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Africa Trip


MissDriver

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So it seems I'm the proud new part-owner of a 1985 Discovery!! My partner is in the process of kitting it out for our trip starting in South Africa and making our way North - no set plans - all we know is we have 6 months to see what we want to see.

I'm sure I'll have a few technical questions, just so that I feel part of the whole process and not only responsible for making sure we have all the information of the places we are going to and enough food to keep us alive.

I look forward to finally being able to participate in the more technical threads...

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Hi Cindy, are you sure you have a 1985 Disco? as Landrover didn't start selling them until 1989..

Anyway, welcome to the Forum, there are a few of us on here who do a bit of 'Overlanding' and some of us use a Disco so feel free to ask any questions....

med_gallery_169_179_7227.jpg

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Thanks for the welcome - and yes you were right I had my facts wrong in all the excitement... so apparently it is a 1984 Defender with a V8 petrol engine (this time I took notes so as not to embarrass myself), so if there is a mistake it is from my "trusty" sidekick in South Africa. I'm waiting on photo's to post, so will do that asap.

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So I have a question about spare tires...

How many should we take - I thought one would be enough and we were recommended this spray stuff that you put into a flat tire that will keep it inflated till you can have it fixed. Is this dodgy or shall we just have 2 spares to be safe??

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It does largely depend on where you are going, and for how long...

I'd take one tyre on a rim, all built up and ready to bolt on... and another spare tyre only, not on a rim...

The one thing i noticed in Morocco is that almost every tiny little village had a tyre fitters... so you'd easily get puctures fixed and tyres changed for very little money...

everyone has different opinions on this..... :huh:

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Yes, you can carry a spare tyre on the roof, but a spare wheel and tyre is a bit heavy. Take an innertube of the correct size as well, just in case you get sidewall cuts.

A 1984 V8 Defender (actually a 110) is about as old as they get. I reckon you should get it checked out and serviced properly before attempting this. They are a good vehicle if looked after.

Just don't do what one British guy did - he arrived at our workshop with a V8 Defender, except it was an R6 SIIIS leafer which had been re-engined with an old GM 5.7 petrol engine and GM auto box. He and his mates wanted to do the SA/Namibia/Bots/Zambia etc etc round trip. Last I heard it had made it to Upington.

What fooled him was a fancy new roofrack and rooftop tent. But the rest of the vehicle was rubbish. As he had no idea about Land Rovers he thought it had been made like that.

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So I have a question about spare tires...

How many should we take - I thought one would be enough and we were recommended this spray stuff that you put into a flat tire that will keep it inflated till you can have it fixed. Is this dodgy or shall we just have 2 spares to be safe??

I've always carried two spare wheels in Southern Africa. I needed two once in Namibia. Two flats one morning.

Good condition tubelees tyres should be fine but I carry two inner tubes and a punbcture repair kit.

HTH

mike

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There are quite a few of us on here who are into the Overlanding scene, and who have substantial experience of Africa.

I would recommend two spare wheels depending on how far you go. If you were just staying in Southern Africa, then one would probably be OK, as you have hundreds of opportunities to get repairs done almost on every street corner. If you start heading further North (ie Central Kenya as far as Southern Egypt) then the roads will deteriorate at an alarming rate, with opportunities to carry out repairs fewer & further between, thus the need for 2 spares.

Weight is obviously an issue, as is space, so you will literally need to plan the use for every square inch of space. Also take into account the weight limits of items stowed on a roof rack, and the effect this weight will have on vehicle handling & stability.

Apologies if I sound like I am teaching you how to suck eggs!!

Any other questions, feel free to post or PM.

ps I am diving from London to Cape Town next year. :rolleyes:

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ref the spray can repair kits - probably worth taking one (or two - they are made for smaller car tyres really) as it doesnt take much space and might just come in handy, but I believe they make quite a mess once you've used one and the local tyre fitter won't thank you for it.

I carry one though just in case.

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you could also look at a tyre repair kit that uses tyre cord (Not strictly legal in the UK)

basically you have a punch with a slot in the end through which you feed a strip of stick rubber coated 'string' you then force this into the pucture hole then withdraw the punch leaving the sticky string in the hole...

I've got a kit, and have only used it once (had a large nail in the centre of the tread) and it worked a treat...

They don't work for all types of puncture, but for nails/screw/thorns etc they can be very effective...

They pucture repair sprays can be good, but they won't seal a big hole...

I'd get yourseldf a decent compressor, a couple of tyre levers and make sure you know what to do with it all...

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you could also look at a tyre repair kit that uses tyre cord (Not strictly legal in the UK)

basically you have a punch with a slot in the end through which you feed a strip of stick rubber coated 'string' you then force this into the pucture hole then withdraw the punch leaving the sticky string in the hole...

I've got a kit, and have only used it once (had a large nail in the centre of the tread) and it worked a treat...

They don't work for all types of puncture, but for nails/screw/thorns etc they can be very effective...

They pucture repair sprays can be good, but they won't seal a big hole...

I'd get yourseldf a decent compressor, a couple of tyre levers and make sure you know what to do with it all...

.

.

Excellent stuff the "Stick chord"

Quite often you can get the hole fixed even before all the air has escaped.

Don't leave home without, and it weights next to nothing.

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Great help all of you, thanks a mil!!

My next question is on Sand Tracks... There is loads of information on these things (even handy video's on You Tube), my question is if you need to get the real, branded "Sand Tracks" or if strips of really thick rubber are just as good??

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I have a pair of those roll up sand mats. You know the ones that look like a rubber link door mat.

They've never been used in three trips tp southern Africa..... Including dune driving in Namibia....To me they are like the Hi-Lift. An insurance policy.

There's been talk on SA 4x4 Comunity forum about using shade netting folded into strips and sewn to size. I do carry shade netting for shade so I have some if necessary.

Here we go Cindy

http://www.4x4community.co.za/forum/showthread.php?t=23657

If you haven't already read it.

mike

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Re tyres/wheels try and start off with new tyres of a good brand that is meant for heavy use , not a tarted up car tyre i.e. low profile with road car type tread.

I have alsways carried two spares, one on bonnet, and one on rear door, no probs with door or bonnet, and you should be ok as well as yours is and early 110 as opposed to a defender , as the build quality(metal thickness etc ) was better on the early models.

You will need a good compressor, halfords type NBG , also the tubless tyre repair kit already mentioned , you can usually find these on ebay, they are very easy to use and in most instances do not even require dismounting the tyre.

Do not bother with the tyre foam system, they are of very limited usability, and also make it aright pig to repair the casing with a permanent repair when you get back into "civilisation" . Carry acouple of casing repair patches, and a couple of inner tubes, for the type of puncture you cant use the plug sysytem on, eg in sidewall, or large damage in tread area.

For removing and fitting tyres acouple of good quality tyre lvers , the cheap ones will bend, eg get dowidat, rothernberger snap on or such quality. The high lift base, will quite often break bead, and a good flat faced lump hammer. swarfega or washing up liquid or aother water soluble lubricant will aid in mounting/dismounting tyres. Do not use any petroleum based grease etc.

For extra flotation on sand , I carry a couple of short ex mod ali ladder sections , they are usefull for roof rack access and also very light . they slide under my roof rack . PSP is heavy and /or expensive, and iyou should not really need to use these items very often if at all. They will not act as bridging , but anything that will is to costly, and heavy/bulky to justify , unless you are trying something really extreme. A 110 is at its limit capacity wise for two people on the trip you are planning, so you need to be very subjective on what you take with you. Fuel and water eat up a lot of capacity. try reading travel blogs and trip reports, there are plenty on t'internet HTSH :D

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I have a pair of those roll up sand mats. You know the ones that look like a rubber link door mat.

They've never been used in three trips tp southern Africa..... Including dune driving in Namibia....To me they are like the Hi-Lift. An insurance policy.

There's been talk on SA 4x4 Comunity forum about using shade netting folded into strips and sewn to size. I do carry shade netting for shade so I have some if necessary.

Here we go Cindy

http://www.4x4community.co.za/forum/showthread.php?t=23657

If you haven't already read it.

mike

So a high-lift jack is important but not essential??

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Depends I view the Hi-Lift as a recovery tool. I've yet to use it for that. If you don't have it you will need it. It can be used for various things with the accessories, I have the Jack Mate for lifting from the wheels. I also have the Bead Breaker or Bead Buster depending where you live for tyre changing as well as the winch kit....

Mine spends it's time on the front bumper...... :P

You might need two passports depending where you are travelling. One to be away for a visa to one embassy and the other to another embassy......

Did you get my PM Cindy.....

mike

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  • 2 weeks later...
So a high-lift jack is important but not essential??

Hi Cindy.

My wife and I did the remote parts of Northen Nam last year. IMHO, i would rather take a hi-lift jack and two sand shovels than sand tracks and rubber mats. We also had aluminium sand ladders with us, and it was a complete waste. Never used them once during the 3 times we got stuck.

You are able to obtain an attachment for the hi-lift that attaches directly onto the wheels of the Landy. This is very usefull for actually lifting the stuck wheel out of the sand, and repacking your escape route.

Cindy, if you plan to leave well established roads,and you definately must :rolleyes: , the hi-lift is only as important as extra water and food. That is to say, your very life depends on it.

Besides, it has far more uses than rubber mats, which only serve as a source of thick black smoke for searching aircraft :P

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Hi Cindy!

(I tried to reply to this post before, so if there is a duplication, please be patient with me!)

If you are staying on established roads,in the cities, the chances are you might not need a HI-Lift. However, I can see that you are a bit adventurous, and may be tempted to follow a dry riverbed or lonely overgrown footpath. In this case, the 4 most important things for your trip are:

1) Oxygen

2)water

3)Hi-lift jack

4)Food. :D

We took alluminium sand ladders with us. We got stuck in thick sand on 3 occasions, and never used the sand ladders once!!! In my opinon, they are a waste of time. Rather take a Hi-lift, two sand shovels, and an attachment for the HI-lift that LIFTS THE VEHICLE WHEELs out of the sand. Deflated tyres will often prevent you getting stuck in the first place, so a compressor to re-inflate is a must. In fact, take another as a back-up.

Some more to consider: That V8 will use about 20L of petrol per 100kms, so if you are planning some remote work, you need at least 150L extra, in addition to your long range tanks!!!

All the best,

LL

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