GBMUD Posted September 14, 2009 Share Posted September 14, 2009 everything is cheaper than the Azalai! One seldom has cause to regret buying quality kit, even if the purchase price is higher. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tweetyduck Posted September 14, 2009 Author Share Posted September 14, 2009 Trying to work out the costs of a trip is extremely difficult as it depends on too many factors. I seem to average somewhere between 100 and 150 miles a day. That is about 20-30 litres of fuel a day. Say £25/day on fuel. Accommodation costs vary from £0 to £120 a day. In my recent trips it works out at about £10/day. Flights/ferries/tolls work out at about at about £10/day. Medical/travel insurance and car insurance works out at £1. Consumables/service items/maintenance works out at about £5/day. Then there is beer and food etc on top. You can easily have a daily costs of £100/day. Brendan Spent hours yesterday working out what we spend now and trying to work out what we might spend on the trip. We currently spend on average £14.14 per day on food and about £19.5K per annum on everything and I mean everything. So i followed through on that and did £11 per day food (cutting down on booze) £8.50 on fuel and £11 cash. I have left allowance for the UK bills such as insurance and all sorts of things like servicing. That works out to £14.5K pa allowing £3K fuel and £8K living with £3500 for other stuff as mentioned above. That’s based on what we do now and calculating £1000 in diesel will get me 5000Km approx i think that’s fair (probably 100% conservative) . Note I’ve allowed 15000 km for the year which should give me a good tour round Europe. If my fuel lasts longer (and i think it should) then we might get 25-30,000km. Is 8.5 litres per 100km for a 300TDI OK? That’s about 33mpg and that’s about £500 per 1000km and I’ve allowed £1000 or 17mpg. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmgemini Posted September 14, 2009 Share Posted September 14, 2009 We did 19,000 km in six months on our last trip. Aslo in a lot of countries fuel and food will be cheaper than here. mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonwh Posted September 14, 2009 Share Posted September 14, 2009 Hi The Azalai will fit into a HI-CUBE container. These are higher than normal and not available for all routes and all time-slots. But so far we've had no problems getting quotes for the destinations on our wishlist. As for headroom, with the roof up there is over 7ft headroom at the back. There is also room for me to sit at the table with the roof down (I'm 6'4") and you can also sleep 4 even with the roof down. I have to admit that at today's prices the Azalai would be out of our price bracket too. We were fortunate enough to order it over three years ago when the Euro was worthless and we also did a bit of paper shuffling to save donating a further 19% in VAT to the French Government. One advantage is that it will hold its resale value. So far only one has been sold 2nd-hand and it went for 80,000 Euros (same spec as mine) The long waiting list in France (14 months) and UK (9 months) will help maintain this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonwh Posted September 14, 2009 Share Posted September 14, 2009 No-one can really tell you what it costs to live on the road, we did a trip to Poland in the summer and spent just about £300 in total (fuel and groceries) for a 3,500km trip 4 bags of shopping at a rural Polish supermarket was just £8, the same here would probably be over £50 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmgemini Posted September 14, 2009 Share Posted September 14, 2009 his is the cost of our last trip « Reply #174 on: February 05, 2008, 01:45:12 PM » Quote Modify Remove Split Topic -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We have travelled 13,485 miles according to the speedometer ! We have travelled 19,638K according to the GPS The GPS is not always on when going from a camp site to go shopping but the difference is ammazing So we spent 13,706 Namibian dollars/ Rand on fuel = 1,007.79 UK pounds We spent 4,085 Pula on fuel = 371.36 UK pounds = 1379.16 UK pounds in total That makes the mind boggle Working on the speedo mileage I make it 23.19mpg. Not bad for a brick at three ton plus... I'll add a few more later If you would like to read the whole report then go here... http://www.landroveraddict.com/smf/index.php?topic=364099.0 There should have been a post on food and acomodation price. Margaret recons about £350 a month camping and lodges. You must also remember we also stayed with forum friends at times. HTH mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leeds Posted September 14, 2009 Share Posted September 14, 2009 My last trip was 40,000 km or 25,000 miles with 20,000 miles off tarmac. Fuel consumption varied between 16 to 33 mpg. Total cost of fuel was £5,000, air fares £6,500, shipping costs of £5,000 etc Main trips before that was 13,000 miles in 3 months and 8,000 miles in 2 months in between there were minor trips of 2-3,500 miles. By doing low daily mileage you greatly reduce your fuel costs and maintenance/consumables costs. Food and beer costs vary greatly. For instance beer can be as low as 10-20p a pint in the Czech republic or as high as £6-10 a pint in the Scandinavian countries! As stated before there are too many factors for someone easily to give you accurate daily travel costs Regards Brendan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wanderlust4ever Posted September 14, 2009 Share Posted September 14, 2009 Can anybody tell me how much a high cube container cost, say from australia to argentina. Or maybe england to australia. Does anybody know of any cheap and reliable shipping agents ??? All info very welcome Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmgemini Posted September 14, 2009 Share Posted September 14, 2009 Can anybody tell me how much a high cube container cost, say from australia to argentina. Or maybe england to australia. Does anybody know of any cheap and reliable shipping agents ??? All info very welcome Yes Brenden can. He's done it. mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tweetyduck Posted September 14, 2009 Author Share Posted September 14, 2009 I've been Carnet De Passage hunting today. HSBC = 0.5% per quarter (2% annual) of the value of the Carnet. Barclays = 1.5% annual plus a £25 admin fee and they use their own forms not the ones off the RAC website. You need to get them off their Intranet (in branch) The deal seems to be the same with both. You can either put the money in the bank for them to "raise a charge" on it or they effectively loan it to you and probably secure it on something like your house. I get the feeling the "loan" option would be painful unless yopu already bank/have a mortgage with them. Seems like Barclays will raise the change on a savings account which is excellent if true. Note that all three banks didn't have a clue what i was on about but they all do it. Now you're probably wondering where the third bank is. Lloyds didn't understand and after 45mins of explaining i gave up. I know they do them (and have a small team like Barclays) and i've heard they are free ! I will try another branch of Lloyds another day. This in all took well over 30mins per bank. We also tried Santander and the Alliance and Leicester. A&L said no and i saw him look. Santander didn't even try and by that point i'd had enough. I might try HBOS one day. With any look this will show up on a search for other people as i've found little info on doing it via a bank bond. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmgemini Posted September 14, 2009 Share Posted September 14, 2009 Lloyds TSB do my Carnet for me. They charge me £75 for doing it. mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJN Posted September 14, 2009 Share Posted September 14, 2009 Neill, Have you ever done a trip before? If not I would seriously suggest going on a short 5-6 week trip to decide if this is what you are chasing? Also this will help you decide if the option of the tub on the back is actually what you want. The reson as I have read for going with the Azalia is due to the shower option and being able to sleep in the vehicle without drawing attention to yourselves. An Azalia Land Rover WILL draw attention to its self if your in it or not. Many people that have added to this thread are very experienced travellers and I am sure that they would agree the setup of the vehicle is critical to the success of your expedition. Decide on the right vehicle, this may not be a Land Rover. A 4x4 camper may actually be much more suited to what you want to achieve. A powered heated shower fixture in the back of a 110 may tick the right boxes for you with a shower and having a popup roof rather than a roof tent. Whatever the vehicle you choose get trained on how it works and what spares you should take and what spares you can leave in the UK with a family member to send out or garage to send, get expectations on what would be available in the countries you are travelling within from people who have been or from people who live there. My trips have always been planned and then the plan moves when your on the road. Have an understanding that this will happen and forget your watch outside of Europe! Whatever you decide I hope it goes well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Godlykepower Posted September 14, 2009 Share Posted September 14, 2009 Very well put TJN. I also got the impression from this thread that Neill has pretty much got his heart set on an Azalai, and is convincing himself that it is the best fit for him. Neil, if I am out of line, or way off the mark, I sincerely apologise. There are certainly other options other than an Azalai or a Roof Top Tent. Have you thought about that conversion thing where the whole roof tilts up (Dormobile?) It seems to me that having a shower is one of your biggest concerns? Fitting a shower in a vehicle is really not an issue, nor is it particularly hard. You can start at the very bottom and do what I am going to do, and that is take one of those 5-7 litre pump up pressurised garden sprayer things, and shower from the mist from that. It will be cold water only, but will be very efficient, in that 5 litres will be enough for a full shower for 2 including washing hair & rinsing properly. Efficient due to the water being misted under pressure and not a constant stream of water. This system is going to set me back a grand total of £50. See Hozelock for details of what I am on about. Secondly, you can plumb in a system connected to your on-board water supply (you have thought about on-board water, right?) and run a portable shower head from a permanent connection on or near your roofrack/awning etc. This would be a couple of hundred £££'s on top of whatever path you choose to go down with your on-board water. Top of the range, and in my opinion a waste of time and money, is bona fide hot shower plumbed into your engine - whereby the engine will heat (and pump?) your hot water to you. A system like this will cost anything from £1000 upwards. With regards to the Carnet issue, as was discussed in the thread in the link I initially posted; almost all banks do a Carnet, but it is so cheap from them due to the fact that they use a chunk of your savings as collateral, or your house. I think it was Mike (mmgemini) who worked this out for us. If you are happy using your home as collateral, then go for it! It certainly beats trying to stump up several thousand £££'s. Personally, I dont own my home, and my partner & I only rent, so it is the nastier option for us i'm afraid. Heed TJN's advice, go on a couple of smaller trips for a few weeks at a time. Take a notepad & pen with you, and make notes of things you wished you had with you, or things that would make the trip easier or more enjoyable. You may find that there are several things that crop up based on actually being on the road, that require more concentration than you initially thought. For me, I was bogged down with how to maximise my rear load space (we are driving to Cape Town in a 90, if you dont yet know) and on all the travels I have done so far, it turned out to be important to me, to have easy access to certain items in the cabin eg. Camera, documents etc. But at the same time, I dont like my cabin to be cluttered, so I had to concentrate on creating a "neat" driving space, yet still having easy access to the items I require. I dont like having a lot of clutter around me when I drive. I just feel that having a lot of stuff just rattling around the cab whilst crossing the Sahara, will make me irritable & claustrophobic. This may sound very petty to some, but kitting out for an extended journey is a very personal thing, and there is no "one size fits all" option. What is petty to some, is important to others, and vice versa. Martin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tweetyduck Posted September 14, 2009 Author Share Posted September 14, 2009 Neill, Have you ever done a trip before? If not I would seriously suggest going on a short 5-6 week trip to decide if this is what you are chasing? Also this will help you decide if the option of the tub on the back is actually what you want. The reson as I have read for going with the Azalia is due to the shower option and being able to sleep in the vehicle without drawing attention to yourselves. An Azalia Land Rover WILL draw attention to its self if your in it or not. Many people that have added to this thread are very experienced travellers and I am sure that they would agree the setup of the vehicle is critical to the success of your expedition. Decide on the right vehicle, this may not be a Land Rover. A 4x4 camper may actually be much more suited to what you want to achieve. A powered heated shower fixture in the back of a 110 may tick the right boxes for you with a shower and having a popup roof rather than a roof tent. Whatever the vehicle you choose get trained on how it works and what spares you should take and what spares you can leave in the UK with a family member to send out or garage to send, get expectations on what would be available in the countries you are travelling within from people who have been or from people who live there. My trips have always been planned and then the plan moves when your on the road. Have an understanding that this will happen and forget your watch outside of Europe! Whatever you decide I hope it goes well! Thanks for the advice. We're certainly going to do a few shakedown trips for the resons you describe and for a few of the other obvious ones. We were planning a short UK and then a longer UK one. A month or so in Europe (likely to be three weeks first) and then a longer one (possiby 3 months). I'm spending at least a year getting ready before we even start thinking of the first trip. The vehicle is a sticky one and you're correct that it will draw attention and we could make do with a pop up. I'm still carefully considering it. The options are endless and your advice is welcomed. Based on what you say i'm going to look at pop up roof systems again. I looked at the pricing this morning for the Azalai and its hugely expensive to do one fully loaded. I'd love a 4x4 camper but can't find any. Any suggestions? Part of the reson for starting this thread is to get you sensible people involved in my madness. Feel free to keep advising me! I'm off to Belgium....see you on the weekend. Train... :-( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmgemini Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 Some alternatives to the Land Rover. All have plenty of headroom.... http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=31723 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmgemini Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 It's Margaret here hi-jacking Mike's log in Just got this in on the Overland forum and thought it might put this thread into perspective. Mike hasn't even seen it yet http://www.motoring.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=5163999 margaret the navigator Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leeds Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 Can anybody tell me how much a high cube container cost, say from australia to argentina. Or maybe england to australia. Does anybody know of any cheap and reliable shipping agents ??? All info very welcome If you want a quote for a high cube from Australia to Argentina contact Steve of Cargo Online based in Sydney. Costs given will be approx as shipping costs in that part of the world is based on the US$ and it depends on how stable the US$ and AUS$ exchange rate is. They will only give a firm price 7 days prior to shipping. Cheap and reliable shipping agents??? Cheap and reliable are terms that do not go together. I have heard of 40'containers being shipped both ways to and from Aus for about £2,000. Was extremely cheap BUT reliable. Definitely NOT Try Karmann shipping gor your shipping enquires. REgards Brendan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wanderlust4ever Posted September 16, 2009 Share Posted September 16, 2009 If you want a quote for a high cube from Australia to Argentina contact Steve of Cargo Online based in Sydney. Costs given will be approx as shipping costs in that part of the world is based on the US$ and it depends on how stable the US$ and AUS$ exchange rate is. They will only give a firm price 7 days prior to shipping. Cheap and reliable shipping agents??? Cheap and reliable are terms that do not go together. I have heard of 40'containers being shipped both ways to and from Aus for about £2,000. Was extremely cheap BUT reliable. Definitely NOT Try Karmann shipping gor your shipping enquires. REgards Brendan Many Thanks for the info. Brendan. Will have a look on tinternet. Cheers Mate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tweetyduck Posted September 19, 2009 Author Share Posted September 19, 2009 Some alternatives to the Land Rover. All have plenty of headroom.... http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=31723 Thanks, Ideas Galore ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leeds Posted September 20, 2009 Share Posted September 20, 2009 Photos of some LR conversions spotted in Oz Hope they give you some inspiration Brendan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tweetyduck Posted September 22, 2009 Author Share Posted September 22, 2009 Photos of some LR conversions spotted in Oz Hope they give you some inspiration Brendan Now thats what i'm talking about. If they made those ready to go in the UK i'd probably buy one. Of course the green one. I wish i had the time to do it myself and the experience. I'd get a 130 tomrrow and start it but its just out of my league. :-( I'm toying with paying a mechanic to get me a LR 130. One of the specialists. They would surely source of for me if they got quite a bit of the renovation work. Suggestions welcomed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leeds Posted September 22, 2009 Share Posted September 22, 2009 Looking at the first photo the vehicle on the left is owned by Daniel who can be found on the AULRO site. A home conversion which won best of show award at the 60th LR event in Oz. The red 110 in the middle background is mine and if you click on links in my signature you can read more about the trip. The vehicle on the right belong to Daniels parents and is Swiss registered. Can not remember if it was converted in Switzerland or was done by LR or Foley special vehicles Brendan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tweetyduck Posted September 22, 2009 Author Share Posted September 22, 2009 It's Margaret here hi-jacking Mike's log in Just got this in on the Overland forum and thought it might put this thread into perspective. Mike hasn't even seen it yet http://www.motoring.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=5163999 margaret the navigator Just had time to look at his journey. Thanks for the heads up. Its full of usefull stuff. TA @Leeds. You didn't mention those photos were at Jim Jim. I was there in a Nissan Patrol a couple of years back. Didn't do the tour you did but a zoom from Darwin to the Rock in three weeks. the Nissan was a rental with zero miles...LOL. Not after we'd finished. Didn't stay at Bark Hut Inn campsite did you. What a dump........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leeds Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 The track up to that camp site was 'amusing' Don't know the Bark |Hut campsite. Some of the campsites on the Cape York Old Telegraph Track to say the least were like cess pits is insulting to cess pits. There again that is just not an Aussie problem Anyway wandering OT now Brendan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tweetyduck Posted September 26, 2009 Author Share Posted September 26, 2009 OK so the leading contender now is. Its significantly cheaper than the Azalai. A bit less functional but only requires me to get a 110 station waggon. Picture of interior Movies of LR with conversion Available Modules Any thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.