Driving from London to Australia advice

[datack]

Hi people,

My wife and I are thinking of driving home from a long working vacation in London UK all the way to Perth Australia and thought we'd hit all you experienced 4x4'ers up for some advice.

Basically, the loose plan is to drive from the UK, through Europe, the Baltic States, Russia, Mongolia, China, Tibet, Nepal, Northern India, South East Asia, ferry into Darwin Australia then drive to Perth. This should be somewhere in the ballpark of 16000 - 18000 miles all said and done.

We have seen we could get a low mileage (50k-80k miles) 94/5/6 HiLux (3.0L turbo diesel) for round £3000, then spend another £2000-£3000 kitting it out. So what do you all recommend? Obviously a good set of all terrain tyres is a must, but how many spares what other goodies would you recommend? Hi powered driving lights? Winch? Lift kit? How many spare parts and what bits?

Where do you recommend getting it serviced... bearing in mind that I live in London? Are there any specialists in the area to add all the bits on we need? Where is a good place to get insurance?

Any advice/hints/tips/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers,
Duncan.

[Apache]

Your best source of advice would probably be 'Bundubasher' as Africa is his stomping ground.

I must admit to being as jealous as hell though!

PS, you'll need at least 3 sets of BFG ATs for a journey of that distance!

<edit> Errrr... my excuse was it was early and I was excited by your trip, but you wont need 3 sets of BFG ATs. One set should be good for your trip and more!

[blackpoolsparks]

If your driving from London to Australia, a snorkel would be usefull.

[Fordy]

I'd buy new springs and shocks, like the TJM +40mm ones, don't bother with body lift and 31" BFG AT's. Snorkel for sand/dust. Try Anton at TJM dealers OEC International he's from Aus.

TonyN is in Basingstoke and can service, fit sussies etc.

May also be worth contacting http://www.onelifeadventure.co.uk/ and speak with Paul. He does it for a living and can give advice, I'd also strongly suggest a Wales weekend with him (or longer) to pick his brains.

Friends of mine did it to Dorkland, unfortunately they pulled the blog a few years ago. Prepare for lots of research into visa's, carnets etc.

A site mainly for 2 wheels is www.horizonsunlimited.com but should give good advice.

If you go for it please start a thread or a blog and keep us up to date with your progress for your support and our interest

[POPEYE]

If your driving from London to Australia, a snorkel would be usefull.

A good large roof carrier for a start, couple of sets of spare tyres, locked on there, jerry cans, for water, fuel, i guess you can top up with veg oil along the way, winch, couple of spare batterys, belts, hoses, bulbs, fit some extra spots, spare wire and jumper cables, air pump (viair are good) spare filters especiall fuel (if your adding veg on the trip), mechanicly there's only so much you can take, just got to take a chance, cos whever you allow for it'll be the other bugger that breaks, are ya towing a trailer? if so a tow bar!!! thats about all i can think of, best of luck, i envy you!
take me with ya!

[Gizmo]

definately require visa, carnet de passage and if I remember correctly the customs into aussie are strict about importating vehicles due to possible bugs etc getting into the country.....came from a programme watching a family travel round the world by 4x4 and following the Tropic of Capricorn!

some other things, steering and suspenson parts, inner tubes, spare tyres, spare oils, spare bulbs, spare belts, maps/ gps for countries visiting, contact details for toyota garages and counsulets in countries visiting, battery split charge system so that you will always have one battery to start the engine (use yellow and red top optimas - costly though),

As previosuly stated contact various overland companies

OneLife: http://www.onelifeadventure.co.uk/
Trailmasters: http://www.trailmasters.com/how.html
trekoverland: http://www.trekoverland.com/
oec4x4: http://www.oec4x4.com/


As to preparation, some of the sites above indicate prep basics and companies.

TBRUK: http://www.tbruk.com/
Frogsisland4x4: http://www.frogsisland4x4.com/

[Phantom]

I would suggest not using a Land Rover

[johnd]

i would suggest getting the bus

but i would love to do a big trip

[dieselboy]

seriously tho, why would you need to add all that complication and extra weight by getting a winch? your not driving there off road, and even if you go through turkmenistan or even khazakstan (cant spell) the roads there arnt tarmac, but they have lorries and all sorts that travel them roads daily.. they go through it on road tyres so you with your all terrains will be more than able..

just dont do anything silly like try to take a short cut. through a river that used to be there, because the next day it will be there! lol

we were going to do the mongol rally a few years ago..

[Apache]

Agree with Dieselboy. Its a long trip, but shouldn't be anymore difficult than a year and a half average driving in the UK.

Take spares you might find difficult to get in remote areas, but other than that if you aren't leaving the beaten track you should be fine.

I REALLY REALLY REALLY envy you. Me and my mates have been discussing your trip in the pub tonight and we'd ALL love to do it if it weren't for ball and chains like mortgages etc.

Go for it and enjoy it, but do share your experiences and photos with us so we can live your journey vicariously

[Sancho]

I've got a couple of friends who did London to Auckland using a fairly similar route, but they went on a bike so you should be fine in a tank from the world's biggest car manufacturer. See their story here:

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/tst...ichardandlisa/

Hang on, are the Fordy's friends? That would be weird.

[bundubasher]

As Apache mentioned I have done a bit of overlanding. You can find most mods to my 4runner detailed on http://www.africa4x4overland.com.

Although my experience is restricted to Africa I'm sure it may also be applicable to the route your taking so please email me if you have any other questions.

[Bibbs]

That's awesome. I'm origionally from Perth and wanting to head back in a few years and take the GF with me.

Never thought about driving though!

[angusglover]

Hi people,

My wife and I are thinking of driving home from a long working vacation in London UK all the way to Perth Australia and thought we'd hit all you experienced 4x4'ers up for some advice.

Basically, the loose plan is to drive from the UK, through Europe, the Baltic States, Russia, Mongolia, China, Tibet, Nepal, Northern India, South East Asia, ferry into Darwin Australia then drive to Perth. This should be somewhere in the ballpark of 16000 - 18000 miles all said and done.

We have seen we could get a low mileage (50k-80k miles) 94/5/6 HiLux (3.0L turbo diesel) for round £3000, then spend another £2000-£3000 kitting it out. So what do you all recommend? Obviously a good set of all terrain tyres is a must, but how many spares what other goodies would you recommend? Hi powered driving lights? Winch? Lift kit? How many spare parts and what bits?

Where do you recommend getting it serviced... bearing in mind that I live in London? Are there any specialists in the area to add all the bits on we need? Where is a good place to get insurance?

Any advice/hints/tips/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers,
Duncan.

Frog Island 4x4 will give you good advice on kitting it out...HTH

[bundubasher]

Expensive too.

Try:

Julian Voelcker
07971 540 362
Skype: julianvoelcker
Cirencester, United Kingdom

For a more competative quote on requirements and costs.