New and after advice for a trip.

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S

Swiss

New Member
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Hello everyone am currently saving to travel around Europe, Africa and possibly further, (no confirmed route yet) for a minimum of 12 months.

There are a few questions I have after searching forum for a while on what type of land rover to get for the trip, am thinking 300tdi due to the more simple engine electrics, but although am not new to fixing cars I am new to land rovers so any advice appreciated. (Hope I haven't opened a can of worms)

The other question is should I get a standard land rover and kit it out from scratch or buy a one that is fully kitted out although ive not seen many of these for sale after looking for some time. Either way I havent got a big budget so willing to spend my own time getting a half decent one up to scratch for the trip.

Any thoughts and advice is more than welcome.

Tony
 
Hey Tony,

Don't know if it's worth anything, but I'm planning a similar trip... 12+ months through Africa starting nov 2011. In the end I decided to buy a Defender 110 for the trip both because of the availability of parts, but also because I thought I'd enjoy learning to repair it and doing the modifications. I picked up a '97 300 tdi last month with a few of the features I'd need (dual batteries, extra fuel tank, roof rack) but still not "expedition ready". And so the journey begins! :)

If you want to compare notes, PM me.

- Andrew
 
AndrewPrior said:
Hey Tony,

Don't know if it's worth anything, but I'm planning a similar trip... 12+ months through Africa starting nov 2011. In the end I decided to buy a Defender 110 for the trip both because of the availability of parts, but also because I thought I'd enjoy learning to repair it and doing the modifications. I picked up a '97 300 tdi last month with a few of the features I'd need (dual batteries, extra fuel tank, roof rack) but still not "expedition ready". And so the journey begins! :)

If you want to compare notes, PM me.

- Andrew
Click to expand...

Sounds good, am trying to figure out what mods to do to the land rover, obviously it needs to be mechanically sound before I set off but its the extra bits as you mentioned about the extra fuel tank, dual batteries etc that I could with some advice on.

PM on what you plan to do to your land rover and if you have any decent links on making a land rover up to expedition standard, would be handy.
 
I would rather buy a standard vehicle, make it mechanically sound, and then fit additional kit if needed. At least then you can be confident in the car, rather than assuming the job has been done well. That's jsut my own personal approach but I certainly wouldn't buy one from an "overland" type company.

Do a search for dual batteries and I am sure it will come up with plenty of threads. I ended up ditching the silly controller and using a very basic setup with 2 marine batteries. Roof rack...buy one as rugged as you can so it doesnt fall apart (strapping a roof rack down with ratchet straps is not too fun), especially as you are going for 12 months...personally I would not buy one off ebay etc unless you have had sound advice from people who can vouch for the quality.
 
Ive been doing loads of research and no doubt this will continue as I have plenty of time to prep for it.

Think the hardest part is buying a 300tdi that the right price thats in half decent state.

Like the statement of kit 'the vehicle for you.'
 
For some reason a couple of my post on this thread are not coming on, dont know why as my comments are all above board.

Anyway after looking for way too long at possible overland vehicles I have come to a couple of alternatives. Dont get me wrong am not questioning the ability of a defender its just comes down to one thing and thats money.

It seems that to pick up a decent 110 defender at the moment you are looking at alot of cash. You can get one thats been a work horse and high mileage cheaper obviously but for the same price you could pick up a 3.0l Toyota surf, low mileage and the most off roading its seen is when it mounted a kerb to pick the kids up from school.

To me I have to keep the price plus mods reasonable as this will allow me to travel further and longer as the budget will be extended, which am sure many will agree what its all about.

I know am new to the forum and know f*** all about landrovers compared to most on here and I did initially have my heart set on a land rover but they are too pricey at the moment which means I had to look for an alternative.

This isnt a Toyota is better than land rover post its just someone who wants to overland with a budget that isnt limitless.
 
Swiss said:
For some reason a couple of my post on this thread are not coming on, dont know why as my comments are all above board.

Anyway after looking for way too long at possible overland vehicles I have come to a couple of alternatives. Dont get me wrong am not questioning the ability of a defender its just comes down to one thing and thats money.

It seems that to pick up a decent 110 defender at the moment you are looking at alot of cash. You can get one thats been a work horse and high mileage cheaper obviously but for the same price you could pick up a 3.0l Toyota surf, low mileage and the most off roading its seen is when it mounted a kerb to pick the kids up from school.

To me I have to keep the price plus mods reasonable as this will allow me to travel further and longer as the budget will be extended, which am sure many will agree what its all about.

I know am new to the forum and know f*** all about landrovers compared to most on here and I did initially have my heart set on a land rover but they are too pricey at the moment which means I had to look for an alternative.

This isnt a Toyota is better than land rover post its just someone who wants to overland with a budget that isnt limitless.
Click to expand...

Er........
1, yer posts are all there as I can see all 4. Unless you've posted more than that ?
2, Whether you eventually choose a Landy or not is almost irrelevant you still need the same kit.
3, This is a Landrover forum, which has an expedition sub forum....

So what was the advice and tips you wanted about? Landrovers which yer seem to be ruling out or Expeditions :confused:
 
As a complete novice in overland travel I was hoping to get a 300tdi 110 landrover and kit most of it out myself and use this forum as a guide to help me out.

I came on here for advice on both landrovers and expeditions, but as you say in the end no matter what vehicle you use you will end up taking the same equipment.

Ive done plenty of searching and reading on this forum and there is a whole wealth of info and plenty of links to other websites which contain more than enough information on expeditions of which I am grateful for.

I suppose my last post was me just me thinking I could pick up a decent landrover for a good price (like everyone hopes I suppose) but being surprised how much they hold there value and having to find an alternative.
 
Just remember, often things cost what they do for a reason. I specifically bought a landy because you can get parts in Africa and I read that they are (relatively) easy to learn and work on. These were very important for me, you need to come to your own conclusions of course.

The other vehicle I looked at was a land cruiser, but I figured that wouldn't be as much fun. :)

- Andrew
 
@Swiss

It doesn`t matter which car you choose, every Model has its weak and strong points.
But there is one point for Land Rover which you probably didn`t mention by now.

The spares are much cheaper and easier to fix then Jap parts.
 
Thats why I want a landrove because of the cheap parts which are widely available plus the fact that they are fairly simple and easier to work on than most other vehicles I have looked at if things do go wrong.

Ive got a few months to decide what to go for yet and have already managed to drive myself insane looking for the right vehicle to buy and modify. Am sure the perfect one is waiting just round the corner.
 
From the vehicle point of view its probably going to cost the same ,just different points of spending the money. You can pay more up front and by a 110 300tdi , or spend less get a surf , and experience the spending/loss later.
The other trap to fall into is over prepping , eg things that are not really required, as mentioned in previous post all singing dual battery set up . Try and work on KISS principles as it will cause you less grief in long run, and save you money. HTSH
 
tacr2man said:
The other trap to fall into is over prepping HTSH
Click to expand...
:clap2:More than true!!
A car is something to work with, it is just a thing to bring you to the places you want to visit.

I`ve seen that for to many times that peeps cant enjoy their holidays because they have too many things to take care of on their car.

A normal Landy (or Landcruiser, surf, Shogun.........) has the ability to bring you everywhere. You dont want to win a trophy.
 
Ahaggar said:
:clap2:More than true!!
A car is something to work with, it is just a thing to bring you to the places you want to visit.

I`ve seen that for to many times that peeps cant enjoy their holidays because they have too many things to take care of on their car.

A normal Landy (or Landcruiser, surf, Shogun.........) has the ability to bring you everywhere. You dont want to win a trophy.
Click to expand...

Ahhh but when you get there, the ability to have your tent set up and be sitting in your comfy chair, drinking a coffee, before your mates have even got their tents out the car, is well, priceless...

Obviously being over prepared is by definition too much, but there is nothing wrong being well prepared.

As for all singing all dancing split charge, I like mine. It enabled me to quickly see what was draining my aux battery (extractor fan when off) and what was sucking all my power (fridge constantly being refilled with warm bottles of water and cool drink in the middle of the desert)

Thinking my next trip I'll be much better prepared. I'll have more Beer, more simple meals, no gourmet meals, same amount of sausages and bacon, less clothes, only 3 changes, a flare box washing machine, bigger alternator, and have my gas cylinder mounted externally, that's about it...
 
Everyody has to find his way of travelling!
My way is to keep things basic. After my first trip to tunisia with the motorcycle I recogniced that there are so many things that I didn`t miss at all.
For me travelling is going back to the roots, much like mountain climbing but longer.
If cool beer is what you need to have it`s fine. In desert I stick on green tea with peppermint while sitting near the fire.
But I know that not everybody will agree with me, that is one reason for me to travel alone. :)

But dont get me wrong, I`m well prepared for the trip, have all the usual equipment to maintain and rescue my car.
 
Last edited:
Hi Swiss
If you need help with your research here's a good couple of links:
The Africa Overland Network - Independent Overland Travel across Africa, Asia and World
4WD Overland TRAVEL - The HUBB

I agree - keep things simple and cheap. Spend money on a good service before you go and learn how to do vehicle checks on route so you can spot problems early before they fail completely. But you're right about Land Rovers - most things can be fixed quickly and cheaply by local mechanics. Good luck with the research,
Jonnie
 
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