Team Information

The Viking Fleet

Introduction

The Cleveland Search and Rescue Team (CSRT) needs vehicles to transport Team members and equipment to rescues and searches. The primary area for the CSRT to cover is the North Yorkshire Moors (NYM) but we can be called to assist other Teams anywhere in the UK. The Moors are about 40 miles east to west and 25 miles north to south, an area of about 1000 square miles. The CSRT must therefore have an appropriate transport capability to cope with these demands. The majority of our call outs take place on the NYMs which is a National Park mainly comprising open moor land that is remote and isolated used by walkers and outdoor enthusiasts. Access to these areas is by offroad tracks that vary from good stone tracks to poor muddy routes with steep climbs and descents. To cope with this terrain the CSRT has two Land Rovers which are particularly suited to rapid response situations in all weathers. The CSRT also has a large mobile control vehicle used as a base for searches.

Land Rovers (Call Sign's Viking 2 & Viking 3)

Viking 3 Land Rover

The two Land Rovers are similar, both being Defender 110 wheelbase models. Turbo diesel powered, with the later model being a five cylinder engine as opposed to the four cylinders of the older vehicle.

The Land-Rover is a robust go anywhere vehicle and despite there being a plethera of 4 x 4 's on the market, the Land-Rover is still regarded as the best for offroad performance.

To quote:

"Land Rover is the world's leading four-wheel drive specialist and Defender is its ultimate off-roader. Brilliant simplicity, unrivalled strength, and legendary ability: Defender is sure-footed and unstoppable, whether climbing high altitude mountain trails, crossing desert sands or deep-wading through rivers.

Welcome to the world's toughest 4x4!"

That's what Land-Rover say - well they would wouldn't they, but we agree!

Land-Rovers may not be the prettiest of the 4 x 4's but the Team need performance not looks - same goes for the members!

For the more technically minded:

At Defender's heart is the powerful Td5, 2.5 litre diesel engine. Specifically tuned for off road, the engine is controlled by a throttle mapping system that allows different levels of accelerator travel dependent on the range of gearing selected.

Control of engine torque is provided through a robust dual range transfer box, giving you a high and low ratio, with 10 forward, and 2 reverse gears. This wide choice of gearing allows you to power uphill or to crawl safely at extreme angles over loose earth.

Wow - impressive!

Equipment

The Land-Rovers can carry 1600 kg of payload. We stow all medical and frequently used equipment in the back section of the vehicle and roof boxes contain lighter and less frequently used gear.

The front of the vehicle for carries 5 people, a driver and hill party of four - generally squeezed in amongst all the radio systems!

Mobile Control Vehicle - VIKING 1

The Viking Fleet and Team

The new control vehicle is a Ford Cargo truck with a pod that hydraulically extends out sideways increasing the internal capacity by 60%. The pod is used as a control room providing the right ambience for S & R control management and has extensive radio communication systems with computer aided search management systems. The main body of the vehicle has a catering facility for Team refreshment and briefing area. The vehicle has gas, water, lighting and heating systems plus an on-board electric start quiet generator.