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What Vehicle ????
I am planning a 6 year RTW trip. Having problems deciding / finding the right vehicle. One limiting factor will be carrying a Motorcycle (approx 120Kg), excessive but I like to go off on the bike for an occasional week.
Contacted a few specialist builders and its possible but my choice may be limited to a Pick-up or Land Rover Double Cab. The plan is to fit custom storage behind the Cab and allow enough space to fit the motorcycle. Vehicle requirements... AirCon, 3 Seats and a SIMPLE engine. One suggestion was a new 79 series Land Cruiser from Gibraltar or NZ. I would want to avoid VAT and Import Tax. Only way I can see this being done is registration in Country of Origin and Temporary Import for preparation. I Think they now use Common Rail so more complex. Land Cruiser 70 imported from South Africa, used low mileage or new. Any opinions ? A new Generation Hilux or Navara would suit my needs but again Complex, may be able to source diagnostic cable and software but would not have spares. Land Rover.. I have not looked into these much, many people advise avoiding them. Why ??? A 6x6 could be a good platform. Land Cruiser 80 series, could I hang the Motorcycle off the back ?? would not be my first choice but I have seen it done on a pivot to retain Rear access. I am considering a larger vehicle but having trouble finding 4x4 Chassis in the UK. Unimog may be too much. Any suggestions appreciated. Thanks |
Are you traveling alone? I ask this, because I thought some countries, [Turkey, Iran] wont allow one person bringing in two carnets. I don't know if you can enter a car and a motorcycle on one carnet???
6 years, which direction are you thinking of? |
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No first hand experience yet with bigger vehicles, but having travelled for shorter spans in a LC HDJ80 I'd say adding more function, like a camper body, and weight, like a bike, to the chassis/suspension designed for carrying medium loads over short distances, in a long run may be asking for trouble. You will have to chose: your bike or extra fuel or water, or something else. Don't dismiss yet a Unimog, or perhaps the new Iveco Daily 4x4. Think of extra reliability you will get from a package being operated well within its design capacity, rather than stretching a smaller format beyond its limitations. |
Not travelled yet, but here goes. Is it not possible to hire bikes along the way?
No extra carnets, no upkeep, no theft worries. It's just a thought. |
motor bike
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Probably starting in Africa then the America's back through Asia. Hiring the motorcycle along the route is an option for long trips. Carrying one means I can park the Vehicle and use my motorcycle for local trips. I am considering smaller motorcycles or perhaps a Mountain Bike. The Iveco 4x4 looks interesting, can we get them in the UK ? Thanks for the advice, has given me more options to consider. |
The new 79 series still uses 1HZ 4.2 mechanically injected - although the Aussies get the common rail turbo v8.
Gil |
mechanically injected would probably be better. In my experience common rail designs are a lot more complex and fail it a less user-friendly manner (i.e. the rail fails in one place and you lose all cylinders).
What is your budget and how much off-roading are you planning on? The Kamas trucks are mint mint mint and you could fit a bike on the back, either side(?!?) or even better inside. A tail-lift would make life easier, and a modified tail lift can also be used as a motorcycle rack. Listing the bike on your truck carnet as a luggage item might work. There are probably quite a few camper type conversions you could look at that you might be able to fit a bike in |
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Budget, I dont mind spending up to £50k for the right vehicle providing I can get a Bank Bond which pays interest for my Carnet. Off-Roading, I would like resonable ability, 1 metre wading, Rough Tracks, Sand, Mud. I dont mind avoiding the really rough stuff if I have the Motorcycle to explore on. The new Iveco 4x4 looks amazing... What Van? - New Vans I also like this from VW although more of a toy.. Attachment 1337 |
get the kamas then
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Seems to be a variety of New Models all being launched right now. All great vehicles but I miss the days of Mechanical Simplicity. An older 4x4 Iveco Daily may be what I need. Thanks for all the advice. |
Iveco
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Hows about a Defender 127/130 pickup with the wide load bed?
Presumably you want 4x4, what about those ford transit 4x4's - plenty of room and easy to wheel a bike in. Could kit the back out with a bunk and cooking gear etc. Thoe VW synchros look pretty cool as well, don't know if you could fit a bike in though, and I dont think they come up very often. |
The van man
Hi Darren
I am very biased as an Iveco owner, but if you are travelling in a vehicle for that long, the limitations of a normal 4x4 will soon become apparent. If you are trying to live in a vehicle which has all your stuff in it (plus bulky bike gear) you will soon get fed up with it! It's fine living in a roof tent in good weather, but spend a few days in a sand storm, or a monsoon and you will be pretty fed up. What if some gorgeous girl wants a lift and there is no room? I love unimogs, but I think they are too big and agressive looking for general travel, you would have real trouble getting into small villages, and you may be mistaken for military which might not be good. That red Daily looks fantastic, they are still built in Hungary, (and Libya) there are links if you search. A long wheel base would give you more room without a much bigger vehicle, and with your budget you could get a custom made body. Me, green with envy! Attached are pictures of Bronco on tour. If you want a look or info call me on 01275 393794. Ps Sorry could only work out how to attach one, but where I put the box on the back you could easily mount a bike Bruce |
Daily vs Sprinter
Cedar, thanks for the offer to come and see your vehicle. If I go down to Cornwall later in the Summer I may give you a call when passing.
Questions ?? .Any idea how much weight is in that box (motorcycle is 110Kg) and does it effect handling ? .What type of Injection does the Daily use ? .Are parts still available, I recently read of one guy who was having problems sourcing a Steering Rack ? .Can you retrofit AirCon ? .How Many Diff Locks ? .One option I am considering is a 4x4 Sprinter. I use a 2wd for work and it has no problems with Rough Tracks, Gradients, Green Lanes and Fords. What I dislike about it is when the going gets rough it really Sways (also an issue on road). Does the Daily behave like this ? .Any Engine Management on the Daily ? I have found Full Diagnostic Software for the Sprinter but nothing for a Daily. I have found and got really excited about these two companies. IGLHAUT Allrad - MB Sprinter Oberaigner Fahrzeugtechnik*»*Produkte Thanks |
Daily info
The box weighs about 150kg with all my tools and spare wheels, this doesn't affect handling as the back axle is rated 2.5 tonnes. It has Bosch mechanical injection. Most parts are available as they are standard Daily bits. I don't like air con, but 'spose it's possible. Diff locks front and back with selectable 4x4. The 4x4 sprinters I have seen don't have much ground clearance as I think they are monocoque, but fine for what you want.
Regards Bruce |
Bike size
I used to have my old 100 commuter, a mountain bike and a single sleeping platform inside my Land Rover 109 so you could certainly do the same with a newer 110. I didn't even bother with a ramp, it just popped in.
The main bit for that was the headroom, I always thought the landcruisers with raised roofs that one sees the military using in Southern Africa would make great trip vehicles and a bike would fit inside great. More secure as well. |
long-trip truck with bike capacity
Depends on budget - Unimog? Huge storage space and wonderful, but certain areas wont let you in (eg Ngorongoro), saying you are a "truck" or will charge you a fortune in baksheesh (eg Egypt) assuming you are rich.
What about an ex-military Defender 130 with the V8 and an LPG kit - run on gas where its available, run on petrol when its not. Foleys have some nice low-mileage box-body ones in. There's a campervan company that does hydraulic rear-lift racks for bikes - Ill look for the link.... Third axle 6x6 usually ends up adding too much weight/cost when balanced against any extra gains in flotation or traction..... |
carnet
I took a motorbike on the back of a van through Iran I told the RAC it was not road registered and they put it on the carnet of the van just with its frame number. at the border they wanted to see the bike carnet but I explained and showed them where it said kawasaki frame number etc and they were fine. this was in 1993 so maybe things have changed. dont forget to remove the number plate before the border
Graeme |
Have you considered purchasing a vehicle in the US for your trip? Personally I would think the Land Rovers a bit temperamental and the Unimogs, Gaz's and Iveco's a bit big for one person. You could consider a US-built pickup truck like here:
Turtle Expedition I have a 2007 Dodge Ram Mega Cab 4x4 with the Cummins diesel engine (common rail) which I use as a tow vehicle. It has 325hp and nearly 600 lb/ft of torque. I've towed over 13,000 lbs and a friend of mine has a neat motorcycle hitch rack that he uses to carry his DRZ400 around with. The Dana axles are near bulletproof and trucks of this type are the workhorses here, and could be built into whatever you wanted quite easily as there is a vast aftermarket for them. Something to consider anyway. -C |
wothahellizat!?
Nature Photography by Rob Gray
this is fab, a little slow and thirsty tho? if you read the diaries there are lots more pics. they seem to mostly use a bike to check out roads and access before committing such a big truck to a road it won't actually fit down. |
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