G
Guest
Guest
Hi Folks,
thought I would introduce myself - I know the list is European and I
am in Africa, but you never know, maybe one day someone is passing by
and I can be of some help or vice versa! I recently moved from a
much loved 110 Tdi 300 to a Troopy. The Tdi was fun and I really had
some great times with it, having been all over Ghana and a fair bit
of West Africa with it, BUT I got tired of unreliability... Not
major stuff but door locks, belt tensioners, constant hub bearing
adjustments, half shafts and drive flanges wearing out. To be honest
every journey we would wonder what would go next... This is maybe
acceptable playing in a fun pit in the UK, but not in the middle of
the rain forest or miles from anywhere in the Sahel or further
North. So, decision made the 'rover needed replacement. Replacement
decision was a tough one, if I bought a new or newish Defender then
everything would swap straight over - sills, guards, winch etc. But
then I thought about how often I really used all the 'adventure
stuff'? Winch has been more a toy (even in the Rainforest!) than
anything else. When travelling you do your best to avoid situations
where you might need to use it, and if you really are in trouble then
a tirfor will do the job (and backwards!).
So, what I really wanted was a reliable, simple, tough expedition
vehicle - only one vehicle sprung to mind! Problem was that used out
here means trashed (ex mine bus as they are only used by mines out
here, in fact mine is one of a tiny number of private ones out
here). I started scouting Euro sites (Oz r/hand drive cannot be
imported here) but used prices were HIGH. Eventually my local Toyota
dealer came up with a super price - largely due to it being classed
as a mini bus and hence not attracting any duty worth mentioning!
That and the fact he gave me a good discount as my company are pretty
regular customers. So I got myself a new troopy for the price of a
four year old used Defender!
So now there are a few things to do to equip it as the expedition
wagon (hopefully) for many years to come. I drew up my list of stuff
it must have based on usefulness:
- good lighting (inside and out). Travelling at night here is to be
avoided, but if you have to then good driving lights might save your
life! Lightforce are superb.
- Compressor
- Rooftent (but on robust bars, not a full length roofrack (troopy is
high enough to want to avoid more weight up top)
- Stereo upgrade as the standard one is a joke.
- Recovery kit of hilift/tirfor and usual straps and ropes...
Next stuff is:
long range sub-tank (which then means a device to carry spare
wheel... as the wheel hangs where the tank will be)
Minus 40 fridge
Sorry for my long winded intro, Cheers,
Gilmour Dickson
Samreboi, Ghana West Africa
2006 HZJ78
Hannibal Roof tent
Viair Compressor
Lightforce driving lights
265 BFG MT on 105 series rims...
Otherwise totally std for now
For Work:
105 Series GX
HF Radio
no other mods...
thought I would introduce myself - I know the list is European and I
am in Africa, but you never know, maybe one day someone is passing by
and I can be of some help or vice versa! I recently moved from a
much loved 110 Tdi 300 to a Troopy. The Tdi was fun and I really had
some great times with it, having been all over Ghana and a fair bit
of West Africa with it, BUT I got tired of unreliability... Not
major stuff but door locks, belt tensioners, constant hub bearing
adjustments, half shafts and drive flanges wearing out. To be honest
every journey we would wonder what would go next... This is maybe
acceptable playing in a fun pit in the UK, but not in the middle of
the rain forest or miles from anywhere in the Sahel or further
North. So, decision made the 'rover needed replacement. Replacement
decision was a tough one, if I bought a new or newish Defender then
everything would swap straight over - sills, guards, winch etc. But
then I thought about how often I really used all the 'adventure
stuff'? Winch has been more a toy (even in the Rainforest!) than
anything else. When travelling you do your best to avoid situations
where you might need to use it, and if you really are in trouble then
a tirfor will do the job (and backwards!).
So, what I really wanted was a reliable, simple, tough expedition
vehicle - only one vehicle sprung to mind! Problem was that used out
here means trashed (ex mine bus as they are only used by mines out
here, in fact mine is one of a tiny number of private ones out
here). I started scouting Euro sites (Oz r/hand drive cannot be
imported here) but used prices were HIGH. Eventually my local Toyota
dealer came up with a super price - largely due to it being classed
as a mini bus and hence not attracting any duty worth mentioning!
That and the fact he gave me a good discount as my company are pretty
regular customers. So I got myself a new troopy for the price of a
four year old used Defender!
So now there are a few things to do to equip it as the expedition
wagon (hopefully) for many years to come. I drew up my list of stuff
it must have based on usefulness:
- good lighting (inside and out). Travelling at night here is to be
avoided, but if you have to then good driving lights might save your
life! Lightforce are superb.
- Compressor
- Rooftent (but on robust bars, not a full length roofrack (troopy is
high enough to want to avoid more weight up top)
- Stereo upgrade as the standard one is a joke.
- Recovery kit of hilift/tirfor and usual straps and ropes...
Next stuff is:
long range sub-tank (which then means a device to carry spare
wheel... as the wheel hangs where the tank will be)
Minus 40 fridge
Sorry for my long winded intro, Cheers,
Gilmour Dickson
Samreboi, Ghana West Africa
2006 HZJ78
Hannibal Roof tent
Viair Compressor
Lightforce driving lights
265 BFG MT on 105 series rims...
Otherwise totally std for now
For Work:
105 Series GX
HF Radio
no other mods...