Vehicle choice
Pretty much the first decision we made was the type of vehicle we wanted to spend 11 months driving through Africa in ... and unfortunately, we initially chose poorly!
4x4 is an obvious selection requirement as is a diesel engine over a petrol (both for the fuel economy and the safety aspect of carrying large amounts of extra fuel around with you). By far the most common 4x4’s in Africa are the Land Rover and the Toyota Land Cruiser, for both of which parts are freely available across Africa. For us (aside from a momentary lapse of allegiance on Ness part at the mention of air con…), it has always been Land Rover all the way!
With this in
mind, we purchased a 1999 Land Rover Defender Td5 which we lovingly called
“Bertie” the blue Land Rover (can you seem a theme developing here??) and
immediately got to work researching what would need to be done to transform
Bertie from a rather “pimped” Land
Rover from Eastborne into an overland vehicle that would get us safely across
Africa over the course of 11 months. Unfortunately, we were not wise in our
initial choice – the newer Land Rover Td5 engines have an electrical control
unit (ECU) the complexity of which, for most mechanics in Walthamstow, never
mind sub-sahara Africa, would cause a sharp intake of breath. Still – having
learnt this rather vital bit of info a bit too late, we thought we would
persist with Bertie – although it would be a nightmare if anything did go wrong
(requiring diagnostic computers not available in much of Africa), the Td5
engine is generally considered more reliable therefore less likely to go wrong
… we would pray our way across Africa!
In step Foleys
Overland specialists – see Links (we can not recommend these guys enough!) –
who, having shopped around a bit, we decided to go to transform Bertie into the
overland vehicle we thought he could be. They immediately advised us of the potential
problems of doing this king of trip with a Td5 engine – they also happened to
have a 1998 Land Rover Defender 300 Tdi, fully kitted out, which had just come
back from the same journey having only suffered a couple of punctures and a
broken water pump. After some deep soul searching, we admitted that Bertie was not
destined to be the overland vehicle we hoped he could be … and after some great
ebaying, Bertie went to a new home and William joined the team ... we have not looked back since!
Vehicle Modifications
Since our Land Rover has already done the trip, pretty much all the modifications which we wanted had already been done and, more importantly, tested out! All in all, he has had the following added:
A-Bar and spotlights
Front and rear light guards
Bonnet mounted spare wheel
Steering guard
Front and rear differential guards
Raised air intake
Roof rack including jerry can holders, sand ladders and rear ladder
Roof top
tent - Easyawn
Awning
External side light
Rear door swing arm for spare wheel
Lockable cubby box
Split charge battery/inverter
Internal roll cage
Dog guard
Rear window grills
Rear shelving system
Engel fridge
Auxiliary fuel tank
Water tank
Vehicle Spares
By no means a full list of the spares we are taking with us, but to give you an idea:
Water pump
Fuel pump
Bearing x2 (RTC3492G)
Wiper Blades x2 (DKC100980)
Bush panhard rod x2 (ANR3410G)
Kit ball joint (RBG000010)
Clutch reservoir
Fuses
Seal transfer box (FTC4939G)
Slave cylinder clutch (FTC5202G)
Light unit 7” (STC1209)
Idler bearing
Suspension bolts x2
Turbo hose (ESR 2730)
Alternator (2nd hand)
Hose top (ESR2298)
Front/rear shock absorbers x2
U joint (STC4807)
Inlet/exhaust gasket
Emergency bulb kit (GBK001)
Drive belt (ERR5911)
Head gasket (ERR5263)
Wing mirror (RTC4341)
Wheel bearing socket
Switch hazard (YUF101490G)
Flasher unit (PRC88766)
Front side light
Side/brake light
Indicator light
Hub seal x2 (FTC4785G)
Nut for stub axle x2 (FRC8700)
Oil Seal (AEU2515G)
Locking washers for hub nut x2
Vehicle Maintenance during Trip
Turin (Land Rover dealer near airport)
- heater unit bypassed
Cost EUR20
Cairo (MTI - Land Rover dealer)
- full service
- front diff seal replaced
(- fan belt allegedly worn but not replaced)
Cost GBP334 (oil cost ono GBP100)
Khartoum (Awab Garage - ex Land Rover authorised dealer)
- front prop shaft UJs repalced (parts from BM Land Rover parts and own stock)
- turbo hose clips tightened
(- screw removed from rear tyre - no repair needed)
Cost $80 (labour only)
Addis Ababa (African Lakes - well known Land Rover workshop)
- full service including bearings greased and new hub seals
Cost TBC
Nairobi (Bush Rover)
- new combination switch fitted (part from Impala Auto Spares GBP20)
- general check
Cost GBP30 (labour only)
Nairobi (Jungle Junction)
- all rear suspension bushes replaced
Cost GBP10
Dar es Salaam (CMC Land Rover authorised dealer)
- full service (all filters and oil provided by us - bought in UK)
Cost GBP25 (labour only)
Livingstone (Foleys Africa)
- rear prop shaft UJs replaced
- 2x rear suspension bushes replaced
- intercooler hose replaced
- general check
Cost GBP102