Hi Mark,

That seems like an excellent build and I think if I could add a roof tent to something like that to give me dual sleeping options it would be perfect. Can I ask you a few questions:

1) How expensive are spare parts for the Landcruiser in your experience? I have heard that the cost can be 5-10 times higher than equivalent landy spares?

2) what sort of MPG were you getting from your LC? I have seen figures of 20-22 compared to 28-30 for a disco. Makes quite a difference over tens of thousands of KM

Thanks

jake


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Jacob James: Humanitarian, Travel and Cultural Documentary Photographer
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I'm now thinking a separate freestanding tent on an expedition rack with some marine ply would work equally as well as a roof tent for 1/2-1/3 of the price? I could add mounting points for the tent to the base of the rack. It would also stop me having another 40kg+ in the car?

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Jacob James: Humanitarian, Travel and Cultural Documentary Photographer
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Jacob:

Your proposed budget is unrealistic for a modded Land Rover. I was able to buy a decent '93 110 Defender County Station Wagon for 4,500 GBP as a base vehicle. It was in good shape but probably not ready for an extended overland trip without some mods.

After replacing all the suspension (springs and shocks), adding underbody protection, additional fuel tank, fridge/freezer, solar panel, dual battery system, cubby box, Raptor dash, security devices, new wheels/tyres, etc. the total cost of the vehicle is currently about 18K.

You can certainly get away with less modifications, but the list you have is going to take you over the 3-4K you want to spend on mods. An Engel MT45 fridge will retail at 700GBP, for example. A roof tent and awning will suck up a huge chunk of your mods budget. I suggest that you draw up a list of mods that you think you need and then begin pricing them using online prices. You'll soon get a realistic idea of what it would cost to kit the vehicle out to meet your dreams. You can then decide where to prioritise. For example, a decent ground tent will cost way less than a roof top tent and that way, you wouldn't need to buy a roof rack either.

I opted for a modified Defender - but I'm not on the tight budget that you are. It may not be the right choice for you. Considering your budget, I agree with some of the other posts. You may be better off looking at a suitable car, rather than a Land Rover/Land Cruiser type vehicle. There may be some roads/routes that you can't take in a standard car but you could save yourself a lot of money. Perhaps a station wagon / estate car that has 4-wheel drive would be a good compromise. You could fit out the rear of the vehicle so that you can sleep inside. Spend some money upgrading the suspension and maybe add a small fridge.

I don't know if you have given thought yet to the issue of a carnet, but perhaps you should factor this into your budget considerations before taking the plunge. You will need a carnet for the vehicle for Africa. Look into the cost implications for a carnet and how the cost changes depending on the cost of the vehicle. You may find that a low-budget car will keep the cost of the carnet down. Same thing with the cost of insurance - you may need to get specialised overlanding vehicle insurance such as that offered by Herts Walkabout.

In short, do your research and get a firm idea of all of the associated costs to make the trip a reality. Then 'tailor your suit to the cloth', to coin an expression.

Good luck.

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2014 overland adventure to Russia and Central Asia in Land Rover Defender www.bermudarover.com

Thanks for the info I've added some comments in red below

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Jacob James: Humanitarian, Travel and Cultural Documentary Photographer
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Jacob,

Your amended mod list looks much more realistic. My personal preference would be to omit the roof rack as, with one, there is a tendency to store heavy equipment up high, affecting the centre of gravity and causing the vehicle to be less stable. Also, equipment is more prone to theft when on a roof rack.

Good luck with the search for a vehicle.

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2014 overland adventure to Russia and Central Asia in Land Rover Defender www.bermudarover.com

Thanks mate, I'll definitely think hard about the rack too

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Jacob James: Humanitarian, Travel and Cultural Documentary Photographer
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Hi Jake,

TBH I've never really tracked mpg on my trips but as a guess I'd say lows 20's off road and high 20's on tarmac. My first trip to the Western Sahara was with a group including a defender 90, 110 and disco 300tdi. The Disco was several down on power over my truck and the roof rack/roof tents really effected mpg on the disco and the defenders. They also suffered with strong sidewinds.

Parts are very reasonable but I've not had to replace much in 3 trips and 15000 miles. Rear dampers are £40 a piece so very reasonable. When looking at parts you need to consider availability where your going to travel and reliability. I know theres a lot of rivalry between the LC and LR camps which I try not to get involved with but it does seem that Toyotas are more reliable. So whilst LR parts may be cheaper you may need more replacements. LR's do have a lot more aftermarket kit available

Pros -uk LC Colorado - rear locking diff as standard and twin batteries already fitted (check the diff lock works before buying as many don't work and these are expensive to replace (£400).

From you kit list you woukdn't need twin batteries, tyres definately. Shocks yes for the distance and punishment they take but you don't necessarily need raised suspension (I only have a 2" lift on the rear but it copes very well without this). Underbody protection is very expensive and heavy and not required if you drive carefully. I've banged the standard sump guuard a few times but not heavy impacts.

Light and reliable is the way to go other having all the toys. Fully loaded with kit, spare fuel and water my truck is probably very close to standard weight.

My truck also look very standard which seems to help getting through checkpoint, in the WS I regularly got waved through while the kitted out vehicles got stopped

For Sale - Toyota Land Cruiser Colorado 3.0 TD FX (95-series))

This came up for sale recently to give an indication of price for a kitted out truck, the buyer got a real bargain

Thanks for the info again mate, this is really swaying my decision towards a slightly modded LC like yours. I'd definitely need some sort of dual power set-up for charging and using laptops, cameras etc for my work as I need to do that regularly to earn the money to travel

This would have been perfect, I definitely need to keep an eye out for a similar vehicle!

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have a look on that forum for buying advice, they know a lot more than me . There are potential issues with cooling systems mostly on autos, easily prevented with simple checks on the system and maybe a new rad.

Although I have had trouble with my LC the only maintenance parts have been 2 new rear shocks and a 2nd hand alternator.

For you power supplies look at getting 12v car chargers for the laptop and cameras, much easier and more efficient than inverters. They do come with twin batteries but for long travel a proper split charge system might be better than my cheap isolators

Thanks again mate, I think you may have swung it As an aside, what was the approx total build cost for your colorado including everything to get it up to scratch?

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Jacob James: Humanitarian, Travel and Cultural Documentary Photographer
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the truck cost me £5k with 5 new BFG AT Tyres in 2011 (I then sold it and bought it back for £1300 less lol)

The platform/storage about £100 for mdf and screws carpet etc, £10 on window tint, £50 on a cb, £70 for a leisure battery, £10 for battery isolators and maybe £150 in spares for the truck.

All in under £6k based on the original purchase.

From my thread linked above you'll have read about the trouble I had with the rear axle (worth checking these as the brackets rust). I had the axle repaired in Morocco to get me home and then done properly back here last summer. This cost about £300 but I got all the mounting points on the axle strengthened so should last the truck another 170k miles

Spend the majority of your budget buying the correct type of vehicle that will allow you to do the trip you want without causing you undue problems from being the wrong type of vehicle. A 4x4 with good ground clearance.

Spend the rest of your budget making sure it is mechanically as sound as possible and buying common spares parts and tools.

Most mods and extras are about comfort, time saving and reducing risk. A standard Defender (for example) driven really sensibly and not overloaded is fine and allow you the freedom to explore all areas.

Then use the time you have to accumulate 2nd hand/new bargains for:

- sleeping
- cooking/eating
- filtering and storing water
- GPS - Garmin 276 or 278 is good and worth the costs for a 2nd hand one.

And away you go...

^This is pretty much the plan I now have

I'm going to look at picking up a decent priced/well maintained/solid vehicle. I've decided to go with pretty much standard set-up of either a Colorado/Prado, Hilux Surf or Hilux Pick Up. Spend the majority of my budget on getting it running as good as possible and then any money I have left over will go on adding a few small mods like dual battery that I see as essential to keep all my cameras/laptop etc running for my photography work.

I've seen some excellent blogs from people who travelled around the world over 4-5 years in nothing more than a Hilux pickup or a Surf and I've also seen some silly blogs where people have spent so much money on their car and never actually made it any further than the south of Spain. As I would potentially like to head east after finishing in Africa I think a simple solid toyota is my best option for both Africa, Central Asia and onwards.

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Jacob James: Humanitarian, Travel and Cultural Documentary Photographer
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Hi Jacob
I recently purchased a Defender 200tdi and according to the LR enthusiasts this seems to be the best choice of vehicle(talking Landies now!!) for my upcoming Africa/RTW trip. This based on the ease of repairs and simplicity of mechanics without too much electrical.
First thing is to get an auto-electrician to check electrics, whatever vehicle it is, as this can become a huge problem down the line while travelling Africa. Dust, mud etc etc.
A good start is your dual battery system as this will separate all inhouse accessories from your main batt and will also charge it while travelling.

Not knowing anything about mechanics at all I have opted to help the LR mechanic with some repair work that I have researched solely on the internet... as well as religiously reading the HAines manual on a daily basis.
The one thing I would suggest is if you do purchase a second-hand vehicle then spend whatever cash you have a available by repairing, replacing and getting the vehicle expedition ready as this will save you a "packet" particularly if you get stranded in some God-forsaken place without spares.
I have learnt a huge amount just by taking out the half-shafts(which had bent splines by the way), the drive members, wheel bearings, Hub, stub axle, swivel pin assembly, diff etc etc, all of these can make a huge impac on your trip if not checked and repaired/replaced. Still gonna do the Trannie and gearbox.
Try replace bearing, seals etc... anything where oil is leaking.

All of the above started only coz the LR I purchased had a "clonk" and I on researching and talking to mechanics was told that it was the "A" frame ball joint, well, after a lot of pain working to replace this and some awkward lessons learnt I found that it did nor sort the problem out, so, careful what .. or who you listen to.
Make this trip about you and what it is that you want to do...Take time like I am and get the vehicle in excellent condition first, then, and only then worry about the accessories( and there are good second-hands are advertised all over the internet.
Am in the throes now of purchasing roof-rack, spare rims, awning, tent etc...and found all this just by waiting, hey don't know if it was luck, but getting it all this week from one guy... and at a excellent price as well. Patience, as they say is my friend.

There may be some disagreement with all the above..... but, This is how I am doing it.
Best of luck..