so, you have probably realised now, there are as many solutions as travellers out there!!

ultimately, it depends what works for you. read a lot, try and draw out what may be useful and ditch the rest, then...................travel, do some little shake down trips because I guarantee you, what you think will work won't be right first time and it will evolve and change over time.

you'll struggle to repair this in the field!! I had 2 tyres do something like this in Mauritania (this ones actually from my van in the UK, but you get the idea!!), my fault for taking old tyres, but couldn't afford more than 4 new ones. 2 punctured so I fitted the old spares for the road section from Nouadhibou to Nouakchott. Running on tarmac heavily loaded in high temperatures they didn't fare well.



This is my one man set up!! One of the jerry cans leaked making everything stink of diesel, so now I carry them on the roof.

This is a great point and something I've already considered, a few trips will be great beforehand because like you say, until you try it no theoretical setup is likely to be perfect for you

__________________
Jacob James: Humanitarian, Travel and Cultural Documentary Photographer
Portfolio ǀ Facebook

Some excellent advice on here from all concerned. Having carried professional photographers on expedition, I would suggest that having a twin battery split charging system with a good PURE SINE WAVE inverter would be best for charging any audio/visual equipment as this is the only way to avoid interference from the charging circuit finding it's way into your images. Quality is everything if it's to be your living! The split charge relay does not have to be anything flash, just a 60A relay switched by the alternator charge light wire will do. This automatically separates the batteries when the engine's not running. Long term, faffing with manual switches just gets tiresome.
Long term living on the road, it's surprising how expensive bottled water can become! Invest in a sureflo 12v pump attached to a Doulton Ultracarb ceramic water filter and keep 2 jerrycans, one of clean water and one unfiltered, or just use the surflo pump for on demand water.
My last twopenceworth: Good Discovery 300tdis can be found cheap. The tricky part is knowing what a good one looks like! The occasional Merc or Ford transit 4x4 van appears for sale now and then, which would be much nicer to live in long term (cooking, eating and sleeping space out of the wind, rain, dust...) and as has already been said, would aid incognito incursions into local life. Toyota does generally equal reliability (and I'm a LR man!) but there are some dogs out there too. Good luck with your search, sorry if I've muddied the waters,
Simon.

Hi Simon, thanks for the contribution I really appreciate all advice, especially the details on the split charge system. Originally I was set for a discovery but I have been told a Toyota may be much easier to fix in sub-saharan africa? How are the Merc or Ford transit 4x4 vans for spares out in Africa?

Thanks

Jake

__________________
Jacob James: Humanitarian, Travel and Cultural Documentary Photographer
Portfolio ǀ Facebook

Transit 4x4 tend to be a bit "fragile" , suffer corrosion , and parts availability isnt that good. discovery V land cruiser , you have to weigh up what you are getting for the money . A well prepped discovery is no less reliable than a well prepped land cruiser.

Unless you are intending to travel "difficult" steep tracks in wet conditions a van is a better bang for the buck . Preferably rear wheel drive with good ground clearance. A set of tyre chains can hugely increase traction in mud as well as their primary use which is snow .

Agreed.
Merc vans seem to be pretty much ubiquitous whereas Fords are easier to get in the UK but I've not seen so many abroad. A 2wd leaf sprung Merc with good commercial heavy duty tyres, a set of chains and maybe some longer spring hangers to give a bit more clearance, and the world's pretty much your oyster I think. Really heavy mud, really steep slopes, or dunes would stop you, but realistically most of us in 4x4s would only drive such terrain for the fun of it rather than because it was the only way to get to where you're going!

Thanks for the advice again guys!

Another car I have been suggested by a friend who is driving in Africa currently is a Hilux, seem to be able to pick up a mid 90s Hilux Surf 3.0td for 1.5-2k in the UK. Any reason to not consider one of those?

__________________
Jacob James: Humanitarian, Travel and Cultural Documentary Photographer
Portfolio ǀ Facebook