driving in africa

[The G-unit]

i am planning a large tour in my hilux, starting in switzerland heading down to senegal following the west coast most of the way. I have alot of planning to do, but my main concern at the moment is if the surf can handle it.
i would like to no if anyone here has done a similar trip across varied dry and hot terrain. the trip looks to be about 12000km round.
apart from the basic 4x4 accessories, like sand mats, gerry cans, A/T tires. i need to no what parts to carry, ie typical week points on the car.

any tips, recomendations, info. would be awsome

[Fordy]

Try looking here.

Good luck, and don't forget to post a link to your trip report and photo's

[Highlander1]

Hi there

A good pair of running shoes and an armed escort!

Seriously It's all in the preparation.

Change all sus bushes take spare bearings. Make sure it's in A1+ condition.

Take dozens of tie wraps, a $$$$$$ big hammer, and crow bar.

Fill you wheels with about 3 bottles of goop in each you could puch holes in them with a screw driver and they'd stay up after that.

Spare wheel and tyre over and above the normal spare.

Lots of jubilee clips spare hoses various perspex covers ofr you lights avaliable in the internet, Motor bikes have em.

A box of most common spanners.

Loosen off all studs nuts and bolts and retighten with copper slip unless they need thread lock but if you clean em with wire brush wheel and replace better to snap in drive than in the dessert.

Winch would be mandatory for me. cover your windscreen with plastic film.

replace all perishing gaitors and boots take enough bits and bobs to be able to change a trye.

I drive the truck onto the tyre and break the bead then use tyre leavers hammer and plent of grease works a treat when your stuck.

Gps is a good one so you can radio/phone in you exact position if stranded.

I want to do North to Southon my bike so will be desperate to hear your experiences.

Here are a couple of pics, my entire wing rack sheered on the main studs tie wraps and an old bit of pipe lying in the mud got me back to Holland form Serbia!

Cheers JB

[The G-unit]

excellent tips/info thanks highlander1, there are a few things there i didn't think of. certenly a full overhaul does seem wise.
I am planning the trip to co inside with the Dakar rally. mostly for personal interest to watch and i thort it would be usefull to have more people around to help in a bad situation.

[Highlander1]

Oh NEARLY FORGOT SPARE FUEL FILTERS the stuff over there can get contaminated with water and other gunge.

Cheers

[The Lovely Boyo]

Contact bundubasher http://www.hiluxsurf.co.uk/forums/member.php?u=181

He lives there!

Search for his truck - its a beast.

[Surf01]

I have often wondered about doing a "round the world" trip in a Surf. Leaving the Uk then across Europe, across Russia then across the straits into Alaska and from there across Ccanadaand then ship back to the UK. Even better towing our caravan. May be safer than travelling across Africa with all the wars etc.

[mudcruzr]

Take at least 2 spare air filters. I'm just back from Morocco and every morning the ritual was to clean the air filter - the dust is unbelievable. Even if you have a snorkle, take new air filters.

Don't underestimate the spares network out there, we took tons of spares and hardly needed any of them (except air filters - did I mention that?). The only spares the group needed (which we didn't have) were:

2 x rear brake disks for a 1972 Classic Range Rover - got them off the shelf in a small town called Zagora.

Gearbox bearing for a L/R TD5 - got that, gearbox stripped, bearing replaced & rebuilt for £230 - again in Zagora - different garage.

Alan

[hilux2.8]

Think before you try it

Here in Western Australia weve got all sorts of terrain. Last year we drove along the canning stock route. 2000 kms of f&*ken shi&ty track. Left Wiluna & 15 days later got to Halls creek. Me & a couple of the mates have got 2.8 & 3.0 diesel hilux utes while another crew had a surf. The surf couldnt handle the terrain. Over heated, underpowered for all the spare stuff you need to carry, Indepentant front diff bottomed out on rutts, too small fuel range. The hilux Surf is nice in the city, ok on the beach great for the weekend warrior but shocking for the long hall.Suspension & build quality designed for tokyo. Think seriously before trying it. Because theres no RAC out in the middle of no were.

[The Lovely Boyo]

Even though you are going through some warmish countries, I would consider ripping out the entire air con system. You'll get better fuel economy, have less to go wrong and have better cooling under the engine.

I would also consider fitting auxilliary tanks like the Aussies do - see here

http://www.toyotasurf.asn.au/techsite/body.htm

and get everything lifted - body and suspension.

[The G-unit]

I removed the A/C system 6 mounths after i got hold of it. your right its well worth it for saving weight/fuel.
i think hilux2.8 could be right with the under power and over heating problem.
i do have the 2.4t and it has overheated a few times going up the mountains in switzerland (current location). but i will replace the head and cooling system before i go to africa. the head is the original.
im gonna look around for a snorkle.

[steveninspain]

africa trip

you will find the africans very resourcefull at repairs, there are thousands of toyota derivates in africa so repairs are normally reasonably easy, take air and fuel filters, plenty of jerry cans, spare tyres, also depends on the time of travel as to conditions, ie hot and dusty or hot and very very wet, if you plan to travel at night then a big array of spots mounted on the roof will help, dont mount them in front of the grill as they will block airflow, also an absolute essential is a front and rear winch to pull yourself out of tricky spots.
we had all these items on our military vehicles and everything got used reguarly, oh also a scattergun for the lions is handy, you can pick these up for about 25 us dollars, guess it depends on how deep you are going..

[chrisinflight]

Here in Western Australia weve got all sorts of terrain. Last year we drove along the canning stock route. 2000 kms of f&*ken shi&ty track. Left Wiluna & 15 days later got to Halls creek. Me & a couple of the mates have got 2.8 & 3.0 diesel hilux utes while another crew had a surf. The surf couldnt handle the terrain. Over heated, underpowered for all the spare stuff you need to carry, Indepentant front diff bottomed out on rutts, too small fuel range. The hilux Surf is nice in the city, ok on the beach great for the weekend warrior but shocking for the long hall.Suspension & build quality designed for tokyo. Think seriously before trying it. Because theres no RAC out in the middle of no were.

Hi There and welcome to the Forum. The surfs build quality should not be inferior to hilux pick-ups. You shouldn`t need to carry any more spares as any other vehicle on an overland trip. I cant believe the 3.0td can be under-powered no matter how much weight is carried. (your friend may have the 2.4td). Your`e right about IFS. Solid axles are much better off-road but $$$$ on road. Yes they will over-heat if you dont maintain and or modify the cooling system. All else I disagree with especially "shocking for long haul" as there are plenty of vehicles out there alot worse than surfs! (Surf couldn`t handle the terrain- driver couldn`t handle the surf me thinks!

[hilux2.8]

Not trying to offend just a realist

Gday Guys
I might have stirred the pot a bit in regards to the off road capabilities of the surf in comparison to our official imported hilux's & 4 runner's here in australia. That wasnt my intention. The Surf is a great 4wd designed for a specific use. It suits the european & jap 4wd market to a T and is most capable for the weekend warrior in the UK. I was just trying to explain it's down falls as a long distance rough terrain traveller. There are some huge differences between aussie models & the Jap models. The Jap model is designed for a maximum service life of 3 to 7 years before being s$$$$ped or sold overseas as a import ( build quality ), Power & suspension for flat japanese roads, a cooling system for a japanese climate . Most Jap cars are lucky to do 10000kms in 5 years. Aussies buy cars for life & lifestyle. Australian models are designed for Australian conditions (probably similar to Africa Specs). Upgraded suspension, UV resistant plastics than wont crack in the sun, Bigger radiators, More powerfull & simpler motors, Different gear ratios, Stronger thicker panels that wont rattle off etc We drive long distances daily, my hilux has done 250000 km in 4 years and thats nothing distance wise here. Country roads are often unsealed & dusty, Temperature is upto 45 degrees in summer. Toyota Aust sells a huge portion of it 4wds to mine sites in remote area so they need to be fu&*en tougher. My point is think hard before setting of in an african desert in a car even with big dollars spent on it may not be up to the task.

[The Lovely Boyo]

So what you should do is import one of these

http://www.toyota.com.au/toyota/vehi...6_1612,00.html

and Robert is a close relative!