tuk tuk!
 

Hi Julian, we're shipping Darwin to Dili, island hopping (RoRo) up to Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, back down to Singapore, shipping to India, Nepal, India, Pakistan, Iran, Turkey and on to Europe

Pakistan has probably got the worst road conditions, i suspect, and it's been done with a sprinter by a spanish couple recently, incl Karakoram Highway, see

Globetour. Prenent el pols al món. Tomando el pulso al mundo. Taking the pulse to the world.

We had a belgium family of 4 staying with us who have spent 12 years on the road with landcruisers + camper conversion, both their trucks are based on cab chassis rather then troopy, they reackon the chassis is more suitable to camper conversion as it flexes in a different way from the troopy... they went for a 'soft' connection between the camper and the cab, as that's where there is flex with the cab chassis. Needless to say they're in favour of LC as well :-)

My thoughts are that if people can drive from Bangkok to the UK in a tuk tuk, then surely a mercedes sprint would be up to a similar challenge, as long as we don't overload it, which applies to anything from a 2cv to a Unimog…

Two reasons i'm leaning towards a Sprinter as apposed to LC at the moment:
- space for 4, incl. sleeping
- getting the LC certified by an engineer and getting a new road worthy (MOT in the UK) can be a real pain, especially considering the fact that we're cutting a hole in the cab for walk through to the camper. This would be a problem both for selling it in the UK on arrival, or selling it back in Oz on return

Sticking on the LC route, taker a look at this site..

Tom’s Fahrzeugtechnik » Rear-End Extensions

They do some quite smart (probably very expensive!) conversions and provide plenty of photos for inspiration.

My head would say sprinter camper van...

My heart would say a 80/105/100 series Landcruiser chopped behind the rear seats and with a tray/canopy on the back and two roof tents. Or (popular in southern Africa) a 79 series double cab pickup conversion.

To be honest I think 4 people in a 79 camper van is just not really practical. Whatever conversion I was doing I would make sure that it does not involve chassis or drive train mods (i.e. 6x6 etc). The 79 D/C and wagon to pick up conversions that I have seen and liked do not alter these areas of the vehicle.

But as I say, the sensible thing would really be a transit/daily/sprinter type thing.
Gil

We travelled around Morocco last year with 5 of us in an 80 with two roof tents, which worked fine.

Are the security concerns about needing to get from the sleeping area to the driving position in a hurry that realistic?

I did a trip in an 80 Landcruiser with full length Brownchurch roofrack and an Eezi-awn roof tent and it fitted in a standard shipping container just fine.

Having driven through Europe in winter and then down thro Africa I would definitely recommend a 4x4 van (the merc) for your trip especially if you wish to save campsite charges and bush camp. Many of the best (free) spots to camp are a little hard to get to and that was where we valued the 4wd the most. Our small regret was that staying in cities (parked on the street) in a landrover was less than ideal and on those occasions were envious of our friends in their merc panel van.

R

Hi Mark, checked out your website, what a great trip you did!

I was reading about your shipping experience from Calcutta, where you mentioned that Myanmar is impossible (as I've heard), and then you go on to saying 'or so I thought - see below' - then no more mention of it… apart from 'I could have got into Myanmar and Vietnam if I’d just had the time to set things in motion, then sit around and wait while things worked their way out.'

can you shed any more light on how it might be possible to get a car into Myanmar?

Also, how much did it end up costing port to port, from Chennai to Thailand?

Security concerns is about the children
 

Hi Julian, i'm not sure how realistic the security concerns are, it was something that got pointed out by friends who have been travelling in a LC w camper conversion for 12 years… over the years they had several occurances where they were very glad that they could jump behind the wheel and take off… if we encounter the same situations? Hopefully not

If it was just me and my wife, i would be less concerned, but as we're travelling with 2 children, we're taking there security recommendation serious.

Ha, exactly my dilemma, as the sprinter doesn't exist in Australia as 4x4… strange but true (actually, most amubulances are sprinters, with a very small percentage as 4x4s)

Thanks for the feedback Richard

Gil, you've said it beautifully, it's a head or heart matter, isn't it.

The boy/bloke in me says LC, as I'd love to be able to go 'everywhere'

The father in me says sprinter, even if it means not being able to go 'everywhere', and/or occasionally getting stuck... probably preferable over having too small a living/travelling space to move around in during 18 months…

re camper conversions
 

Yeah, amazing stuff, i've drooled over it many time, very inspiring… i like the squarness/hard edged aluminium approach of the fitout, prefer it to the 'romantic' wooden with round door knob approach, which is of course very personal…

I also like Offroadschmiede Marcus Haase | and Innovation Campers - Expeditionsfahrzeuge, Aufbauverlängerungen, Offroad, 4x4, Schlafdächer, Innenausbauten, Ausrüstung, Reisepartner, Reisen, Hardtops, Toyota, HZJ, HJ, HDJ, Rover, Land Rover, Defender, Mercedes, Nissan, Mitsubischi, Mercedes G

the latter having done even mercedes sprinter roof conversions…

4x4 Sprinter: It's here!
 

Thanks to everyone for advice on a suitable travel van for our planned trip from OZ to Europe with wife and 2 kids. We recently bought an ex-ambulance 312D mercedes sprinter, and it's 4x4! It's from 2000, the last year they made them with mechanical fuel injectors, and it's done 140k.

It was an ambulance for half of it's life, and a tour bus for the other half, travelling between Cairns and Cape York.

Bought it in Cairns, and drove it down to Melbourne, very happy with it.

Will post some pics once we start prepping it for the trip. Updating suspension on it during April, followed by removing the 'bulge', which contains a second airconditioning unit, so it fits into a high cube container.

Looks great - a wise choice I reckon!
good luck with the prep,
Gil

Seats for sale
 

Thanks Gil.

I'm about to take out 8 high backed seats, consisting of 3 doubles, and 2 singles, all with integrated seatbelts. Seats are 4 years old and in perfect condition. Would suit van or 4wd.

Can post measurents and pics if anyone is interested in buying some/all.