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