Driving in Mongolia

Mongolia is every Overlander's and offroad enthusiast's dream destination. After almost crossing Mongolia North to South I'd like to give my impression on what it's like to drive through this beautiful country. Here it is:

Paved roads (account for about 20% of the road system in Mongolia):

First of all I’d like to sincerely apologise to the Russian road system for my comment in “Driving in Russia”. You are perfect!

If Russian roads are a tiny kitten that might unintentionally scratch you once in a while, Mongolian paved roads are like a rabid dog. Stop paying attention for just a second and it bites you in the ass. Hard!

There’s potholes so big, Camels gather around it and use it as water holes. There’s stretches of several 10s of kilometres which are so badly damaged that people rather drive off-road next to it. Including huge trucks.
If potholes weren’t enough, road authorities introduce unmarked speed bumps to keep you on your toes. It feels like they are trying to train you to develop reflexes like a fighter pilot!

Unpaved roads:
Let me describe a typical day of driving through the Gobi desert.

You start the day with a surprisingly smooth ride over a wide Steppe. It’s possible to go 60km/h or even faster if one fancies turning the journey into a rally.

But then the surface changes and you enter the realm of corrugation, the not so silent death of your wheel bearings, shock absorbers and anything else that can vibrate. These ripples on the road, reminding one of a wash board, form under certain conditions when cars drive over dirt roads. Mongolian corrugation is a class of its own. Each single one of them would easily qualify as a proper speed bump in Germany! Now you have a choice to make, either go 10km/h and take on one ripple at a time or go at least 60km/h and fly over them. 60 it is.
Of course Mongolian unpaved roads are neither straight nor flat. And if there’s anything worse than driving on corrugation, it’s turning corners or breaking on corrugation! You can imagine what flying through the air 50% of the time does to your traction.
Luckily the Mongolian Steppe is really wide. And I mean REALLY wide. Hence, drivers occasionally open up a new lane to avoid the vibrational experience, which means you have 2 to 10 lanes to choose from. Ever tried to choose the fastest queue at the check out in a supermarket?

After a few kilometres all of these lanes combine again since you’re now entering a mountainous area only accessible via a small canyon. It’s almost certain that the steep inclines and side slopes ahead will warrant 4WD, low range and a change of underwear after, but nothing the Troopy couldn’t handle!

Back on the 10 lane Steppe you’re headed for an area of sand dunes. Back into 4WD, drop the tyre pressure and enjoy the roller coaster ride through the soft dunes! Half way through look for a nice spot with a view of the mountain range you’ve crossed just an hour ago and call it a day watching the sand dunes change their colour to a soothing orange!

Sit back and replay a day in which you drove through a variety of sceneries you previously thought belong on three different continents.Read more