Epic JT Offroad Trip to the Western Plateau (EP.02)

[mx5red]

Can you talk more about your road restrictions? I'm curious how extensive these tolls are. What did you do with the produce? It was cheaper to buy a bed-full of produce than pay the tolls and haul gear?

Also, do yo know how high you got when you were sick? I see you stayed somewhere at 14,000 feet but then I think drove higher.

Thanks

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[Exceed Fabrication]

Yeah I'm sure it's just a matter of time. I've had a couple of close calls where my obstacle avoidance did not recognize something but that's just part of it. I have not flown at your altitude but boy that is a awfully high RTH altitude. I'm not sure what the regulations are there but we are only allowed 400 ft above takeoff altitude. I did lose signal once and it scared the crap out of me but it did return home LOL. I've also flown in cold weather and wind a few times. I had to abort my flight once because my Air2S couldn't maintain location because the gusts were so high so I just landed instead of crashing. Really loved the video and would enjoy an adventure like that and get it on film. Only thing I've done close to that was a multiple day Harley ride in the Blue Ridge Mountains with my Nephew. Got some great drone footage.

Hi John, we also have very strict regulations in 2024. In many urban areas, the height of drones cannot exceed 393 feet. In fact, the regulations are similar to yours. All DJI drones require real-name authentication.
Some places have particularly strict management of drones, such as Chongqing mentioned in my video. To fly near that bridge, you need to apply in advance in the UOM system, otherwise the drone may be shot down by nearby police with electromagnetic interference guns.
The areas where we shoot and camp are far away from the city, so we can fly very high
We used an air 2s and a mavic 3 pro for this shooting. The biggest problem for us with the air 2s is that it does not have a telephoto lens, and the digital zoom picture looks very blurry.
I’m also very interested in the pictures you took with your drone. Share them so we can exchange experiences together.

 

[JCappy]

Hi John, we also have very strict regulations in 2024. In many urban areas, the height of drones cannot exceed 393 feet. In fact, the regulations are similar to yours. All DJI drones require real-name authentication.
Some places have particularly strict management of drones, such as Chongqing mentioned in my video. To fly near that bridge, you need to apply in advance in the UOM system, otherwise the drone may be shot down by nearby police with electromagnetic interference guns.
The areas where we shoot and camp are far away from the city, so we can fly very high
We used an air 2s and a mavic 3 pro for this shooting. The biggest problem for us with the air 2s is that it does not have a telephoto lens, and the digital zoom picture looks very blurry.
I’m also very interested in the pictures you took with your drone. Share them so we can exchange experiences together.

Kelvin, Thanks for the info. Sounds like some of the restrictions here but I'm not sure the police will shoot anything down. Have not heard of that happening. With the new implementation of RID, our drones are easily trackable so flying legally has become more important. Sure don't want the FAA knocking on my door lol. I will have to try and create a youtube video from the video I created by piecing various videos together. In the meantime, here are a few shots from my recent trip to Washington State.

 

[Maximus Gladius]

Great job on the video! I enjoyed watching, thanks for sharing.

 

[Exceed Fabrication]

Can you talk more about your road restrictions? I'm curious how extensive these tolls are. What did you do with the produce? It was cheaper to buy a bed-full of produce than pay the tolls and haul gear?

Also, do yo know how high you got when you were sick? I see you stayed somewhere at 14,000 feet but then I think drove higher.

Thanks

Okay, Paul, I don't know very well how each state in the United States regulates pickup trucks, so I will introduce it to you based on the information I know.
Many people say that the policy on pickup trucks is gradually loosening, but now pickup trucks still have many restrictions compared to passenger cars.
I think this is also the reason why pickup trucks are not very popular in China. Many people actually like pickup trucks but give up due to a lot of inconvenience.
First of all, all pickup trucks, including Gladiator, F150, Tacoma, etc., no matter how expensive or luxurious they are, are classified as trucks.
Therefore, they all follow the management regulations of trucks, and most of them will be forcibly scrapped 15 years after leaving the factory.
The management measures in each city are different, and some are very relaxed, such as Chongqing and Canton. You just need to make sure that you do not enter the main urban area between 7-9 AM and 5-7 PM, and you will not have any trouble.
But in Chengdu, pickup trucks with foreign license plates are not allowed to enter the beltway from 7 AM to 11 PM. This is a huge range and caused inconvenience to us, so we did not take a video of the Gladiator driving on the streets of Chengdu.
We can only park the car outside the city and take the subway into the city.
Highway tolls are calculated based on the type of vehicle and mileage traveled. Sometimes there are additional charges for passing through bridges, tunnels, etc. According to the exchange rate of 7.2, our round-trip toll was about $350. I guess we drove 2,500 miles on the highway, for reference only.
All our vegetables cost about $85, which is a huge savings in RMB, and we got vegetables
In fact, all passenger cars with less than seven seats can enjoy free passage on holidays, so we just spend a lot of time to make ourselves as free as others Lol
If you are curious about how much our vegetables cost, green peppers are $0.18/pound and cauliflower is $0.13/pound. The prices will fluctuate depending on where they are produced.

 

[Exceed Fabrication]

Can you talk more about your road restrictions? I'm curious how extensive these tolls are. What did you do with the produce? It was cheaper to buy a bed-full of produce than pay the tolls and haul gear?

Also, do yo know how high you got when you were sick? I see you stayed somewhere at 14,000 feet but then I think drove higher.

Thanks

We generally think that altitudes above 8,200 feet are considered plateau areas. Different people have different acceptance levels of altitude sickness.
I had never been to a plateau before, and I was always worried that I might get sick because I had surgery on my lungs. Our highest altitude was probably around 15,000 feet.
But apart from the fact that my blood oxygen saturation was lower than usual, I didn’t feel any discomfort. Except for the morning when I took the sunrise photo, I felt out of breath when I climbed the hillside, but after breathing in some oxygen, I felt relieved.
Some people say that people who exercise more and have a stronger body may have more severe symptoms. I guess the principle is similar to that a large-displacement car needs more air? Natural Inhalation engine performance does drop in high altitude areas
Some people say that it will be more serious in the elderly or children. Sonam even told me that even people who live at around 10,000 feet all year round may suffer from altitude sickness when they go to 11,500 feet.
So the best way is to try it yourself, bring enough oxygen bottles, climb up slowly, and do not exercise strenuously. If symptoms such as headache, diarrhea, vomiting, etc. continue to occur, you should go to a low-altitude area for medical treatment as soon as possible.
Many physical injuries caused by high altitude sickness are irreversible. Severe cases may cause pulmonary edema or even cerebral edema. This is why I say that I can no longer take Jamin to the plateau. After all, safety and health are above all else.

 

[Exceed Fabrication]

Kelvin, Thanks for the info. Sounds like some of the restrictions here but I'm not sure the police will shoot anything down. Have not heard of that happening. With the new implementation of RID, our drones are easily trackable so flying legally has become more important. Sure don't want the FAA knocking on my door lol. I will have to try and create a youtube video from the video I created by piecing various videos together. In the meantime, here are a few shots from my recent trip to Washington State.

Thanks for sharing! I am also looking forward to my visa being approved smoothly.
I hope to visit the Overland Expo and SEMA Show this year to see a world I have never seen before.

 

[BourbonRunner]

Wild, across the board. I have a Mavic Air from a few years back that used to use for work (real estate sales) until the FAA licensure and regs made it untenable. Now I just hire a company to my aerial. Plus I don't have to bother with post production anymore. And yes, it's only a matter of time before you launch it into a tree or another obstacle. I famously sent mine into a pear tree once when it got interference from nearby high voltage transmission lines...

With regards to the road regs, that's bonkers. Our regulations in the states are definitely a lot less cumbersome. Individual states (but not all) have specific safety regulations for mods to the vehicle, IE tires sticking past fenders is a general no-no, lighting, lifting it, excessive window tint, etc. Some states do regular safety inspections and some do them on demand as needed but there isn't anything consistent. Some states like mine require a biannual emissions test but that's just a cash grab- it reads the OBD sensors that you can read for free and they charge you $14.

NYC just recently enacted a city entry tax for vehicles to "reduce congestion" but it's really just another way for them to prop up their bankrupt MTA system among other govt programs.

Far as restrictions on weight over the road, passenger vehicles and non commercial trucks don't have them that I'm aware of. You might find small bridges individual with weight restrictions for safety purposes but that's about it.

But generally those are not first level offenses, they're tacked on if you do something serious and really piss off the cop writing you the ticket: IE 80mph in a 55mph plus a safety inspection by the state police, etc. Then you get into real money in fines.

I hope you get an opportunity to come to the US and go to SEMA. Vegas sucks IMO but the American Southwest and desert regions are breathtakingly beautiful.

 

[Ericshere03]

Awesome wheeling/road trip from abroad! Dodging laws and Livestock, haha ... Thanks for sharing.

 

[Exceed Fabrication]

Wild, across the board. I have a Mavic Air from a few years back that used to use for work (real estate sales) until the FAA licensure and regs made it untenable. Now I just hire a company to my aerial. Plus I don't have to bother with post production anymore. And yes, it's only a matter of time before you launch it into a tree or another obstacle. I famously sent mine into a pear tree once when it got interference from nearby high voltage transmission lines...

With regards to the road regs, that's bonkers. Our regulations in the states are definitely a lot less cumbersome. Individual states (but not all) have specific safety regulations for mods to the vehicle, IE tires sticking past fenders is a general no-no, lighting, lifting it, excessive window tint, etc. Some states do regular safety inspections and some do them on demand as needed but there isn't anything consistent. Some states like mine require a biannual emissions test but that's just a cash grab- it reads the OBD sensors that you can read for free and they charge you $14.

NYC just recently enacted a city entry tax for vehicles to "reduce congestion" but it's really just another way for them to prop up their bankrupt MTA system among other govt programs.

Far as restrictions on weight over the road, passenger vehicles and non commercial trucks don't have them that I'm aware of. You might find small bridges individual with weight restrictions for safety purposes but that's about it.

But generally those are not first level offenses, they're tacked on if you do something serious and really piss off the cop writing you the ticket: IE 80mph in a 55mph plus a safety inspection by the state police, etc. Then you get into real money in fines.

I hope you get an opportunity to come to the US and go to SEMA. Vegas sucks IMO but the American Southwest and desert regions are breathtakingly beautiful.

Thank you Steve, your information is very helpful to me, because when I come to the United States, I will definitely rent a car locally. I don’t want to be stopped by the traffic police because I don’t understand the local regulations.
Yeah...we do have a lot of restrictions, no matter where you come from, the rules are pretty much the same.
Passenger cars do not need to go to the inspection station within six years after leaving the factory. They only need to upload annual inspection information on the mobile APP, but trucks need to go to the inspection station every year. The inspection includes emissions, OBD fault codes, light brightness, braking strength, etc.
Any unregistered modifications may cause the vehicle to fail the inspection. When I first bought this truck, there were large stickers on the doors and hood, which I was asked to remove.
A few days ago, I drove the Gladiator for testing and replaced the 285AT tires with the original 255HT tires.
I was told that the handbrake didn't have enough braking power, I used a wrench to adjust the handbrake cable before it passed, then they charged me $52.
Most of these testing stations are outsourced to private companies. If I bribe the staff or give him a pack of cigarettes during the testing, everything will go much smoother... They can lightly step on the brakes when testing the handbrake force.
There is no custom of tipping in China, so this is hard for me to accept...
I also heard that in some places the testing fee is only a few dollars, and they will even wash your car and fill up the washer fluid for you.
It’s just that I think in a big city like Canton, no testing station will be short of business. They don’t need to provide you with such attentive services.
If your truck really has modifications that are difficult to restore, such as an engine modification, a lift, or other in-depth modifications, you can also choose to find an agency. As long as you have money, they can handle everything for you...
I heard that it costs about $400 to do this once, and if you want to keep those modifications, you theoretically need to spend this money every year...
Even if you pass the annual inspection, if you are caught by the traffic police on the road, you will be fined $70 and ordered to restore it to its original condition, and it will be recorded in the system. Vehicles that have been punished for modification will undergo a more stringent annual inspection.
All our vehicles have overload restrictions, but if we had not requested to use the green channel, the staff at the toll station would not have paid too much attention to the weight of our trucks. After all, pickup trucks are not very serious trucks.
One thing I find very interesting is that I heard that the police in the United States judge drunk driving by walking in a straight line, touching the nose, etc.? Why not just use a portable alcohol meter or something like that? If I really smell of alcohol but can accurately perform the actions he asked, will I be let go?
Maybe I'll film new episodes while traveling around the US, rent a Gladiator locally and go on adventures.

 

[BourbonRunner]

Thank you Steve, your information is very helpful to me, because when I come to the United States, I will definitely rent a car locally. I don’t want to be stopped by the traffic police because I don’t understand the local regulations.

*****SNIP*******
One thing I find very interesting is that I heard that the police in the United States judge drunk driving by walking in a straight line, touching the nose, etc.? Why not just use a portable alcohol meter or something like that? If I really smell of alcohol but can accurately perform the actions he asked, will I be let go?
Maybe I'll film new episodes while traveling around the US, rent a Gladiator locally and go on adventures.

Happy to assist and you are welcome. Fortunately you won't find that scenario at all unless your rental agency prohibits taking the vehicle across state lines but that's an easy conversation to confirm in advance, and not because of governmental regs but the rental agency's own policies and/or insurance restrictions. Our states recognize the driver's licenses and registration plates of all states and do not compel inspections on out of state plates because they crossed a line on a map.

Local regulations can and do change but they're not radically different nor as complex as the weight/travel restrictions you described above. Most times its speed limits, lane restrictions for commercial or towing vehicles, tolls where present, etc.

Far as drunk driving: If you fail any part of the test you're going to learn a lesson the hard way.

A field sobriety test like you described above is part of but not the entire test. It is designed to test physical coordination that is affected by alcohol. Touching your finger to your nose from full arm extension, standing on one leg, walking a straight line and/or reciting the alphabet backwards are for the cop to observe key factors that would build a case of probable cause that you're intoxicated.

Breathalyzers are used to establish what the value of blood/alcohol level but generally are performed after the physical tests establish you're under the influence of something.

But far as I know a cop cannot compel you to take a breathalyzer out of the gate.

 

[JCappy]

Maybe I'll film new episodes while traveling around the US, rent a Gladiator locally and go on adventures.

That's exactly what you need to do. Make the most out of your trip.

 

[Exceed Fabrication]

What is supposed to happen will happen... During yesterday's shooting, our drone fell from a tree about 25 feet high into the dirt, damaging one of its wings. The gimbal failed to level during its power-on self-check, and the drone overheated.
But fortunately the camera module is intact. Maybe we need to replace the control arm. The cost of third-party repair should not exceed $50.

 

[Cspence]

What an amazing trip and video! I didn’t want it to end! ?

Thanks for sharing! Really looking forward to supporting you and getting my set of tube doors! For 25 years old, you’re doing great!! Keep it up!!

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