DIFFLOCK.com - Expeditions

Where do you want to go

This may sound like a daft question, but are you sure you know where you’re going. Many people have very ‘romantic’ views of different countries around the world. The very first thing you should do is research your list of ‘favourites’ and when you’ve found all the relevant information you need, go back and research some more.

Don’t just look at the holiday brochures and think that the rest of the country will be the same. Some countries’ holiday resorts, particularly in Africa, can be as different from the rest of the country as your home town is!

How will you get there

There are three main options to consider here; Do you want to drive to, through and back from your destination in your own vehicle? Do you want to fly to your destination and hire a vehicle when you get there? Do you want to ship your own vehicle out to your destination then fly out and pick it up later?

The first option can see the easiest to consider, especially if you’ve got a lot of time on your hands and the journey there and back can become part of the whole expedition. BUT this means that you will need to plan a much longer route through numerous different countries, cultures and conditions and make sure you are equipped to cope with all of these things along the way.

If you are planning a trip from Northern Europe to Southern Africa you are probably going to experience every possible variation of climate, culture, political system and road system known to man. Are you sure you and your vehicle can cope?

The second option is probably the easiest to arrange and sometimes the only option for those with a limited amount of time. There are quite a number of companies on every continent that can help arrange these trips and you will be safe in the knowledge that you will probably have their backup should anything go wrong. But it could obviously be taking some of the fun out of it for many people. A bit like cooking for yourself or ordering a take away, the first is more rewarding but takes more effort the second is a lot easier but costs you more.

The last option is a good compromise between the two. You get to experience all the ‘fun’ of preparing your own itinerary, choosing and equipping your vehicle and you’re usually free from some restrictions placed on ‘package’ trips. All you have to do is find a safe carrier to transport your vehicle and equipment to your destination then fly out and pick it up. What could be simpler? . . . well you could get to your destination and find that things have gone missing from your container or in extreme cases your vehicle has not arrived as planned. Or has been used for ‘recreational’ purposes by the ships crew along the way - not as uncommon as you might think.

Can you get your vehicle/s there easily

As we said in the previous section getting your vehicle there is easy(?)

If you are planning to drive it all the way you need to take into consideration that you may be driving along well surfaced roads, dirt tracks, mud flats, sand dunes, river beds etc. Is the vehicle up to it? At its most basic level you need to decide how you choose a set of tyres that can cope with all that different terrain (more on tyres later) and can you get sufficient good quality fuel along the way.

If you need to cross any substantial waterways you will need to find out if there are any restrictions on height, weight or length on ferries and how regular the crossings are.

If you are shipping the vehicle out in a container you will be restricted to what will fit in the container, usually you will find that the containers offered are not as high as you would like but far longer than you actually need which would obviously affect your vehicle choice and how the equipment is carried on it.

Work out the distances involved.

Don’t just get an atlas of the world and measure your trip with a rule. It will be a lot easier to estimate European or North American distances than it will to work out African or Australian routes for instance, simply because the population densities are greater and pretty much every destination will be served by a ready made road or track.

Two towns may only look 100km apart on a map but you could end up driving 400km around a mountain range, river delta, dunes or swamp. And that wouldn’t help towards your fuel consumption estimates would it?

You should get the largest scale maps you can find of every area you plan to travel and study them thoroughly. A good place in the UK is STANFORDS in London who can supply maps from all over the world and whose staff are extremely helpful.

You might also have to consider buying Aviation Maps for some areas if there are insufficient standard versions available.

A good set of 1:50,000 scale land maps, accompanying aviation maps of the same areas and a GPS system should be essential equipment if you’re new to an area and planning any great distances off the beaten track. You will need to establish your Latitude and Longitude along the way. All tracks end up looking the same and only by establishing your Long., Lat. and bearing will you be able to work out where you are going.

Work out your daily distances (off and on road) and your stop-over points

The next thing to do is work out how far you can safely and comfortably travel each day. Don’t forget you can travel 1000km along a good quality road in a few hours but a similar distance off-road could take a few days!

After working out your route, taking in all the places of interest and populated areas for re-stocking if necessary you should be able to work out how far apart your stop-over points will be. These may be hundreds if not thousands of KM apart in some areas but as close as 100km in others.

You don’t really want to be driving all day every day without stopping, It’s best to limit your time at the wheel to no more than four or five hours at a time.

At this point you may also consider finding out where there are good workshops or dealers that can fix or maintain your vehicle along the way.

Fuel

Now you’ve got a route planned and know where your stopover points are you need to work out your fuel consumption. Your average 30 miles per gallon or 9litres per 100km figures are no use to you here. We’re not talking about everyday urban trips, we’re talking about extreme conditions with a heavily loaded vehicle.

Work out how much fuel you can carry as standard, with extra fuel tanks fitted AND in jerry cans, then work out how far this will get you in the worst case scenario. It’s always better to arrive with unused fuel than to run out in the middle of nowhere.

Draw up a sample itinerary

Put all this together in a sample itinerary including fuel figures and distances and get someone else to check it through if possible. Preferably someone who has already done it themselves or at least someone who understands the concepts of expedition driving.
Going in a group?

If you are planning to go in a group you will have added benefits as well as a few drawbacks.

The benefits are that you can spread the load of equipment, fuel and supplies over one or more vehicles and you will be safer if something goes wrong.

The drawbacks are that you could find that the whole trip becomes one long compromise between the various parties with some people wanting to visit areas that don’t interest others, etc.

Food

Just like your estimates for fuel you will need to take into account your rations of food and, more importantly, water. You need to consider how many days supply you need before you will be able to re-stock and always allow for extra emergency rations should you be delayed along the way.

Don’t just plan the same meals every day, you will need to add variety for both nutritional and psychological reasons. A varied diet is essential in climatic conditions you are unfamiliar with and if you are not looking forward to cooking, because you’ve already eaten the same things a dozen times in a week you may be tempted to skip it.

Equipment

Obviously this would depend on where you’re going and whether you plan to camp or stop-over in more urban areas but at the very least you should make sure that have adequate shelter, like a tent, facilities for storing and preparing food, and different clothing for all the areas you plan to visit.

Don’t forget that you could be roasting hot in a desert during the day then quite easily freeze to death at night in some areas

You will need recovery equipment if you are planning to venture off-road for any great distances and Most important of all you will need to summon help if everything goes belly up so communication equipment is a must for every trip.

Don’t rely on using a Cell phone and always check that your CB equipment works on the same frequencies of the countries you are visiting.

Spares

You could end up taking so many spares for your vehicle that you have little room left for anything else!

Your prime consideration should be: What parts can’t you do without; you can probably fix a broken spring or drive for quite a while with a missing damper, but can you still get to where you are going if the fuel pump breaks or if you’ve used all your spare tyres.

Try to work out what you can fix in the field, what you can disconnect or disable and still drive and what you could ‘limp’ on with if it fails. Anything else may need a spare.

Also if you plan to travel in a group it would make sense to all travel in the same model of vehicle or at least manufactured by the same company that way you can ‘borrow’ parts from others and mix-n-match other bits if necessary.

Tools

After working out what you might need to fix or replace in the previous section you will need to work out what tools you will need to carry out the repairs.

There’s no real need to carry a complete socket and wrench set covering every size of nut if your vehicle uses mostly half inch or 13mm sizes, you’re just carrying the extra weight and bulk for nothing.

A good supply of Heat resistant Adhesive Tape is a MUST for fixing a whole host of problems from broken exhausts to leaky water pipes as well as tears in upholstery and body work damage. Various lengths of cord, both fibre and electrical can have a similar 1001 uses.

Just consider what you will need to get you safely to somewhere that will be able to fix things for you. You cannot possibly prepare for EVERY eventuality.