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Light Overland Vehicle Tech Tech issues, tips and hints, prepping for travel
Under 3500kg vehicles, e.g. Land Cruiser, Land Rover, Subaru etc.
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  #1  
Old 10 Jun 2011
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Land Rover Overland Prep
Hi all!

It's my first message here on HUBB although I've been visiting for a long time and loving a lot this site and forum. Right now I am on the early stages of preparing a long trip which I know will start on mid 2012 going down the west coast of Africa although not quite sure when and where it will end. I'm envisaging something in the region of 3 years here and there going at my own pace without much scheduling or much planning. I've been to several countries in Africa many times for work purposes, worked with people from many countries down there and in general I cope fairly well with being in Africa, the conditions, the bureaucracie, etc, etc.

The vehicle is chosen, a LR 110SW with overland preparation including a roof tent. I've been able to sort out all my questions so far regarding documentation, paperwork, visas, etc, etc, but one. I'm coming accross several companies which do overland prep for LRs in the UK but for some reason not being able to find any in continental Europe. Can someone point me to any companies specialized on this kind of work in Spain, France or Germany?

Thank you for any input.
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Old 10 Jun 2011
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Hi Plooking, welcome to the HUBB.

Good choice with the 110 SW ! What year/engine are you using?

Im not familiar with many companies in France or Spain, Im sure a few other guys can provide some ideas.

totally depends on your budget, you could try these companies in Germany:

Ex-Tec Onlineshop - Ex-Tec Onlineshop

or:

http://www.landy-camper.de/

If you have not invested in a roof tent yet, consider the lifting roof camper conversions from these companies, I do like the hard sided lifting roof offered from Ex Tec. These are obviosly a lot more expensive, but on a long trip worth the investment.

Roof tents are good, but for a 3 year trip make your daily routine simple - you will be putting the tent up/down every day for 3 years. Roof tents work well when its hot, but for the rest of the time when its windy, rain, or you are in a sandstorm they leave a lot to be desired and can be unusable in high winds, they also get wet and stay wet and when cold the canvas takes a long time to dry out.

Keep things simple and pack light !
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Old 10 Jun 2011
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Gipper View Post
Good choice with the 110 SW ! What year/engine are you using?
Hi Gipper and thank you for your reply and the links. Regretfully my german is... hmmm, let's put is as non-existent!, but I'll try to figure out something from the websites you gave me.

It will be a brand new 110SW with a 2,4l, 122cv engine. The idea is to run it easy around Europe for 8-10000km and then going to Africa. If I were considering a car just for this one trip it would make sense to buy an used one and re-sell it later on after coming back. But given that the idea is to keep it and keep doing trips like this for many years to come, after giving it some thought my option goes for a new one.

On what concerns the roof tent, I don't intend to use it all and every time. I want to do a very slow-paced trip and consider staying many, many times here and there sleeping in places where I won't need it. Nevertheless of course, when on the road, in remote places and when unable to find anyting decent to sleep, the roof tent seems the easiest and best option.
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Old 11 Jun 2011
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Its worth setting up the vehicle so you can sleep in it occasionally, roof tents sort of advertise that you are sleeping in it so use can be limited to bush areas or campsites (and can be cold - still have visions of my friend beating her roof tent to get the canvas to fold cos it was frozen , and that was in the sahara)

Just watch the carnet value with a brand new vehicle

People use older vehicles because of simplicity, not just cheapess, a well refurbed 300tdi station wagon would not be cheap but may be better for travel than a brand new electronic control engined one
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Old 11 Jun 2011
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The simplicity of using older tech engines was one of the factors considered when choosing the vehicle for this purpose. Quite right that they are simpler and easier to service along the way. But on what concerns overall durability things come a little different and the risk of ending up needing to service the thing on every stop along the way amounts to something far worst than the newer engine with its specific needs, of course, but also greater overall durability of the vehicle. On time I evaluated several vehicles including a Portuguese jeep brand no longer manufactured, an UMM with Peugeot engines which is as simpler as you can get. In the end I went for the new thing mostly for its durability.

The investment on preparing a vehicle for overland travel amounts to a lot of money and I am not doing it for just 3 years. I consider keeping the vehicle and using it for years to come and as long as I am healthy enough to keep on traveling like that. I'm in my early 30s so that can easily mean for the next 30 years.
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Old 11 Jun 2011
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Interesting, I'd still go for a refurbed 110 , with a good quality rebuilt 300tdi or a new 2.8 from motor and diesel

You can have a galvanized chassis fitted, a good simple engine thats designed for offroad use unlike the current landrover engines and any options you want or need so you get a rebuilt as new vehicle but without the disadvantages of a modern vehicle. Can you use veg / olive oil in a modern engine, can you run on aviation fuel or parrafin on a modern engine, probabily not but you may need to (couldn't get diesel in Libya once but could get parrafin - both 300tdi and 2.5na ran on it fine with the addition of a bit of engine oil

I think that would be far more reliable than a wire falling off a sensor on the modern version and your in limp home mode for 1000 klicks

These guys have been doing it for years

Land Rover Refubishment Specialists | REFURBS | The specialist in refurbishing Land Rovers
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