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Morocco Vehicle Prep & Essential equipment
Hi,
First post although I've been reading the forum for a while. I've been travelling Morocco a lot over the last decade or so but never really ventured onto the pistes in a 2wd hire car (except some detours with dodgy moroccan's). Recently I had the misfortune of being made redundent so I now have a bit of time and cash available so have been thinking of heading out to Morocco mid Nov for a month before Christmas. Never really been into 4wd but ! am pretty handy with the spanner building old fords. Currently I am thinking of purchasing a nissan patrol for the trip, although mainly because there are some fairly cheap locally. I plan to sleep either in the truck or in B&B's as roof tents are too pricy. What would you knowledgeable folks reccomend as essential for a trip to morocco in terms of vehicle prep and equipment? I'm thinking AT tyres, 2 batteries and some bash plates should see me fine but as I said I'm new to this Cheers Mark |
Patrol Prep.
Sorry to hear about the redundancy but every cloud has a silver lining:thumbup1:
AT Tyres – Yes. I like BFG. Coopers have a good reputation and I think are cheaper. Two Batteries – If you are alone I guess yes that’s a good plan. Bash Plates – No need IMHO. Just drive sensibly and a Patrol will not need these. Keep it light. Weight kills vehicles. My spares consist of bodge it stuff. Cable ties, duct tape, various bits of hose, jubilee clips, liquid metal etc. and wheel bearings, belts and a second hand alternator. Thats about it. We use a £50 ground tent. I couldn't justify the expence of a roof tent. Other than that my prep would consist of getting the suspension and cooling absolutely sorted. My approach (which others may not agree with) is to not mess with things too much, especially on something like a Patrol which in standard spec. is more than up to a trip through Morocco. Standard is good. From your description you will have the time to take things easy and not stress the vehicle. My limited knowledge of older Patrols (I was tempted a few years back and looked at some) is that they can suffer from pretty terminal rust. I’m not talking about body panels here but critical things like chassis/suspension mounts etc. Good luck and let us know how you get on. Russ |
Hi
I would agree no bashplates. We havn't done the gorge to gorge route which is supposed to be the most likely place for damage, but everywhere else was fine. We met a woman who had done it in a standard Kangoo, but it cost her two tyres and a wheel! Are you aware of Chris Scott's Morocco book of pistes? Well recomended. Maybe a jerrycan of fuel, definitely a decent amount of water either in jerries or bladders (swiss army 20l bladder is something to google for, usually used or oldish but very good even with the odd bit of rubber coming out!) Olaf maps are free and very good, but the Garmin one had a lot of tracks that Olaf didn't and is routeable so you can concentrate your brain onto the mad traffic a little more! A tow rope and jump leads. Puncture repair kit wether tubes or not. Make sure everything is regularly tightened. Despite weekly checking a battery terminal wiggled loose and disappeared. A local garage used half a mile of solder to create a new one, so weekly checking is not enough! Strips of 2 foot wide carpet to put under the tyres if sunk in sand, a shovel, and a Hi-Lift jack maybe to get it up in the first place without needing to get underneath to place a bottle jack. HiLifts need something suitable to attach it to the bumper though, a Landy has a suitable metal bumper, Japanese stuff won't without alteration I think. The garages seemed very knowledgable but lacked parts and tools so take your own. Take a few extra bits maybe bulbs, fuses, adjustable spanner, welding glasses (I don't think I ever saw anyone use anything, other than the odd pair of broken sunglasses! :() anything that maybe you can find cheaply that they just can't get. The three hours of faffing with my battery cost me a t-bar from my socket set, some RedX, some cable ties and a £5 penknife from Ebay. The penknife alone would have done considering his reaction when he saw it! Despite the Dakar convoy in the past coming past his garage, his number 2 had never seen an unused cable tie! As you may have noticed on your trips there are a lot of Landcruisers, so that alone from a parts and local experience point of view might be worth looking at? Happy travels :) |
Thanks for the replies
I've read Chris's book cover to cover a couple of times now also got Olaf maps running in mapsource on the pc. Are the Garmin topo's good Grizzly? so far my kit list for the vehicle runs along the lines of compressor 20l diesel 20l water shovel hi lift jack split charger/twin battery jump cables tow rope at tyres Tools & Spares I also have basic camping equipment as required, I have been tempted with the expense of a fridge, nothing like a cold Flag Special at the end of the day :) I will be on my own so won't be taking many risks but I am experienced in Morocco enough to get through most issues with a little patience and inshalla attitude. Originally I was thinking of a defender but after thinking a little harder teh comforts of a jap 4x4 would be approeciated. Landcruiser would be nice but the ones for sale locally are too pricey. Less intial outlay means more tavelling :Beach: |
Hello Mark.
I echo what the others have said, good tyres, suspension and preventive maintenance is the most important essential equipment IMO. Don't overload and keep everything simple. Your list so far is similar to mine + Russ's bodge it stuff. I sleep inside, which is so nice and easy. Have fun bier Matt |
Hi Matt,
Another Dorset person i see! BTW What do you sleep on? a thermorest type mattress? |
Re nissan patrol , perfectly adequate vehicle. Only weak point really is that a lot of rear axles had bearings direct onto axle shaft , so you need to check these are in good condition ie no end float as unlike landy and toyota which are fully floating if the bearing goes the axle shaft tries to exit the vehicle,
and they are a press fit bearing to axle so you cant really do in the field. Other than that they are pretty reliable , and lend themselves to bush fixing . Two spare wheels are a good idea , saves having to worry when you get first flat , tyre repair gear good idea . twin battery setup so you have one in reserve for self jump start. As mentioned keep it light . HTSH |
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It would take a lot to get me into a tent now :) http://img703.imageshack.us/img703/815/img2232u.jpg |
Gotta love that set-up.
Beds, fridge, bog-roll.......Let's go !! As the little fury fellas in the telly would say "Simples" |
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That does look comfy :)
Off to look a landcruiser today thats popped up locally, fingers crossed its a good one |
The key thing, regardless of the vehicle make, is to ensure that it is mechanically sound and unfortunately if aiming for a 4x4 at the lower end of the market you are going to struggle to find an example that won't need money spending on it.
Unfortunately most older vehicles only ever get irregular engine oil and filter changes and basic repairs to get them through MOTs each year so key things like gearbox oils, diff oils, and wheel bearing maintenance just gets ignored. On the Land Cruiser front we are finding customers having to spend on average £2-5k on 80 series and £1-2k on 90 series to get them properly base lined - so that is a full fluid, filters, belts, etc service, checks on the starter and alternator and then a full check on the bearings and seals in the axles (we would always strip, check and repack with grease where appropriate), check the integrity and thickness of the brake disks, pads and also the quality of the seals, etc. You can save a lot by buying smartly, doing the work yourself and using cheaper components, but obviously they have their own issues so you need to pick and choose a bit. We would expect a fully baselined Land Cruiser to be able to do something like a Cape Town trip without incidence and without having to take boxes of spares. As for other prep, yes Land Cruisers and Patrols were designed for travelling around the likes of N. Africa in standard form, but they would normally be equipped with different suspension setups which are a far cry from the tired European spec suspension that you will find over here and also they aren't usually heavily loaded like the average overlanding vehicle (although it sounds like you are being quite sensible about it). One other point, don't forget with high lifts you need to mount them to something. Most people I know are like me and hate the things. As long as you have time and a good spade you should get out of most problems in Morocco, although do consider taking an airbag jack instead of a high lift. |
Fortunaelt several LC Colarado's popped up locally this week, went a looked at a few and I've just put a deposit down on a 99 VX bier
158000KM 2 owners in Black via a local 4x4 center. It's well known to them so I have some comfort in that. Think I got a fair price, didn't knock them down much but it will get a full service, MOT, timing belt change and valet oh and 5 new BFG AT's for £275 Pretty pleased so far. Collect it on Friday leaving weeks to prep before I'm thinking of leaving for Morocco :D |
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Your LC purchase sounds like a good choice. I also agree with pretty much everything Julian has stated but feel like I need to clarify my first post with respect to keeping things standard. I’m not saying keep 20 year old saggy standard suspension and un serviced mechanics.
Apologises if this now goes off topic as I will use G Wagens as my example but same applies to just about every other 4X4 I have used/seen, most of all LR’s due to the abundance of questionable and cheap modifications available. Standard suspension set up on mine is either Bilstein or Sachs HD shock and progressive rate springs, that’s it. No “European Spec” that’s pretty much how they are across the world. That’s what mine has and apart from maybe swapping to Koni Raids that’s how I’ll keep it. Some have changed this setup to ORC non progressive heavy duty springs and Koni Heavy Tracks. End result being a harsh ride and unless very heavily loaded next to no axle articulation (it’s an urban myth that G Wagens don’t have this in the first place). Of course they have diff locks so they only need traction to one wheel. Um yes but now unless you know what you are doing the half shafts and diff’s themselves get stressed. That harsh ride is also an indicator of unintended consequences to other parts of the vehicle. I’ve pondered changing the standard suspension bushes to Poly but having seen what stiff poly bushes have done to other suspension components I.E. transferring stress to where the original setup / design didn’t envisage I’ll stick with OEM. Suspension lifts. I lifted my old G by 40mm and got away with it. Improved off road performance with only a slight pay off on road. Plenty of people go for 60mm plus and don’t understand the consequences with respect to camber, steering geometry and lack of self centring. Vibrations due to altering prop shaft angles, stressing UJ’s etc. So my current one is un lifted. Bigger wheels / spacers. Reduced torque/power at the wheels. Increased stress on wheel bearings. Enough said. My basic premise here being that manufactures have spent millions and many hundreds of thousands of hours testing and through warranty feedback developing vehicles (hopefully!!). Far too often people are seduced by the words “heavy duty”, get convinced via forums that they need to modify and change just about anything that can be unbolted. I understand that for some that this is part of the enjoyment, the anticipation etc. That’s OK so long as they actually understand the knock on consequences of what they or their supplier are doing! A standard well sorted LC Colorado will be more than capable for your trip. Enjoy bier Russ |
Thanks for all you advice guys, very useful so far.
I've signed up with Waypoint-tours for their November western sahara trip and then plan to stay out another couple of weeks on my own afterwards. I hope doing this trip will build some confidence in myself and the LC before I go off solo |
Barrie from Waypoint Tours will look after you, but do chat over the vehicle prep with him, some tour operators have minimum levels of preparation for the trips they run.
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I've driven twice to the gambia with long diversions through Morrocco and Mauritania and once to Kazan in russia I would echo the above. keep it simple, keep it standard. that way you can easilly get replacement bits if you need to.
As someone has already said, manufacturers spent millions developing these vehicles for these environments (ones of the vintage you have anyway) so why mess with it. generally from what I hear from others the most likely parts to fail on a vehicle are the aftermarket ones. It always amuses me when I read the off road mags guides to expeditions. the art of spending loads of money on useless tat you don't need, but listen to them and you'll believe you couldn't possibly leave your drive without it. bear in mind they have to sell advertising space to these guys! standard rubber bushes fail gradually, polybushes fail suddenly and fall out so I would go with standard unless you carry a complete spare set of polybushes. MY H60 is pretty standard except a custom rear bumber to take a hi lift and rocksliders off a defender 110. I have 2 heavy duty shackles on the front for recovery. these I bridge accross with an 8ton halfords tow rope, then use a kinetic rope for attaching to the other vehicle. this gives a lovely gentle and progressive pull. The KERR is perfectly safe if you use it properly (i.e. don't set off at mach 2 with 10 feet of slack in the rope!!). This set up has been used to safely recover 3 1/2 tons of landcruiser, several times! oh, and a coathanger for the radio aerial! I use a halfords coolbox I bought for not a lot years ago. Always carry 2 spare wheels (in russia I got through three! on one of the Gambia trips I had 12 punctures, note to self, don't use tubed tyres again!) I have a 24v inverter bought on ebay for a bout 30 quid which has lasted years. I use waffle boards for recovery. to be honest I think carpet will be too soft. I have slept in the wagon but it was a squeeze. We didn't do any damage to the underside but it was touch and go sometimes, bash plates would have given a bit more confidence. The vehicle is kept mechanically sound and regularly serviced, but looks a complete shed. This reduces the risk of theft/breakin and keeps the fines and 'cadeux' to a minimum. I would echo the advice above to get the vehicle comprehensively serviced. I'm afraid I would bever trust a 'free' service included as part of the price of a vehicle. you get what you pay for. look like your poor (even though wealthy relative to many of those in country) and you'll have less people trying to get your money out of you! Drive the vehicle as much as possible before you leave so you get used to it's little foibles and noises and hopefully identify any problem areas. |
Thanks again chap's
Julian, I spoke with Barrie before purchasing about set up etc, He's been great and I'm all paid up now so no going back (I guess if things go wrong that may be no coming backdoh) Moggy, you're spot on about trusting a service from the seller completely, it also booked in with the mechanic I've used for the last 18 years for a full examination and further service. Trust him completely with all my vehicles and I'll be bugging him and getting in the way whilst it's on the ramps so I get to know the truck better |
A quick tip....
Keep everything on the car as standard as possible, it will make finding replacement parts in remote area's so much easier. Enjoy Morocco, it's a fabulous country ! |
well just over a day before I go :D
first 3 weeks with Waypoint tours down to the western sahara and then who knows. The truck is ready and my prep went something like this 40l Diesel (2x Jerry Cans) 25l Water Can to be supplemented as required with bottled DIY Sleeping Platform Rear Seats removed Tinted Rear Windows waeco Cooler beer beer MP3 Head Unit (no moving parts to skip) CB (needed for the tour) Compressor 10m Tow Strop 300w invertor Awning BFG AT's Liesure Battery battery isolators Box of spares doh Full Service & new belts and pads ebay lashing points fitted to seat mounts http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6033/...eaf0711213.jpg http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6219/...0505743c7a.jpg http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6044/...529c680f63.jpg http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6097/...c43ec98b99.jpg http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6098/...061d1626d1.jpg http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6228/...2f05e55193.jpg http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6217/...ae0a00f66b.jpg |
Looks good, and makes me respect the locals who run around in mk1 transits with as much on the roof as inside, no end, enjoy.
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Have fun :D
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Looking good Mark, well done. :thumbup1:
It might be worth getting Windscreen Sunshade if you still have the time. It would be nice if you gave us an update of how your trip went when you return. I'm sure you will have a great time. |
How did I miss this postdoh Have a great trip. And bring back loads of photo's.
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Matt I've got a sun shade for the windscreen :)
I'll get plenty of photo's, I've managed 1000 in 10days before |
Enjoy
I'm sure you will have a great trip, lots of photo opportunities, some good off roading and some of Barrie's famous scran.
Enjoy - and don't forget we want a report |
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Happy travels :) |
Essential kit
Don't forget:
shovel for digging the car out and toilet pits Army type entrenching tools also good Make sure you have a decent jack and a solid base to jack off - blade of shovel if nothing else tow rope shackles Plenty of water and food treats |
Quick report,
Left Barry and the others yesterday heading for Tangier Med. First part has been survived, just both rear shocks disintegrated and a rear axle mount went with them mid Western Sahara, Barrys felxibility got us all to civilization and tracked down a mechanic repairs made and finished the rest of the trip. Missed the 24 hours Barry and the others had stuck in a Salt Pan. Plan for the rest of the stay, Agadir tomorrow for some new shocks hopefully then Talouine Tazennacht Foum Zguid Zagora Tazzarine Imichil and then home |
Thanks for the update, are you travelling on the piste between Foum Zguid / Zagora / Tazzarine?
If so Don't miss out the "crater" ( ~20 miles N/E from Tagounite) Here as it's a stunning area to travel over in my opinion. If you need any waypoints PM me your email address. Have fun. |
Glad the trip is going well.
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Thanks for the tip bier. |
Repairs
So were the knackered shocks, the ones on the car when you bought it or new standard type that you had fitted?
Think that reinforces my opinion that decent upraded suspension, thats springs, shocks and bushes - OME, Ironman, or similiar - are a fairly important upgraded prior to a trip. Trust you had an enjoyable few weeks with Barrie, great guy and awesome chef. Enjoy the rest of your trip |
yep standard shocks on teh car when I bought it. Field bodges done, repaired by a 15 year old moroccan in Boujdour and got some new ones from Toyota in Agadir for £80 yesterday.
On piste as much as possible. Did MH9 yesterday but it's mostly tarmac now only 20km of piste left. Off to do MS9 and 5 after this coffee :) |
Did MH2 today, tarmac all the way now:frown: still a stunning drive (is any route through Imichil not?). Lot of snow on top and I don't think I would have done it on the old piste.
Now outside Midelt heading North on the way home:thumbdown::thumbdown: don't really want to but landed a new job thats starts on Monday. Uploading a few picture onto my Flikr at the mo an the rest will come when I'm back. Flickr: Trackasylum's Photostream |
So heres some pics of my mechanical problems, these hit after 2 days with no sign of human life in the Western Sahara and a days drive to the nearest town.
First both rear dampers failed leaving a very bumper ride, then at the next break I noticed the drivers side axle mount had cracked severly. So in full A-Team stylee the gang got to work http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7152/6...4d53106d54.jpg Ratchet straps, a tow strop and loads of zipties seemed like it would hopefully hold. Ok the zip ties did sod all but it made us feel better using them :thumbup1: Made through to Boujdour camping by late afternoon found a mechanic and negiotiated a price (well Barrie did). Next morning it was off the the garage for repairs. Boken Mount http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7004/6...7da11cba8c.jpg Damper Damage http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7006/6...6237527468.jpg http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7155/6...6dd5b518fc.jpg http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7166/6...bf2332e087.jpg Once everything was apart things started to become clear. The shocks are standard Toyota's but old, quite why the top mounts sheared is a mystery but this failure but the axle mount under added stress. The mount had been previously repaired in the UK prior to me getting the vehicle, how long before I have no idea. The metal used to plate it was no more than 2mm thick and could easily be bent by hand. Obviously once the shocks went this plating just ripped apart http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7173/6...efaf290458.jpg I'm still amazed and stunned by this, it was a dangerous repair for any vehicle and should not have been on the road imho, the bracket coudl have failed under normal road use, negiotiations are under way with the selling dealership! Anyway the Moroccans fabricated a new bracket out of some solid metal, wleded that on and a couple of bolts were welded to the broken dampers and after a Tajine I was back on the road. |
The Colorado's seem to be particularly prone to rust on the back axles, the fuel tank pickup and the bash plate.
Another thing to watch out for on old shocks is that the rust can build up under the shock mount bushes weakening them - I suspect that this is what happened with you car - the mounts sheared and then the end was hammered smooth as it floated around driving across Morocco. As already stated on this thread, this is the problem with second hand cars, particularly the older 4x4s, you get all sorts of monkeys working on them which is why you need to check them over properly before a trip. Shock and suspension problems could have been catastrophic for you and your passengers and then there is the added inconvenience and delays to your fellow travellers. |
Thanks for the info Julian, you interpretation of why the shocks failed is very useful. On it's own this would have been a irritating issue but replacement dampers are easily sourced. The bracket was just shocking though.
Since I've returned I've established that the axle brackets are prone to rusting (due to a drainage hole getting bunged up and water sitting in it). Disregarding this when it was repaired it should have been fixed with something better than a coke can. I'm currently in "negotiation" :rolleyes2: with the supplying dealer regarding this. I'm just glad that when it all failed I was with the Waypoint Tours Group and not on my own. Even so it was a full day's drive to safety/civilisation. If I'd been on my own I'd probably be a bleached skeleton now. |
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normally selling something as well lol
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Just had a communication from the dealer I purchased from.
They have ignored the failure of the dampers but admit in writing that they repaired the bracket. They say that the bracket repair was of a suitable standard because it passed a MOT undertaken by a 3rd party prior to my purchase. Now I'm not an engineer but there's no way the metal used was structurally good enough for the bracket repair and I'm also pretty sure that the MOT test would only have cehcked the bracket for corrosion and not the thickness of the metal used. The supplying dealer have offered to cover 50% of the costs I incurred getting it patched in Morocco as a "Good Will Gesture" or in cash terms £150. They must think I was born yesterday :thumbdown: Looks like Trading standards is the next stop |
Interesting post this one
Just a quick question - when you bought the vehicle, did you make the dealers aware of what your plans were for it - ie. you were going to morocco and would be using it offroad If the answer is yes,you did then then the claim is not for the axle problems but the fact that the goods sold were not suitable for the purpose for which they were sold. I had this issue many years ago with an expensive set of boots that i bought for a trip to nepal - they fell to bits, so i took them back, shop attitude was well you used them in very tough country hard luck what do you expect, so I uttered that little sentence and hey presto the attitude changed completly and i got a full refund. Now you may also be able to argue that the goods were not of merchendisable quality (another oogd phrase) but my big concern is that if they did that repair knowing what you were going to do with the vehicle then they should face a court. I'm guessing that had they disclosed that repair you would not have bought the vehicle Anyway good luck and keep us informed |
Yes the dealer knew from the day I first viewed it what my intended use was. My intial contact on return highlighted the vehicle having 2 significant issues in terms or the Sale of Goods Act, Not of a Satisfactory Quality and also Not Fit for Purpose.
Things have moved on slightly over the last 2 weeks but they still state that in their opinion the use of <2mm metal on a structural bracket was ok. They have also tried the similar response you got with the boots, very extreme use. They have no evidence of the route taken or the terrain covered. They have also said I should have modified it and come close to saying that 4x4's are not intended for off road use (they are a 4x4 specialist selling to a lot of local businesses for agricultural use!). |
Is it worth checking with a toyota main dealer on how they would have repaired this fault ?
You gonna name & shame these people then ? Extreme use - you told them where it was going and they sold you a vehicle , back to not fit for purpose i think Well good luck - I don't know how much trading standards will help as they seem to want a group of cases before taking action, send them one more letter headed last letter before action then if no reply go for a small claims court action - nice & cheap to do , for your loses (repairs, losss of holiday time etc etc) , or for the cost of the vehicle even |
Another useful phrase is "Defective goods". It sounds similar to not fit for purpose but has a slightly different legal meaning. It might get their lawyers jumping a bit because if you prove that the vehicle was sold in a defective state then you are on for a full refund and compensation plus there is the danger to life and limb element.
Good luck with it. BTW that metal doesn't look 1mm thick even - did you measure it? |
you're right on the thickness but I didn't measure it as I had nothing to hand at the time.
again theres been some further developments recently and it looks like the cruiser is going :thumbdown: once everything is final I'll update and name the dealer as theres a good chance they'll do the same again after what I've seen from them |
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