low-center-of-gravity conversions, including an E-350 shuttle bus fitted with an F-350 front axle and 44-inch tires. They also cover the proprietary tire design, why it improves flotation and ride quality, and how the same concept can work in sand as well as snow. The episode blends engineering detail with stories from real-world testing and winter tourism use.

44 inch balloon tire 44 inches tall 44 inch tires additives aired the tires down to three PSI air up the airbags Antarctica expedition trucks ARB Arctic truck expedition builds arctic trucks

Ford Expedition Ford F-350 Ford F-550 Lucid Gravity Toyota Tundra Volkswagen Bus

Original notes

When the air hits -55°F, regular steel becomes brittle enough to shatter. That’s where Arctic Trucks USA comes in. Chris Ladd joins Kevin and Willie to explain the extreme engineering behind their world-famous rigs. From converting airport shuttle buses into Yellowstone beasts on 44” tires, to developing proprietary tires that "float" over deep powder, the guys dive into how these vehicles survive the most hostile terrain on Earth. Discover why "low and wide" is the golden rule for glacier stability and what it’s really like to drive 22 hours across the roadless Alaskan tundra.

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