The Vehicle:

If you're planning any kind of overland trip, you have a decision to make: Should you take a Land Rover or Toyota?

Before buying my vehicle, I pondered this question only for a few minutes, I was always going to take a Landy. The websites and blogs warning me against this did little to dissuade me, but then I hadn't yet been through Africa! Given the same choice again, I'm not sure I'd take a Landy - I'd certainly think a lot harder about it!!
If I had taken a Toyota, I believe my journey would have been easier. Not better, just easier. Some of my most treasured memories come from the people and places I simply had to deal with when stuck in the bush trying to fix the vehicle. I felt more involved and learned much more than I would have if I'd had a more reliable vehicle.

The truth of the matter is that throughout East Africa at least, Toyota parts are more widely available than Land Rover parts, they're also cheaper and more reliable. Kenya is the only country on my journey where Land Rovers almost outnumbered the Toyota's...
After considering all of the practical considerations there's the decision to be made about what kind of journey you want to have. Do you want to see the sights or do you want an adventure? If you take a Land Rover, an adventure is assured.

Preperation

In Africa, you can’t just nip down to the local Land Rover dealership, or call the AA to come and get you, as such; vehicle preparation and maintenance must always be your first priority.
I would liked to have spent far more time learning how to perform on the road repairs and maintenance, lack of knowledge in this area was my main concern. These concerns are somewhat mitigated by the fact that no matter how good you are at mechanics, there’s only so much you can do on the road without access to parts and a garage. What is essential is the Haynes manual, decent tools, a well researched stock of replacement parts and some experience.

I left the UK having never even changed the oil on a vehicle, and with only a few days of training. It's certainly one way to learn, and learn you must - fast.

My bible for planning this trip was Tom Sheppard’s “Vehicle Based Expedition”, which I highly recommend it to anyone planning anything similar. There are a few basic rules of vehicle based expeditions – preventative maintenance and ‘mechanical sympathy’ are by far the most important. Few things on a Land Rover will break of their own accord. Suspension, axles, half shafts and gearboxes don’t just break; they need to be broken, typically by poor or overly aggressive driving,

There are of course things which are less reliable, electronics, fuel and water pumps, clutch master and slave cylinders, most of which can be repaired or replaced on the road - these are the areas I’ve focused my attention on.

Land Rover have a saying “As slow as possible, as fast as necessary”, if I’m to complete my journey with as few major incidents as possible, careful driving is imperative.

My Land Rover is a 1995 130 Defender 300TDI crew cab called ‘M’. She started her life as a V8 Left Hand Drive pickup, and at some point along her life has been converted to a Right Hand Drive 300TDI.

M is actually the second Land Rover I bought since August of last year, I originally planned to do the trip in ‘Sara’ a 2.5l normally aspirated Land Rover Defender 110 (see picture below).

M had a number of major modifications already made by her previous owners. A Trojan secure aluminum unit has been fitted to the rear, allowing excellent secure storage, a fridge freezer, long range fuel tanks (an additional 80l), a dual battery system and a handy rear door which provides instant shade.

Under body protection includes rock sliders and a front and rear diff guards.
A Hannibal Jumbo RoofTent with side awning was already fitted when I purchased M, which is surprisingly comfy, and ensures I’ll be above snakes, most spiders and the majority of wildlife. Only Elephants, Giraffe and Baboons are capable of causing and real concern J

I’ve recently added a new Winch Bumper, bull bars, a Warn 9000 Electric Winch, water purification and storage system and a 240v electrical inverter to run the occasional 240v appliance.

Everyone at Douglas Motors in Wolston (Near Coventry) have been fantastic – big thanks to Marcus and Jonathon for all your help and excellent advice. Douglas specialise in 4x4 expedition preparation, they even make a really neat trailer for overland trips… Check out their website: (address to be added soon)

Most of the functional additions were already made to M, so my focus has been on the mechanics and consumables. I’ll be adding new Gas Shock absorbers, ensuring a comprehensive service is completed, including a timing belt change and spending a small fortune on new tyres.

I’d gone through the pain of naming my first Land Rover (Sara), which took some time… Nothing seemed to fit with the new one… M is the letter in the middle of the steering wheel, and after noticing this, after many weeks of driving her it seemed to work. For many years all of my girlfriends were called Emma, and none were too temperamental (hopefully M will continue in the same vein)! 

Tyres
There appears to be a divide between the best tyres to use, Michelin XZY all terrain or BFGoodrich All Terrain. From what I’ve read of the Michelin XZY they appear to be fantastic, with little wear and few punctures. The advice from the experts however has been that Goodrich are the defacto standard for expeditions such as mine.

I’ve read unbelievable stories of Michelin XZY’s doing over 100,000 miles, with very little sign of wear and virtually no punctures, I’m a big believer that if something seems too good to be true – it probably is. After my recent day off-roading I know that above all I need excellent grip. If tyres are showing very little sign of wear after 100,000 miles, they’re either not being driven anywhere near challenging or they don’t grip!
Michelin also bought BFGoodrich recently, which tells it’s own story.

So, after much deliberation, I’ve decided to opt for the BFGoodrich tubeless 265/75/16 tyres over the Michelin XZY: They’ve been far more widely used throughout Africa, have been recommended by every Land Rover Professional I’ve met over the last few months and are even slightly cheaper J
The 265’s are the widest you can go without any modifications to the vehicle, they should help a lot in the sand and if looked after properly should last the whole trip. Lockable wheel nuts are essential, but be sure to keep a few spare key’s for them!

Training
I spent a day in Wales having one on one offroad training with LandCraft, they have an excellent forest of around 5000 acres in which to practice, it’s not cheap, but well worth it – needless to say after the day I was thoroughly impressed with what Land Rovers are capable of – absolutely brilliant. It’s essential to have professional training and it’s also a lot of fun!