I have chosen a Toyota Landcruiser 80 series 4.2L Diesel  for this expedition. They are highly regarded for their strength, reliability and access to spares in more countries than any other make of vehicle.

My first experience with Landcruisers was in South Africa, traveling to remote farms with a traveling vet. This lead me to choose Toyota for my own work, many thousands of miles later taking me to countries like Montenegro with very few problems, and a good job too considering some of the countries i’ve travelled to I’m not able to obtain uk  breakdown cover or insurance we are still here plodding along.

Modifications

Although the 80 series is a very capable overland vehicle in standard format, being one of the only vehicles in its class to have front, center and rear difflocks modifications are available to enhance and protect the vehicle and create an environment to make the road home. Many companies offer an array of useful and not so useful products. If you are planning a trip to live and travel in your vehicle then good quality proven products are best. I have listed below the products and companies that i have used so far to build my vehicle and how they have been useful or not.  I hope you find this useful.

O.E.C International

O.E.C International 4×4 specialists Contact Anton Tel: 01626356555 www.oecinternational.com

This company are very professional and i chose OEC for the main fact that they supply TJM bumpers and rear wheel carriers, these products are really well made and worth every penny.  TJM is an Australian company www.tjmproducts.com.au They have also fitted a TJM suspension system, stronger springs and shock absorbers. Inside the springs polyair helper air bags have been fitted with an onboard compressor, this will help to keep the vehicle level when the fuel tanks are full and fully laden with equipment. www.polyair.com.au the hight of the rear of the vehicle can be adjusted from the dashboard mounted valves and side sensitive pressure gauges. To be able to air tires, remove wheels and blow dust out of the engines air filter. O.e.c have fitted a vehicle mounted onboard air system www.viaircorp.com A switch on the dashboard starts a compressor this fils the rear external mounted air tank, when the tank reaches 150 psi its turns its self off. I have found this equipment very useful when using an airgun to remove the wheels.

Winch

O.E.C have fitted to the front TJM bumper a Superwinch EPi9.0 which has been supplied by David Bowyer of Goodwinch Ltd. www.goodwinch.com What David doesn’t know about winches isn’t worth knowing, with the combination of the Superwinch and Dyneema-Bowrope which is a synthetic fibre rope fitted to the winch drum to replace the conventional steel wire, the synthetic rope is lighter and much safer, as if it was to snap it doesn’t recoil back to create a dangerous whip. The winch has been fitted to get me out of trouble if i do get stuck, however i don’t plan to use it!

West coast 4×4

Tony and son Paul from Banks near southport know more about toyota landcruisers than anyone i have met in the Uk and i’ve spoken to All the big overland companies that offer services and what you will notice at Banks apart from how friendly they are getting tea and toast from Paul’s mum is that as you stand in their yard you are surrounded by the blessed machines, 70 series 80 series 100 series even a 60 series and older its like being in australia or africa all around are 4.2 diesel engines and stuff for Toyotas, also many of their friends drive them so if they are not under them in the day then they are out in them at nite. The first time i met Tony was in 1996 when i booked my Jeep YJ into West Coast for a suspension upgrade and although i haven’t been for many years i knew where to bring my car for serious mechanical work. So i booked in the Landcruiser for its first checkup to see what they thought about taking a 15 year old Landcruiser with 240,000 miles on the clock on a round the world trip and apart from the initial your nutz but the truck will do it!! They started to check things over and i asked them to overhaul the engine, after Paul had checked it he told me that if they overhauled the engine they would be wasting money as the truck was showing no wear and it was best to just keep driving it and make sure it was well serviced. The only real problems i have had is the front axle bearings which is not uncommon for a Toyota like mine, I had already spent a fair amount of money with Frogs Island trying to sort this out but it was coming back again. Tony and Paul told me that for the type of work i was doing good quality toyota parts in the drivetrain was the only way to go and Paul fitted new bearings. I’ve been back several times and the lads have sorted the problem. They are brilliant at the mechanical stuff, many companies just want to bolt new things on, then charge huge amounts of money, So west coast puts a treble twenty in that saying “An honest days work for an honest day’s pay” You can’t fault them for this. Tony speaks his mind and to be fair he is allowed to he’s been in the game for more years than most 4×4 companies he supplies the MOD with parts and is the only person that could organize suspension for a Toyota Landcruiser to run at 4.4 tons with bullet proof everything for a major uk defence supplier, this knowledge came into use when finding out how heavy my truck would be he got Paul to fit “c” type springs in the rear axle for constant load carrying. So i recommend them and say thank you to you all.

Contact WestCoast 4×4
Tony or Paul
Tel: 01704229014

Trek Overland Ltd.
www.trekoverland.com
Tel: Uk 01751 430693
Email: info@trekoverland.com

I visited Trek Overland’s farm on the 2nd of January 2008 and got Claire to fold out the howling moon roof tent they sell in the snow, sorry Claire. Its now September 9 months later and i can’t believe what we have accomplished in such a short time, it has just seemed to come together somehow, I have driven 6000 miles around Britain in the first 3 months between the above three companies and now i am writing this article in southern Japan having driven across some of the most demanding roads and countries in my whole life.

Trek overland is a family run business operating from a rural location  just outside Nawton in north Yorkshire on a farm, this was the first thing that drew me to work with them, even though they are always busy I felt I could relax and be part of what I was creating, now many months down the line I think they have adopted me. Tim and Clair are the driving force behind the business which is very successful in its field because it is unique in the fact that they provide cost affective bespoke expedition preparation, they can build and make virtually anything, I have lots of ideas but when myself and Tim get together over a beer we seem to create more and more work for ourselves his enthusiasm is very infectious, they soon got used to me camping on their door step and didn’t miss the extra things I was using from their fridge.

The main equipment to mention that was supplied by them is the Howling Moon tent which has excelled itself it is superb, the only damage incurred was by a drunk Russian trying to get into the tent with the ladder only partially extended, which resulted in him ripping the ladder off, the tent is easy to put up and pack away when you are tired hot and irritated by mozzies, it is in my opinion totally water proof and i have the anti damp lining too in the roof to create a more homely atmosphere too, I’ve now been living in this tent for several months, and its home, the tent is a a tourer version with and extra canopy that extends over the ladder to create a porch, this is worth getting and i also hang my boots up under this space to in an Ikea shoe storage hanger thing cut short so two pairs of shoes can be stored under the canopy, the tent is complimented with an awning set to make a room below which used once in Scotland when i tested it out, i found it difficult for one person to put up on your own and this awning along with the sun canopy awning too I lost in Russia somewhere on really bad roads when a roof strap broke and the kit fell off the roof.

Above shows the howling moon touring tent with side awning, also to the right how easy it is to pack the tent up which is a one person operation. Below shows the interior however i know have interior roof lining which is not shown on this picture. Below right unfolding the tent in Russia, i also have the benefit of blown heating from a diesel driven night heater which has a thermostat in the tent and the control unit in the vehicle.

The exterior of the vehicle has been modified by adding a storage box on the tailgate to provide easy  access to recovery equipment also flip down cooking table and washing bowl shelf on the other side, the side steps are another unique piece of engineering as they act not only as a step and protection but also they hide away all my tools and heavy vehicle parts so that the center of gravity is also kept low and i have really easy access to my tools form the outside where i need them.

These side steps are `mark 1 as I am going to be honest and tell you that they have leaked in water even after making extensive preparations to prevent this, the idea is brilliant and needs more work to perfect it. Trek have removed the rear side windows and fitted lift up aluminum locker doors to give access to various lockers inside the vehicle, this is very useful and effective, the near side locker is a large multi purpose locker that reaches over half way deep into the car and the length runs from behind the passenger’s seat to the tailgate, so it can be used as an emergency interior bed. The offside locker is where I keep medical equipment and has controls for the external shower and contains my wash things. Trek have fitted 12 extra external lights 6 of these are fitted to the roof rack above the sun visor which keeps the glare off the bonnet. Below shows locker storage.

The interior still amazes me and I am using it everyday, the rear is near perfect having everything where I need it unobstructed cooking space, long storage draws around 4 foot long and a large pull out fridge freezer made by www.nationalluna.com from South Africa which cools to minus 17 in the freezer and I have the fridge on plus 4, these means I can take food which is normally a luxury like steak and I can freeze milk and bread, I know go to local markets to buy fish and squid then freeze them, it is that good. I have lockers for pots and pans cooking utensils, everything has its place.

Above shows external storage box with cooker shelf and pull out fridge freezer national luna fridge which has two separate control units for both sections.

To be able to power all these extra items I have four batteries in total supplied by Trek which are high power Odyssey batteries, these batteries are charged on the move by the standard alternator and a large solar panel on the bonnet which maintains the energy in the batteries when I am not moving  Take a look at them they are very high power indeed but have a downside of being incredibly heavy and mine are 35.3 kg each really!! www.odysseybatteries.com This extra weight has caused problems in Russia, I think it had a contributing factor in bending my front axle when my truck fell into a washed out gully on a sand road in Siberia. I have since changed the front steel TJM bumper for an Aluminum TJM bumper they look very similar but are maybe 25 kg lighter. The vehicle has two on board plastic water tanks, one for drinking water that runs through a bacteria filter and the other tank for the shower which runs through a heat exchanger which is heated by the engines own coolant and when the car is not running the engine’s coolant is heated by another separate diesel heater that has the benefit of automatically heating the vehicles engine and interior if the temperature drops below minus 1.

Above shows the odyssey batteries with a combined weight of 70.6 kg, and on the above right is the Webasto engine coolant heater for Alaska and Canada during the winter, and heating the hot water for the shower and washing dishes.

The interior is nifty, good creative use of space, firstly we fitted a full height bulkhead about 100 cm behind the front seats so that nothing from the rear would come forward in the event of an accident, inside this bulkhead is a large cupboard door that drops down to form a coffee table writing desk or computer station which is what I use it for, this door also conceals behind it a single filing cabinet that takes about 30 files for all my documents that police and customs ask for also this filling cabinet pulls forward in between the seats for easy access, above the filling cabinet is the electronic cupboard, this cupboard houses the inverter for charging my laptop and camera. It’s big enough to keep the laptop in there and all the camera and electronic stuff that I have. On the floor in front of the bulkhead and behind the seats is a 55 liter drinking water container which is ratchet strapped in place, behind the bulkhead is the other 55 liter container for the shower.

I have a safe hidden in the vehicle and this has come in most useful, I have to mention that no customs have found any of my money hiding places yet not that I am hiding anything form them but it proves to me that the opportunist thief would not find my safe. The dashboard has had two extra gauge holders fitted to house the dials for rear axle air pressure inflation and the on board compressor also a dial for the secondary fuel tank and to put the switches for extra lights.

That pretty much sums up most of the jobs that Trekoverland have done, I’m sure they will tell you that I have missed something off, countless hours of work have gone into making this car ready to start it’s adventure 100 m of aluminum, the car is really good and I think it is one of the best equipped overland vehicle in the United Kingdom, I could have done a few things differently and in time I will be able to report more on what I think of the concept, it works well for me, The way I have built it is to look at other expedition vehicles then use my knowledge of international haulage and the time I have already spent using the vehicle and make my own take of what an expedition vehicle is too me and that is “Home on the road”.

It has taken a real bashing in Russia and recently in Japan my winch stopped working and I found that the shaking of the Russian roads had loosened the terminals on the Superwinch supplied by David Bower, I called him to ask him his advice to why it may have stopped working and never has one shaken to the extent of not working, I mention this to tell you that apart from the modified battery box holders that Trekoverland have made, nothing has come loose that they have bolted into the car, so I want to recommend them to you.

Many thanks to Trekoverland.

Roof Rack

The Storm Roof Rack by www.pro-edge.co.uk Contact David Matthews Tel 01536 762650

I have been using roof racks on vehicles now for 18 years, I have used them for various different jobs like moving straw bales on the farm to moving boats for racing competitions all over Europe and never have I moved a suitcase though, I think the suitcase on the roof is the classic image that we have of the 1960’s and 70’s of a car traveling up the M6 towards the lake district in the holiday period.

Roof racks have come along way from the rusty thin tin metal things that we used to get at Halfords and now you can get high tech Thule Swedish systems that you can connect to any car in minutes, you can move almost anything within the parameters of your cars capabilities, bikes fancy storage boxes and skis.

So looking at this concept of putting something on the roof of your car to increase the ability to carry more items you have the expedition Roof rack, this rack is normally a permanent or long term fitting that needs to be long term weather proof has to be really strong to accommodate abnormal road vibration and knocks has to be adaptable to have different items attached to it at the same time, like a tent a fuel can and a spare tire, strong enough to walk on connect a hammock to and the list of things that I have used one for goes on and on.

I’ve had expiernce of three supplies of roof racks which are expedition or claim to be expedition racks.

I am basing my experience on a rack having to stand up to long term heavy use and if you will only use one for the weekend or light stuff you don’t need to spend the extra cash on a full blown expedition rack. This is my opinion and my experience.

My favorite racks are aluminum and my first rack was to carry extra items to off road events around the UK like fuel cans and tires, the rack was imported was very light weight didn’t fit exactly and was too flexible, it fulfilled its purpose but I needed a rack to move 15 ft racing dinghy boats upside down on the rack that were up to 100 kg in weight. I approached Patriot in Bedford and they made a bespoke rack to fit my LSE Range Rover and fitted a roller at the rear to help to load the boat trolleys, I think they still use a picture of my car D5 Rat at promotion events, their racks are good but I find that the box section they use is too bulky and deep, also they bolt everything together which for me creates weak spots, nuts and bolts can come loose and I had the front section collapse in Italy, the early Patriot racks were bolted and the front in two sections and they have now corrected this problem, I had to strengthen mine with an extra plate across the front, the Patriot racks are really heavy too which is a draw back, If anyone needs a rack for an LSE Classic Range Rover then I have one.

For this expedition I needed something really good and I had some specific things I wanted to include to make it the best rack I have had, I was lucky enough to meet David Matthews and his lovely wife Dani at the 4×4 show at Donnington UK they were displaying there Storm concept and I got to meet all the people behind the concept from sales to manufacture, I loved the design it looked really strong, sleek box section all welded together with high quality weld it was like someone was thinking of what I wanted and had made it for me, in my opinion it is unique also I was able to incorporate some of my ideas to create a sun visor so I don’t get burnt legs and it needed to be strong enough to step down on the visor too, also I wanted a vertical leg to channel which they make too and Storm racks have really good securing systems.

The above picture shows the Storm Roof Rack which I have had powder coated in cream, I have many items on the rack and run at full weight, I have a spare wheel an oil container a petrol can a full size high lift jack a roof tent and two storage boxes, you can see that the sun visor also helps to keep the glare of the spot lamps off the bonnet and the full length gutter channel.

I have so far clocked up 20,000 miles of use in 9 different countries and on one occasion fell into a collapsed section of road in Russia which bent my front axle on the Toyota, the roof rack didn’t move to my surprise even with a luggage strap snapping on it. So the Storm rack has surpassed all of my requirements, I still have to test it in Alaska this winter and I will keep you updated on that but I would recommend the Storm rack if you plan on doing anything a little bit more than moving a suit case.

Email info@pro-edge.co.uk

The inventor of the Storm Modular Roof Rack System David Matthews said “I wanted to invent and design a roof rack that would encompass as many variations and applications of use as possible, whether it be for social, leisure, business or military.”

I knew from its concept I had to design a roof rack that would stand out from the rest, a bench mark, ‘ultimate quality’ being a key word.  It had to be the strongest roof rack available that would stand up to many years of hard work and remain durable for that time, with the Storm Rack I believe I have achieved all of these criterion.

Eventually we will make a roof rack available for any vehicle that can be adapted to take a roof rack, plus we are embarking testing our roof rack in a format that no other manufacturer has done before, or dare do.

I believe the Storm Roof Rack is a World Beater.

Thank you to everyone at Pro Edge for helping me make this World Expedition even better.

Revised Hot Water and Engine Cooling System by Andrew Chang USA

Andrew Chang fits new hot water and engine cooling system

Andrew Chang (Marlton) USA chang.at@gmail.com