Hey guys,

This is my first post on here so go steady on me

THE PLAN

Basically I'm a 20-year pro travel/documentary photographer (Just finishing off my degree over the next 18 months at the same time) with a dream to pursue a completely location independent lifestyle when I have finished off with studying in 18months time. I have the idea that I want to spend at least 12 months but maybe up to two years driving overland through Africa.

Africa has been a dream for me for many years and as a photographer I feel having a vehicle would allow me to get out to the places I want to shoot like the nomad settlements in Mauritania and so on which would be difficult to reach otherwise.

BUDGET

The main problem I have is that currently I don't have stacks of disposable cash to go out and buy 10s of thousands of pounds of car/gear for the first trip (I'm young anyway and like an adventure) and so I would probably have to limit myself to around £5-6000 for everything to start off with.

CAR CHOICES

Defender

Originally I thought I had decided on getting a 110 Defender. Seems to be a common choice of car for overland expeditions and I hear it is 'relatively' fairly simple mechanics in case anything goes wrong on the road. The problem is that even an old battered one is at least £4k and a solid one closer to £6k.

Discovery 300tdi

Seems to have everything I want, cheap parts, simple mechanics, cheap second hand market here in the UK, loads of mods available. A reasonable one with 100k on the clock is only around £2k in the UK. The main problem is that 1) They have a terrible rep for rusting 2) Everyone keeps saying they are unreliable. I see plenty of people using them but I don't want to get to Africa and spend all my money fixing it up every couple of weeks.

LC Troopie 78

Solid, reliable but harder to get here in the UK. I have been told I could get a solid one for £3k but struggling to find any for sale. They also don't have the charm of a Landy but seem much more reliable?

MODS

I understand that with a budget for mods of £3-4k I won't be able to buy the world but these are a few things I am thinking of adding to the prospective vehicle if they aren't fitted when I purchase.

My not very detailed list so far is:

Upgraded shocks/springs for weight
Roof rack
Roof Tent
Side awning
Safari Snorkel
GPS device
Dual Battery System
Rock sliders
Front bull bar + Spots
Diff guards
2 x spare wheels
Fridge?
Extra Fuel & Water would be in jerrycans or similar rather than a dedicated extra tank (again to save £)
DIY storage/draw system (could be built in by my dad)

Is there anything else people can think of as essential? anything you would ditch?

Apologies if I sound like I have not got a clue, I'm still learning hence why I would love to get the base vehicle now so I can spend 2 years working on it myself and building it slowly.