 | Home > Expedition & Overland > Sahara Desert Challenge 2016 |
 
|
|
|
| Pjembe Member Since: 21 Jul 2015 Location: Newbiggin by the Sea Posts: 143   
|
Just been reading up on the website. Looks fantastic. I'll be looking. Forward to an update. Thinking of giving it a go this year (2017/1
 |
||
1st Jan 2017 5:22pm |
|
| TVM Member Since: 18 May 2016 Location: Dubai Posts: 35 
|
Hi Jose
Hope you had a great drive. looking forward to some pictures Cheers TVM |
||
|
9th Jan 2017 8:26am |
|
| Arierep Member Since: 12 Apr 2013 Location: Portugal Posts: 258  
|
Hi all!
Arrived last Sunday from the most incredible 3 weeks of my life. The last day was a crazy 1800km drive between Guelmim and Porto, only rested for a while on the Gibraltar ferry |
||
|
18th Jan 2017 7:05pm |
|
| sharkey964 Member Since: 05 Oct 2014 Location: On a muddy track Posts: 574  
|
Waiting with bated breath for the full breakdown.
 |
||
|
18th Jan 2017 8:12pm |
|
| Pickles Member Since: 26 May 2013 Location: Melbourne Posts: 3786  
|
Glad it all went well Jose,...now awaiting a "pictorial story",...please.
Well done, Pickles. |
||
|
18th Jan 2017 8:43pm |
|
| L110CDL Member Since: 31 Oct 2015 Location: Devon Posts: 10810 
|
Well done JP, glad you have had an amazing time
1996 Golf Blue 300Tdi 110 Pick up.
Keeper. Clayton. |
||
|
18th Jan 2017 8:51pm |
|
| Outlaw1 Member Since: 11 Aug 2016 Location: east sussex Posts: 272
|
Glad it was everything you expected. Write up and pics please .
That is some drive from Guelmin in a 90 |
||
|
18th Jan 2017 10:31pm |
|
| Bows Member Since: 07 May 2012 Location: Wales Posts: 513  
|
The "white camel" looks fantastic, one of the best looking Land Rovers I've seen, looking forward to seeing more photos and hearing all about the trip. 2006 TD5110 station wagon
1995 300Tdi 90 truck cab 1989 90 hard top with 200 tdi 1983 110 hard top 1983 110 Hi cap 1954 107 pick up |
||
|
18th Jan 2017 10:53pm |
|
| Arierep Member Since: 12 Apr 2013 Location: Portugal Posts: 258
|
Hi all,
We are currently sorting the pictures, so it might take a while. But here's a teaser of the White Camel at the beach in Dakar: Some comments in advance: Pace of the event was way faster than we anticipated. It was not competition and there was no timer, but the stages were long and sometimes we had to really move in order to arrive at useful time at the camp. Having several ex or current racers in the group helped to push the speed further. The Morocco stages in particular were grueling, we did lot's of actual Dakar Rally courses, sometimes with 400km of offroad per day. Tall, skinny tyres rule. The two best cars in the sand were a FIA spec Mazda BT50 on 235/85R16 and an ex-Dakar assistance HDJ80 on 255/85R16. I honestly think the 255/85R16 was the best size in the group, virtually the same height of the 35"s when compared in person but so much more effective. Guys on 35"'s, like the two JKs or the Patrol Y61 were struggling. A well maintained 300Tdi Defender can be a very, very reliable vehicle. We finished without a single problem. Half a liter of 2 stroke engine oil per tank when running the crappiest of fuels does wonders. Genuine LR shocks are incredible reliable and durable. They heat up and lose the dampening quite fast, but took a horrendous amount of beating and survived with no problems. We saw several King and OME shocks having problems. There's something magical about Defenders in the sand, specially on 255/85R16s. The big 80 and 100 Land Cruisers also do very well, but they rely on grunt to push through it. The Defenders just make it look elegant and effortless, almost too easy. We never got stuck. So many times we were idling and 2nd hi gear when others next to us were struggling. I ended up keeping a strap assembled all the time to pull people out of trouble. My spring rates were all wrong. I had NRC9448(9) on the front and NRC9462(3) on the back, which is probably the most HD factory setup for a 90. Well, the front springs were too strong, making the shocks over extending constantly which was awful. And consider the I was running a Mantec steering guard, a heavy FirstFour winch bumper, a steel wire winch, a CT style bullbar and the nearly 50kg spare on the bonnet. Seems every kg of weigh you add to a 90 goes to the rear axle. The rear was not any better, but on the opposite, way too soft. I was carrying 100l of water, food for 3 weeks, clothes, tools, spares, camping stuff and sometimes 80L of diesel on jerrycans. The rear would lean a lot, hit the bumpstops all the time and overwork the shocks. Last edited by Arierep on 5th Jan 2019 10:18am. Edited 1 time in total |
||
|
19th Jan 2017 11:27pm |
|
| JOW240725 Member Since: 04 May 2015 Location: Suffolk Posts: 7907 
|
Congratulations on finishing! Sounds like you did amazingly well and held up the Land Rover name! Well Done!
Can't wait to see some more photos and read more about the adventure! James
MY2012 110 2.2TDCi XS SW Orkney Grey - http://www.defender2.net/forum/topic43410.html MY1990 110 200TDi SW beautifully faded Portofino Red - https://www.defender2.net/forum/post743641.html#743641 MY1984 90 V8 Slate Grey - https://www.defender2.net/forum/post744557.html#744557 Instagram @suffolk_rovers |
||
|
20th Jan 2017 1:24pm |
|
| Arierep Member Since: 12 Apr 2013 Location: Portugal Posts: 258
|
Thanks for the kind words
I'll try to sort the pics this weekend to start the report. By the way, a couple more considerations on the car: I was really considering to get a longer car before the trip, specially a 2 door 110. After it we concluded the 90 is more than enough for the two of us. In fact, I completely scraped the idea of a long wheelbase 2 door. A guy on a TD5 110 van was having a hard time to reach the stuff at the front of the load area, we were much better in that regard. I maaaaaaaayy have bent the front axle a little. I did a very crude measurement and got a 3º camber on each wheel, while the wheel bearing play seems to be minimum. I'll have to get a professional measurement, but I'm already considering to reinforce the axle houing |
||
|
21st Jan 2017 12:43am |
|
| sharkey964 Member Since: 05 Oct 2014 Location: On a muddy track Posts: 574
|
Hat's off to you Jose.
Well done indeed.You obviously preped your 90 well for the event. I think I will be doing it this year.
Marc |
||
|
21st Jan 2017 7:37am |
|
| Arierep Member Since: 12 Apr 2013 Location: Portugal Posts: 258
|
Hi all,
I'm finally starting my report on the trip. So, a long, long time ago, it was the Christmas of 2016. Weirdest Christmas ever for me and my GF, it was spent preparing stuff for the trip, barely noticing the holiday. It's our first international expedition, all the hours spent reading about other travelers are worthless when it comes the time to pack your stuff. What to take????????? The Miss approves the car setup Forward to the small hours of the 27 of December we were ready to hit the road to Coruche, near Lisbon, where the group would depart. DAY1 Porto - Beja The White Camel was ready. Yes, that's a proper butt sag you see there Was nervous as hell, every single noise, every little rattle the produced made my heart pop through my chest  Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Finally, arrived at Coruche Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Spent the morning checking the other cars and bikes. So. Much. Cr@p. From there it was just a B road drive to Beja, where we spent the night. Stay tuned Last edited by Arierep on 5th Jan 2019 10:21am. Edited 1 time in total |
||
|
11th Mar 2017 3:13pm |
|
| L110CDL Member Since: 31 Oct 2015 Location: Devon Posts: 10810
|
Thank you so much for your update, very interesting start
1996 Golf Blue 300Tdi 110 Pick up.
Keeper. Clayton. |
||
|
11th Mar 2017 8:45pm |
|
|
|
| All times are GMT |
< Previous Topic | Next Topic > |
Posting Rules
|
Site Copyright © 2006-2025 Futuranet Ltd & Martin Lewis
