A QLD 110 in Europe

[knodes85]

Hi Team

My wife, Defender and I had a bit of a year last year which I thought may be of interest to some of you.

After a manic 6 months of work between myself and Daniel (a.k.a Mulgo or genius) we converted my Puma 110 Hardtop into a home and shipped it to Europe to travel around for most of 2015. We did around 50,000kms and got as far north as Iceland and down to Western Sahara.

I had grand plans of documenting my design and the build of our truck ("Sulo") and doing a blog detailing our travels but I've no idea how people have the time. I don't mind taking the odd photo though and did make a sub-par website with shots of our travels. Many are completely unrelated to the LR and are primarily published for friends and family. However the sections for Morocco, Iceland and the Spanish Pyrenees have a fair amount of Defender-centric photography.

The return to normality means I'm a little time poor at the moment, but I wanted to make a thread so anyone with questions about the international travel process or aspects of my build can ask me while it's still fresh. I tested most of my gear fairly extensively so if you see any bits you're contemplating I'll likely have a strong view on them.

When time permits I'll try and give you all some further details about building Sulo and some of the hits and misses of the trip. From converting my snorkel to a funnel fording in Iceland to break downs in 45 degree Saharan sand dunes during sand storms; there are some stories.

Below are a few shots to get you all started. For those with the time my website is here (www.inabsentia.com.au). Full disclosure; it is a data hungry monster owing to the resolution of the images and my general incompetence when it comes to website creation.

Cheers
John

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[Aguy]

WOW,
Stunning pictures.

:BigThumb:

[SG1 Bones]

That's awesome thanks for sharing.
Nathan.

[steveG]

What a great adventure.
Had a quick look at some of the photos on your website. Did you just come across other vehicles to travel with to different places along the way, or was it a bit more pre-arranged?

Also noticed the Coleman dual-fuel cooker instead of gas??

Steve

[spudboy]

Nice lot of photos on your website. Do you have any pages documenting your build, and how you shipped the vehicle?

Would be interested to find out what sort of money it cost to do the shipping, and what issues you had bringing it back into Australia (I am presuming you are back home at the moment).

How did you go with "free-camping" in various countries?

Cheers
David

[knodes85]

What a great adventure.
Had a quick look at some of the photos on your website. Did you just come across other vehicles to travel with to different places along the way, or was it a bit more pre-arranged?

Also noticed the Coleman dual-fuel cooker instead of gas??

Steve

The only pre-arranged company (an English guide) was for half our time in Morocco when we were really remote. I hadn't had the time to plan routes prior to our departure and it appeased the in-laws as well. Whilst the chap I went with was a fantastic character, I'd never do an organised tag-a-long tour again - I missed my independence. It did take us to some spots I'm sure we'd have never found but for the guidance, but I was glad to be alone for the second half of our time down there.

We met a Danish bloke in Morocco who coincidentally was planning to cross the Pyrenees off-road at a similar time to us, so we teamed up there and pooled our maps and straps.

Iceland we went over solo but you meet people along the way. In the Central Highlands you often don't see anyone for a day or so. On the more serious fords sometimes people wait for someone else to come and try their luck and teams seem to form somewhat organically. A great deal of the beauty of the place is the solitude. Some nuts rent Sierras and try to take them across the deep fjords (read over the bonnet deep). As soon as they see a Defender with a snorkel they desperately cling to your tail so they can watch you cross. On a few occasions, to keep the solitude in tact, I'd have to pull over and wave them on.

All the rest of our off-piste was incidental and we navigated the tarmac alone.

We went for the Coleman so we didn't have to sort out gas fittings and knew we could get fuel of some sort where ever we were. The lighting routine grows on you - the sound of the pump is like the sound of a bell to Pavlov's dogs. That Coleman is secured to the bench with a pair of large rare-earth magnets, so we could detach it out and cook on the table, or cook inside the truck. We didn't feel gas bottles, with hoses and stoves would be quite as flexible.

[stewie110]

The only pre-arranged company (an English guide) was for half our time in Morocco when we were really remote. I hadn't had the time to plan routes prior to our departure and it appeased the in-laws as well. Whilst the chap I went with was a fantastic character, I'd never do an organised tag-a-long tour again - I missed my independence. It did take us to some spots I'm sure we'd have never found but for the guidance, but I was glad to be alone for the second half of our time down there.

We met a Danish bloke in Morocco who coincidentally was planning to cross the Pyrenees off-road at a similar time to us, so we teamed up there and pooled our maps and straps.

Iceland we went over solo but you meet people along the way. In the Central Highlands you often don't see anyone for a day or so. On the more serious fords sometimes people wait for someone else to come and try their luck and teams seem to form somewhat organically. A great deal of the beauty of the place is the solitude. Some nuts rent Sierras and try to take them across the deep fjords (read over the bonnet deep). As soon as they see a Defender with a snorkel they desperately cling to your tail so they can watch you cross. On a few occasions, to keep the solitude in tact, I'd have to pull over and wave them on.

All the rest of our off-piste was incidental and we navigated the tarmac alone.

We went for the Coleman so we didn't have to sort out gas fittings and knew we could get fuel of some sort where ever we were. The lighting routine grows on you - the sound of the pump is like the sound of a bell to Pavlov's dogs. That Coleman is secured to the bench with a pair of large rare-earth magnets, so we could detach it out and cook on the table, or cook inside the truck. We didn't feel gas bottles, with hoses and stoves would be quite as flexible.
We have done some overlanding and agree that the dual fuel is less of a problem than gas. We kept on running into people in central Asia asking us if we had gas adapter x. Not being able to cook your own meals quickly depletes any savings.

[ozy013]

Thanks for taking the time post some great pics John, wow what an amazing adventure. The photo's are spectacular, I will definitely have to check out your web page when I get time.

When I lived in the UK, many moons ago, we used to visit friends in Reykjavik every year. Your photo's brought back some great memories. I vividly remember pulling up to one particular fjord in my Series III, where there was a guy in an old Russian army truck helping people cross, for a fee of course. The truck was a ZIL-157, it was wonderful to watch. The 4x4's drove onto the tray of the truck, via a dirt ramp, then the truck ferried them across.

[knodes85]

Nice lot of photos on your website. Do you have any pages documenting your build, and how you shipped the vehicle?

Would be interested to find out what sort of money it cost to do the shipping, and what issues you had bringing it back into Australia (I am presuming you are back home at the moment).

How did you go with "free-camping" in various countries?

Cheers
David

I've nothing documenting the build beyond the photos in the "Sulo" section of the site. Shipping arrangements were not documented either. I'll try to expand on this, and the reimportation process I experienced in the coming days. We shipped in and out of the UK as we had no idea what we were doing and I wanted to avoid the language barriers. Given the exchange rate, that may not be the most economical option - I think in and out of Hamburg Germany would be cheaper. AU-UK-AU you'd be lucky to get much change out of $10,000 for a Full Container Load by the time it's all said and done.

The success of free-camping is very much dependent upon the state you're in, and your comfort threshold. Many countries up there allow it legally, or don't really care.

- The Algarve area in Portugal for instance was magnificent. I'd just drive the truck into the dunes or onto a headland wherever the surf was best, then just stay there until the conditions changed. Not technically legal, but the police saw me and for the most part couldn't care less.
- Iceland is also magnificent, but because of the geology you cannot drive off the tracks at all, so sometimes finding a protected spot can be a challenge. We encountered winds that would easily have been 70 knots up there - I thought the truck was going to flip.
- Norway was another free-camping nirvana however the locals had understandably had enough, as many twits don't clean up after themselves. Luckily the Defender can get where most can't.
- France has aires which are essentially designated free-camping areas - some are nice, some seem extremely sketchy. In the surf towns on the coast, you just park on the street near the surf. The same goes for the ski towns - just park near the lift so you can ski to your car at the end of the day.
- Scotland tolerated it, however in some forest areas we camped at we encountered the dreaded Scottish Midge which were so tiny they could get through the stitching holes in Daniel's pop-top canvas. Unbelievable numbers of them got in, easily hundreds.
- Morocco was comical - you could just go wherever you wanted and camp wherever you wanted. The trade off is that the locals can be interesting. I was pulled out of my car in the dead of night by some very angry soldiers who thought I was a people smuggler watching over the sea for boats coming in. It took a long time to convince them I was parked on the headland so I could surf the beach below. Shepherds often guided their flocks at night to beat the heat, so you'd sometimes be woken up by bleating at 2:00am with 50 sheep surrounding your car.

In the built up areas, a pop-top Defender with skis and surfboards on the roof isn't exactly inconspicuous. My design allows the floor to be pulled out, it sits on legs to form the table, or it sits on the cupboards to make a sleeping platform that doesn't necessitate that the roof be popped up. We slept in some interesting carparks in cities like that, but I wouldn't describe the nights as restful. There's something about people wandering around your truck at 3:00am speaking in foreign tongues which isn't exactly a lullaby.

Some countries wouldn't tolerate wild camping at all, Germany and Switzerland for instance were quite strict. There we'd just try and find the least developed campgrounds we could and would stay there. Often that would just be a designated car park with a toilet block and a power plug. I'd never stayed in a camp ground before (beyond our National Park campsites with a drop toilet) so the extent of some of the resort style places was a shock. Europeans seem to go to these resort campgrounds for two week holidays, never leave the confines of the actual campground and demand entertainment while they're there - seemed like torture to me. At the end of the day they provided a safe place to store the truck and we'd just stumble back from touristing come night and pop the top to sleep. It can be a real battle finding somewhere to park a 2.5M tall 110 in the cities as well, so the camp grounds served as somewhere with Defender height clearance.

If anyone is chasing specific spots in these countries I had a Spot Trace which tracked me along the way. It was more for security in case we broke down in the middle of Iceland / Morocco, or someone pinched the truck, but I should be able to use the log to give GPS coordinates for spots if anyone wants them. The same for good campsites - one in every 3 or 4 would be pretty nice.

[knodes85]

Thanks for taking the time post some great pics John, wow what an amazing adventure. The photo's are spectacular, I will definitely have to check out your web page when I get time.

When I lived in the UK, many moons ago, we used to visit friends in Reykjavik every year. Your photo's brought back some great memories. I vividly remember pulling up to one particular fjord in my Series III, where there was a guy in an old Russian army truck helping people cross, for a fee of course. The truck was a ZIL-157, it was wonderful to watch. The 4x4's drove onto the tray of the truck, via a dirt ramp, then the truck ferried them across.

Iceland was by far the trip highlight - which was lucky as the return ferry ticket from Denmark nearly cost $4,000. I'd recommend anyone with an interest goes now, because it is already being overrun with tourists and really can't support much more of an increase. The international visitor numbers have increased something like 600% in the past 10 years.

[spudboy]

Thanks for that detailed reply. It brought back memories of Scottish Midgies invading our Combi (about 30 years ago) in a sort of black haze - most unpleasant!

Was the $10K you mentioned one way costs or was that for inbound + outbound shipping?

[knodes85]

Thanks for that detailed reply. It brought back memories of Scottish Midgies invading our Combi (about 30 years ago) in a sort of black haze - most unpleasant!

Was the $10K you mentioned one way costs or was that for inbound + outbound shipping?

That's inbound and outbound, packed and unpacked at both ends and fully cleared through borders and landed. There would be ways to marginally reduce the costs, including loading and unloading yourself; and if you were brave / savvy forgoing shipping agents. The biggest rort are the AU Customs Clearance storage facilities. They have AQIS agents permanently on site doing clearances who then refer the vehicle back to the Customs Clearance House for steam cleaning. By sending it there you have no control of the vehicle's progression through clearance and get stung for steam cleaning without being able to physically see the issue. In my case I got hit for a $200 clean which I know was unnecessary - but at the end of the day you just want your truck back and you cop it. More on these guys later.

Certainly I would insist on loading yourself. On the way over they didn't strap the chassis. So I insisted they do so on the way back. To save money they strapped through the towing eyes on the rear of the chassis with a single strap instead of two which, through 1.5 months of friction from the rings' square edge, had snapped. Luckily the car didn't seem to have sustained any damage.

Add about 2% of insurable value for Marine Risks coverage each leg on top.

[Andrew86]

Some really great information here, and some stunning photos too. Thanks for sharing :)

[El Rey]

Agree with everyone else - an awesome trip and great sharing of valuable info too.
Did you run into many other Defenders on your travels?

[knodes85]

Glad it's of use to some of you. There are a lot of unknowns up there and any practical information I found on the net was very helpful in planning.

For instance, when you import a vehicle temporarily into the EU, it says you must export it out of the EU within 6 months otherwise it's no longer deemed to be temporary and you risk being hit for import duties (you do not need a Carnet for any of the places I went). When my truck went through Her Royal Majesties Customs my UK shipping agent stuffed up my forms and ended up declaring that I was relocating to the EU and bringing my car in for that reason. I spent a fair portion of time worrying about getting it out as that would be the point I presumed they would hit me for the duties. In any event it was going to be some time after 6 months, but Iceland and Morocco aren't technically in the EU, so I was going to argue that my trips there were "Export". The reality was that no one could a flying you know what. You just put the thing in a box, put it on the boat and go to the pub.

The same can be said for the Schengen Area, which I won't go into too much detail about unless someone wants it but essentially means that on an AU passport you can only spend 90 out of any 180 period in Schengen countries. I took all sorts of evasive countermeasures to try and overcome that edict, including getting a French Working Holiday Visa. Complete waste of time - I'm sure I could have spent 10 years driving around Europe without anyone cottoning on how long I'd been there for. The current political situation is changing how relaxed the borders are though.

Anyway, more interestingly, here are a few pictures my Danish mate took of the old girl crossing the Pyrenees. He is a great photographer and does a significant amount of extremely well documented travel up there. You can check out his site here (www.gwagendays.com). He's a bit more expansive than I am and if you read the Trans-Pyrenees sections he details how I got woken up one night camping in the middle of nowhere by brown bears; and how we nearly lost his G-Wagen down the side of a mountain. Apologies, I'm not sure how to reduce the size of the images.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2016/01/773.jpg

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[knodes85]

Agree with everyone else - an awesome trip and great sharing of valuable info too.
Did you run into many other Defenders on your travels?

Plenty El Rey. Obviously truck loads in the UK, but surprisingly large amounts in Germany and Switzerland - they love their 4WDs, despite having absolutely nowhere in their countries to use them.

Iceland was fantastic - there would have been 50 lined up for the ferry from Denmark and in Iceland the natives run theirs with 42" tyres.

In the Rif Mountains of northern Morocco, every second car would be a Defender or a Santana. They're everywhere. It would be more fantastic if their owners weren't trying to run you off the road to sell you hashish. In Western Sahara basically every car is an old clapped out Series. I don't think I saw any old Cruisers anywhere down there.

They wave is alive and well everywhere I went. I think my wife kept a wave count somewhere - no idea where it is now though! She had to do the waving as I was on the wrong side of the car for most of the time.

[SG1 Bones]

Thanks knodes85 for sharing this adventure with us, I'm really enjoying reading about the travels you've made in The Northern Hemisphere.

Nathan.

[NovaRover]

Trip of a life time, just love seeing people living life and when they are in a Landy is an added bonus. Makes me feel warm and fuzzy about how much life there is to live.
what tyre did you use?

[knodes85]

Trip of a life time, just love seeing people living life and when they are in a Landy is an added bonus. Makes me feel warm and fuzzy about how much life there is to live.
what tyre did you use?

I ran Michelin XZL 7.5R16.

Prior to this trip I would have unconditionally pledged my allegiance to those tyres. I've done 2 sets of them in Australia, never had a puncture, never experienced blocks of tread coming off, and never been properly bogged in sand. I used to love going to Fraser and watching people hit the exits at Mach 5 only to get bogged on the first corner; while my pizza cutters and I would crawl past in low range at 16PSI like it were all a walk in the park. If they're good enough for the ADF, they're good enough for me.

I had multiple punctures during the trip. All sidewall I should add, but I picked up punctures where others did not. Luckily in Morocco OH&S is not a major issue and I had a vulcanised repair done on one that should have been scrapped for the princely sum of $2AUD. I lost lots of blocks of tread too and went through the set in 40 odd thousand kilometres.

More importantly, I got royally bogged in sand dunes approximately one million times. On level straight ground, the 7.5R16s can be aired down to almost nothing and you can get through anything. Add 800 kilos (the wet weight of all the fruit on and in my truck including drive and passenger), and rolling soft sand dunes where you have to maintain speed whilst executing extremely tight turns on crests to avoid rolling down the 60 degree fall sides and you have nothing but tears. I rolled one tyre off the rim at one point as the only way I could get up the big dunes was to run 8-12PSI. With that amount of weight, and the Puma's inadequate engine capacity, to properly impersonate a Tusken Raider you simply need wider tires. I recognise aired down longitudinal tread length comes from tyre hight but it doesn't hurt to have some latitudinal breadth to start with.

Another fun fact learned as a result of the bog-fest, MaxTrax bend like bananas in 45 degree plus ambient temperatures, and lord knows what temperature hot sand. It makes them decidedly useless if you're on a steep incline. I managed to bend them back by finding some flat scorching ground and flipping them and parking on them for a few hours.

Short story: I am now going to buy a set of 255/85/R16 BFG KM2s when I manage to restock the bank account.

[stewie110]

I ran Michelin XZL 7.5R16.

Prior to this trip I would have unconditionally pledged my allegiance to those tyres. I've done 2 sets of them in Australia, never had a puncture, never experienced blocks of tread coming off, and never been properly bogged in sand. I used to love going to Fraser and watching people hit the exits at Mach 5 only to get bogged on the first corner; while my pizza cutters and I would crawl past in low range at 16PSI like it were all a walk in the park. If they're good enough for the ADF, they're good enough for me.

I had multiple punctures during the trip. All sidewall I should add, but I picked up punctures where others did not. Luckily in Morocco OH&S is not a major issue and I had a vulcanised repair done on one that should have been scrapped for the princely sum of $2AUD. I lost lots of blocks of tread too and went through the set in 40 odd thousand kilometres.

More importantly, I got royally bogged in sand dunes approximately one million times. On level straight ground, the 7.5R16s can be aired down to almost nothing and you can get through anything. Add 800 kilos (the wet weight of all the fruit on and in my truck including drive and passenger), and rolling soft sand dunes where you have to maintain speed whilst executing extremely tight turns on crests to avoid rolling down the 60 degree fall sides and you have nothing but tears. I rolled one tyre off the rim at one point as the only way I could get up the big dunes was to run 8-12PSI. With that amount of weight, and the Puma's inadequate engine capacity, to properly impersonate a Tusken Raider you simply need wider tires. I recognise aired down longitudinal tread length comes from tyre hight but it doesn't hurt to have some latitudinal breadth to start with.

Another fun fact learned as a result of the bog-fest, MaxTrax bend like bananas in 45 degree plus ambient temperatures, and lord knows what temperature hot sand. It makes them decidedly useless if you're on a steep incline. I managed to bend them back by finding some flat scorching ground and flipping them and parking on them for a few hours.

Short story: I am now going to buy a set of 255/85/R16 BFG KM2s when I manage to restock the bank account.
I noticed on your website that there is a photo of sulo being loaded up on a truck.. What happened?

[MrLandy]

Hey Knodes85, thanks for the fantastic thread, I've really enjoyed reading about your Defender travels os.

Re tyres, was it that the side walls were too soft on rocky roads with the XZL's ? I've been thinking of trying them next. ...I've sworn by Bridgestone 661's for years now, 10 ply sidewalls, and they lengthen really will on low pressure in sand. Sounds like maybe I should stick with them...

Cheers

[Babs]

Hey Knodes85, thanks for the fantastic thread, I've really enjoyed reading about your Defender travels os. Re tyres, was it that the side walls were too soft on rocky roads with the XZL's ? I've been thinking of trying them next. ...I've sworn by Bridgestone 661's for years now, 10 ply sidewalls, and they lengthen really will on low pressure in sand. Sounds like maybe I should stick with them... Cheers

I think you mean the tyres belts are 10ply the side walls on the Bridgestone are only 2 ply.

Sent from my iPhone using Forum Runner

[MrLandy]

I think you mean the tyres belts are 10ply the side walls on the Bridgestone are only 2 ply.

Sent from my iPhone using Forum Runner

Cheers Babs, my mistake I stand corrected. I've never had a puncture with 661's in almost 20 years though. Is it just good luck? Would be keen to hear if anyone else has experience with 661's and any comparisons with XZL's.

[Babs]

Cheers Babs, my mistake I stand corrected. I've never had a puncture with 661's in almost 20 years though. Is it just good luck? Would be keen to hear if anyone else has experience with 661's and any comparisons with XZL's.

All good we know what you meant.

I haven't driven on Bridgestone for over 15 years, I have always liked the reports on the 694 which are now the 697.

I have always felt more comfortable with BFG AT or now the last 5 sets or so have been Cooper ST MAXX.

What I found out is they are both a 3 ply sidewall and they measure the sidewall by Denier.
Each ply in the BFG are 1,000 Denier so the 3ply equates to 3,000 Denier. Whereas the Coopers first ply is 2,000 Denier and the second ply is 2,000 Denier and the 3rd is a 1,000 Denier cross ply. So that's a 3 ply sidewall equaling 5,000 Denier.

This makes the coopers a little more stiffer in the sides but I believe a lot more resistant to side punctures. I have been happy with the last 5sets I have run.

A little off topic but good info all the same.

Sent from my iPhone using Forum Runner

[Babs]

A good write up on the 661

http://www.bridgestone.com.au/tyres/treads/d661_testimonial.aspx

And a pic on a Defender.

Sent from my iPhone using Forum Runner

[MrLandy]

A good write up on the 661

http://www.bridgestone.com.au/tyres/treads/d661_testimonial.aspx

And a pic on a Defender.

Sent from my iPhone using Forum Runner

Cheers Babs, yeah that reflects my experience with 661's.

[noyakfat]

I think the pic of the defender is actually with the 693's. Anyway, who gives a rats? They sound like good tyres :)

Since new, I've been running Hankook Dynapro MT's in 265/75R16 (due to a very very good clearance price at my local tyre place.) They have just turned over 29,000 km and they are wearing extremely well. I've been very very happy with them.

When I wear them out, I'm keen to go back to 235/85R16, and have been wondering what kind of AT with which to shoe the horse. So far, I've been leaning towards the new Goodrich AT KO2, but the Bridgestones are also sparking my interest, particularly the 661.

To be honest, based on their performance so far, I'd be happy to run the Dynapro MT's again, but thought it would be more justified to go back to the AT's, given than my Deefer is my daily drive and carries me about 150 km per week to and from work.

I run the generally unladen beast with 35 psi all round and I do a 5 tyre rotation every 5,000 km. Wear has been very even and mild.

I guess I'll have to wait and see what happens when it's time for new shoes.

Cheers

[MrLandy]

[FONT="Verdana"]I think the pic of the defender is actually with the 693's. Anyway, who gives a rats? They sound like good tyres :)


Yes correct. The 661's are the skinny ones in the first photo. My current set have done 35000km and not even half worn.

[juddy]

Out of Interest what did your Carnet cost you?

[jc109]

Fantastic photos. Very jealous of your trip. Certainly something on my ever lengthening list of things to do. Thanks for sharing.

[jc109]

Hey Knodes85, where did you find (or how did you make) those reflective window shades. They look like a very tidy solution. I've previously just cut up window shades bought from Supercheap.

[spudboy]

Someone like these guys .... Solarscreen - Quality custom made window insulation for Motorhomes, 4x4s, Boats and Cars (http://www.solarscreen.com.au/)

[jc109]

Brilliant! Thanks spudboy.

[knodes85]

I noticed on your website that there is a photo of sulo being loaded up on a truck.. What happened?

Sorry for the delay Team - back at work...

That shot of Sulo on the tray is after the "low point" of the trip. It's a long story...

I'd done everything I could to make the Puma a submarine (impossible I realise); extended breathers, ExBox, Nugget's snorkel air-intake, Siliconed up AirBox valves. For two weeks it had been enough. I've no photos (sadly) of me crossing the serious rivers up there because the other half would not walk across them with the camera. They were probably about 3 degrees and some were too deep and powerful for her so I couldn't fault her on that. On the serious ones I was unwilling to do multiple crossings in the truck to drop her on the otherside as one crossing was enough. There were quite a few where the water was over the bonnet (and in the doors) but the immense weight of Sulo meant we'd generally trundle through slowly in low-range without too much hassle and with enough forward momentum the bow-wave meant our feet weren't swimming or anything.

There are no markers for where to enter / exit the rivers up there, and the water height varies as much as a metre dependent upon the temperature and time of day and their impact on the up river snow melt. You'd usually try and read the water, cross upstream of where you wanted to end up and invariably get pushed down stream by the current and hopefully land where you intended on the other side. On the particularly hairy ones I'd wade them beforehand begrudgingly. Pro-tip for anyone driving up there - take fishing waders - I did not and when 3 degree water hits your undies you know you're awake. I was lazy on a few bad ones and didn't wade them. On one occasion I hit an enormous boulder mid-crossing which bent my drag-link and track-rod quite properly, so that was insta-karma. Another resulted in Sulo on the back of a truck as you've seen.

So according to my Spot Trace, this (https://goo.gl/maps/1ToC7Zi2N512) is roughly where the fun took place. It wasn't a bad crossing at all, nearly still and I could see the sandy boulder free bottom. It was our penultimate day up there, we were on the ferry back to Denmark the next day, I was cocky and didn't wade the crossing. We slowly went into it and it was deep (water up the windscreen) but only about 10M wide and neither of us batted an eyelid after the week of Sulo swimming we'd done. As I came out of the exit I felt the slightest hesitation and killed the engine immediately. It was so slight my wife didn't hear anything and was confused why I did it. I said "we could be in trouble here" in my usual pessimistic way and opened the air box to remove the world's dampest sponge / air-filter. I then undid the intercooler hose on the other side of the engine and drained litres of water out of it, which presumably had been through the engine and into the intercooler. It was also raining torrentially, blowing about 60 knots and was around 5 degrees. Needless to say the mood was sombre.

That's Part 1. How we ended up on the truck and where we went is Part 2, which will have to wait.

[knodes85]

Hey Knodes85, thanks for the fantastic thread, I've really enjoyed reading about your Defender travels os.

Re tyres, was it that the side walls were too soft on rocky roads with the XZL's ? I've been thinking of trying them next. ...I've sworn by Bridgestone 661's for years now, 10 ply sidewalls, and they lengthen really will on low pressure in sand. Sounds like maybe I should stick with them...

Cheers

I don't mean to sound like I'm bagging XZL's - if you're not doing steep sand dunes at GVM I still maintain they're the duck's nuts. All my punctures were from sticks or branches staking the side-wall. I doubt much could have withstood some of them. Western Sahara has the typical African Acacia Trees - they're nasty sharp buggers!

[knodes85]

Hey Knodes85, where did you find (or how did you make) those reflective window shades. They look like a very tidy solution. I've previously just cut up window shades bought from Supercheap.

SpudBoy's on the money - they are SolarScreens which were made up by Jamie (the son of the father-son team who make them). They're up there with the best items I've ever purchased for the truck. I had curtains before but the difference between them is astronomical. They insulate effectively when it's freezing, and are far superior when it comes to reducing cabin heat when it's boiling.

Jamie has templates for all normal Defenders (90s, 110s, 130s). My 2 door 110 was new to him so he had to custom measure and make the back windows. First time round he undersized them by a bit. I told him and within 2 days he'd redone a whole new set for me and posted them over, no questions asked. Phenomenal service.

They only problem is they do make your truck look a bit like a mirror-ball but it's worth the gaudiness for the benefits.

[jc109]

Cheers knodes85.

I think I can handle to gaudiness for those benefits. I've shot a note off to SolarScreens requesting a quote, but I did so for their Touring Kit only, ie aft of the front seats. Although I won't be needing the front seats any time soon I might instead go the whole hog and be done with it.

Once again, super jealous of your adventure. Probably a good thing your website is so data hungry else my productivity at work would be through the floor.

How do you recover mentally from coming down to Earth after something like that? My brother recently walked the Camino. He's been back almost two months and is still coming to terms with normality. According to others who've done the same a couple of months of the blues is the norm. I don't know how I'd ever readjust to life back at home after what you guys have done together.

[MrLandy]

I don't mean to sound like I'm bagging XZL's - if you're not doing steep sand dunes at GVM I still maintain they're the duck's nuts. All my punctures were from sticks or branches staking the side-wall. I doubt much could have withstood some of them. Western Sahara has the typical African Acacia Trees - they're nasty sharp buggers!

Yeah similar sharp acacia spikes in western desert / gibson desert in oz too! Toyotas with split rims and tubes especially vulnerable. I've never punctured out there over the years, perhaps just luck but the 661's tubeless are definately tough.

[MrLandy]

How do you recover mentally from coming down to Earth after something like that? My brother recently walked the Camino. He's been back almost two months and is still coming to terms with normality. According to others who've done the same a couple of months of the blues is the norm. I don't know how I'd ever readjust to life back at home after what you guys have done together.

I don't think you ever readjust. The world takes on a different perspective forever more...the important things become clearer, the surface veneer drops away.

[jc109]

Beautifully put. Poetic.

[LoveB]

This is fantastic and is also one of my dreams to travel the world in our 110. (dont we all?)

could I please share some of your images?

[miker]

Fabulous trip and pics...and with useful info. Thanks so much for sharing. These are, hopefully, the memories that keep us warm and smiling when youth and options have deserted us.
We spent a year on the road some years back travelling in our 4B but had to sell all we owned at the time and throw in our jobs to make it happen...all things a price.
Excellent!

[DefenderSte]

A fantastic wright up and truly stunning pictures. Thanks for sharing your experiences up's and down's.


Had you done a big trip like that before or was that a first time....:):)

[MrConfidence]

Hey Knodes85, where did you find (or how did you make) those reflective window shades. They look like a very tidy solution. I've previously just cut up window shades bought from Supercheap.

Check these (http://www.projekt-camper.de/magnet-thermomatten-land-rover-defender) guys from Germany - small manufacturer located in Hamburg. They come up with magnetic window shades, really happy with it and reasonable prices...

[edit] @all: sorry guys, just stumbled upon this forum. My name is Stephen, I'm from Munich, Germany. Last year we also spent a few weeks in Morocco with our Defender and I thougth I might recommend these window shades... ;-)

[jc109]

Cheers Stephen. Very neat solution. The cost is high though even before shipping. I've ordered the local version for roughly the same in AUD as those cost in Euros. And I suspect SolarScreens may be better suited to our conditions. Those look damn nice though, so, good plug that'll no doubt be of use to some of our European members.

[DiscoMick]

I think the pic of the defender is actually with the 693's. Anyway, who gives a rats? They sound like good tyres :)

Since new, I've been running Hankook Dynapro MT's in 265/75R16 (due to a very very good clearance price at my local tyre place.) They have just turned over 29,000 km and they are wearing extremely well. I've been very very happy with them.

When I wear them out, I'm keen to go back to 235/85R16, and have been wondering what kind of AT with which to shoe the horse. So far, I've been leaning towards the new Goodrich AT KO2, but the Bridgestones are also sparking my interest, particularly the 661.

To be honest, based on their performance so far, I'd be happy to run the Dynapro MT's again, but thought it would be more justified to go back to the AT's, given than my Deefer is my daily drive and carries me about 150 km per week to and from work.

I run the generally unladen beast with 35 psi all round and I do a 5 tyre rotation every 5,000 km. Wear has been very even and mild.

I guess I'll have to wait and see what happens when it's time for new shoes.

Cheers
Hankook also do an AT which seems well priced, but I have no experience of how it actually goes.

[knodes85]

Cheers knodes85.

I think I can handle to gaudiness for those benefits. I've shot a note off to SolarScreens requesting a quote, but I did so for their Touring Kit only, ie aft of the front seats. Although I won't be needing the front seats any time soon I might instead go the whole hog and be done with it.

Once again, super jealous of your adventure. Probably a good thing your website is so data hungry else my productivity at work would be through the floor.

How do you recover mentally from coming down to Earth after something like that? My brother recently walked the Camino. He's been back almost two months and is still coming to terms with normality. According to others who've done the same a couple of months of the blues is the norm. I don't know how I'd ever readjust to life back at home after what you guys have done together.

The only coping mechanism I've devised is to go on more holidays, some of which I've just returned from (hence the radio silence on here). It reduces the depression - which is real.

[knodes85]

A fantastic wright up and truly stunning pictures. Thanks for sharing your experiences up's and down's.


Had you done a big trip like that before or was that a first time....:):)

'Twas a first for us. We'd done 2 or 3 week trips around AUS in the past. 9 months living in a car was certainly virgin territory. The adjustment might have been difficult in a normal 110, but with the pop-top it was positively palatial.