New, Used & Ex-Demo Machinery Stock
Online Shopping at Hunt Forest Group
Monthly Parts & Service Promotions
HFG NORSE BOUND
In March 2023, we showcased the Isuzu D‑Max Arctic Trucks AT35 during an epic road‑trip expedition to Iceland, the legendary land of fire and ice and the ancestral homeland of Arctic Trucks. This unforgettable journey was designed to put the AT35 to the ultimate test in one of the world’s most demanding and dramatic environments.
Throughout the expedition, the AT35’s off‑road capability, durability and expedition readiness were tested across a wide variety of terrain. From volcanic landscapes and remote mountain tracks to ice‑covered roads and coastal routes, the vehicle demonstrated everything the Arctic Trucks AT35 was built for. Along the way, we also reviewed and field‑tested equipment supplied by our third‑party expedition partners, sharing detailed insights and regular travel diaries from the road.
The route took us to many of Iceland’s most iconic natural landmarks, including powerful waterfalls, active geysers, vast glaciers and striking black‑sand beaches. Each location presented unique driving challenges, further proving the AT35’s capability in extreme off‑road and overland conditions.
As part of the journey, we were also fortunate enough to experience one of Iceland’s most sought‑after natural spectacles — a glimpse of the Aurora Borealis, more commonly known as the Northern Lights — providing a fitting highlight to an expedition that combined adventure, engineering and exploration in equal measure.
CHECK OUT THE FULL FEATURE LENGTH ‘NORSE BOUND’ VIDEO BELOW
Follow our dedicated Isuzu Social Media Channels
Facebook – Follow us on Facebook
Instagram – Follow us on Instagram
KEEP UP TO DATE WITH EVERY STAGE OF THE JOURNEY VIA OUR SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS OR CATCH OUR PAST EPISODES ON DEMAND
Episode 1 - The Arctic Trucks AT35
The new Isuzu D-Max Arctic Trucks AT35 harnesses over 32 years of continual development and re-engineering. Inspired by the harshest and most extreme conditions on earth the Arctic Trucks AT35 is no ordinary pick-up. The Isuzu team at Hunt Forest Group spent some time with the AT35 recently and put it through its paces across our dealership area.
Episode 2 - Heading 'Norse Bound'
We will be showcasing the Isuzu D-Max Arctic Trucks AT35 as we undertake an epic road trip expedition to Iceland, the land of fire and ice (and Arctic Trucks’ homeland). Along the way, we will test everything the AT35 has to offer, review equipment from our third-party sponsors and post regular travel diaries as we navigate across some of the country’s most rugged and beautiful landscapes.
Episode 3 - Off-road Training
We headed to the 4×4 course at Thruxton Race Circuit to gain some much-needed off-road training ahead of our HFG Norse Bound expedition. We learnt a lot about the Isuzu D-Max Arctic Trucks AT35 along the way and had an absolute blast.
Episode 4 - AT Visit - Our AT35 Build
We were granted special access behind the scenes at Arctic Trucks to see our Isuzu D-Max AT35 Demonstrator being built. With over 60 hours of re-engineering going into each vehicle, the AT35 really is much more than just a lift kit and wide wheel arches.
Episode 5 - ARB UK Visit
With our Isuzu Dmax Arctic Trucks AT35 demonstrator freshly delivered from the factory. We hit the road to ARB UK in Dudley to kit it out with all of the accessories we might need along the way as we prepare for our expedition to Iceland. We also caught up with some of the team at ARB UK to talk about who ARB are and what products the brand can offer.
Episode 6 - ARB Expedition Accessories
We are back from ARB UK and our Isuzu D-Max Arctic Trucks AT35 Demonstrator looks completely different. Gareth gives us a walk around of some of the kit that has been added for the Norse Bound expedition for comfort, safety and practicality.
Episode 7 – Expedition Ready
After months of meticulous planning and weeks of careful preparation, the time is nearly here. Our Isuzu D-Max Arctic Trucks AT35 Demonstrator is finally fully kitted out with all the equipment we hope we will ever need, and it is now sporting some striking expedition-ready graphics. Take a peek at our final vehicle build.
Episode 8 - Snowed In On A Boat
With our AT35 fully equipped and packed up for the trip. Gareth and his co-driver Darren take to the road for the first stage of their epic trip to Iceland. Mainland Europe flashes by in a blur as the boys head to Hirtshals in Denmark to take the ferry across the North and Norwegian Seas to Seydisfjordur on the East coast of Iceland. As they hit the open water the sheer magnitude of the journey ahead registers – join them as they head ‘HFG Norse Bound’.
Episode 9 – The Road Across the Mountain
On our last instalment of HFG Norse Bound, after a week of travel Gareth and Darren and our Isuzu D-Max Arctic Trucks AT35 had successfully docked in Iceland, but then mother nature took over with unseasonably heavy snowstorms and blizzards causing all kinds of mayhem, the expedition hangs by a thread, will they make it out of the port town or will the adventure end in disaster.
Episode 10 – From Coast To Coast
After surviving the mountain pass and the treacherous road journey in the dark that followed it, Gareth and Darren had planned to be in Reykjavik ready to collect Martin our official ‘Norse Bound’ Photographer from the airport. However, with his plane due to land at 11am, they were still 8 hours away. A cross-country trek from coast to coast ensues to finally get the expedition up and running, free from the unforgiving mercies of the winter weather. Will they make it in time? Or will Martin be left stranded?
Episode 11 – Rescue & Recovery
With the band all together, we got down to the serious business of exploring Iceland whilst testing out the true capabilities of the Isuzu D-Max Arctic Trucks AT35. But as we have come to find out all best-made plans sometimes go awry, and as we rounded a bend in the road, we found a stricken Jeep 4×4 stuck in the snow. Finally able to utilise some of our added ARB accessories we put to the task with a winch and shovel. As the temperatures dropped, find out if Gareth and Darren managed to rescue the stricken vehicle and its passengers!
Episode 12 - Into The Highlands
After the rescue heroics of last time, the boys head back west to meet up with David from Arctic Trucks Iceland. Promising a day of true Icelandic Off Roading, the Isuzu D-Max Arctic Trucks AT35 could be in for its toughest challenge yet!
Episode 13 – The Volcano
As the boys edged ever closer to the Volcano, anticipation was at an all-time high. With the tyres on the Isuzu D-Max Arctic Trucks AT35 deflated to lower PSIs to help combat the rocky terrain they set off into the foothills. Join them as they wind in and out of the rocky terrain climbing higher and higher up into the clouds, how will the AT35 handle the snow and ice on the side of a mountain and what awaits at the top of the world?
Episode 14 – Ice Road Truckers
Gareth and Darren go driving at the top of the world, testing out just how well the Isuzu D-Max Arctic Trucks AT35 handles in the snowy terrain of Iceland’s highlands. The boys encounter some deep snow drifts on the descent down the Volcano and round off the day perilously crossing a frozen expanse of water, ice cracking all around them!
Episode 15 – The Aurora
In the FINAL EPISODE of HFG Norse Bound. Gareth, Darren and Martin go in search of the fabled Aurora Borealis. Find out if the boys saw this amazing natural wonder, Earth’s greatest show!
GARETH'S PHOTO DIARIES
Days 1-6 of the expedition featured a lot of motorways and empty seas but as the ferry docked in Torshavn on the Faroe Islands things started to get a lot more picturesque.
Here are a few photos from Days 8 & 9 of the journey. We were staying near the town of Vik on the Southern Coast of Iceland. A fantastic location with great natural features surrounding it, stunning mountains, and volcanic black sandy beaches.
We have some epic photos from Day 10 of the trip, as we headed back into the Central Highlands the AT35 took on its biggest challenge yet, rock, ice and snow as we drove up the side of a volcano.
Here is Gareth’s final photo diary from our HFG Norse Bound expedition to Iceland. We hope you saw our Northern Lights shots in our last video episode, but we loved them so much that we thought we would share them again in Gareth’s final photo blog.
THE STORY BEHIND THE HFG NORSE BOUND EXPEDITION
For many years, Gareth had wanted to undertake an epic road‑trip expedition, but he had never owned the right off‑road vehicle capable of handling every possible challenge the journey might present. That changed with the arrival of the Isuzu D‑Max Arctic Trucks AT35, a purpose‑built pick‑up engineered to perform in the harshest environments on earth.
The Isuzu D‑Max Arctic Trucks AT35 represented more than 32 years of continual development and re‑engineering by Arctic Trucks, drawing inspiration directly from some of the most extreme landscapes and climates in the world. Designed to operate in snow, ice, volcanic terrain and remote wilderness, the AT35 proved it was far from an ordinary pick‑up — it was built specifically to conquer the toughest of extremes.
The idea for the expedition was formed during the previous show season, where evenings were spent gathered around the campfire beside Gareth’s trusted D‑Max and rooftop tent. It was there that the vision for a truly ambitious journey began to take shape. The plan was bold: a voyage of epic proportions through the rugged beauty of Iceland — the land of fire and ice. One truck, one open road, ten countries, and over 5,000 miles travelled by land and sea. From this idea, HFG Norse Bound was born.
With the official launch of the AT35, questions naturally arose regarding how it compared to the Isuzu D‑Max V‑Cross, and what better way to answer those questions than by experiencing the vehicle in real‑world conditions. The expedition provided the perfect opportunity to showcase the AT35 in its natural habitat, pushing its capability and practicality far beyond everyday use.
To support the journey, the AT35 demonstrator was equipped with a carefully selected range of additional expedition accessories, ensuring it was fully prepared for extended travel, remote terrain and changing conditions. Throughout the expedition, a strong focus was placed on exploring the key features, functionality and real‑world performance of the new pick‑up. These were assessed alongside the added equipment to deliver an honest, comprehensive insight into what could be achieved both on the road and off it.
The result was a detailed, first‑hand showcase of the Isuzu D‑Max Arctic Trucks AT35 as a true expedition vehicle — demonstrating not only its off‑road strength and reliability, but also the additional equipment and configurations recommended for customers looking to explore without limits.
EXPEDITION TEAM AND JOURNEY TIMELINE
The HFG Norse Bound expedition was led by Gareth Thomas, Isuzu & Arctic Trucks Sales Manager, who headed up the journey from start to finish. He was joined for the first stage of the expedition by his brother‑in‑law, Darren, before Martin Clay, Group Marketing Manager, flew out to Iceland to accompany Gareth during the second leg of the trip. Gareth then completed the final stage of the journey alone, returning to the UK.
Gareth and Darren departed the UK in the HFG Isuzu D‑Max Arctic Trucks AT35 during the early hours of Thursday 16th March 2023. After travelling across multiple countries by land and sea, they arrived in Iceland on Tuesday 21st March, before beginning the return journey and arriving back in the UK on Monday 3rd April 2023.
Throughout the expedition, the journey was documented through a combination of stunning visual content and Gareth’s video diaries, capturing the realities of long‑distance overland travel in extreme conditions. With several expedition sponsors supporting the project, their equipment was tested and reviewed along the route in some of the harshest environments encountered during the journey.
Regular updates were shared across Hunt Forest Group’s main social media channels, with additional behind‑the‑scenes and day‑to‑day content published on the dedicated HFG Isuzu Facebook and Instagram pages, offering a more candid insight into life on the road.
The expedition content was shared across Facebook, Twitter (X), Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn and YouTube, all under @huntforestgroup.
EXPLORE WITHOUT LIMITS
