Can my 110 cope?

Ive been planning an expedition this summer in eather Denmark, Sweeden or Finland, but im slightly worried that my 110s not up to the task. The expedition will be short, I was thinking a week or 2, but will it survive the enviroment?; And will I survive if it doesent? Escape routes will be planned, but I dont want to have to use them due vehicle death.

Its a 1987 Land Rover 110; 2.5 Turbo Diesel. Everything appears to work, it drove from Edingbourough to Surrey (some 450 miles) in one go and dident die.

Has anyone done anything like this before? Is there such thing as a sponser for such an expedition, equipment costs add up. Any help would be massively appreachiated.

Richard.

Hi Richard,

I can tell you that you'll have no probs whatsoever in Denmark. Good roads and lots of towns with garages everywhere; weather is very good in Summer. Sweden is slightly different: the roads tend not to be as good the further North you travel due to the extreme winters. In addition to this the country is sparsley populated so I'd advise pre-planning fuel stops, and identify suitable garages on your route prior to departure wherever possible. Don't know about Finland as I've never been there.

All that said I'd have no qualms taking a 90/110 to any of these countries. In fact I fully intend to travel to the Arctic Circle in my 88" Series III.

Just make sure you have european wide breakdown cover, I'd recommend ADAC, and that your motor is well prepared. Oh and if possible don't go alone.

Hope your trip works out well.

Dave

Now, there's a geyser who knows. Seriously Dave, the Arctic Circle in your III? I'd guess we will all want to know about that! Nice trip.

The Artic Circle sounds far more impresive that it actualy is. I was skiing (cross country variety) at a place called Idre Fjall in Sweden just before Christmas and it's about 170 miles south of the Artic Circle. Whilst it does get very cold in the winter, we had temps regularly below -15C, in the summer it's not too bad at all. Even better during the summer you have almost 24 hr a day light.

Whilst it is sparsly populated it is a modern well equiped country with excellent emergency services and good access to reliable breakdown services. Oh and the mobile phone coverage is extremely good if a little expensive.

I mentioned in this forum that I may be planning a more adventurous trip as my next one. Well this may be it; I've just got to keep my fingers crossed and hope that I can get 3 weeks off this summer. It can be done in 2 but I feel it may result in it being a little rushed. If its a go I'll pm those I know on this forum and post in the expeds thread.

Going from the UK is no probs either there's a ferry which goes to Norway from Newcastle. I'm not sure how much it'll cost.

That certianly sounds like the sortof thing im looking for. I think may try Norway first soon as the closest to this ive been is the Lake District, like you say, Norway has better weather and is more densly populated. How do you go about planning an expedition like this; do you start with an OS map, find towns and work from there? What sort of roads am I looking to follow; i dont have a whinch...

Thanks for the response so far, Richard

Richard,

By the time you get that far up the difference between Sweden and Norway is little indeed. However, I would have to agree with you in that Norway is the more sensible idea. In fact I do go it I will probably go up the Norwegean coast. The scenery would be more rewarding and the dog can come too. Going from Germany is no real problam as I can get a Ferry to Oslo from Keil which is only 2 1/2 hours up the road. Going from UK is easy too as the Ferry goes to Bergen.

As for roads all my research so far says there are no issues whatsoever. Whilst some of the roads may not be perfect, due to the weather they get, there is certainly nothing that will tax a Landie.

So to destination: the Town which has got my attention at the moment is Tromso: http://www.world66.com/europe/norway/tromso

Edit - This is a better site I think: http://www.destinasjontromso.no/english/index.html

The Artic circle is at 66° 33' 39" lattitude and Tromso is about 69° 39'; that's over 300km north so it's not just a case of crossing the line. And it's got the worlds most northernmost brewery.

Here's praying that I can get the time off.

Dave

OK you've done it now. I'm going to have to find something else to do as this is sucking me right in. The following is a screen shot of what could be a challenging but worth while route, assuming I can get the dog into and out of Sweden:

http://www.landyzone.co.uk/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=4628&size=big

About 2200 miles, lets say 18 days = about 120 - 130 miles per day
Well, what daya think?

120 miles a day, say 6 hours of actual driving a day (probaly get more), thats 24 miles per hour. If the terrain is easy that should be ok, if its like a greenline in the lake district, then ud be lucky to get an average speed of 10 mph, so ud be pushin it and could end up in a ditch. Its possible by all means as the roads in the south should be ok.

The roads are good for normal saloon cars so no probs in a landie. Should be able to average 45mph without to much difficulty so no mare than 4 hours driving a day. However, it would be my intention to 'sprint' north as far as possible in the the first three - four days giving as much time as possible for the fun bits. This would also reduce the overall fuel consumption, which on a trip like this is fairly huge. I figure I'd need about 130 - 150 gallons .

you won't have any problems with the roads. offroad driving is illegal in norway,and the speed limit is generally 50mph. some of the roads have tolls especially at the tunnels.

for more local advice you could look at www.lrforum.com a norwegian landie site with an international page.i did.

Hello, you shouldn't have any problems driving there, and indeed through Norway as the rouds for the most part should be reasonable, but if you are going and the weather is going to be cold, I suggest you plan to fill up on fuel as regularly as possible, because the Diesel you buy in warmer climates is best suited to warm weather and vice versa, and you could end up with some troubles.

I also believe it is possible to drive directly through Denmark, Sweden and then into Norway, as I believe there is a bridge! this would cut the potential cost of catching a ferry if this is expensive, compared to the channel tunnel or something and driving.


I always like the Norwegians, they deal so much better than us with "weather"

Be carefull of the bridge between Denmark and Sweden it's not cheaper than the ferry but is quicker