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Cruiser in a container

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Howaya lads (and Renate and I see we have a Clare ot there too!)
Made it to Walvis bay, namibia. Job done. 30 odd thousand km from
Ireland to here and 4 months to the date. 20 weeks and 16 African
countries. Approx 4000litres of diesel - mabey more when off roading
fuel efficency taken into account.
The fun and adventure has been nonstop. All i'l say is if your
thinking about it - do it!
Overall i was happy with the cruiser and how she held up to the task.
Especially the last 5K M which included the Kalahari desert and all
the other brilliant places in bOTSWANA. Boy was I praying the AT would
behave itself!
AnywAY, the mainproblems were:
- Wheel falling off. Reason - poor on road maintenance by my co-pilot
and mechanic/cook.
- V belts broken - Reason - ignoring the squeeking sound too long -
agan whie co-pilot was on duty
- Rear diff - not working and making lots of noise. have draned alot
of oifromit and there is evidence of lots of metal floating about. -
reason- not sure but want to take it apart and see then take ARB to
task. I do have a sneaky suspicion that the cook drained the oil and
put the wrong stuff back in..... More to the in why did the co-pilot
let the cook at the diff!!
- Wheel bearings were always needing to be tightened. - Reason - bad
co pilot/mechanic cook must no have been doing correct in the first
place.
- 2 sidewall rips. - Reason - underflated for the terrain - again by
co-pilot/mechanic/cook
So, apart from usual nuts and bolts that needed tightening and oil
changes - no dramas really when you think about it.
Most problems manifested themselves late in the Afternoon after a long
day on the road - this is when tell tail signs of trouble are ignored
or you just think theres only a short distance to camp - "i'll drive
on syndrome" kicks in.
So
m organising a container o ship back home.She should fit nicely into a 20'.
Anybody got any pointers or things that i should be careful of when
loading a cruiser for a 4 week cruise on the QEII
I'm thinking of chucks for the wheels - secured in position some way
so they dont move out of position in heavy seas.
Anything else? needless to sayi'l have all tanks full of African diesel!!
Cheers
Niall
 
Niall
congrats on your long trip. Waiting on some more 'notes from the outback' and photos etc.. Enjoyed your snippets. Up the IRISH!
I shipped my Landcruiser (and a Kia Sportage) in a container from Scotland to Baltimore. Have some pics somewhere.
Main points are to ensure contents of your truck are secured (both inside and on top of rack). Ensure u have a full inventory list (not doubt already have 4 customs but what else have u picked up). will need that list 4 customs again and also 4 insurance (if case any stuff goes missing).
Ensure the truck is tied down (via both axles to points on the floor). U may also be able to tie both bumpers and sliders to walls/floor as well.
I'd put in chocks but mine moved (they were even hammered in :) and also the straps (with little winch tightening things on them - forget what they called) can get loose.
Take plenty of pics as well.
U may also consider disconnecting the battery while its on its voyage. The shipping guys will let u know if thats a condition of not. ? then is how to get the beast out if not reconnected and charged.
u may be forced to only have a certain amount of fuel on it (also fuel tanks/containers) but not sure how they'll check.
Note that some containers (depending on where they get positioned on the ship) can get water seeping in them (high waves etc..)
My brake drums got quite rusted on my 2-3 week trip (have shipped 5 trucks across the seas !) so might consider 'oiling them' (however need xtreme care when get 2 other side 2 degrease them). Just a thought.
Are u having it (outside) locked in your eyes (and customs) b4 it ships and are u then on the other side to check (that the seal has not been tampered with) when it arrives (again may need customs present)
Lal
...> m organising a container o ship back home.She should fit nicely into a 20'.
 
I shipped my 100 from the middle east to oslo via hamburg. Just delivered
it at the office of the shipping company with the required papers and they
did the rest, including securing it in the 20' container. The car was
filled up with other stuff I wanted to ship as well. When I collected it
in oslo I saw how it was secured, just some blocks of wood nailed to the
floor in front and behind the wheels, and on the sides. That's all.
OTOH, when receiving "ship-loads" of toyotas from japan, for the UN, they
were always secured with a tie-down at each corner in addition.
Never heard anything about restrictions on amount of diesel when shipping.
BTW, when receiving my 80 from japan, it was RORO, which was cheaper than
container. Don't know how they secure it on board.
uHu
On Fri, 01 Aug 2008 21:39:43 +0200, Niall __ <[Email address removed]> wrote:
--
Ugo Hu, Oslo, Norway
HDJ100, Auto, AHC, 2001; ex HZJ80
 
I shipped 3 trucks from USA to UK via RORO (roll on, roll off) (10yrs ago) and it was a lot cheaper than container.
Pro's: Cheaper
Con's: u have 2 get it 2 the port (and own transport home)
has 2b empty (maybe they were the guys that only wanted <x gallons of fuel in the tank)
cannot contain anything that was not supplied as OEM (as it came of the forecourt/from the dealer) - incl xtra tool boxes or anything like that
u've more involvement with paperwork/customs etc. (especially on the receiving end)
Lal
UHu wrote:
 
Hello Lal!
Thanks - was a great trip.
Good pointers - i'll pick up some ratchet straps for tieing it down
Good poit re inventory for insurance etc
Will be driving it into the ontainer myself and supervising closely -
as you have to do with anything in Africa. I'll also ensure that its
sealed in my presence and with customs present so I can get the carnet
stamped.
The note and pictures of the trip will have to wait until i'm in
gainful employment and i have a good PC and time to sort through a
couple of thousand pictures!!
Keep it lit over there
Niall
 
Thanks Uhu
Will be utilising the UN specification for transport of vehicles on
the high seas!
Niall
 
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