Sometimes on a photoshoot, you need to bring out the big guns… excuse the dad joke.
Helping to bring a product to market can be quite exciting. With all the enthusiasm from designers and product managers depending on you to help ensure their customers see the product in good light, and also see the potential of the product to be utilised by themselves.
This is a challenge which we love being involved in and with ARBs Frontier Tank fuel system being hidden under the vehicle, you would have to say… this will be a little difficult to show it’s true form on a vehicle. But what’s different about this product? It’s effectively built out of plastic.
Plastic?
Now this is actually a really good design and there are so many advantages in a tank built this way. Not that there is anything wrong with steel fuel tank designs, but the Frontier tank has no welds or sharp corners, it can take a hit when you drop it on an obstacle and we are told that after the tank suffers an impact, it will actually reshape back to its original form in no time at all.
So based on some long discussions with ARBs marketing team and their product designers, it was decided we really should test this out and see how strong this product really is. Let’s squash it, let’s run the thing over and see just how good this product can be.
To tell this story in a video, we will need the help of someone with all the toys. We have worked with the team at Melbourne 4X4 before and in particular, the late Rob Emmins who has always been keen to do something different. Well this was going to be something different with Rob taking on the challenge of destroying this product that ARBs designers had built so strong.
With these styles of videos, you are trying to tell an interesting story, se we set out a plan to tell a story of this character, (Rob), trying to squash the Frontier tank. With his trusty Kelpie by his side, he ran it over with a quad bike, an old Land Rover, and a Toyota79 Series Cruiser before dropping an earth mover bucket on it…As he was still unsuccessful with his efforts, he brought out the big gun, an Ex-Australian Army tank and then literally ran the Frontier Tank over.
This was a lot of fun, but deep down, I was extremely concerned that after all the efforts we were all putting in to tell this story, the results might simply be, a flattened product which doesn’t tell much of a story at all.
Rob was on a mission with his stern eye aiming the tracks of the tank straight over the Frontier Tank. It suffered a direct hit and was absolutely flattened.
After the dust settled, we placed a time-lapse camera next to theflattened product and I have to admit, within no time at all, the Frontier Tank started to expand back to its original shape and form.
This amazing result was better than I had expected, and a really good example of why this product is so good. If you drop the Frontier Tank on a rock whilst driving some difficult tracks or drag it through mud whilst performing a vehicle recovery, it should be able to handle the impact. If you would like to watch the video… follow this link!
ARB Frontier Long Range Fuel Tank
“Cheers”
-Michael Ellem
Offroad Images
The Campfire – Feedback
Just like sitting around the campfire, we would love to hear what you have to say. You can be involved simply by entering your comments below.
Also… we will be featuring stories about photography tips and tricks, 4X4 preparation, build planning and maintenance, as well as featuring inspirational locations for you to visit in your 4X4. So please get involved and let us know what you’d like to hear about. If you have any requests for stories to be featured in campfire or would like to provide feedback about this article, please send us a message on our social links:
Instagram: @offroadimages
Facebook: @offroadimages
YouTube: youtube.com/OffroadImages
Website: www.offroadimages.com.au
As 4X4 enthusiasts who live for the opportunity to create awesome imagery anywhere in Australia, we know that our vehicle assets are covered wherever we travel to create that shot, as we are insured by Club 4X4.
