Iceland pre-research tips

[Dirk]

Hello everybody!

As we're doing some pre-research for ETS2, we'd like to know your opinion on some of the things which we shouldn't miss in the game in our future planned DLCs - in this case for the ICELAND state.

Unfortunately it can be very easy to miss some key spots when planning a future road network. We can judge only from what we read or see, while those who live there, have driven there or visited there, can point us towards some famous truck stops, interesting landmark, points of interest etc.

So we'd appreciate any tips which could be helpful for us and that could easily work with in-game mechanics. Try to keep in mind that we're interested in places connected with trucks and roads. So if you have some tips, we'd be grateful. Don't be shy to add photos / videos of said locations (in better quality, so our graphics can use them as pattern).

Please be aware, that states listed here mean absolutely no promise of what's the next DLC or what states will come first. Also we can't guarantee that we'll use the research you give us - it depends on many aspects (which can't be all written here).

Cheers! [ external image ]

[erkinalp]

ProMods one is excellent. It even includes F-roads and rural households.

[hesuzoa]

The are some narrow tunnel in Iceland... usually not allow trucks.. but one really cool is up to 4,2 m in Westfjords. At these coordinate 66°03'09.3"N 23°16'44.7"W with an intersection in it!!! How you can see by these link https://www.tripadvisor.com/LocationPho ... egion.html

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Others things.. like vehicles.. you can see really big wheels in iceland.. on little trucks, pick up, or also bus! Usually on bad unpaved roads..
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Anyway ferry from Europe countries, come to Iceland only in Seydisfjordur, east Iceland. Only from Hirstshals - Denmark or Faroe Islands.

[EirKn22]

I had prepared a very long post which I didn't save and I lost all I wrote at the time I was about to send it in, most unfortunately, I'll try to write most of the information later.

I only discovered this thread some hours ago. I had decided as Iceland is my home country that I wouldn't speak too much in its favour as a possible DLC or expanded area as I think there are many areas which are more important. So I've been calm about the possibility but nevertheless I've been excited about the idea of Iceland being included in the game at some point.

I've been a big fan of SCS trucking games for many years. I'm not sure if I'm the biggest in Iceland but I don't know many who play the games on regluar basis in my country.

I'm also a big road enthusiast and know pretty much everything about the Icelandic road system. I've travelled about 90% of the normal roads excluding the highland routes.

In the post I didn't save I had a lot of information about the road system, some information about the freight market and suggestions of roads and towns to include. I also told a bit about some truckstops and also told about the climate in the summer in Iceland. I also picked one location of the road system to showcase which I would really like to be featured in the game if it can be modelled. I'll post it below in this post. I will get back with the other information later.

I have picked one of my favourite features of the Ring Road in Iceland. It's a quite distinct peak on the road west of Akureyri called Hraundrangi. I'll include links below to Google Street View, its approximate location on Google Maps and a Wikipedia article about it.

Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hraundrangi
Google Maps approximate location:
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Hraun ... 18.5952781
Google Street View:
https://www.google.com/maps/@65.5844171 ... 312!8i6656

[EirKn22]

Some information I can provide.

Icelandic climate in the summer.
I have to be very clear that it‘s unrealistic to have snow cover in the summer in Iceland. It only snows very occasionally and then usually only at higher altitudes. Snow cover in the summer usually won‘t last for more than a few hours or in extreme cases a couple of days. The mean temperature is usually a bit above 0°C and in lower lying areas usually around 10°C. On the other hand it rains quite often and it‘s usually overcast with few clear days. There is a tendency of being foggy around the coast, particularily in East Iceland around the fjords.

Freight market.
I‘m not the best to talk about the Icelandic Freight market but I can provide some information. In Iceland there is a big importance on freight transport on land by truck. Since 2004, the coastal shipping routes were swapped with freight transport on land by truck. There are some big companies which do freight trucking in Iceland, the biggest of them are Flytjandi and Landflutningar which are closely related to the shipping companies Eimskip and Samskip respectively. The oil companies in Iceland also transport petrol and such around the country by truck. In my experience, the most popular truck brand in Iceland is Scania (I tend to see a lot of Scania trucks on the roads and streets of Iceland), but I can‘t verify that so that needs to be researched further.

Road system.
The Icelandic national road system is around 13.000 km in total which includes the highland routes, of which approximately 5.500 km are paved. The main roads are about 5.000 km in total of which 82% are paved. The Ring Road (National Route 1) is about 1.330 km in total. The last unpaved section of the Ring Road is about to be getting paved in these years and will be completely paved by 2020 at latest. There are a lot of single lane bridges around the country and many prominent ones in Southeast Iceland on the Ring Road. The highland routes are not really suitable for trucks and although they are scenic and challenging to drive, nobody will get very far by truck, especially not with a trailer, so I highly recommend that they won‘t be included as those routes are unrealistic as trucking routes although they provide big shortcuts.

Suggestions of roads and cities/towns to include.
I would say that these roads are the most essential for the road system:
Route 1 (The Ring Road which encircles the country)
Route 41 (From Reykjavík to Keflavík International Airport)
Route 93 (From the Ring Road in East Iceland to the ferry port of Seyðisfjörður)
Route 60 combined with Route 61 (From the Ring Road in West Iceland towards the Westfjords)
Of course there are many more roads which could and even should be considered but these form the backbone of the road system.
These cities and towns must be in:
Reykjavík, Capital
Akureyri, North Iceland
Reykjanesbær (usually known as Keflavík), a big settlement by Icelandic standards although close to Reykjavík
Ísafjörður, Westfjords
It could also be good to feature the following towns and villages, either as functional hauling points or unmarked towns/villages.
Selfoss, Borgarnes, Hólmavík, Blönduós, Egilsstaðir, Reyðarfjörður, Höfn, Vík. (Also Akranes and Þorlákshöfn are quite important if the Southwest Iceland is not too crowded).
There are also numerous places I didn‘t include as they are not as prominent on the main road system although some could be important for the freight market.

Some truckstops.
The most important truckstop on the route Reykjavík - Akureyri is called Staðarskáli. It should definitely be included.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/N1+-+ ... 21.0848665
The most other important truckstops are at the towns I mentioned above. There are also some prominent truckstops at Hvolsvöllur and Kirkjubæjarklaustur in South Iceland but they might as well be ditched in favour of some scenic sections of the Ring Road around Vík.
On the ring road there is also an important fuel station at Lake Mývatn.

These were the information I would have included in my first post in the thread but got lost. I hope it can be of use. If there are some citations needed I might have missed I can add some later.

[EirKn22]

Some links to locations on the Ring Road. This part is the route Reykjavík – Akureyri (388 km)

Reykjavík – Borgarnes (74 km)
This segment can be crowded as it‘s not very long in relation to massive scenery, here you have to choose wisely.
Crossroads of 1 and 49
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//49,+Re ... 253314!3e0
Mosfellsbær – Suburb of Reykjavík
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//Þjóðve ... 649508!3e0
Around Esja – Between the tunnel and Reykjavík
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//Þjóðve ... 014389!3e0
Hvalfjarðargöng – An underwater tunnel
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Hvalf ... 21.8574571
Akrafjall – After the tunnel
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//64.332 ... m2!4m1!3e0
Hafnarfjall and Borgarfjarðarbrú – Approach to Borgarnes.
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//Þjóðve ... 073879!3e0
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//64.533 ... m2!4m1!3e0

Borgarnes – Staðarskáli (89 km)
This part contains some distinct segments.
Svignaskarð
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//64.667 ... m2!4m1!3e0
Bifröst (a small village) and Grábrók (a crater)
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//Þjóðve ... .76649!3e0
Crossroads of 1 and 60
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//64.800 ... m2!4m1!3e0
Holtavörðuheiði – A mountain pass
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//64.879 ... m2!4m1!3e0
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//64.941 ... m2!4m1!3e0
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//64.986 ... m2!4m1!3e0
https://www.google.com/maps/dir/65.0833 ... m2!4m1!3e0
Staðarskáli – A truckstop
I included this in an earlier post.

Staðarskáli – Blönduós (80 km)
This part is quite boring scenery-wise and the road travels mostly low-lying areas.
Vatnsdalshólar – Some distinct small hills by the road
https://www.google.com/maps/dir/65.5021 ... m2!4m1!3e0

Blönduós – Varmahlíð (51 km)
This segment contains two important parts, it could however be too short to include both.
Langidalur
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//65.589 ... m2!4m1!3e0
Vatnsskarð – A mountain pass
https://www.google.com/maps/dir/65.5248 ... m2!4m1!3e0
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//65.511 ... m2!4m1!3e0

Varmahlíð – Akureyri (94 km)
A very scenic route.
Blönduhlíð
https://www.google.com/maps/dir/65.4852 ... m2!4m1!3e0
Norðurárdalur
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//65.443 ... m2!4m1!3e0
Öxnadalsheiði – A mountain pass
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//Þjóðve ... 631518!3e0
https://www.google.com/maps/dir/65.4761 ... m2!4m1!3e0
Öxnadalur and Hraundrangi
This I had provided in an earlier post.
Approach to Akureyri.
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//65.742 ... m2!4m1!3e0

[EirKn22]

More links to locations on the Ring Road. This part is the route Reykjavík – Vík (186 km)

Reykjavík – Selfoss (57 km)
This road is part of the well known tourist route called The Golden Circle. One of the most important Icelandic roads. It contains a mountain pass, some lava fields and farmlands. However, it‘s relatively short so there isn‘t much room to include very many features. The road is being worked on in these years and the Google Street View coverage is outdated on this road for many parts.
Litla kaffistofan – A small house by the road, not as a functional fuel station
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Litla ... 21.5013588
Hellisheiði – A mountain pass with lava fields and geothermal springs
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//64.018 ... m2!4m1!3e0
https://www.google.com/maps/dir/64.0203 ... m2!4m1!3e0
https://www.google.com/maps/dir/64.0115 ... m2!4m1!3e0
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//64.009 ... m2!4m1!3e0

At Selfoss
It‘s important to depict the suspension bridge
https://www.google.com/maps/dir/63.9388 ... m2!4m1!3e0

Selfoss – Hvolsvöllur (49 km)
This part of the road is not very scenic and travels through low-lying areas with farmlands.
Þjórsárbrú – A large but not very distinct bridge
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//63.930 ... m2!4m1!3e0
Hella – A village on this part of the road
https://www.google.com/maps/dir/63.8363 ... m2!4m1!3e0
Hvolsvöllur – A truckstop in a village in these parts
https://www.google.com/maps/place/N1/@6 ... -20.234041

Hvolsvöllur – Vík (80 km)
This part of the road is very scenic for the most parts. It will be a pain to choose the featured areas.
Around Markarfljót and Seljalandsfoss and the bridge over the river
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//Þjóðve ... 228244!3e0
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//63.616 ... m2!4m1!3e0
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//63.609 ... m2!4m1!3e0
Around Eyjafjallajökull – The volcano responsible for grounding airplanes in 2010
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//63.546 ... m2!4m1!3e0
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//63.541 ... m2!4m1!3e0
Skógafoss and Sólheimasandur – A beautiful waterfall and a place with a single lane bridge
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//Þjóðve ... 208765!3e0
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//63.498 ... m2!4m1!3e0
Reynisfjall – A short but steep mountain pass right by Vík
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//63.452 ... m2!4m1!3e0
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//63.432 ... m2!4m1!3e0

At Vík
There is a truckstop in the village
https://www.google.com/maps/place/N1/@6 ... 19.0010154

[EirKn22]

More links to locations on the Ring Road. This part is the route Vík – Höfn (273 km)

Vík – Kirkjubæjarklaustur (72 km)
This route is divided into two main parts.
Mýrdalssandur – A vast glacier outwash plain.
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//63.437 ... m2!4m1!3e0 (The street view is outdated by this bridge)
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//63.443 ... m2!4m1!3e0
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//63.509 ... m2!4m1!3e0
Kúðafljót long bridge
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//63.622 ... m2!4m1!3e0
Eldhraun – An enormous lava field.
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//63.714 ... m2!4m1!3e0
Approach to Kirkjubæjarklaustur
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//63.776 ... m2!4m1!3e0
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//63.790 ... m2!4m1!3e0
Truckstop at Kirkjubæjarklaustur
https://www.google.com/maps/place/N1/@6 ... -18.039929

Kirkjubæjarklaustur – Skaftafell (67 km)
A scenic route as the road approaches the big glacier Vatnajökull and its branching glaciers. Some great mountain sights occur.
A waterfall by some mountains
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//63.853 ... m2!4m1!3e0
Lava field
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//63.871 ... m2!4m1!3e0
Lómagnúpur – A dominant mountain around these parts
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//63.956 ... m2!4m1!3e0
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//63.956 ... m2!4m1!3e0
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//63.956 ... m2!4m1!3e0
Skeiðarársandur – An enormous glacier outwash plain with big wide rivers and long bridges, some of them challenging single lane ones.
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//63.956 ... m2!4m1!3e0
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//63.939 ... m2!4m1!3e0
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//63.937 ... m2!4m1!3e0
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//63.973 ... m2!4m1!3e0
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//63.975 ... m2!4m1!3e0 (The long bridge here used to be the longest in Iceland but it has recently been taken out of service and now the road takes a smaller bridge by its side. The old bridge is still standing)
By Skaftafell is a monument of a glacier outburst flood which damaged some of the big bridges in 1996.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Skeið ... 16.9593769

Skaftafell – Jökulsárlón (54 km)
This part of the road is dominated by Iceland‘s highest mountain Öræfajökull and ends by the Glacier Lagoon. Very scenic.
Freysnes – The only fuel station in these parts
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//63.990 ... m2!4m1!3e0
Öræfasveit
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//63.934 ... m2!4m1!3e0
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//63.915 ... m2!4m1!3e0
Breiðamerkursandur
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//64.028 ... m2!4m1!3e0
Jökulsárlón – The scenic Glacier Lagoon with a single lane suspension bridge over the short river and the ocean on the other side.
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//64.045 ... m2!4m1!3e0

Jökulsárlón – Höfn (80 km)
From the Glacier Lagoon the road switches between driving through countryside overseen by mountains and broader sights inland to the big glacier. There are many single lane bridges on this segment.
Hali Bookshelf – A museum
https://www.google.com/maps/place/The+T ... 16.0179806
Mountain side
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//64.188 ... m2!4m1!3e0
Kolgríma single lane bridge
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//64.24 ... m2!4m1!3e0
Sights to the glacier
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//64.276 ... m2!4m1!3e0
Hornafjarðarfljót single lane bridge – A very uneven bridge, the car rocks as driven over it, is planned to be replaced sometime in the next decades.
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//64.354 ... m2!4m1!3e0

[EirKn22]

Routes 41 and 93

Route 41 between Reykjavík – Keflavík and main roads through Reykjavík.
The path of the route through Reykjavík should be route 49 from Route 1 to the cloverleaf with 41. Then the route should follow route 41. It can be too crowded to include most of the road from Reykjavík to Keflavík. It‘s mostly dual carriageway most of the way but as the road is only about 50 km in length there isn‘t much room to include anything of significant length. The road is not that scenic so there is no need to pick out a special part of it to be included. Outside the city it traverses some lava fields and in the city it goes through the suburbs

Route 93 between Egilsstaðir – Seyðisfjörður (the ferry port and gateway to Europe).
This road is only 27 km long but on that short length it travels a very scenic and challenging mountain pass called Fjarðarheiði. It is planned to dig a long tunnel through the mountain in the upcoming decades but as there is still some time until that tunnel faces the day the mountain pass needs to be there.
Egilsstaðir side:
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//65.271 ... m2!4m1!3e0
At the highest point:
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//65.241 ... m2!4m1!3e0
Seyðisfjörður side:
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//65.231 ... m2!4m1!3e0

The Ring Road routes from Akureyri - Egilsstaðir and from Egilsstaðir - Höfn will be put in later.

[EirKn22]

More links to locations on the Ring Road. This part is the route Akureyri – Egilsstaðir (264 km)

Akureyri – Reykjahlíð (Mývatn) (99 km)
This part of the Ring Road used to be a lot more scenic but recently a new tunnel has been made instead of a mountain pass just after Akureyri. There are however still some significant parts of it.
Eyjafjörður bridge – A causeway right by Akureyri
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//65.669 ... m2!4m1!3e0
Vaðlaheiðargöng – The new tunnel just after Akureyri
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//65.712 ... m2!4m1!3e0
Ljósavatnsskarð – A quite scenic valley the road goes through
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//65.722 ... m2!4m1!3e0
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//65.709 ... m2!4m1!3e0
By Goðafoss – There is a beautiful waterfall there and a single lane bridge on the road
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//65.686 ... m2!4m1!3e0
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//65.693 ... m2!4m1!3e0
Fljótsheiði and Mývatnsheiði – Quite boring mountain passes with a valley in between, not that significant and could be merged
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//65.734 ... m2!4m1!3e0
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//65.619 ... m2!4m1!3e0
Lake Mývatn – The fourth largest lake in Iceland, popular tourist destination but the trucking route follows the north side of it. The approach to it follows the salmon river Laxá.
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//65.590 ... m2!4m1!3e0
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//65.617 ... m2!4m1!3e0
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//65.655 ... m2!4m1!3e0

Reykjahlíð (Mývatn) – Egilsstaðir (165 km)
A diverse but long route, the horison is wide and the most scenic features are usually long away. There is virtually no fuel station on this segment.
Námaskarð – A short mountain pass just east of Mývatn with rhyolite-mountains. The approaches on either sides contain geothermal areas.
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//65.639 ... m2!4m1!3e0
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//65.647 ... m2!4m1!3e0
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//65.643 ... m2!4m1!3e0
Mývatnsöræfi – A relatively flat area consisting of lava fields.
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//65.660 ... m2!4m1!3e0
Jökulsá á Fjöllum – A single lane suspension bridge just in the middle of nowhere.
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//65.623 ... m2!4m1!3e0
Möðrudalsöræfi – A long segment of the road with small ridges and little vegetation, there is a small mountain pass in the middle.
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//65.562 ... m2!4m1!3e0
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//65.442 ... m2!4m1!3e0
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//65.464 ... m2!4m1!3e0
Jökuldalsheiði – A high plateau with more vegetation than the segment before. The downhill to the next valley is quite steep.
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//65.394 ... m2!4m1!3e0
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//65.304 ... m2!4m1!3e0
Jökuldalur – A long valley the roads follows for a bit. There is a significant bridge on the river when the road turns from the valley.
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//65.36 ... m2!4m1!3e0
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//65.431 ... m2!4m1!3e0
Jökuldalur to Fljótsdalur – Quite boring segment
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//65.358 ... m2!4m1!3e0
Approach to Egilsstaðir – There is a small village, then a long bridge over a wide river.
https://www.google.com/maps/dir/65.2825 ... m2!4m1!3e0
https://www.google.com/maps/dir/65.2800 ... m2!4m1!3e0