The Vehicle Dependent Expedition Guide

This book has been one of those rare books that I just keep coming back to, it probably wouldn’t be considered as ‘bedtime reading’ for most people but I’m constantly re-reading whole chapters of this weighty tome.
The author Tom Sheppard is nothing if not thorough, pretty much every detail you could think of regarding a vehicle based trip or expedition is covered within it’s pages, from the most (seemingly) mundane details to the things you would probably have never considered even though they could have a profound effect up on your travels. The book is divided into 5 basic sections covering preliminary planning, equipment planning, people & training, vehicles and finally operations, each of which is then divided again in to very detailed sub-sections.
The best thing about this book is that you don’t have to be planning a round the world trip to find it useful, there’s so much information in there even if you only do the occasional bit of greenlaning, camping or you use your Land Rover to get you to that remote cottage in the Highlands once a year.
I’ve had this book for over 10 years now and I still keep dipping into it finding ‘new’ stuff, or more likely stuff that I’ve previously read and forgot! The only problem with this book now is actually getting hold of a copy, there has been a second edition published since it’s initial release but even that can be difficult to track down and as for the first edition (which I fortunately have), take a look on that well known auction site, the price will surprise you!
Definitely a worthy edition to your book shelf. (If you can find one…)