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Best / Worst piece of kit ???
This posting should be interesting and hopefully useful to those newbies (that's me) to overlanding.
What's the "must have" piece of kit that you found made all the difference and what was the "total waste of money and space" item ? ------------------ |
Worst piece of kit = superwinch.
Didn't buy it, rather just 'left it on'. Pointless and heavy. Maybe handy in CA mud, but all it did for us was bust a spring. Best bit of kit = Coleman petrol stove. Thing I wish we'd brought = deckchairs! Less is more. Know your vehicle and concentrate on the essentials. A lot of the fancier overland kit is there just to reassure the nervous (and empty their pockets). Happy travels! |
Best:
1.Rear Bumper (disco 1): used it for cooking and writing my diary. 2. Rooftent (Magiolina Xtreem. A bit short though) 3. Rubber mat and plastic thee pot for showering before I got into the tent. 4. airbags in the rear springs. Useless: Camp shower (black plastic bag that is suposed to heat the water). On lazy days I wished I had an electrical pump to filter water, or just soms Micro pur tablets would have done as well. |
Best is a good compressor,don't skimp;a few extra dollars gives security plus spare time and effort.
Worse:much more in the eye of the beholder!To much cooking kit is always a failing for me! |
One of my favorites is the Ortlieb folding wash up bowl, handy for washing dishes, clothes,hair, etc also if you put a karabiner between the 2 handles, and attatch some paracord to it- it makes the perfect well bucket, just hold the bottm centre and drop it down the well (tie the other end to your wrist to avoid embaressment !- the weight of the Krab helps it fill and then just haul away- they pour well as you can pull 2 sides in to form a spout. Lightweight and folds to nothing - available in 3 sizes, you can also make up big salads in them too for a group of people.
For water purification I use Micropur powder by Katadyn - quick, and easily to use in the water tank - if the water is not so good a few drops of Iodine too - gravity feed works best for tanks - it never breaks ! Cheers Grif |
Hey grif,
Where do you need to wash your hair for? Or isn't it your hair that needs washing? ;-) Rob |
I don't think it was his own hair he was referring to, as I recall Grif did the intelligent thing before setting off and shaved his head. (a genuine water saving measure)
I didn't, but then my camper had a bigger tank. Useful kit; I'd go for the compressor, and split rims if, like me, you set off with tyres that have already done 80,000km... Or maybe I can blame the guide who let down my rear twin wheels so much that the tyres touched, heated and burst. Thinking about the folding tub, for 10 euros you can get an inflatable baby's bathtub which is a good size for doing the laundry or washing up. My little girl (3months) adores it. I hadn't vendured into a babycare shop before the trip so I didn't know they existed. |
Yep, the compressor, but that's really a Sahara thing. Once trought the Sahara you don't get your compressor out that much. (I didn't at least, or I don't remember, which can be because it was so good that I remember as much of it as of brusshing my teeth (I don't remember I brushed my teeth, do you? I'm pretty sure I did though)).
And again, how much time would you gain an a trip with a 700W compressor over a 200W compressor? Compare that with what you get from your two burner camping gas stove, or caféterra. Yep, I never leave without a caféterra, and my good old mug. That's probably the best equipement I have. ;-) |
Not as sexy as some of the things previously mentioned but I would recomend a radiator upgrade. On my 4Runner (which has a particularly indifferent rad) I upgraded from a 3 core to a 5 core nearly doubling the volume.
Even with the vehicle at 2900 kg (400 over GVM) and pulling a one ton trailer we had no probs between SA and Zim. Then we dumped the trailer and carried on up to Nairobi - still not a flutter! I had alrady cracked one head in the clay pits of Leeds and didn't want the expense and inconvenience of it happening again. |
Quote:
Many people consider that UK spec 80 series deisel Landcruisers are actually over cooled for the UK climate and are better suited to the African/Asian climate. I know of one or two people on the Euro owners mailing list that run with the rad blind down in the UK. ------------------ Cheers, Julian Euro Landcruiser Owners Club http://www.landcruisers.info/lists/ [This message has been edited by JulianVoelcker (edited 09 August 2005).] |
Most desirable bit of kit after a sound lightly loaded vehicle sitting on 5 or 6 excellent tyres -
A powerful and reliable compressor. If you are travelling over different surfaces in the desert including of course sand - soft, very soft and firm as well as rocks and tarmac, and checking your tyres after altitude changes and you want to make your tyres last you need one. Also very useful - Ortlieb folding washing bowl. Permanently mounted strip light in rear of vehicle is good and can be left on at night for general area lighting. I found a built in bed with a mattress permanently attached in the back of the 110 very nice, no fiddling with tents etc. Andrew. |
Deckchairs! chilling inside the vehicle just isn't the same.
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Jules...me old chap...
The OP said was asking about kit for overlanding. Like you said, it's all about where you are going and it really depends of the vehicle you are going in, but, unless you're going north where a Webasto heater would be of more benefit, then I am afraid I'd have to stand by my statement - at the very least have it overhauled if you can't renew or upgrade. |
Still an overland virgin (preparing for a trip), but my old man had a good idea. Imagine breaking a key into the ignition in the middle of Africa.. drilling out the barrel, re-wiring hassle, not to mention the security issues (anyone could then start the car and drive off). So why not take a coupl of spares, and drill a small hole at the top of the key, leaving a weak spot so that, were the key to be snapped (say by your knee), it would break with enoug sticking out that it could be easily removed by a pair of pliers? Sounds daft at first, but could save a lot of hassle, particularly if you're not good with wiring...
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Best kit...
Awning Draper mini shovel Folding shovel Fluorescent light stick Worst kit probably going to buy something useless tomorrow... ------------------ pigapitcha |
Having yet to go overlanding, I can't comment too much however for day to day camping, living and working around a vehicle I have to say that one of the best things I have ever bought is my Leatherman Crunch penknife.
I never thought I would be the sort of person to carry a knife on my belt, but I have had it for about three years and have probably used it at least once a day since then. With it providing philips and flat head screwdriver blades, molegrip style pliers, wire cutters, wire stripper, bottle opener (very important), a sharp blade, etc it is ideal. Beats a swiss army knife hands down any day;-) ------------------ Cheers, Julian Euro Landcruiser Owners Club http://www.landcruisers.info/lists/ [This message has been edited by JulianVoelcker (edited 12 August 2005).] |
This should make a change from the continual LR-TLC argument:
My 1992 Leatherman super tool is still one of the most useful tools I have, I agree with Julian; for the amount of fiddling the Swiss army knives just aren't worth the effort. |
Quote:
Anyway there is no LR-TLC argument - TLCs are just better! ------------------ Cheers, Julian Euro Landcruiser Owners Club http://www.landcruisers.info/lists/ |
Second best bit of kit:
"the bit of wood" A 12"x36"x1" plank which operates as: Cooking surface. wind break. Work surface (with holes to attach vice). Seat. Jack base. Back board (for working under vehicle). Bridging plate. Back-up sand ladder. |
and body board?
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hmmm... with a bit of judicious sanding and the addition of a detachable fin...
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Agree with a lot said here so thought I'd add mine.
Best:- New Mich XS Tyres. 10,000 miles not one flat. Seriously! Oh and the Roof tent. Worst:- Foot pump. God how I laugh now! Useless:- Highlift jack without proper jack points. Cheers ------------------ Ben Leeke www.capabilityevents.co.uk [This message has been edited by benleeke (edited 19 August 2005).] |
Rob,
if youd have shaved your head - you would fit in your roof tent !!! Cheers Grif |
You think so? Maybe taking my boots off would have been enough.
Shaved my hair but sold the rooftent in the meanwhile. Don't think the little lada likes it. ;-) |
Just to keep the thread going whilst chatting - I agree with Luke and a few others -Leatherman Supertool -great bit of kit - I have had the jaws of a Gerber break while I was using them - cutting my hand open - Luckily the Gerber was a mates and I just Borrowed it !!!
The plastic flolding picnic tables with the built in seats are very good - cheap and give you seating for 4 and a table in 30 seconds -great for luch stops. Rob, shame to sell the Maggiolina - but yes a bit big on the Lada.. Are you going to buy another Land Rover in the Future ?..or have you had enough of them ! Grif |
No, I still think it's a great car, but the next trip will be with the lada (there's very little info on expedition prepping lada stadion wagons around. Probably because they don't need much...).
And I got myself a transalp for -who knows one day- a middle east and east african trip. And that's enough to keep on the road for the time being. The Disco is a great car for touring around though. We'll see... . ;-) |
Even at the end of 15 months across Africa, we were still fighting about who would get to boild the water in our Kelly Kettle (http://www.kellykettle.com) It's efficient, practical, saves on cooking fuel/gas and is always the center of interest of both locals and tourists (the only downer is that it's a bit bulky).
The other even more practical (and amasing) piece of kit was brownchurches' water purification system (http://www.brownchurch.co.uk/waterpurification.html) We had it permanently mounted to the car with a long hose and plunger going to a rack of water jerrycans. It's a really tough piece of kit that is immensely practical (we took our water from village wells, rivers and never used water purification tablets, only the filter and never got sick). The only downer was the shower-head which broke after 3 months but we replaced it with a "personal hygene" type biddet head with an on-off button which was much more practical than the original and only cost a few squids. If I would recommend a single piece of equipment that would be it, worth the money a hundred times. |
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