19-25 Kg, but well packaged. Very sturdy. I see you have a Trojan back. I have just ordered one from Terkoverland. I would value any comments. Thanks

Hi Ian,

Not sure if we should start a new thread or carry on here - I'm a newbie to forums and not a 100% sure of the etiquette...I'm sure someone will let me know if we should.

To answer your question, we're only half way through with the trojan...we got the main part fitted in a hurry to allow us to head off for a 2 week trip round western europe, so still need the lockers finishing, and waterproofing of the rear door and the soundproofing and carpeting done...but so far so good.
Tim at TO is a great guy who's happiest when he's stood around chatting about the options and ideas and is up for anything. We got them to manufacture and fit an extended 80l gravity fed fuel tank when fitting the trojan and it works a treat. They're pretty busy and for us getting the vehicle up and back from yorkshire is a pain, but they're even willing to help out there - we're dropping our truck off with them this weekend at the Peterbrough show so we only have to travel there and back rather than up to the farm and back in two vehicles.

My only advice is to make sure you've thought it all through, so you're not getting them to do stuff and then undo it a few months later to fit something else...but Tim is the kind of switched on guy who'll point it out to you...but do tell him everything you're intending to do (even if it's not through them) so that he can advise you on any potential problems.

It would be great to compare vehicles and trojans when yours is done!

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Chris D
Land Rover 130 with Trojan Back

Sounds like a good option, but what is the likely hood of finding suitable camping grounds in Morocco?

This is my big concern with ground tents. With a bit of clever parking you should pretty well always be able to have a good level tent with a roof tent, where as with a ground tent you are fighting the problem of (a) finding a level surface and (b) finding a smooth surface.

Personally having camped on the side of the Himalayas, I'm not that fussed, however I will have an 18month baby, a 5.5 year old, a 6.75 year old as well as a wife to contend with - the last thing they and I will want to do after a long day driving is trying to find a level surface and then clear it of stones to smooth things out before putting a tent up sticking the mattresses in e.t.c.

There is nothing more annoying when crawling around in a tent to end up kneeling on a stone under the ground sheet.

Having said that the one option I have considered is carrying some hinged sheets of ply or compsite that can be folded out as a base.

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Cheers,

Julian Voelcker
Overland Cruisers - Specialising in Land Cruiser preparation and servicing.

I realise I'm missing the point slightly, but you can't move for great auberges and hotels in Morocco. As someone already pointed out, you get an awful lot of catered comfort and convenience for the price of a roof tent!

Bush camping is one of my favourite things - but I've never done much of that in Morocco. Why not buy a good family tent on ebay (£50 tops) for the odd day when you find that perfect spot, and then chill out by the pool the rest of the time enjoying your Howling Moon cash?

Just a thought...

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Pictures, Mauritania 2011

OK, I have never been to Morocco so have no idea what exactly it will be like, but I couldn't think of anything worse than sitting by a pool in a hotel. Yes we will stay in a hotel, but probably only once a week or one night in 4-5.

The other thing is I'm not planning on getting one just for Morocco, if all goes well down there we will plan to do plenty more family trips hopefully getting more adventurous each time so it is vary much a long term investment.

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Cheers,

Julian Voelcker
Overland Cruisers - Specialising in Land Cruiser preparation and servicing.

I don't mean the pool thing too literally! Although after 3 or 4 days of eating piste dust...

The driving distances in Morocco are fairly small and the accomodation is often very good (or at least convival), so you never really 'need' to camp.

For us, the struggle of finding a good camping spot away from curious locals or villages, cracking open all the gear etc. etc. is usually defeated by the prospect of a hot tajine and some Moroccan hospitality. Last trip I suppose we camped 2 nights each week.

Re: the SA style tents, looked at these closely a few years back and decided on the Eezi-awn which stood out as the best of the bunch in terms of design and build.

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Pictures, Mauritania 2011