What has happen to the adventurism with Defender owners.

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gstuart said:
that's really good

suppose i would have to allow mine only doing around. 15 mpg, seeing it would be off road
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Fuel in Morocco is much cheaper. I was surprised how well we did on fuel. I was thinking like you are that going through sand etc fuel economy would be heavy but it wasn't. Because your only cruising along my Defender was doing a good 30 mpg and on one refill I was getting 35 mpg.
We had heard of some horror stories about security, especially along the Algerian boarder but it was fine. The Moroccan police and army are watching from various lookout points. The impression I got is they want the tourist to have a good time. In fact OLDUN was on a recent trip and he said the police camped about 500 meters away over night to keep guard over there group.
Our only downside to the trip was going through the port. They love paperwork. It took us about a good hour to get through. There are people trying to rip you off everywhere, but that's part of the Moroccan culture. Once you get away from the touristic areas you will see how poor the people are. Everyone wants to trade. Take all your old cloths and anything you don't need any more. They will trade you for it. Kids on the side of the road or in the middle of the desert trying to beg for pencils, pens, paper, sweets. One poor guy who had a bit of a speech impediment ran round to everyone in our group, he wanted socks.
 
mikescuba said:
Yep, would definitely lick them to death they would. They look really soft and soppy.
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you've got that right

other day whilst popping into a shop, the were in the back of the landy with a the window down abit

a couple of kids came past , stuck there hands in the car and dogs proceeded to bark

heard the kids laughing as they were getting licked to death,

bloody good guard dogs , yeh right , lol
 
mikescuba said:
Fuel in Morocco is much cheaper. I was surprised how well we did on fuel. I was thinking like you are that going through sand etc fuel economy would be heavy but it wasn't. Because your only cruising along my Defender was doing a good 30 mpg and on one refill I was getting 35 mpg.
We had heard of some horror stories about security, especially along the Algerian boarder but it was fine. The Moroccan police and army are watching from various lookout points. The impression I got is they want the tourist to have a good time. In fact OLDUN was on a recent trip and he said the police camped about 500 meters away over night to keep guard over there group.
Our only downside to the trip was going through the port. They love paperwork. It took us about a good hour to get through. There are people trying to rip you off everywhere, but that's part of the Moroccan culture. Once you get away from the touristic areas you will see how poor the people are. Everyone wants to trade. Take all your old cloths and anything you don't need any more. They will trade you for it. Kids on the side of the road or in the middle of the desert trying to beg for pencils, pens, paper, sweets. One poor guy who had a bit of a speech impediment ran round to everyone in our group, he wanted socks.
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think that's the thing that would be in the back of my mind regarding security , also having the dogs with me, hear so many horror stories

assume though if going with a proper tour company they organise all things like this , ensuring ur safety

forgot about that ref the fuel being cheaper , would also have to buy a good list of spare parts to carry

think 14/21 days sounds ideal , so as with some tours ur rushed which i wouldn't wish to do

ideally having someone with u , to at least share the driving , as just being on ur own on long drives would be so boring

think doing something like 100 x miles a day would be good, otherwise u end up knackered , not being able to see the true beauty of the country ur driving through
 
bankz5152 said:
Lovely dogs!!

I've always wanted to aswell, its why I bought a Defender in the first place. My first idea was Australia but after properly looking into it, the trip became VERY expensive very quickly so it got shelved, maybe one day in the future when I've made some more cash!

That said I've wanted to do Morocco for the past couple years, just never had the cash to do so plus I ended up going to Vegas instead :rolleyes: twice haha. Been to Marrakesh twice but on holiday, loved it both times, except the call to prayer grew quite tiresome when your hungover in that heat...

Once my landy is a bit more how I want it, I'll start looking again toward the end of the year for a 2018 trip. Got to convince the girlfriend to come as well, shes very apprehensive about doing anything landy related as for some reason the 90 always died when ever we went on long trips in it! Clearly didnt like her :p

Done France a couple of times, but I would hardly say it was an expedition. More of a nice drive to a campsite then a day off roading in sand. Blinding fun but thats about the most expeditioning i've done....
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think on a lot of trips like this, would be the case of roughing it

my ideal trip would be around 21 x days, so it's not rushed , being able to enjoy the country

doing 50 x miles in the morning then another 50 x miles in the afternoon , that way having a relaxing drive and isn't all rush, rush all the time

able to stretch ur legs, taking some pics along the way
 
Yeah I know what you mean, Its definitely something I want to look into more thoroughly the number of spare parts I'd need is quite large as well! You'd be going in practical luxury in the D3!

I'd probably invest in a roof tent or OzTent, got a decent pop up one but I wouldnt want to spend more than a 4 nights in one. Gets very cramped and uncomfortable pretty quick!
 
bankz5152 said:
Yeah I know what you mean, Its definitely something I want to look into more thoroughly the number of spare parts I'd need is quite large as well! You'd be going in practical luxury in the D3!

I'd probably invest in a roof tent or OzTent, got a decent pop up one but I wouldnt want to spend more than a 4 nights in one. Gets very cramped and uncomfortable pretty quick!
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agreed , would be interesting to see how the fender and D3 compare off road, think the fender would be leaps ahead to mine , do feel though the D3 should be able to keep up

must admit it is comfortable, can't get over how quiet it is down the motorway ,

daft question have u driven a D3 , plus are u going to the lz13 event

if so ur more than welcome to have a test drive in mine if u wish

ref tents , i would most likely get one of the inflatable tents, so it's easy to put up and not messing around with poles etc
 
Hence roof tent! No poles! Oz Tents ive seen em put up, the shell goes up in 2 minutes or less, the rest takes maybe 10 - 20 but they are bloody roomy and nice inside!

Havnt driven one, but been a passenger many times. Very kind, same goes for you in mine. Would like to, though its right around me mums birthday so I'll have to wait until closer to the time tbh

I reckon similarly equiped D3/110 would fair very close
 
bankz5152 said:
Hence roof tent! No poles! Oz Tents ive seen em put up, the shell goes up in 2 minutes or less, the rest takes maybe 10 - 20 but they are bloody roomy and nice inside!

Havnt driven one, but been a passenger many times. Very kind, same goes for you in mine. Would like to, though its right around me mums birthday so I'll have to wait until closer to the time tbh

I reckon similarly equiped D3/110 would fair very close
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fingers crossed ur be able to make it

seen a lot of those roof tents etc , wouldn't be any good for me , due to having the dogs , lol

at the lz13 event wish to try and find somewhere to see how far the d3 has to be pushed to get struck , so that i can see what it will and won't do, also messing around with all the settings to see how they react

have messed around a little , but really need to be in a group whilst off road, so then at least can get pulled out

would indeed be great to drive all through europe etc
 
Yeah exactly, its a shame there isnt much near here. Its such a shame 4x4 Solutions closed down, I was there at least once a month. Had a little bit for everyone but since closed down! The other P&Ps round here either have silly entry fees or are just too extreme for my liking.

The only other place is Elham off road, but needs £200 (so 10 people £20) to secure it for a day, i'll let you know if I end up down there again
 
bankz5152 said:
Yeah exactly, its a shame there isnt much near here. Its such a shame 4x4 Solutions closed down, I was there at least once a month. Had a little bit for everyone but since closed down! The other P&Ps round here either have silly entry fees or are just too extreme for my liking.

The only other place is Elham off road, but needs £200 (so 10 people £20) to secure it for a day, i'll let you know if I end up down there again
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in april march time will be going to some lanes i have maps for to check them out, all in kent sussex area

don't worry will ensure if there ok to give u a shout

will also keep the locations quite so that it doesn't become public knowledge so to speak, otherwise it would end up a free for all

but will ensure at least 6 x of us landy owners should be able to get some off roading in
 
bankz5152 said:
Good plan man, happy to tag along.
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that's what i thought , so if these lanes are any good and are not to aggressive will indeed give u a shout

at least then with a group of us going , will be better if one of us gets stuck, also keeping the numbers down will reduce damage to the lanes

best of all will be free, lol
 
mikescuba said:
Don't think anyone is saying adventurism is exclusive to Defender owners, but if you have one why dream of an adventure. Why not live it.
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I should have added a smiley at the end of my comment as it was meant tongue in cheek, reading it back it does come over as quite abrupt. I was just meaning that you could have the adventure in any vehicle not just a Defender. As for the discomfort and reliability I have crossed the Sahara on or in everything from a Honda C90 to an overloaded Mercedes 609 van (6.7 tons on the weigh bridge at Dover, full of medical supplies for Bansang hospital, and that was before we loaded up with fuel, water and food for 7 bikes and 8 people for a 3 week journey to The Gambia!) The C90 was the most uncomfortable and least reliable but by far the most fun :D
For those expressing an interest in guided tours I'm just about to launch my new business running trips in Europe and NW Africa, including Morocco, based around hotels rather than camping (although camping will be an option). We should launch on the 1st of March and I will put details in the Sponsors section as soon as I've spoken to admin.
 
MrIFan said:
I should have added a smiley at the end of my comment as it was meant tongue in cheek, reading it back it does come over as quite abrupt. I was just meaning that you could have the adventure in any vehicle not just a Defender. As for the discomfort and reliability I have crossed the Sahara on or in everything from a Honda C90 to an overloaded Mercedes 609 van (6.7 tons on the weigh bridge at Dover, full of medical supplies for Bansang hospital, and that was before we loaded up with fuel, water and food for 7 bikes and 8 people for a 3 week journey to The Gambia!) The C90 was the most uncomfortable and least reliable but by far the most fun :D
For those expressing an interest in guided tours I'm just about to launch my new business running trips in Europe and NW Africa, including Morocco, based around hotels rather than camping (although camping will be an option). We should launch on the 1st of March and I will put details in the Sponsors section as soon as I've spoken to admin.
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Shall look forward to seeing your new venture. Wish you good luck. HAve you though of advertising on the Land rover Defender facebook page.:
 
bankz5152 said:
Yeah I know what you mean, Its definitely something I want to look into more thoroughly the number of spare parts I'd need is quite large as well! You'd be going in practical luxury in the D3!

I'd probably invest in a roof tent or OzTent, got a decent pop up one but I wouldnt want to spend more than a 4 nights in one. Gets very cramped and uncomfortable pretty quick!
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I bought a £49 tent from decathlon which worked for me. Makes a cheap roof tent.
DSC_6600.JPG
 
After our trip we all agreed we took way too many spare parts. The parts we did need we didn't have. A Defender 90 broke a half shaft and a rear diff. None of us carried one of those. Managed to tow him out to a garage. If you take it steady and don't go mad and your wagon has been serviced before you go you shouldn't have too many problems. I took spare ball joints bearings. I think between us all we could have near enough built another Defender.
 
mikescuba said:
After our trip we all agreed we took way too many spare parts. The parts we did need we didn't have. A Defender 90 broke a half shaft and a rear diff. None of us carried one of those. Managed to tow him out to a garage. If you take it steady and don't go mad and your wagon has been serviced before you go you shouldn't have too many problems. I took spare ball joints bearings. I think between us all we could have near enough built another Defender.
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Agreed. We took spare wheel bearings, brake callipers, hoses and more fluids than the car could use. We used none of them.
We didn't even get a flat tyre and we did some miles, just over 5k if i remember and in a P38 :)
James broke his motor showing off to Rachel otherwise we'd have probably done ok.

As for cost, we spent about £2.5k between two of us. £3 per night to camp per car, bargain, and that was at a 5* hotel with swimming pool chucked in. Shame beer was almost £6 a bottle :eek:

As for security concerns, we didn't have any. Police were friendly as were the locals and they'd do anything to help. We even had a guided tour round a village/town including all the little back streets and houses. We saw loads despite driving hundreds of miles a day sometimes.

It was best 2 n bit weeks holiday i've had, would go again for sure.

Adam
 
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