What to take on a long trip?

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dominicbeesley

dominicbeesley

Well-Known Member
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Location
Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire
I'm off to France (Le Mans) next week in the S3. Hopefully it will behave but I usually have to do a bit of tinkering...so what tools/spares would you take?

So far I have:
- spare points and rotor
- bulbs
- breath testers! Hi-viz(x3), Triangle, silly light stickers, GB sticker
- fluids
- Socket set, spanners, pliers, screwdriver, Gerber multi-tool
- Tow rope & shackles (hopefully it will rain and I can make a few bob towing people off the campsite :))
- Jack
- Breaker bar & wheel socket
- Starting handle
- Head gasket (why not?)
- Fan blades (in case electric fan plays up)
- Fan belt
- roll of 30A wire and a selection of crimp connectors
- two packets of immodium

Le Mans is pretty good for car parts I've found in the past...that is until you want anything imperial...
 
Have to say I'd add a water pump, fuel pump and a complete gasket set to that instead of just the head gasket. Of course, here they ask you if it's a toy-Oat-Er if yoou try and buy land-Rover parts in the local auto parts store. :)

Gaskets are cheap and right in the package they fit fine behind the seat. Water pump, fuel pump, plugs, dizzy parts and such can easily fit in the locker beneath the seat. Contaainer of oil and another of water likely wouldn't go amiss either.

ajr
 
a pair of halfshafts wouldn't go amiss and a couple of litres of ep90, i've seen them break on the road even in a lightly loaded 88" ragtop

a small tube of silicone sealant

hub seal and land

spare slave cylinders

spare master cylinders

a litre of brake fluid

puncture repair outfit/tube and levers/footpump

a UJ if yours are in unknown condition

also it might be worth chucking a clutch release bearing in the box as S3's give minimal warning when those die due to the plastic carrier melting as they spin

some of my bits may seem over the top but none of them take up much space if stored thoughtfully

i'll guess you already have a decent bottle jack and a couple of small blocks of wood

another thing is a passenger should a halfshaft snap whilst on a hill with FWH's fitted, i could have done with one a few weeks ago :eek:
 
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Thanks lads,

I was thinking about halfshafts but not thought of clutch bearing, will chuck one in out of the parts pile and fuel pump....water pump maybe...gasket set deffo.

I take a small amount of oil but I've found that I usually end up buying oil in France as it is a good bit cheaper over there, I think the mineral oil I got last time was about £6 a gallon and that was the slightly more expensive stuff.

I've got AA and Flux Rescue but to be honest last time I broke down they sent round the French version of the chuckle brothers. They replaced my windscreen with a big sheet of very thin plexiglass and lots of self tappers and cellotape....needless to say it blew inside out as soon as I got to 40mph.
 
Hmm, 1100 mile round trip or thereabouts. Over £400 worth of fuel. Buy a secondhand diesel of some sort (Peugeot estate, perhaps?) drive there and back, sell it, pocket a couple of hundred in fuel savings.
 
errm I am 2/3rds of the way thru a 1000mile trip round England.

So far i've done Gloucs to Newquay, Cornwall, 200miles. Newquay to Hull 440miles, Hull to redcar 98miles

Total so far 738miles
mileage left Redcar to Gloucs. 250miles
Spares Carried NONE..
tools carried
2 toolrolls containg a comprehensive set of spanners sockets screwdrivers pliers etc. jump leads, tyre inflator, multimeter. All fits in the box under drivers seat. then have trolleyjack & 750mm breakerbar in back of landy.
 
You could almost carry a trailer of spares and the one thing that breaks will be the one you don't have. How about just taking sandwiches, ear plugs and a breakdown membership card :)
Just prep and service well before you leave
 
Add insulation tape & a multi meter, but as stated earlier just give it a good service and full check over & take ok tool kit and some basic spares
 
Oxides, I'd budgeted £320 - not bad. What would be the fun of doing it in a Peugot, are you on the right forum?

Thanks lads, I'm not planning on breaking down. If I was doing this in England I'd just take the basics. However, getting British parts in France can be a slow process and I need to be back at work on time. Just don't want to be caught out by the obvious stuff.

Multimeter and tape is already packed - I always carry those, not needed them in anger yet for the car but I've fixed a lot of other stuff!

Jump-leads - I'd forgotten them!

D
 
toilet paper.

You never know when you will need an emergency splatter at the side of a road, especially in foreign countries with foreign food......
 
dominicbeesley said:
Oxides, I'd budgeted £320 - not bad. What would be the fun of doing it in a Peugot, are you on the right forum?

Thanks lads, I'm not planning on breaking down. If I was doing this in England I'd just take the basics. However, getting British parts in France can be a slow process and I need to be back at work on time. Just don't want to be caught out by the obvious stuff.

Multimeter and tape is already packed - I always carry those, not needed them in anger yet for the car but I've fixed a lot of other stuff!

Jump-leads - I'd forgotten them!

D
Click to expand...
Series landys are huge fun but if you want to get somewhere you need a car. If it's the journey you enjoy then take the landy but if there's somewhere you need to be at a certain time......
 
redhand said:
errm I am 2/3rds of the way thru a 1000mile trip round England.

So far i've done Gloucs to Newquay, Cornwall, 200miles. Newquay to Hull 440miles, Hull to redcar 98miles

Total so far 738miles
mileage left Redcar to Gloucs. 250miles
Spares Carried NONE..
tools carried
2 toolrolls containg a comprehensive set of spanners sockets screwdrivers pliers etc. jump leads, tyre inflator, multimeter. All fits in the box under drivers seat. then have trolleyjack & 750mm breakerbar in back of landy.
Click to expand...

I just did an 800 mile trip up to and around Scotland last week. Didn't take any tools. Stupid or just riding my luck?:)
 
ok one or two folks seem to think old landrovers are unreliable, a little maths here for them...

7 Series landrovers, 1x Perky 4.203, 1x 200tdi, 5x 2.25 petrol, let us say an average of 380 miles Welsh weekend laning (probably a higher average than that but i'm being conservative), all weekend and the only things that broke was 1x halfshaft (mine whilst towing 1 ton or thereabout behind my 200tdi powered 109 which almost always is dragging extra weight) and 1x wheelbearing (that failed due to poor maintenance and more rust than case hardening/zero lubricant in the hub) ...

the youngest landrover was the Perky powered one which was "historic" registered S3 (so pre 1973) and the oldest was either a 1959 or 58 S2 (mine is a 1965)

most of these "might" get driven on sunny weekends or to shows/gatherings, the only one that i know is a "daily driver" is my 109, the rest of the owners have a bland eurobox for the daily grind

so that bit of maths gives us a "conservative" estimate of mileage as 2660miles covered that weekend

landrovers unreliable ?? no not in my opinion, it might be unreliable owners ;) but to have only one failure due to poor maintenance amongst 6 weekend toys over 6/7ths of that mileage isn't bad in my books :D

anyone that doesn't have a reasonable amount of confidence in thier landrover probably needs to spend a little more time on preventative maintenance :p
 
Howa about, you make sure you get a tow you home menbership card with European cover, then so long as you get there ok, do something like take fuses out or clamp a fuel line, they then will tow you home, saving a ton in petrol.....
 
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