 | Home > Expedition & Overland > Overland to Capetown |
 
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| womble Member Since: 27 Jan 2012 Location: south east Posts: 272  
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ok.hello
in terms of overlanding i have very little experience except for croatia annually for the last four years......completely different to africa. i think that to a certain extent the more you carry the more you are asking for trouble because you are weighing your vehicle down and then things break. what i have done is driven trucks all over europe and in my experience the places that you least expect to be helped the people are the nicest and also often very good at making a temporary repair,often outliving it's expectations. in short make a list of stuff to take then have another look and get rid of some of it. i carry 5 litres of oil ,same of water and some belts plus cable ties,ins.tape,fuses,bits of wire and the normal stuff ie warning triangle etc, as i said africa is a different ball game but most of what i take i never need. i hope that my limited experience is of some use but others will for sure give you more advice and maybe say i am wrong. wellcome to a very good forum.  |
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24th Nov 2013 7:41pm |
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| DCR Member Since: 11 Feb 2013 Location: Cape Town (Durbanville) Posts: 1  
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I'd say you should start by buying this book: http://www.desertwinds.co.uk/expedition_guide.html
Commonly known as the "Overlander's Bible" it will make you aware of a thousand little considerations about travelling through Africa. Generally though, as has been said, keep the weight down. You need to extend your fuel range to 900/1000 km if possible and prepare for dirty diesel (sometimes you use as many as a filter per tank). Don't worry too much about water availability, but do know that it will more often than not be dirty. Take purifying chemicals and filters. The tank built into the Land Rover will not be very practical since you will not often be able to drive up to a tap to fill it. Rather use portable plastic containers for water with some piping to fill them from a bathroom/kitchen tap. You can rather fit an additional fuel tank in the car where you were thinking of putting water. Good luck with your preparations and do keep us up to date here. Would love to meet you when you arrive in Cape Town where you should prepare to spend a few days. It's the most beautiful place! |
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6th Jan 2014 11:15am |
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| camelman Member Since: 27 Feb 2013 Location: Peak District Posts: 3370 
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Hi Buzzmf97,
I did Capetown to London a few years back in a Camel 110 Tdi and then sold the truck to my mate who drove it back down there and then on to Australia 
One of the key questions is how far off the beaten track you are intending to go. I also had a couple of mates did London to Cape Town in a london taxi. With regards to the roll cage, yes it is extra weight but bear in mind the defender has very little strength in the body in the result of a roll over and it isn't pretty when it happens. If you're carrying a lot of gear on the roof rack (i.e. the tents) and have a suspension lift, your centre of gravity is higher increasing the risk of a roll. I spent a lot of time living / working in Namibia and landies had a habit of rolling on the gravel roads out there. Agree with previous poster around carrying water in seperate containers - much cheaper option! I average 18mpg on the trip so to get the 1000km range you're going to need 155litre tanks. I had the standard rear tank, (75l), rear wing tank (40l) and under the driver seat tank (45L.). Also had a couple of Jerry cans for longer / out of the way trips. I didn't go for inbuilt storage but bought a set of stacking wolfpack boxes which were strapped in. How many of you are going on the trip ? 2 roof tents sounds like 4 people which will be cozy in a 110 for that amount of time 
I carried 2 spares on wheels (bonnet + rear mount) and threw a spare tyre up on the roof. I was running 7.50 Michelin XZLs and didn't have any real issue with punctures but on the return trip my mate seemed to spend half of his life changing tyres out in the desert so may be a skill worth learning! shout if you've got any further questions  Click image to enlarge |
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6th Jan 2014 12:06pm |
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| Pam W Member Since: 25 Oct 2011 Location: North Yorkshire Posts: 1169 
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Hi Buzz,
Our Defender 90 is on its way to Australia as I type (well, we were misinformed by our agent that was at sea on Friday, but it is actually still in Southampton dockside container stack right at the moment but due to be loaded and underway in the next couple of days anyway). This will be our first overland expedition. We have done some off-roading in the Outback before that was in our competition truck and quite a different proposition. So we are not experts in this sort of thing, but are experienced off-roaders, have done a lot of research, looked at what others have done, then come to our conclusions about how and what we wanted for our truck. Being a 90 we have less space than a 110, but there are only 2 of us travelling so we are just about getting away with it! 
Like Camelman said above, a roll cage, although not a necessity as such, is something to seriously consider. We do a lot of off-road comps and wouldn't consider doing them without a cage, so decided, risk factors taken into consideration, we wouldn't want to overland without one either. So we decided on an internal / external bolt-together expedition cage, bolted to chassis (Performance and Protection one). It doubles up as a rack for the rooftent and makes a bloody good climbing frame to get up top to do stuff! Although it is obviously heavy, it distributes the weight around the vehicle, with the roof tent we still have to ensure we get plenty of weight as low down as possible to compensate for a higher centre of gravity. Also agree about using several separate water containers. That way, you can distribute them according to gaps and spaces and weight, but in addition it means you can separate 'good' drinking water from 'questionable' water supplies. Having one tank is keeping all your eggs in one basket, either contamination or leak-wise. Also, easier to carry 10 litre containers to and from taps that may be less accessible to the vehicle. After debating and umming and arrhing about storage drawers and boxes, we also went for stacking wolf boxes and Really Useful boxes. Metal drawers take up more space than they create and are heavy and fixed. Plastic boxes can be moved around, reasonably lightweight yet durable. You can also use them as tables and chairs if required!! We tested this out on dummy runs around the UK, and the wolf boxes in particular proved versatile. You can look at our blog (see my sig below) for more details of the build and dummy run trips and of course we will be updating it once we are travelling around Oz, from late February to the end of June! Our blog - http://landytravels.com/
Yorkshire Off Road Club - http://www.yorkshireoffroadclub.net |
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6th Jan 2014 11:48pm |
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| Buzzmf87 Member Since: 22 Nov 2013 Location: Devon hopelessly lost Posts: 9 
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Thanks guys. Really useful advice so far from everyone.
I have quite liked the idea of making a draw in the floor space at the back, with shelving on one side. But maybe simply going for labelled wolf boxes is the way forward. I may still provide a slot for gas cyclinder and some water to be slipped into. I have the standard tank and a under driver seat tank - Not sure I'll be able to afford a second one, but guess I can just take two Jerry can's - my only issue here is that, with two tents on the roof - there will neither be the space nor my willingness to allow more weight up there. So where to put them? without stinking out the landy. Yeh - 4 people in 110 for 8 months - definitely going to be a close experience. See how it goes. More worried about when the girls take a turn driving - us lads do not fit comfortably in the back row! 6'2 and 6'6. Need to do some work on the electronics - do currently have two batteries with a split system, but I don't quite understand it, and want to wire it the way I know and understand. Would love to see some photos of peoples storage. And a spares list if anyone has one. cheers |
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8th Feb 2014 6:40pm |
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| RockJaw Member Since: 15 Oct 2013 Location: United States Posts: 317  
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WoW!!!!
This is fantastic stuff!! Would love to see this post get more attention. If anyone is doing the Cairo to Cape trip I might be able to assist with some logistics along the way. We have a variety of operations throughout Africa and no shortage of Defender parts and bits and pieces and stuff. Tyres, fuel range and essential little mechanical consumables are always the key to a successful African adventure. Good on you Buzz!! Please keep this post alive mate! @ Camelman Was that photo taken anywhere near the Three Sisters in the Transvaal? ****CENSORED**** |
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9th Feb 2014 4:31am |
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| Cold_n_Wet Member Since: 15 Oct 2012 Location: Bergen Posts: 244 
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We did three weeks in Botswana, Zimbabwe and south Africa.
The rental vehicle had bog standard Land Rover suspension and it worked fine. I think the 2" lift may cause more problems then advantages. now Im not sure if you have castor correction, dobbel jointed propshafts, bent trailing arms etc, but all that is none standard will ultimately wear differently then standard angles. If you have standard parts then in an event of a break down it will be easier to source spares from a donor, say you break a spring, chances are easier to find a replacement if its standard height. While we were at 3rd bridge campsite in Moremi Botswana we had a chap come and ask us for brake fluid, as he had worn a hole in the metal pipe on the front spring. There were 6 of us trying to help him. We managed a makeshift repair to get him to maun (closest big town) to get proper repairs done. You will need to think out of the box on some repairs, im not sure what mechnical skills you have or what you could fix if your in the middle of no where and a non starting vehicle ? As mentioned 2 x spares plus puncture repair kits and maybe some inner tubes. Sand ladders were good to have, we never got stuck and used them in anger but used them to level the defender each night so we didnt struggle to keep the doors open or closed. Get some ratchet tiedowns these have many used including tieing fire wood to the roof rack. some wirewraps are great for repairs or wire for holding up broken exhausts etc. We had 900 km range in the heavy sands, so a larger fuel tank is a necessary, as are jerry cans. There is so much information you need to filter what is good for you. Being a rookie overlander, I have found what works for me and I will be going back to southern africa in a few years, my plans are Kenya to capetown via Kilimanjaro, Zambia, Namiba, Botswana (CGKR) transfrontier park, South Africa Kruger,Drakensburg, lestho capetown. Good luck on your trip, its true what they say Africa gets under your skin.... Glen "Rafiki" 2007 110 STW - Rolling rebuild. |
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9th Feb 2014 9:18pm |
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| Buzzmf87 Member Since: 22 Nov 2013 Location: Devon hopelessly lost Posts: 9
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[quote="RockJaw"]WoW!!!!
If anyone is doing the Cairo to Cape trip I might be able to assist with some logistics along the way. We have a variety of operations throughout Africa and no shortage of Defender parts and bits and pieces and stuff. Rockjaw - Would love to here more about the possibility of logisitics and help throughout africa!!! Things are bound to break - it's the nature of this kind of adventure, and knowing where to find good quality parts and/or help would be a really big help I definitely plan to keep this alive - especially once preperation starts heating up again - have been very busy with work, and currently do any mechanics on the road side, which has involved a 4inch deep puddle since december - so very little done recently. Cheers Buzz |
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11th Feb 2014 2:04pm |
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| RockJaw Member Since: 15 Oct 2013 Location: United States Posts: 317
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Well, the place to start is to keep your planned route (and route B and route C) all updated as things progress (regress) in Africa - got to keep away from the very "hot zones"
Once we have that going we can see how far the trip is from any of our mining ops and we can figure out how to get somebody out to set up a logistics area for you guys. Would love to be part of another of these great adventures buddy! ****CENSORED**** |
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11th Feb 2014 4:15pm |
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| Buzzmf87 Member Since: 22 Nov 2013 Location: Devon hopelessly lost Posts: 9
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Well currently the plan is East side, cutting across to Namibia at the last minute before heading into SA. Not sure if that is mining territory. Essentially - Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, then not quite sure, before heading to Zambia, Namibia and SA.
Obviously the political situations aren't great in the first two countries currently - although I understand the part of Sudan to be visited is not the issue - it's the border and into South Sudan. Guys pushing the roll cage - I have started saving! I don't think I can afford a third fuel tank - so think two and jerries is the way. Definitely need to keep the weight down. The canvas roof tents are tougher - but there is some serious weight to be saved with some of the newer modern material roof tents - Under 40Kg. Will need to be very precise with spares and extras. I'll invest in that book - looks brilliant. Anyone got any external jerry can solutions? |
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11th Feb 2014 5:45pm |
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| Buzzmf87 Member Since: 22 Nov 2013 Location: Devon hopelessly lost Posts: 9
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Well currently the plan is East side, cutting across to Namibia at the last minute before heading into SA. Not sure if that is mining territory. Essentially - Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, then not quite sure, before heading to Zambia, Namibia and SA.
Obviously the political situations aren't great in the first two countries currently - although I understand the part of Sudan to be visited is not the issue - it's the border and into South Sudan. Guys pushing the roll cage - I have started saving! I don't think I can afford a third fuel tank - so think two and jerries is the way. Definitely need to keep the weight down. The canvas roof tents are tougher - but there is some serious weight to be saved with some of the newer modern material roof tents - Under 40Kg. Will need to be very precise with spares and extras. I'll invest in that book - looks brilliant. Anyone got any external jerry can solutions? |
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11th Feb 2014 5:45pm |
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| RockJaw Member Since: 15 Oct 2013 Location: United States Posts: 317
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Happy to talk about a sponsorship, maybe a few cents per Kilometre or something. Everything from Kenya down starts getting easy. Sudan/South Sudan is a trouble spot caused by our lovely Nato gvts and it would be wise to ensure 100% info gathering as close to planned departure and to maintain 100% flow of information during that period. We deploy the use of weather balloons for some of our own communications equipment which functions better than satellite, we might talk about giving you access to those systems so we can track you in case you lose Sat comms. ****CENSORED**** |
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12th Feb 2014 5:40am |
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| Buzzmf87 Member Since: 22 Nov 2013 Location: Devon hopelessly lost Posts: 9
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Things are coming along.
We have a facebook page - search o4erland we have a blog - soon to become a proper website - google Wordpress o4erland The landy is coming forwards in little dribbles. I have a list of everything I want to do, and am slowly ticking it off bit by bit. Doing what I can, when I have the help and/or cash. Few bigger bits will need to save to get done by a garage as really struggling to find a friendly local to help out - examples are cut out rot and replace for one of the side doors, anything that involves raising the landy up or getting an axle off the ground - I just do not currently have the space or resources to do this. Does anyone know anything I can do to extend the life of my diffs, gear box and transfer box? I will change the oils, but my understanding is their internals are all quite complex and require more specialist tools? Maybe just changing seals? If anyone is in South Devon or knows someone who is who wouldn't mind spending an evening now and again, or sat morning - and has space, knowledge and tools - please let me know. Cheers Buzz |
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14th Apr 2014 4:58pm |
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| g-mack Member Since: 07 Jan 2014 Location: northumberland Posts: 1967
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im watching this thread with interest
My 109 thread
my youtube channel |
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14th Apr 2014 6:02pm |
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