at the risk of asking a 'how long is a piece of string?' type question - I am currently trying to decide how much water storage capacity to carry on my swb land rover for a journey in spring 04 thru north-east / east Africa (via Libya / Egypt / sudan / ethiopia / kenya) - I've already bought 2 20l plastic jerricans & was thinking of buying another 5(!) - this will give me (in theory) a range of 7 days (for 2 people at 10l/day per person) - this sounds a bit excessive to me but I read in the sahara overland book that in spring, an amount almost twice the recommended 5l a day per person should be stored.
can anyone who has undertaken a similar expedition give me a (rough) indicaton of how much water storage capacity I may need? I have to bear in mind though that I only have a short-wheel base landie which may limit the amount I can carry
thanks
George

Hi,
5 days of autonomy is a good idea, even if you will be able to resupply on the way more frequently. Water quality is not allways what you expect etc. If you economize on your consumption I consider 15L/day for 2 people ok (check with your route and your habits!).
15*5 = 75L
+ 10L for the engine
+ 10L for emergency
Total: 95L, so 100L sounds reasonable for me and not too much for a SWB.

To be prepared for exceptions I would take some empty water containers, a total about 30L-40L, with me (I use the 15L rubber water bags of the swiss army which don't waste space)

Yves

[This message has been edited by Yves (edited 15 December 2003).]

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Yves

We had 5 x 2o liter plastic military jerrycans and were pretty happy with that amount. But for the most time, water was available more easily then we thought it would be. We only really needed that much a few times.
One thing that we did was to filter all water that went into the jerrycans from a bucket. That way, we were always sure that we didn't go off with 100 liters of "infected water". Although the taste wasn't always that great, no matter what we did...
The cans were strapped inside the Land Rover, and we used a simple handpump to access the water as needed. A big tank with a tap would have been nice, but the jerrycans worked ok.

Erik D.

www.dunia.no

[This message has been edited by Erik D. (edited 15 December 2003).]

I just gave away my third 17.5ljerry can. Just because the third jerry can was never used for other things then showering or laundry, and I have more fun from the space without the jerry (now I can load up to 3 fellow travelers, which ends up in more fun then an empty jerry)

Rob

hi

take attention to the weight

5x20l of water more 200l (aprox range for 7 days) of fuel is a lot of weight to a "normal" SWB. Travel was light was possible.

This year in Mauritania (in summer!!) we toke 5x20l jerry cans of water for 2 people but I never fill them all at the same time.

Like Erik say water is “normally” available (not fuel), so no great need of overloading the LR. Just plan carefully your needs


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best regards from Portugal
bernardo feio lightweight
www.AventuraS3.com

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bernardo feio (Portugal)
2.5 Land Rover Lightweight / BMW R80 G/S PD / Toyota HZJ 78

If you stick to the beaten path, bottled water and other drinks will be available almost constantly along your route. Probably two 20l jerries are more than enough for washing / emergency reserve, you can stock up on bottled water (which is much more practical than the heavy jerries) as needed for longer unsupplied stretches. This way you also eliminate the health problem from questionable water sources. Unless you are really traveling on a shoestring, the extra cost will be negligible.

In autumn/winter 4-5 litres per day per person for drinking/cooking is more than enough.

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Happy Travels,
Andras

FJ Expeditions

[This message has been edited by andrasz (edited 16 December 2003).]

I too drive a short wheelbase, a Jeep Wrangler in my case which is even smaller than your landy and to make things harder I don’t believe in or use roof racks. I’ve learned how to pack and how to take only what’s needed.

Forgive me, but I don’t think you’re planning this correctly. Do you really need 7 days autonomy? I don’t think it could be done in a SWB since there are other factors to consider, mainly fuel. If we assume you’ll only use 50 liter of fuel a day (pretty conservative in the dunes), that will be another 350 liters or 15 jerry cans plus a full tank. That will be a total of 22 Jerry cans inside the car. Even if you can squeeze those in/on the landy somehow, I don’t think the SWB landy is rated for that kind of load. Besides you won’t be able to carry anything else.

I would recommend you plan the autonomy on the longest stretch you plan to drive off road plus 30%. You’d be surprised how little you actually have to carry. Think about the guys doing it on bikes. I only keep 2 water Jerry cans for washing and emergencies and bottled water for drinking like Andras suggested above. On long off road trips I also carry up to 8 fuel Jerry cans and this setup can sustain me for 3 - 4 days max depending on the terrain. Anything longer, I’ll be a passenger in a LWB.

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A.B.

OasisPhoto.com – Images from the Magical Sahara.
ShortWheelbase.com – Jeep preparations.

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A.B.
OasisPhoto.com – Images from the Magical Sahara.

Hmm, he might be not driving all days! Taking a rest at some nice spot, washing some cloths... or their bodys.
And some people get very nervous if they see only 20L of water left... Consider the psycho/stress factor!

Anyway, in 1993, my first car trip, 100L of water and 250L of petrol fitted nicely in my Landy 88, so I don't se a challange for a 90 diesel. What a luxury after 5 days with only 25L of water on the bike ;-)

Yves

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Yves

Thanks for all the advice - just reading Yves & A.B's opposing viewpoints shows that it is a bit of a 'how long is a piece of string?' type question
As Yves said, I think 100l water capacity sounds reasonable. As this is my first major trip I also agree that the psychological effect of being down to the last 20l jerry of water would be disconcerting when I'm in the middle of nowhere....
as for fuel - 250l sounds excessive (did I get that right?!) - that would mean I'd have to carry roughly 12 twenty litre fuel jerries on my already over-laden landie!
the way I've calculated fuel capacity is to consider that my maximum independent range should be about 500 miles (this is according to several people's advice) - given that with an over-laden landie driving thru soft sand I am likely to have a fuel consumption of about or slightly less than 15miles to the gallon - this would mean I would need a 22 gallon fuel capacity to have an independent range of 500 miles (including the 12 gallon petrol tank on a defender) - in metric terms this equates to about 100 litres....
I'm sure a few of you (or maybe all!) who have been round the block think this is completely laughable - I'm always open to suggestions (I'd much rather you told me now what an idiot I've been rather than to find out in the middle of a desert that I have no fuel left...!)
George

I would take at least 30% fuel reserve so at least 130 liters in your case. I would strongly suggest you make sure you know your car’s fuel consumption as accurately as possible. I’ve never owned a Landy, or a diesel for that matter, so I can’t confirm the 15 mpg you mentioned but make sure that’s the right number for your car. A friends 75 TLC barely makes 11 in sand fully loaded. Also no two vehicles weight the same and engine condition can change this number significantly. So use the number you get online as a guideline and log your own fuel consumption and compare.

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A.B.

OasisPhoto.com – Images from the Magical Sahara.
ShortWheelbase.com – Jeep preparations.

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A.B.
OasisPhoto.com – Images from the Magical Sahara.

I'd change at least one of the water jerry cans for a fuel jerry. 100l is on the limit, and the stress of having only one 20 l jerry of fuel left for a stretch you don't exactly know how soft it will be is much more nerve wrecking then having only 20l of water left.

I agree with you Robbert.

"You won't get far without water but you get nowhere without fuel!"

Top Tip: I packed a 30 liter dry bag for - er - keeping things dry on a round africa trip, but mostly I've used it as a collapsable water container, and as a roof mounted washing machine (every landy should have one).

As for other water storage, I started with 3x 20 liter MOD plastic jerricans, but now find a fixed 60 liter plastic tank with lots of plumbing from sprikler systems is much easier to use; it's plumbed in permanently to my hose, filter, shower etc. (did I mention the ice-maker?)

Peter

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Peter Strong
www.iricon.com/camel
A tour of Land Rover Garages in Africa