Transkei off-road plunge with General Tire a eye-opener

Being invited to a launch or accepting a forwarded request is something that is second nature to any motoring journalist regardless of the length of time or location.

When an invitation appeared from General Tire South Africa asking if I would be interested to partake in a three day off-road venture along the stunning Wild Coast to experience their latest Grabber ATX all-terrain tyre though, the usual “click to confirm” or quick relay didn’t immediate materialise. And for good reason.

Past repeat?

Back in 2017, a Heritage Day event organised by Isuzu along the Wild Coast turned into a semi-disaster the moment those involved, yours truly included, landed at the airport in East London.

Aside from the weather being wet and windy for most of the event, the overnight stay in what was supposed to be the leading hotel in Mthatha was anything but.

My driving partner and close friend, Top Gear South Africa’s Deon van der Walt, was struck down by food poisoning and on the way back from the admittedly incredible sight that is Hole in Wall, an inattentive influencer, messaging while driving, made a considerable effort to send us down a ravine by moving over into our lane as we tried to overtake.

ALSO READ: Treading the line between budget and premium

Simply put, the memories lingered and while I was keen to go, I had my reservations. Eventually, some self-persuasion and a massive deep breath won over as mere weeks after replying “yes”, I found myself back on familiar ground in a blustery and overcast East London readying for what was to come.

Understanding the Grabber range

The occasion not only centred around the unveiling of the ATX rubber, but also the 75^th anniversary of General Tire in South Africa.

Part of Continental since 1987, the American brand, whose rubber is produced for the local and export markets at the only plant in Africa, the Continental facility in Port Elizabeth, now Gqeberha, is arguably better known for its off-road and heavy-duty commercial tyres than its road-biased rubber, which made treatment awaiting it ever more important.

But first, some context. Bridging the gap between the already established all-terrain AT3 tyre and the full mud-terrain X3, the ATX conforms to what General Tire describes as a Light Truck or LT design.

In effect, this means a design aimed more at off-road use as it receives a thicker tread pattern, notches in the deeper tread blocks for improved grip, a broader footprint and better acoustics so as to prevent excessive noise from creeping into the cabin on-road.

Also included are stronger steel belts within the tyre itself, a sturdier tyre carcass and sidewalls, heavy-duty beads that prevent the tyre separating from the rim and for aesthetic purposes, solid white lettering on the outer edges.

Compared to the AT3 that comes in sizes from 15 to 22 inches, the ATX only ranges from 15 to 18 inches with an R and S speed rating amounting to 170 km/h and 180 km/h, and in four sizes; LT265/75 R16, LT265/70 R17, LT285/70 R17 and LT275/65 R18.

For its part, the AT3 carries an S or V speed rating, the latter allowing for a top speed up to 240 km/h, widths ranging from 205 mm to 285 mm and white block letter sidewalls.

Day 1

Extensively tested in extreme conditions, the first day’s route, while also the easiest, was to be the longest from the Premier Hotel on the East London promenade, through Centane and Butterworth to the Wavecrest Hotel in the heart of the Wild Coast.

For the trek there, the AT3 and ATX rubber were slapped onto a selection of Isuzu D-Max bakkies ranging from the Extended Cab and double cab LSE models, to the top-spec V-Cross with a single LS double cab thrown in for good measure.

ALSO READ: When off-road, take note of the following if consumption is key

A well-known partnership between both marques stretching back a number of years, the first day saw the ATX being put to the test as my driving partner, Adventure Africa’s Anton Willemse Jnr, and I settled upon a D-Max double cab LSE for leg one.

Unsurprisingly, the first few kilometres went by without incident as we took in the absolutely stunning scenery of the former Transkei.

It was outside of Butterworth, however, that the surface changed as the remnants of what had been a tar road many years ago, now more potholes than anything else, changed completely to gravel.

A brief stop to have the tyre pressures dropped to around 1.5-bar followed. Just as well as the terrain become an off-roader’s paradise.

While rain had thrown the reconnaissance of the route in the weeks prior to our arrival on its head, the looming storm clouds above against a backdrop of green everywhere held off as the tyres and the Isuzus were shown little mercy over jagged rocks, endless water crossings, deep ruts, mud holes and even avoiding the odd animal.

Negotiating the villages on the outskirts of Centane and over more pothole-lined roads followed and while anything but tough going, myself and Anton knew that the first day had only been a taster of what was to come.

Before ending proceedings at the simply incredible, beautiful Wavecrest Hotel on the banks of where a section of the Kei River meets the ocean, our convoy headed out to what could only be described as an incredible sight next to the ocean only a 4×4 can get to.

It was here that we also caught a glimpse of an abandoned attempt to create a lodge as many of the structures had been left uncompleted and scattered around what many of us felt would have otherwise damaged the unspoiled surroundings and vegetation had the plans gone ahead.

Day 2

Once through the gates of Wavecrest, my mind, after a quick row via canoe to the beach, plus a prolonged dip in the hotel’s hot tub to much headshaking from some of my colleagues, started to think about the following day and how to approach it.

That approach started somewhat unconventionally, but with a purpose, as Anton and I pursued the crew filming the trek to give up their crew vehicle, a D-Max Extended Cab LSE, as we were keen to experience both derivatives of D-Max’ provided.

The second reason was that the Extended Cab in question had been fitted with the Grabber AT3 tyres that come as standard on most models Isuzu rolls out of its Straundale plant on the outskirts of the Friendly City.

Before setting off, we were huddled together for a driver’s briefing where the exact nature of what we were about do was carefully explained. In short, it was going to be long, tough, picturesque and challenging.

Already extensively caked in mud, the convoy of Isuzus departed Wavecrest with the difference in tyre feel being noted soon after.

Compared to the ATX, a subtle but noticeable soft feel prevails about the AT3 that has been designed to provide an even split of comfort on-road and grip as well as traction off-road.

The flip side is that the AT3 is a trifle quieter on the road noise front than the ATX, but didn’t feel to be lacking in durability, an aspect it couldn’t be found wanting as the surface turned from a gravel road outside a village to off-road nirvana.

At one of the deepest river crossings on the leg that demanded careful driving and vehicle positioning, extreme care had to be taken too on the myriad of uphill climbs as the terrain became peppered with sharp rocks, washaways and slippery grass.

The only incident was this writer twisting his foot after a misstep. Not once did a call crackle over the in-car radios for us to stop due to a tyre failure or vehicle damage.

What did, though, was the descriptions of the area we were in with little to no cellphone reception. Fun the day had most certainly been, with the scenery a massive part of it.

The final encore was having to traverse the Kei River itself that laid between us and the end point of our journey, Morgan Bay. To get there meant crossing the famous Kei pontoon two vehicles at a time.

Although the off-road bit of the trek had come to an end as the Isuzu’s diff-locks were switched off and low-range four-wheel-drive downscaled back to two-wheel-drive, the literal “crossing over point” still rated as an incredible highlight in spite of it not being a first for this writer.

Back on a road that actually felt like tar, the short route to the Morgan Bay Hotel and arrival turned somewhat worrying as soon after unpacking, we were informed that a voluntary tapps competition had been set up. None of us could forfeit.

While my cooking abilities are limited, the masterchef who had accompanied me throughout the two days, Anton, managed to restore a lot of pride and face by cooking up a simple assortment of snacks from the ingredients provided.

Despite my horrid attempt at making (read: butchering) the required sushi dish, the final result fell in my and Anton’s favour as we came out the winners after an extensive judging period by the General Tire executives.

Conclusion

As fun, testing, breathtaking and incredible as the journey had been, the main takeaway, besides the performance of the Isuzus, involved the tyres and why these need to be subjected to what they were designed for.

In the same way as using a four-wheel-drive vehicle for its intended purpose instead of never taking it off-road for fears of scratches or getting dirty, the prowess of both the General Grabber AT3 and ATX impressed given the strain and torture they faced during the two days.

What’s more, they opened up a gateway to an environment very few will see and in line with its slogan of “Anywhere is Possible”, lived-up to it without delaminating. 

For more information on the General Tire Grabber range, click here.