Behind the Lens · Mongolia
Why I Drive a UAZ
Comfort and speed matter less than you think on Mongolia's back roads. What matters is a vehicle you can fix yourself, anywhere, with parts you can find in the next village.
· 3 min read
For years I went to the countryside in whatever vehicle I had. Different cars, the same story every time: a track that turned out rougher than the map promised, something that broke a long way from help, and a repair bill that cost more than the trip. I came home with photographs, but I also came home tired in a way that had nothing to do with the miles.
What the road teaches you
Off the paved road, Mongolia changes what you value. A smooth ride and a high top speed stop mattering very quickly. What matters is a vehicle that will not break easily, and that costs little to fix when it does. One that can take the ruts, the river crossings and the sand. One you know like your own ten fingers, so you can repair it yourself, in the field. And one whose spare parts you can find in almost any soum centre you pass through.
Put those together and, for me, there was only one answer: the UAZ.
A year and a half in the garage
My UAZ spent a year and a half in the garage before it drove out for the first time. Even now the work is not finished, and I suspect it never will be. Every improvement starts as an idea in my head on some long drive. The best feeling is seeing it take shape, and then covering a long road with no trouble at all because the idea worked.
On paper it is still a UAZ-469, in Hunter form. Underneath, almost everything has changed. It now runs a Japanese 3.0-litre VVT-i engine, with the gearbox from a Kia Bongo Frontier light truck. The front and rear axles come from a Nissan Patrol, both with differential locks. A tent folds out from the roof, so camp can be anywhere the vehicle can reach. Every change has the same purpose: to keep going, wherever the track goes, without trouble.
Very little of that was done alone. It was built with the knowledge, experience and help of friends from the Mongolian Offroad Federation, the Mongolian UAZ Club and the Unlimity Offroad Club. That shared knowledge is the real engine of this machine.
Why it matters on our journeys
The UAZ Hunter is now the symbol of our tours. It travels with every expedition together with a pickup, carrying our field camp and kitchen, while guests ride in our 4WD vans. Because I know these vehicles down to the last bolt, a breakdown on the steppe is a short stop, not the end of the day. And because our camp travels with us, we can stop where the land and the light are best.
That is the same freedom I went looking for all those years ago. Now I get to share it. See where it takes us.
