overland vehicle fitting

I'm planning to do some extensive travelling in Africa and to that end will
be buying a vehicle and getting it fitted out for overland travel. I
would really welcome any recommendations with regard where to purchase a
suitable vehicle, I was looking at Land Rover Defenders or Toyota Land
Cruisers, and companies that could outfit the vehicle for that sort of
travel. I am very flexible in terms of country.

many thanks

psw wrote:
I'm planning to do some extensive travelling in Africa and to that end will
be buying a vehicle and getting it fitted out for overland travel. I
would really welcome any recommendations with regard where to purchase a
suitable vehicle, I was looking at Land Rover Defenders or Toyota Land
Cruisers, and companies that could outfit the vehicle for that sort of
travel. I am very flexible in terms of country.

many thanks


Hi. A difficult question. A lot depends on your budget. Landrover is
perhaps easier to be fitted out for overlanding and used to be THE
vehicle for Africa. I'm afraid that these days the Japanese vehicles
are much more reliable and are readily repaired in most African
countries. Some would say Toyota but I would go For the Mitsubishi L200
(as named in the UK) In Africa it is the Colt Rodeo. I have one here
in Scotland and one in JoBurg. A lot of the new 4x4's will drop into 4
wheel drive on the move these days but the Mitsubishi has been that way
for a long time. Good if you are buying second hand. Mine pulls a bush
caravan almost anywhere. see http://www.touchthewild.com for a report.
Having the conversion done is expensive. If you have time, you could do
it yourself, it's not rocket science and I could give you some tips. I
am currently building a big one based on the Mercedes 12 ton 4x4
truck.......going to be awsome.

Phil

Hi, this is one of my favourite subjects...

For Landrover information in the UK, your best bet is to have a look
at http://www.landrovernet.com

Which countries are you planning on visiting, and what are you
planning on doing over here?

ON THE BEATEN TRACK:
If you're doing the easier, more established routes, then virtually
any vehicle will do, as long as you have a strong chassis, and
suitable clearance. You could drive through the whole of Eastern and
Southern Africa in an ordinary saloon car if you choose your route
carefully, so the modified pick-up trucks are more than adequate.

OFF THE BEATEN TRACK:
I've been travelling off the beaten track for 12 years now, and I've
done over half a million km's all over southern and east Africa, so I
have a good handle on what I've seen that works, and what I've seen
that is a disaster. I'm a Landrover user, but not a mindless fanatic
of the vehicle, but if you are going anywhere off the beaten track, I
strongly recommend that you ONLY consider Landrover Defender or Totota
Landcruiser and nothing else.

Not only do I suggest that you look only at the Landy or the Toyota,
but I would strongly advise AGAINST the Defender with Td5 engine and
the fancier Land Cruisers such as the Prado, VX, GX etc. Stay away
from petrol engines as petrol is often not available. Defenders to
look at are the ones with 200Tdi, 300Tdi and TD engines. The only
Landcruiser engine to use is the normally aspirated 6 cyl 4.5l engine
which is superbly reliable and strong as an ox. Defenders are FAR more
comfortable than the Landcruiser and better performers, but the
'Cruiser tends to be somewhat more reliable, if a bit less tough
overall.

Forget about all the c**p about top speeds, and the fact that these
vehicles are slow.Also, don't look at "features" like ABS, HDC etc.
What you need is reliability, torque at low RPM, and STRONG
drivetrain. The Pajero, and all the pick-up based 4x4's just don't
have the strength that a Rover/Cruiser has. You certainly DON'T need
ABS, airbags, traction control, HDC etc. as these are simply liable to
malfunction, and are virtually meaningless on most African routes and
merely a waste of money that you should raher spend on fuel and a good
camera.

When you're out of the major routes, even in a reasonably organised
country like Tanzania, having a computerised vehicle is not a good
idea at all. You can get 200Tdi, 300Tdi, and Landcruiser 6cyl NA6
diesel spares almost anywhere (and a mechanic who will fix the
vehicle). If you have a computer problem (and this could be ANYTHING
from ants or rodents in the wiring, water or condensation in the
computer, sensor failure, contaminated fuel, a minor or major grass
fire, environmental factors etc), then you are IN A WORLD OF TROUBLE
EVEN IF YOU'RE IN A BIG CITY. I can virtually guarantee that you will
not properly sort out a computer problem in a late model vehicle in
ANY African city outside of South Africa.

Apart from computerised vehicles, top of my list of things to forget
about on a long African journey is the "offroad trailer". Not only do
they dramaticaly increase fuel consumption, but they put unbelievable
strain on the chassis and suspension of the vehicle especially in soft
sand and when they're actually used "off road". Anything that you need
to pack into a trailer is probably unnessesary anyway.

What I do recommend is:
1) Lots of fuel storage. I have the standard 80l diesel tank, a 45l
fender tank, and I carry 80 to 120 litres in Jerry cans on the roof
rack.
2) Water. I carry a 60l tank of drinking water as well as buying
bottled water wherever possible. Being dirty won't kill you, but
running out of drinking water WILL.
3) I have a small 30l Engel fridge which is fantastic.
4) If you're camping, a fold-out awning with mosquito net side walls
(I have a Howling Moon) and a ground sheet makes an excellent
sunshade and a very quick, cool sleeping tent if there are no big cats
around. If there are cats (particularly hyaena) use a roof tent.

Anyway, have a look around at http://www.landrovernet.com where you'll
find a friendly forum, and lots of advice.

Regards,
Marc - Johannesburg, South Africa


On Fri, 08 Sep 2006 19:17:03 GMT, "psw"
wrote:

I'm planning to do some extensive travelling in Africa and to that end will
be buying a vehicle and getting it fitted out for overland travel. I
would really welcome any recommendations with regard where to purchase a
suitable vehicle, I was looking at Land Rover Defenders or Toyota Land
Cruisers, and companies that could outfit the vehicle for that sort of
travel. I am very flexible in terms of country.

many thanks

Many thanks for the very welcome advice and I'll certainly take
it all on board. My plan is to go wherever my fancy takes me and
where the sun is shining, avoiding the rainy seasons where possible.
The biggest consideration I have at the moment is whether to purchase
the vehicle and fit it out in the UK, then either ship it to SA or drive it
down through Spain, or buy and fit it in SA. Whereas
there is no end of places in the UK that will fit out vehicles and a huge
range to choose from, I know nothing about what's available in SA.
Personal recommendations are worth there weight in gold.

once again many thanks

"psw" wrote in message
.uk...
I'm planning to do some extensive travelling in Africa and to that end
will be buying a vehicle and getting it fitted out for overland travel. I
would really welcome any recommendations with regard where to purchase a
suitable vehicle, I was looking at Land Rover Defenders or Toyota Land
Cruisers, and companies that could outfit the vehicle for that sort of
travel. I am very flexible in terms of country.

many thanks

psw wrote:
Many thanks for the very welcome advice and I'll certainly take
it all on board. My plan is to go wherever my fancy takes me and
where the sun is shining, avoiding the rainy seasons where possible.
The biggest consideration I have at the moment is whether to purchase
the vehicle and fit it out in the UK, then either ship it to SA or drive it
down through Spain, or buy and fit it in SA. Whereas
there is no end of places in the UK that will fit out vehicles and a huge
range to choose from, I know nothing about what's available in SA.
Personal recommendations are worth there weight in gold.

once again many thanks

"psw" wrote in message
.uk...

I'm planning to do some extensive travelling in Africa and to that end
will be buying a vehicle and getting it fitted out for overland travel. I
would really welcome any recommendations with regard where to purchase a
suitable vehicle, I was looking at Land Rover Defenders or Toyota Land
Cruisers, and companies that could outfit the vehicle for that sort of
travel. I am very flexible in terms of country.

many thanks


outh Africa are very high

Used prices in South Africa are very high so it would be best to buy in
the UK. South Africans might be better at fitting out but you have to
consider the time you would spend there; if you have the wanderlust,
South Africa is not really the place to kick your heels. If you buy
there, you need to consider registration problems, and so on.
Driving down through Spain? If you don't have the experience, I would
say you will never get to the south, there are war zones blocking just
about every route. I am not brave enough. The best areas to wander are
the southern countries bordering SA: Namibia, Botswana, up tp Zambia,
Malawi, maybe Tanzania. They would keep you ocupied for a year or two,
they are game rich, speak English and are generally friendy.
Best advice: Buy and fit here. Ship to Cape Town or Durban, use a
carnet de passage to enable you to cross borders with ease. and get out
there!
By the way. People all over can repair landrovers as Marc says. You
know why? They are always breaking down!

Oh, Ha Ha Philip, like I haven't heard that one before... ;-) (read
this line with a sarcastic tone...)

Good advice generally from Philip, however, I'd suggest rather
shipping the vehicle unfitted down here, and doing the fitments here.

Much of the stuff that gets fitted in the UK is made in SA anyway
(Frontrunner, EasiAwn, Howling Moon, B'rakah, Safari Centre, etc.)
If the shipping cost is acceptable, I'd ship the vehicle to
Johannesburg (although it's 400km inland, Jo'burg is considered a
cargo port) and have it fitted in Jo'burg.

Why do I recommend fitting in Jo'burg? Well several reasons really:
1) There's plenty to do here while you're spending a few days fitting
the vehicle.
2) Jo'burg is far more business-like and customer oriented than Cape
Town and Durban, so you'll get more competitive pricing, and better
service.
3) Jo'burg fitment centres have FAR more experience with the products.
4) Jo'burg makes an excellent base in which to gather information
about routes, planning, last minute purchases etc. I can't emphasise
just how much bigger Johannesburg is than any other city in Africa,
not in sheer size or population (it has a lower population than Lagos
and Cairo), but in terms of infrastructure, access to amenities,
business opportunities, access to information, access to expertise,
access to local and imported produce etc. etc. etc.
5) It's only about 400km from Jo'burg to the Botswana, Zimbabwe,
Mozambique, Lesotho, or Swaziland borders. Cape Town is 1600km away
from Jo'burg. Even southern Mozambique (and Jo'burg) is 600km from
Durban.

Regarding your route... You need to plan VERY carefully if you want to
drive from Europe through to South Africa.

At the moment your best entry into Africa is probably through Morocco
or Tunisia as Algeria is a nightmare, Libya can be very problematic,
and there is quite a lot of difficulty with foreign registered
vehicles in Egypt.

If you get into Egypt or Djibouti or Eritrea, then you have two
significan problems along your route: Somalia and Sudan. I strongly
advise agains Somalia. There is a VERY GOOD chance that you will
either lose the vehicle, die, or both. Sudan will be a problem in the
south where it is currently very dodgy.

Once you're in Kenya or Ethiopia it's plain sailing (and very
enjoyable) all the way to Cape Town, no matter which route you choose.
Personally I'd go Kenya, west into Uganda, south through Uganda into
Tanzania, east across Tanzania, and then south to Malawi. South
through Malawi, then south east into Mozambique. You then go south all
the way through Mozambique, or you go south to Beira, and then head
west into Zimbabwe, then south to SA.

I don't know the westerly route too well, but you have several problem
countries: Equatorial Guinea is a problem, and Central African
Republic is a definite no-no. DR Congo is a VERY dodgy country to
travel through because of an unstable political climate, and because
of sheer beaurocratic non-sense. Both CAR and DRC have virtually no
road infrastructure, and it's foolhardy to travel through in only one
vehicle.

I agree with Philip that travelling in Southern and Eastern Africa is
more than interesting enough for several years worth of travel.

Regards,
Marc

On Sat, 16 Sep 2006 22:02:20 +0100, Philip
wrote:


By the way. People all over can repair landrovers as Marc says. You
know why? They are always breaking down!

Marc Lurie wrote:
Oh, Ha Ha Philip, like I haven't heard that one before... ;-) (read
this line with a sarcastic tone...)

Good advice generally from Philip, however, I'd suggest rather
shipping the vehicle unfitted down here, and doing the fitments here.

Hi Marc....excuse us, psw for talking across you here......I have had 3
landrovers in my time, from an old series one to an early td5 and I just
love them. If I had unlimited wealth, I would buy another one tomorrow.
I just wouldn't want to be on my own in Koakaland in one, the Japs
have it for reliability, I'm afraid.
Anyway, I agree with you about Jo'burg, I used to store my Colt and
Xplorer caravan there as convenient to get to Botswana. The point I
meant to make was that unless you have a friend to help you and put you
up for..how many weeks to fit out?.....South Africa, and Jo'burg in
particular is not a very nice place to be waiting around in.

Phil