Archiv für die Kategorie ‘1) About Wohni’

Sooo, with Wohni still being light years away, physically and space-time-continuum wise, at least that’s what another guesstimated 3 weeks feels like at this stage, I am slowly but surely running out of things to contemplate and write about. Other then, what to do first when s/he is here and where to go and what to pack and add and install and load and so on and so on. The waiting is becoming a burden now and excitement turns into pain when you can almost reach out and touch the object of desire.

I am well aware that there is nothing worse than a blogger blogging when there is actually nothing to blog about. Looking at the visitor statistics we have a good thing going here and many visitors are dropping by on a regular basis. I am determined to keep up the quality of posts and therefore will have to drop the quantity by a notch or two, at least until Wohni is ready for pick up.

Unless you want to hear about the excitement of potty training 2-3 year old boys for the time being or my struggle to get Rosemary and Chilly to grow in our Garden … I didn’t think so.

So long.

Tommy

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Almost ...

Before I lean out the window with this one (or any 4×4 subject for that matter) and potentially get myself into the meat mincer, I’d like to state that I am not a very experienced dune driver at all. In fact, so far my experience mainly consists of watching what others do. I handle most kinds of sand quite well, but do consider dune driving to be quite a different skill all together - and I’m not talking about some bumps off the side of the beach. Anyway, not only because the dunes are one of my favorite subject matters to photograph, I am determined to master dune driving sooner or later - and I mean ‘master’.

I am very good at learning by watching and dare say that I have watched some of the best, more often than not, while sitting right next to them. That, together with the categorical “Bundu Bashing” talks around the camp fire, make the following (amongst other things) very clear to me:

• 

  Gogogo ...

  Tackling dunes is not so much about power as it is about the right speed and momentum

• You need to be in the right gear at the bottom of that mother, the gear with which you will be able to reach the crest - or alternatively have a good/fast automatic gear box (unfortunately not available for 70 series Landcruisers), ideally with selective gear shift
• That ‘right gear’, combined with the vehicle’s axle ratio, should provide proper power and torque range (or latitude)
• Notwithstanding the above, your engine should be ‘elastic’. In other words, be able to pull/push from high revs right down to low revs - this is where IMHO Turbo Diesels, amongst others, present a disadvantage.

I suppose choosing the petrol version LC70 as the base vehicle for Wohni was a good decision - all that’s left to acquire now, not only to do the car justice, are the skills - no minor task, methinks.

Made it ...

Displacement (cm3)
	4477

Cylinder configuration
	6 in-line

Max. power (kW @ r/min)
	162 @ 4600

Max. torque (Nm @ r/min)
	384 @ 3 600

On top of it all and as a tribute to the dune riders, I consider the skill of ‘reading’ dunes, combined with a sensitive right foot, savvy anticipation and a good control-feedback-loop (yes, your senses), both crucial and admirable. Last but not least, I think it’s one of those things that comes naturally to some and mayhap never comes to others.

So long, fire away,

Tommy

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Almost ...

Before I lean out the window with this one (or any 4×4 subject for that matter) and potentially get myself into the meat mincer, I’d like to state that I am not a very experienced dune driver at all. In fact, so far my experience mainly consists of watching what others do. I handle most kinds of sand quite well, but do consider dune driving to be quite a different skill all together - and I’m not talking about some bumps off the side of the beach. Anyway, not only because the dunes are one of my favorite subject matters to photograph, I am determined to master dune driving sooner or later - and I mean ‘master’.

I am very good at learning by watching and dare say that I have watched some of the best, more often than not, while sitting right next to them. That, together with the categorical “Bundu Bashing” talks around the camp fire, make the following (amongst other things) very clear to me:

• 

  Gogogo ...

  Tackling dunes is not so much about power as it is about the right speed and momentum

• You need to be in the right gear at the bottom of that mother, the gear with which you will be able to reach the crest - or alternatively have a good/fast automatic gear box (unfortunately not available for 70 series Landcruisers), ideally with selective gear shift
• That ‘right gear’, combined with the vehicle’s axle ratio, should provide proper power and torque range (or latitude)
• Notwithstanding the above, your engine should be ‘elastic’. In other words, be able to pull/push from high revs right down to low revs - this is where IMHO Turbo Diesels, amongst others, present a disadvantage.

I suppose choosing the petrol version LC70 as the base vehicle for Wohni was a good decision - all that’s left to acquire now, not only to do the car justice, are the skills - no minor task, methinks.

Made it ...

Displacement (cm3)
	4477

Cylinder configuration
	6 in-line

Max. power (kW @ r/min)
	162 @ 4600

Max. torque (Nm @ r/min)
	384 @ 3 600

On top of it all and as a tribute to the dune riders, I consider the skill of ‘reading’ dunes, combined with a sensitive right foot, savvy anticipation and a good control-feedback-loop (yes, your senses), both crucial and admirable. Last but not least, I think it’s one of those things that comes naturally to some and mayhap never comes to others.

So long, fire away,

Tommy

Share This

Almost ...

Before I lean out the window with this one (or any 4×4 subject for that matter) and potentially get myself into the meat mincer, I’d like to state that I am not a very experienced dune driver at all. In fact, so far my experience mainly consists of watching what others do. I handle most kinds of sand quite well, but do consider dune driving to be quite a different skill all together - and I’m not talking about some bumps off the side of the beach. Anyway, not only because the dunes are one of my favorite subject matters to photograph, I am determined to master dune driving sooner or later - and I mean ‘master’.

I am very good at learning by watching and dare say that I have watched some of the best, more often than not, while sitting right next to them. That, together with the categorical “Bundu Bashing” talks around the camp fire, make the following (amongst other things) very clear to me:

• 

  Gogogo ...

  Tackling dunes is not so much about power as it is about the right speed and momentum

• You need to be in the right gear at the bottom of that mother, the gear with which you will be able to reach the crest - or alternatively have a good/fast automatic gear box (unfortunately not available for 70 series Landcruisers), ideally with selective gear shift
• That ‘right gear’, combined with the vehicle’s axle ratio, should provide proper power and torque range (or latitude)
• Notwithstanding the above, your engine should be ‘elastic’. In other words, be able to pull/push from high revs right down to low revs - this is where IMHO Turbo Diesels, amongst others, present a disadvantage.

I suppose choosing the petrol version LC70 as the base vehicle for Wohni was a good decision - all that’s left to acquire now, not only to do the car justice, are the skills - no minor task, methinks.

Made it ...

Displacement (cm3)
	4477

Cylinder configuration
	6 in-line

Max. power (kW @ r/min)
	162 @ 4600

Max. torque (Nm @ r/min)
	384 @ 3 600

On top of it all and as a tribute to the dune riders, I consider the skill of ‘reading’ dunes, combined with a sensitive right foot, savvy anticipation and a good control-feedback-loop (yes, your senses), both crucial and admirable. Last but not least, I think it’s one of those things that comes naturally to some and mayhap never comes to others.

So long, fire away,

Tommy

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So where does that leave us:

• 

  The very first, rough sketch

  Trucks – too clumsy, too slow, problems in many parks and reserves

• Bus – unless Iglhaut or similar, which aren’t the cat’s hat either - will be utterly useless as soon as the going gets somewhat tough
• Camping out of the box and/or the back of a SUV or Bakkie is not our cup of tea … the same goes for all kind of tents including roof-top tents
• We would like to be flexible and self sufficient for at least 5-7 days and/or 1000-1500 kilometers or so - I will come back to this issue in more detail, as I think it’s an interesting and important one
• On top of it all, the destinations and routes we have in mind necessitate sound off-road capabilities without much room for compromise
• On a positive note, Namibia’s and most of southern Africa’s climate will allow us to “live outside” most of the time, meaning we do not really need fully equipped living quarters inside a vehicle
• We would like to travel in some sort of comfort and safety, and be able to go to bed and sleep without hassle. A seating arrangement that allows some interaction and socialization, both while driving and while stationary, is a bonus.

Flip-Top Cabin with Interior & Slide-out Kitchen

Which brings us to the Wohni Wishlist, so to say.

Schroeder Landcruiser

Normally, as a sort of standard conversion, Schroeder Motorhomes stretches the chassis by 500mm and builds a cabin with an alcove on top of it, the alcove containing the main bed as usual. On the inside they fit a seating arrangement behind the front row seats, a full fledged kitchen and a very decent bathroom – yes, it is quite amazing what they squeeze into such a rather confined space.

Having been on another through-the-dunes desert trip recently, the chassis extension seemed like a bad idea. After consulting and discussing this with some of the “boffins”, we decided not to compromise on departure and brake-over angles.

Foggy Cold Morning

The very same desert trip, by the way, made it again all the more evident to me that I prefer to sleep inside the vehicle and on an easy to be made bed (it was cold and wet in, especially in the morning), without much unpacking and unloading and deploying action required.

Flip-top Cabin with "Heckgarage" (spares still at the back)

On the other hand and apart from the above, we won’t mind having a shower and/or going to the toilet outside, as long as it is a somewhat decent pot and a practical, easy and ready to use shower.

Also, cooking, meal preparation and dining outside is no problem whatsoever (on the contrary). Again, as long as it does not involve unpacking countless of boxes, digging for stuff and deploying half an assortment of IKEA type kitchen components.

Sooo, I suppose that deducting from the above, the layout as seen on the attached sketches and drawings starts making sense:

• We decided to have a flip-top roof cabin (the much better pop-up roof idea actually came from Claus Schroeder) in order to keep the height of the vehicle, and with that the centre of gravity, as low as possible. In this much lower and narrower alcove Doris and I will be able to sleep in comfort, mainly because we will be lying lenght to the vehicle’s longitudinal axis, as opposed to across.
• 

  Still Flip-top, on Vehicle (with spares at the front)

  The above mentioned allowed us to conceptualise the vehicle much narrower than usual. Normally you will need at least two meters in width to sleep comfortably, especially if you are tallish. Add 50mm of wall thickness to that and you already looking at a 2,10 meter wide cabin. Again, due to gravity and in this case especially horizontal stability, we limited the total width to 1,80 meters (Inside 1,70 meters).

• The second row seating will consist of two permanent seats for the boys with 3-point seatbelts and Isofix type chair brackets. The space underneath will be utilized for storage and water tanks respectively. Each seat will have a foldable table in front of it, both of which will also function as part of the “downstairs” bed conversion. Between the two seats will be the walk-through, alternatively a nifty, foldable, board can be inserted which will serve as kind of a jump-seat for two more people – one facing forward and one backward . The co-driver seat will rotate, so that mommy can look into their eyes when addressing the “where are we going?” and “when are we there?” questions for the 100th time.
• 

  Now pop-up roof (with canvas enclosure)

  Behind the second row seats will be mainly cupboards and storage with an Engel fridge, sliding out at a comfortable hip-height. On the vehicle’s left hand side will be the main entry door.

• Outside is where it gets interesting. For starters, right behind the door and basically crafted into the oblique end of the cabin extension, will be a slide-out kitchen with two-burner gas stove and a sink. Above that we will have a sort of spice rack/shelf combination, hidden behind a door manufactured to the same standard as the entry door. The door, once open, folds out a second wing as a windbreaker/protection for the gas stove.
• The entire section above the slide-out kitchen will be one huge boot (or Heckgarage in German), accessible via one large vertically opening door flap. The “Heckgarage” will store, amongst other things, four ammo boxes with miscellaneous stuff, the cool box, table and chairs, generator and porta potti.
• 

  The"Missing Corner"

  The door flap itself will have rip-stop canvas fitted around the rim on the inside, which can be easily released and let down to form the perfect shower and toilet tent. Also fitted to the inside of the door flap will be a wooden floor board (Lattenrost), which will be the bathroom tent’s floor so that we don’t have to stand in the dirt and thorns.

• Inside the “Heckgarage”, on the right, will be the warm water tank (which I will explain in detail in another post) and the water tabs, shower hose and hand shower.
• Alongside the top of the cabin will be an approximately 4 meter wide canvas awning in a zipper lock bag, which will extend outward by about 3 meters. These type of awnings, by Howling Moon consist of aluminum rods around the edges for support and two vertical aluminum poles to stand on. We will have three sidewalls made which we might attach as and if necessary i.e. weather permitting and/or should we stay somewhere for longer than just the night. Additionally we will have two pieces of canvas made, which can be attached to fill out the “missing corner” in front of the bathroom. With that the entire back and side of the car will be basically wrapped and hence form quite a large and enclosed living space.
• 

  LC70 Detailed Concept

  Attached to the front of the alcove will be the spare wheels rack for two spares. The decision to have the wheels at the front was again due to weight shift and centre of gravity considerations. The rack will be supported by connecting it to the bullbar.

I will go into more detail about water and electricity, as well as recovery and endurance issues in other posts to follow. Again and as usual, your input and feedback is most appreciated.

So long,

Tommy

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So where does that leave us:

• 

  The very first, rough sketch

  Trucks – too clumsy, too slow, problems in many parks and reserves

• Bus – unless Iglhaut or similar, which aren’t the cat’s hat either - will be utterly useless as soon as the going gets somewhat tough
• Camping out of the box and/or the back of a SUV or Bakkie is not our cup of tea … the same goes for all kind of tents including roof-top tents
• We would like to be flexible and self sufficient for at least 5-7 days and/or 1000-1500 kilometers or so - I will come back to this issue in more detail, as I think it’s an interesting and important one
• On top of it all, the destinations and routes we have in mind necessitate sound off-road capabilities without much room for compromise
• On a positive note, Namibia’s and most of southern Africa’s climate will allow us to “live outside” most of the time, meaning we do not really need fully equipped living quarters inside a vehicle
• We would like to travel in some sort of comfort and safety, and be able to go to bed and sleep without hassle. A seating arrangement that allows some interaction and socialization, both while driving and while stationary, is a bonus.

Flip-Top Cabin with Interior & Slide-out Kitchen

Which brings us to the Wohni Wishlist, so to say.

Schroeder Landcruiser

Normally, as a sort of standard conversion, Schroeder Motorhomes stretches the chassis by 500mm and builds a cabin with an alcove on top of it, the alcove containing the main bed as usual. On the inside they fit a seating arrangement behind the front row seats, a full fledged kitchen and a very decent bathroom – yes, it is quite amazing what they squeeze into such a rather confined space.

Having been on another through-the-dunes desert trip recently, the chassis extension seemed like a bad idea. After consulting and discussing this with some of the “boffins”, we decided not to compromise on departure and brake-over angles.

Foggy Cold Morning

The very same desert trip, by the way, made it again all the more evident to me that I prefer to sleep inside the vehicle and on an easy to be made bed (it was cold and wet in, especially in the morning), without much unpacking and unloading and deploying action required.

Flip-top Cabin with "Heckgarage" (spares still at the back)

On the other hand and apart from the above, we won’t mind having a shower and/or going to the toilet outside, as long as it is a somewhat decent pot and a practical, easy and ready to use shower.

Also, cooking, meal preparation and dining outside is no problem whatsoever (on the contrary). Again, as long as it does not involve unpacking countless of boxes, digging for stuff and deploying half an assortment of IKEA type kitchen components.

Sooo, I suppose that deducting from the above, the layout as seen on the attached sketches and drawings starts making sense:

• We decided to have a flip-top roof cabin (the much better pop-up roof idea actually came from Claus Schroeder) in order to keep the height of the vehicle, and with that the centre of gravity, as low as possible. In this much lower and narrower alcove Doris and I will be able to sleep in comfort, mainly because we will be lying lenght to the vehicle’s longitudinal axis, as opposed to across.
• 

  Still Flip-top, on Vehicle (with spares at the front)

  The above mentioned allowed us to conceptualise the vehicle much narrower than usual. Normally you will need at least two meters in width to sleep comfortably, especially if you are tallish. Add 50mm of wall thickness to that and you already looking at a 2,10 meter wide cabin. Again, due to gravity and in this case especially horizontal stability, we limited the total width to 1,80 meters (Inside 1,70 meters).

• The second row seating will consist of two permanent seats for the boys with 3-point seatbelts and Isofix type chair brackets. The space underneath will be utilized for storage and water tanks respectively. Each seat will have a foldable table in front of it, both of which will also function as part of the “downstairs” bed conversion. Between the two seats will be the walk-through, alternatively a nifty, foldable, board can be inserted which will serve as kind of a jump-seat for two more people – one facing forward and one backward . The co-driver seat will rotate, so that mommy can look into their eyes when addressing the “where are we going?” and “when are we there?” questions for the 100th time.
• 

  Now pop-up roof (with canvas enclosure)

  Behind the second row seats will be mainly cupboards and storage with an Engel fridge, sliding out at a comfortable hip-height. On the vehicle’s left hand side will be the main entry door.

• Outside is where it gets interesting. For starters, right behind the door and basically crafted into the oblique end of the cabin extension, will be a slide-out kitchen with two-burner gas stove and a sink. Above that we will have a sort of spice rack/shelf combination, hidden behind a door manufactured to the same standard as the entry door. The door, once open, folds out a second wing as a windbreaker/protection for the gas stove.
• The entire section above the slide-out kitchen will be one huge boot (or Heckgarage in German), accessible via one large vertically opening door flap. The “Heckgarage” will store, amongst other things, four ammo boxes with miscellaneous stuff, the cool box, table and chairs, generator and porta potti.
• 

  The"Missing Corner"

  The door flap itself will have rip-stop canvas fitted around the rim on the inside, which can be easily released and let down to form the perfect shower and toilet tent. Also fitted to the inside of the door flap will be a wooden floor board (Lattenrost), which will be the bathroom tent’s floor so that we don’t have to stand in the dirt and thorns.

• Inside the “Heckgarage”, on the right, will be the warm water tank (which I will explain in detail in another post) and the water tabs, shower hose and hand shower.
• Alongside the top of the cabin will be an approximately 4 meter wide canvas awning in a zipper lock bag, which will extend outward by about 3 meters. These type of awnings, by Howling Moon consist of aluminum rods around the edges for support and two vertical aluminum poles to stand on. We will have three sidewalls made which we might attach as and if necessary i.e. weather permitting and/or should we stay somewhere for longer than just the night. Additionally we will have two pieces of canvas made, which can be attached to fill out the “missing corner” in front of the bathroom. With that the entire back and side of the car will be basically wrapped and hence form quite a large and enclosed living space.
• 

  LC70 Detailed Concept

  Attached to the front of the alcove will be the spare wheels rack for two spares. The decision to have the wheels at the front was again due to weight shift and centre of gravity considerations. The rack will be supported by connecting it to the bullbar.

I will go into more detail about water and electricity, as well as recovery and endurance issues in other posts to follow. Again and as usual, your input and feedback is most appreciated.

So long,

Tommy

Share This

4×4 boffins around southern Africa have a philosophy, or theory (it depends), which goes something like this:

• You can (and many actually did) get to and experience most parts even in a VW Beetle
• You will usually need the 4×4 only for the last 50 meters, which you might as well walk
• Should something go wrong and/or should you encounter seriously challenging terrain somewhere along the route, any ‘ole 4×4 won’t be good enough
• If your vehicle and mainly your driving skills won’t live up to it, you are f***ed

As a desert lover and photographer, who obviously likes to take pictures in and of the desert (duhhh) amongst other subject matters, I want to be able to move in and around the desert, or rather, ANY KIND of desert. Namibia and southern Africa provide plenty of opportunities in that regard and more.

Low level in 210s - unbeatable

UN (WFP) ops in Angola

Having had the pleasure to see a large part of southern Africa from the air, I now want to experience it on the ground and close-up. Namibia, Botswana, Angola, Mozambique, Tanzania, South Africa, and so on and so on, live is too short (*sigh*). Simply crossing those countries and/or areas thereof will not suffice, there are certain locations and routes I have set my mind on going to and I am determined to go there on wheels.

The above mentioned objectives and goals obviously immediately eliminate the likes of any Soft Roaders, Crossover SUVs and whatever else is available on the markey today, which merely make it easier for soccer mom to attack curbs without having to worry about it.

No comment ;)

Yet another very important consideration is self-sufficiency, hence suitable amounts of water, food, electricity and fuel, sometimes for many days and kilometers, presenting a challenge for the vehicle, which has to carry all of the before mentioned - plus - occupants (in our case a family), their clothes, toys, etc. pp. you name it. That ticks off the likes of even most Full-size SUVs and double cab Bakkies, especially for us, who do not like either tents or roof-top tents, nor do we like camping “out-of-the-box”.

No comment ;)

On top of it all we appreciate some sort of comfort and safety together with the option to sleep in a comfy bed and/or to cook a pot of noodles without having to unpack half a ton of boxes, bags and stuff from the back of an SUV or Bakkie. Also, and I actually do understand women in that regard for once in a while, your own hygienic toilet and washing/showering facilities do make a difference, especially if easily accessed. This rules out anything that does not come close to some sort of cabin in the back.

Trailer, you say? I almost forgot to address trailers, and we actually where so close to buying one at some stage, I have to admit that the concept and convenience of a trailer is hard to beat. However, although I have listened to all the stories of off-road trailers having been schlepped up and down and through the bundus, which have done it “nooo problem” and even made it back home, I’m sorry I just cannot see a trailer towing vehicle covering hundreds of kilometers of gravel, rocks and bumps, the likes you encounter in Damaraland, never mind crossing a dry river bed or any other “patches” of heavy sand i.e. the Namib (?) Huh?.

Last but not least, I (yes, me!) get a hissy-fit if I have to look at the back of the same truck or bus for 300 kilometers. Usually in this part of the world, these guys go up the hill with 40km/h and down the hill with 140km/h. Overtaking them asks for good nerves, lots of horses and/or pre-planning of a one kilometer sprint on a 5 kilometer stretch. Yes, the journey is the destination, but every now and then you have to cover some distance and would appreciate arriving before midnight. This rules out all heavies which are usually limited to the same speed as the stinker in front of you together with recent years’ Defenders and their sodding under powered turbo-diesels (sorry guys - you know who ;). At least for now. Mayhap - or even most probably - once I’m old and grey and have too much money and time at hand, I will gladly tinker from Cape to Kairo while on a 17 year sabbatical.

LC70 Concept - deployed

LC70 Concept - closed

Sooo, where does that leave us? Well, for now it leaves us (our family) with exactly what we have chosen - a Toyota Landcruiser Bakkie which will in the very near future piggy-back a cabin and which is being converted to a 4×4 Camper, as we speak.

The decision to buy a new one was a no-brainer, because good second hand ones are a) not easy to come by and b) not that much cheaper then a new one. Plus - the new Landcruiser, amongst other niceties, comes standard with what had to be fitted aftermarket to the old one i.e. long range tanks, aircon, diff-locks, etc.

So far, so good, … so long,

Tommy

Share This

4×4 boffins around southern Africa have a philosophy, or theory (it depends), which goes something like this:

• You can (and many actually did) get to and experience most parts even in a VW Beetle
• You will usually need the 4×4 only for the last 50 meters, which you might as well walk
• Should something go wrong and/or should you encounter seriously challenging terrain somewhere along the route, any ‘ole 4×4 won’t be good enough
• If your vehicle and mainly your driving skills won’t live up to it, you are f***ed

As a desert lover and photographer, who obviously likes to take pictures in and of the desert (duhhh) amongst other subject matters, I want to be able to move in and around the desert, or rather, ANY KIND of desert. Namibia and southern Africa provide plenty of opportunities in that regard and more.

Low level in 210s - unbeatable

UN (WFP) ops in Angola

Having had the pleasure to see a large part of southern Africa from the air, I now want to experience it on the ground and close-up. Namibia, Botswana, Angola, Mozambique, Tanzania, South Africa, and so on and so on, live is too short (*sigh*). Simply crossing those countries and/or areas thereof will not suffice, there are certain locations and routes I have set my mind on going to and I am determined to go there on wheels.

The above mentioned objectives and goals obviously immediately eliminate the likes of any Soft Roaders, Crossover SUVs and whatever else is available on the markey today, which merely make it easier for soccer mom to attack curbs without having to worry about it.

No comment ;)

Yet another very important consideration is self-sufficiency, hence suitable amounts of water, food, electricity and fuel, sometimes for many days and kilometers, presenting a challenge for the vehicle, which has to carry all of the before mentioned - plus - occupants (in our case a family), their clothes, toys, etc. pp. you name it. That ticks off the likes of even most Full-size SUVs and double cab Bakkies, especially for us, who do not like either tents or roof-top tents, nor do we like camping “out-of-the-box”.

No comment ;)

On top of it all we appreciate some sort of comfort and safety together with the option to sleep in a comfy bed and/or to cook a pot of noodles without having to unpack half a ton of boxes, bags and stuff from the back of an SUV or Bakkie. Also, and I actually do understand women in that regard for once in a while, your own hygienic toilet and washing/showering facilities do make a difference, especially if easily accessed. This rules out anything that does not come close to some sort of cabin in the back.

Trailer, you say? I almost forgot to address trailers, and we actually where so close to buying one at some stage, I have to admit that the concept and convenience of a trailer is hard to beat. However, although I have listened to all the stories of off-road trailers having been schlepped up and down and through the bundus, which have done it “nooo problem” and even made it back home, I’m sorry I just cannot see a trailer towing vehicle covering hundreds of kilometers of gravel, rocks and bumps, the likes you encounter in Damaraland, never mind crossing a dry river bed or any other “patches” of heavy sand i.e. the Namib (?) Huh?.

Last but not least, I (yes, me!) get a hissy-fit if I have to look at the back of the same truck or bus for 300 kilometers. Usually in this part of the world, these guys go up the hill with 40km/h and down the hill with 140km/h. Overtaking them asks for good nerves, lots of horses and/or pre-planning of a one kilometer sprint on a 5 kilometer stretch. Yes, the journey is the destination, but every now and then you have to cover some distance and would appreciate arriving before midnight. This rules out all heavies which are usually limited to the same speed as the stinker in front of you together with recent years’ Defenders and their sodding under powered turbo-diesels (sorry guys - you know who ;). At least for now. Mayhap - or even most probably - once I’m old and grey and have too much money and time at hand, I will gladly tinker from Cape to Kairo while on a 17 year sabbatical.

LC70 Concept - deployed

LC70 Concept - closed

Sooo, where does that leave us? Well, for now it leaves us (our family) with exactly what we have chosen - a Toyota Landcruiser Bakkie which will in the very near future piggy-back a cabin and which is being converted to a 4×4 Camper, as we speak.

The decision to buy a new one was a no-brainer, because good second hand ones are a) not easy to come by and b) not that much cheaper then a new one. Plus - the new Landcruiser, amongst other niceties, comes standard with what had to be fitted aftermarket to the old one i.e. long range tanks, aircon, diff-locks, etc.

So far, so good, … so long,

Tommy

Share This

4×4 boffins around southern Africa have a philosophy, or theory (it depends), which goes something like this:

• You can (and many actually did) get to and experience most parts even in a VW Beetle
• You will usually need the 4×4 only for the last 50 meters, which you might as well walk
• Should something go wrong and/or should you encounter seriously challenging terrain somewhere along the route, any ‘ole 4×4 won’t be good enough
• If your vehicle and mainly your driving skills won’t live up to it, you are f***ed

As a desert lover and photographer, who obviously likes to take pictures in and of the desert (duhhh) amongst other subject matters, I want to be able to move in and around the desert, or rather, ANY KIND of desert. Namibia and southern Africa provide plenty of opportunities in that regard and more.

Low level in 210s - unbeatable

UN (WFP) ops in Angola

Having had the pleasure to see a large part of southern Africa from the air, I now want to experience it on the ground and close-up. Namibia, Botswana, Angola, Mozambique, Tanzania, South Africa, and so on and so on, live is too short (*sigh*). Simply crossing those countries and/or areas thereof will not suffice, there are certain locations and routes I have set my mind on going to and I am determined to go there on wheels.

The above mentioned objectives and goals obviously immediately eliminate the likes of any Soft Roaders, Crossover SUVs and whatever else is available on the markey today, which merely make it easier for soccer mom to attack curbs without having to worry about it.

No comment ;)

Yet another very important consideration is self-sufficiency, hence suitable amounts of water, food, electricity and fuel, sometimes for many days and kilometers, presenting a challenge for the vehicle, which has to carry all of the before mentioned - plus - occupants (in our case a family), their clothes, toys, etc. pp. you name it. That ticks off the likes of even most Full-size SUVs and double cab Bakkies, especially for us, who do not like either tents or roof-top tents, nor do we like camping “out-of-the-box”.

No comment ;)

On top of it all we appreciate some sort of comfort and safety together with the option to sleep in a comfy bed and/or to cook a pot of noodles without having to unpack half a ton of boxes, bags and stuff from the back of an SUV or Bakkie. Also, and I actually do understand women in that regard for once in a while, your own hygienic toilet and washing/showering facilities do make a difference, especially if easily accessed. This rules out anything that does not come close to some sort of cabin in the back.

Trailer, you say? I almost forgot to address trailers, and we actually where so close to buying one at some stage, I have to admit that the concept and convenience of a trailer is hard to beat. However, although I have listened to all the stories of off-road trailers having been schlepped up and down and through the bundus, which have done it “nooo problem” and even made it back home, I’m sorry I just cannot see a trailer towing vehicle covering hundreds of kilometers of gravel, rocks and bumps, the likes you encounter in Damaraland, never mind crossing a dry river bed or any other “patches” of heavy sand i.e. the Namib (?) Huh?.

Last but not least, I (yes, me!) get a hissy-fit if I have to look at the back of the same truck or bus for 300 kilometers. Usually in this part of the world, these guys go up the hill with 40km/h and down the hill with 140km/h. Overtaking them asks for good nerves, lots of horses and/or pre-planning of a one kilometer sprint on a 5 kilometer stretch. Yes, the journey is the destination, but every now and then you have to cover some distance and would appreciate arriving before midnight. This rules out all heavies which are usually limited to the same speed as the stinker in front of you together with recent years’ Defenders and their sodding under powered turbo-diesels (sorry guys - you know who ;). At least for now. Mayhap - or even most probably - once I’m old and grey and have too much money and time at hand, I will gladly tinker from Cape to Kairo while on a 17 year sabbatical.

LC70 Concept - deployed

LC70 Concept - closed

Sooo, where does that leave us? Well, for now it leaves us (our family) with exactly what we have chosen - a Toyota Landcruiser Bakkie which will in the very near future piggy-back a cabin and which is being converted to a 4×4 Camper, as we speak.

The decision to buy a new one was a no-brainer, because good second hand ones are a) not easy to come by and b) not that much cheaper then a new one. Plus - the new Landcruiser, amongst other niceties, comes standard with what had to be fitted aftermarket to the old one i.e. long range tanks, aircon, diff-locks, etc.

So far, so good, … so long,

Tommy

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