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My African trip - some facts

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Hello all,
As you may have noticed from my previous post, I am back home from my
trip across Morocco, Mauritania, Mali and Senegal.
Now, I've done some book keeping regarding distances and fuel used
between 24 Dec 05 and 30 Jan 06
Total distance travelled- 7800 miles, of which:
Europe - 1550 miles
Africa - 6250 miles
Tarmac - 5900 miles
Off-road - 1900 miles
My LC used 2120 litres of diesel, which gives an average consumption
of 19 l/100 km (14.9 mpg).
The longest distance between refueling points was 610 miles (980 km),
for which I used 220 litres of diesel (available capacity - 260L).
The longest leg travelled in one day was from Dakhla to Tiznit
(Morocco) - 1050 km. The shortest and most difficult (108 miles / 175
km) across the mountains from Chinguetti to an oasis in White Valley
(Mauritania), en route to Tijikja.
Items used:
Fuel filters - 2
Air filters - 1
Brake pads - 1 set (front)
Items kissed goodbye:
Fuel filter housing - 1
CB aerial - 1
Rear D/S chassis outrigger - 1
Suspension spring - 1
Shock absorber - 2
Tyre - 3
Pictures taken (digital and film): 1259
Except for changing filters and regreasing CV joints no extra
maintenence work was required during the trip, but I changed all oils
after arriving back in France.
I saw a few tricked up Landcruisers driven by the French guys I
travelled with and some that were almost stock, except for steering
and underbody protection. Only one vehicle in the group suffered
terminal failure (a LC 1000 with a seized crankshaft), other cars had
some minor failures that were easily sorted out either on the piste or
at the excellent Toyota workshop in Bamako.
Having learned another lesson about the importance of the right
suspension for the job, my LC now sits on Eibach springs and Bilstein
shocks. Also, because the Cooper tyres did not survive in sufficient
numbers, they have been replaced with BFG A/T's.
--
Rgds,
Roman (London, UK)
'92 HDJ80
 
Roman,
A little bit of travelling then :)
How many in the convoy (or did it vary?)
Was it an organised (group) trip or kinda ad-hoc?
(not that a trip of that length is ad-hoc :)
Awaiting to see your pics, daily report and may more interesting facts etc..
Lal
-----Original Message-----
From: [Email address removed]
[mailto:[Email address removed]]On Behalf Of Roman
Sent: Saturday, February 11, 2006 5:57 PM
To: [Email address removed]
Subject: [ELCO] My African trip - some facts
Hello all,
As you may have noticed from my previous post, I am back home from my
trip across Morocco, Mauritania, Mali and Senegal.
Now, I've done some book keeping regarding distances and fuel used
between 24 Dec 05 and 30 Jan 06
Total distance travelled- 7800 miles, of which:
Europe - 1550 miles
Africa - 6250 miles
Tarmac - 5900 miles
Off-road - 1900 miles
My LC used 2120 litres of diesel, which gives an average consumption
of 19 l/100 km (14.9 mpg).
The longest distance between refueling points was 610 miles (980 km),
for which I used 220 litres of diesel (available capacity - 260L).
The longest leg travelled in one day was from Dakhla to Tiznit
(Morocco) - 1050 km. The shortest and most difficult (108 miles / 175
km) across the mountains from Chinguetti to an oasis in White Valley
(Mauritania), en route to Tijikja.
Items used:
Fuel filters - 2
Air filters - 1
Brake pads - 1 set (front)
Items kissed goodbye:
Fuel filter housing - 1
CB aerial - 1
Rear D/S chassis outrigger - 1
Suspension spring - 1
Shock absorber - 2
Tyre - 3
Pictures taken (digital and film): 1259
Except for changing filters and regreasing CV joints no extra
maintenence work was required during the trip, but I changed all oils
after arriving back in France.
I saw a few tricked up Landcruisers driven by the French guys I
travelled with and some that were almost stock, except for steering
and underbody protection. Only one vehicle in the group suffered
terminal failure (a LC 1000 with a seized crankshaft), other cars had
some minor failures that were easily sorted out either on the piste or
at the excellent Toyota workshop in Bamako.
Having learned another lesson about the importance of the right
suspension for the job, my LC now sits on Eibach springs and Bilstein
shocks. Also, because the Cooper tyres did not survive in sufficient
numbers, they have been replaced with BFG A/T's.
--
Rgds,
Roman (London, UK)
'92 HDJ80

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Hey Ramon,
Sounds like a great trip!
Tell us more about:
GPS and any other info would also be greatly appreciated. we'll be
heading there too in July.
Cheers,
Frederik
PS. this thread is worthless without pics ;-)
 
Roman
Interesting breakdown. When we were away last year for 2.5 months, we
covered more miles simply because we were away for longer but our ratio of
tarmac to piste was about the same. I'm more interested in your consumables
list, ie fuel filters used, tyres etc etc. We went with 6 BFG Ats and came
back with 6 and no punctures on the trip. Also interested to hear that you
had to replace a spring and a shock (or was it 2?) Be interested to hear
from you why you think it happened...probably an obvious answer as shocks
are consumables after all...
Jeremy
--
Don't agree with above comment... I took thousands on our trip and all
various film formats. Once they have been scanned in and on a library's web
site I'll let you know. We got back last November and I'm still working on
them.
Jeremy Llewellyn-Jones
07831 458 793
 
eb
n
I was just kidding, it's a (in)famous sentence on online forums to beg
for pictures. I'm actually more interested in his info on the
breakdowns and route information... but would love to see some pics
too ofcourse!
 
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Hello all,
Thanks.
I am working on a writeup - just too busy now to sit down and write,
write, write ...
I'm vaiting for Touratech QuoVaids upgrade to ver. 4 which links your
waypoints to Google Earth so that the route can be viewed in more
detail. Shouldn't be long ...
Ah, the photos shot on 35mm film camera need developing.
Rquest for advice - which is the best/inexpensive way to have the
films developed directly to CD-ROM?
--
Rgds,
Roman (London, UK)
'92 HDJ80
 
Places like Snappy Snaps and others do a service but they usually scan
pictures in at a pretty low res, and if you go higher they charge more. It
would be worth asking them first. Their standard res may be fine for what
you after and there is always a trade off with the amount you spend.
I shoot almost exclusively transparency (Fuji Velvia) on both 35mm, 6x7 and
on 35mm Hasselblad x-pan (panoramic) and then only scan selectively at very
high res which costs a bit as I don't have my own scanner...the result in my
opinion is the best quality, the best prints from the images I scan
p[particularly from the bigger format, and the simplest storage.
Jeremy
On 13/2/06 13:09, "Roman" <[Email address removed]> wrote:
 
Jeremy,
Driving on piste is one reason why we prefer going to Africa rather
than Affpuddle in Doreset ;-) Speed seems to be the major issue - the
faster, the more things will break if not specifically designed for
the purpose, and the narrower is the margin for error which can't be
avoided due to fatigue or distractions, such as your trusted navigator
(read: wife) telling you again "Oh dear, I think we're lost ..."
In my case, I think, the reason for braking both shocks, apart from
their quality, was the fact that I had no limiting straps fitted at
the front axle. If I had the straps, they may have lasted a bit
longer, but not for too long, anyway.
The reason why one rear spring broke is simple - the material was crap.
Chassis outriggers do break on piste and I was not the only one who's done it.
As for tyres - I can't lay a finger on any particular cause for two
punctures. The third was obvious - hitting a large stone at speed
while driving on deflated tyres.
The air filter was replaced as a matter of course rather than
necessity because the round "night-potty" cyclone prefilter at the
top of the snorkel worked very well.
Brake pads - they just wear out, particularly due to thousands of
miles of the "go-stop-go" cycle on piste.
I found the quality of fuel quite acceptable, even from a hand
operated pump at a dodgy-looking station in Chinguetti.
I am going to draw up a list of things which I found particularly
useful and things I am going to avoid. I just need to sort out some
issues with the supppliers.
--
Rgds,
Roman (London, UK)
'92 HDJ80
On 2/13/06, Jeremy Llewellyn-Jones <[Email address removed]> wrote:
f
es
e
u
 
Interesting Roman
We got through 3 sets of brake pads on the front during the trip and that
must be due to forward weight on steep descents, excessive heat etc despite
using the engine and gearbox as much as possible. Air filters I changed
repeatedly as I don't have a snorkel and am still unsure about whether I
should fit one. I was pleased with the tyres but I think we were lucky. We
had some days when the compressor was out to inflate/deflate about a dozen
times. More tiring than dune driving!
Anyway, looking forward to hearing more as and when and seeing the list.
Jeremy
On 13/2/06 14:27, "Roman" <[Email address removed]> wrote:
--
Jeremy Llewellyn-Jones
07831 458 793
 
Hi Roman,
Do Kodak still do PhotoCDs? They were the original solution for this.
--
Regards,
Julian Voelcker
Mobile: 07971 540362
Cirencester, United Kingdom
1994 HDJ80, 2.5" OME Lift
 
Hey Roman
Welcome back, we missed you lots, now you have even more knowledge to let
go of. I was just wondering when you say straps on the front axle what are
they made of and what do they actually do.
What brand of springs and shocks did you have and now being the wiser what
would you recomend to get.
cheers
John C
92HDJ 80 1HDT Rep of Ireland
 
John,
I am pleased to know I was being missed but looking out the window I'd
rather be there than in the north of Europe :)
Axle straps - they are just 12000 lbs straps like here:
http://i20.ebayimg.com/05/i/06/2c/17/b7_1.JPG
http://tinyurl.com/7mcew
One end attaches to the chassis, the other to the axle to prevent the
from dropping too low and ripping off the shock absorbers.
As I've mentioned I am going to complie a list of do's and don'ts that
will hopefully answer all your questions, and I realise how daunting
this task is going to be :)
--
Rgds,
Roman (London, UK)
'92 HDJ80
On 2/13/06, John Byrne <[Email address removed]> wrote:
t
re
t
 
On 2/12/06, Brendan Lally <[Email address removed]> wrote:
Hi Brendan,
There was no convoy, just a bunch of French and Belgian people (about
30 altogether) who were supposed to meet at predetermined points,
like borders or campsites., It made things easier from the
organisational point of view, particularly with paperwork. Some days I
travelled alone, some other in the company of one or two other cars.
The route wasn't very difficult technically and possibly a large
section of it could be done in a 2WD car (except for the dunes) but I
don't know of a 2WD car that would withstand the abuse on African
roads while carrying hundreds of kilos of fuel, water and supplies.
Maybe a Peugeot 405?
The real difficulty was the speed required to cover long distances
without wrecking the car and dust that ground to a halt everything
that had moving parts, like quick connectors, window switches (even
Toyota ones) or hinges.
Most of the group were Landcruiser (78, 80 & 100, a few Prados, too).
Also, we had an odd Nissan Patrrol, Mitsu Pajero or Landrover, too.
They all returned to Tangier, but one LC100 didn't make it and had to
be towed for 700km.
--
Rgds,
Roman (London, UK)
'92 HDJ80
 
Jeremy,
I've found that Bonusprint will scan 35mm films to CD-ROM (1024 x
1536?, 300 dpi) and also supply colour negatives at =A32.78 per reel.
Never used them before but I hope it is going to work out as well as
Kodak who charge five times more.
I'm in need of a new digital camera so I'd be interested in other
people's views what works best for travel photography, especially for
taking pictures of people.
--
Rgds,
Roman (London, UK)
'92 HDJ80
On 2/13/06, Jeremy Llewellyn-Jones <[Email address removed]> wrote:
t
nd
ry
my
 
That's actually quite low resolution, in fact it is very low. A Nikon D200,
the latest SLR offering from Nikon and very good by all accounts, has a 10.2
megapixel chip and in best RAW quality produces image files that are
3872x2592 - and that still isn't as good as 35mm film resolution... So you
can see how much picture information you will be missing. It does of course
depend on camera body, lens etc etc but just thought you might be
interested.
I did take some pictures on a Ricoh Caplio GX8 digital which has an 8 mp
chip. I've blown several up to A4 and printed them off, but on average each
shot took at least 45 mins to 1 hour to sort out in photoshop, tweaking
levels, colour balance etc etc.
As for another camera, depends on how much you want to spend...
Jeremy
On 13/2/06 17:50, "Roman" <[Email address removed]> wrote:
It
t
and
ery
n my
Jeremy Llewellyn-Jones
22a Alexandra Grove
Mob: 07831 458 793
--
 
Hi Jeremy,
I have a Fuji 6 Mega Pixel camera and love the photos that come from it an
they print out well in A4 or A4 on my colour inkjet - I guess that I am too
interested in the subject matter of the photos than the quality, although my
wife and surprisingly my 5 year old have a very good eye for framing photos.
I am surprised you have to spend so much tweaking the photos - is there a
problem with the camera or the lenses?
--
Regards,
Julian Voelcker
Mobile: 07971 540362
Cirencester, United Kingdom
1994 HDJ80, 2.5" OME Lift
 
Hi and welcome back,
When you get a chance I would be interested to hear more about the
problems you had with the chassis outrigger - this is the first time I
have heard of problems with them.
I would also be interested to hear a bit more about the problems with
the 100 series.
Thanks.
--
Regards,
Julian Voelcker
Mobile: 07971 540362
Cirencester, United Kingdom
1994 HDJ80, 2.5" OME Lift
 
It's a good camera for what it is. No problem with it or the lens. But you
should do a little experiment one day if you have photoshop. Take what you
think to be a reasonable picture and spend just a little time adjusting the
image - levels, colour balance, contrast, highlight and shadow detailing,
and sharpening. I can talk you through it if you want. Even 10 minutes and
you are looking at 2 completely different pictures.
To assess the high end digital SLRs I have been hiring an assortment to try
and help make a decision. Even with the best you end up having to spend time
in the darkroom. Except this time it is a light room, with a screen and a
glass of wine...
Jeremy
On 13/2/06 23:30, "Julian Voelcker" <[Email address removed]> wrote:
Jeremy Llewellyn-Jones
Mob: 07831 458 793
--
 
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