Talk about a road trip with weight behind it. An Isuzu D-MAX has just hauled a 1,8-tonne caravan more than 4 500 km – from Cape Town all the way to Johannesburg – and lived to tell the tale.
That caravan? Roughly the same weight as a fully grown hippo. No pressure, then.
The epic drive formed part of Radio Sonder Grense’s Kultuur Karavaan campaign, which hit the road during Heritage Month. The journey kicked off in Sea Point and stretched across almost three weeks, with the RSG crew rolling through six small towns along the way.
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The mission? Simple but powerful – connect RSG with listeners in smaller communities and dig up the stories that show just how colourful Afrikaans culture really is.
“The campaign was created to help us connect directly with our listeners,” says Amor Swanepoel, Marketing Manager at RSG. “Its primary objective was to gather stories from our audience and gain deeper insight into Afrikaans culture and the communities they call home.”
So why Isuzu? Because the team needed a vehicle that could handle the rough stuff – the backroads, the weather, the lot.
And the 3,0-litre D-MAX delivered. It towed that 1,8-tonne caravan through steep climbs, gusty winds and weather that refused to play nice.
“Our route did not always go according to plan,” Swanepoel admitted. “Severe rain and strong winds resulted in tunnel closures, forcing us to take much longer detours through difficult weather, gravel and muddy roads. Despite these conditions, the Isuzu handled the journey without any issues while towing the caravan the entire way.”
The trip also put the D-MAX’s towing stability and off-road chops to the test. Rough Terrain Mode comes standard on all 4x4 models and works with the vehicle’s Traction Control System to keep things gripping when the going gets grimy.
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“This journey gave the RSG team a good opportunity to demonstrate what the D-MAX can do in real-world South African conditions,” says Iviwe Poti, senior manager of strategic communications. “Towing a 1,8-tonne caravan over more than 4 500 km, including through difficult weather and road conditions, is a demanding test.”
Comfort mattered too. The D-MAX carried four people – a driver, a technical operator and two presenters – and kept them cosy for the long haul.
The road trip wrapped up in Johannesburg just one day before Heritage Day, closing the Kultuur Karavaan’s journey through South Africa’s smaller communities.
For RSG, the D-MAX’s towing muscle was not just a nice-to-have. It was the reason the whole campaign could roll.
Colin Windell for Colin-on-Cars in association with
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