discovery 1 for year traveling Africa

[robnmandy]

hi all im rob n mandy is the wife,

were in the later half of our 20s and recently married. we love outdoors and are giving up everything we worked for to start life on the road.(atleast for a while)

im a mechanic by trade and mandy is a retail manager, so thats us out the way (i cannot find an introduce yourself section)

our vehicle is a my96 discovery 1, 120k on the clock and ive had it for 7 years now, its been gradually getting bigger and better, repaired and more kitted out for our camping needs... some of you may notice its a little over the top in ways for traveling africa for a year, but the vehicle was primarily built for looks, and my ego when i first got into the 4x4 scene

there are still things that need doing and a few bit that need to be changed, like tyres (yes im going smaller)

we are also traveling with my brotherinlaw and his partner so 4 of us for the year,in two discos. Cannot wait!

ill post a pic and a link to the face book page and ill go have a look around! cheers


https://www.facebook.com/pages/Where-to-next-Africa/301927936647306?ref=hl

 

[rokrawlr]

Nice looking Disco, welcome aboard!

 

[Scott Brady]

Fantastic!

Being a mechanic is a solid skill set for vehicle-dependent travel. Love the choice of Discovery I too. Assuming it is a 300Tdi?

Where do you plan to travel?

 

[robnmandy]

yes a 300tdi, both vehicles are.

we plan west coast skipping the ebola hit...(at the moment) untill the DRC and then across to the east into kenya then head south again and do some zigzagging around sa namibia botswana zimbabwe mozambiqe

thanks for the comments

 

[Scott Brady]

I will watch your trip with great interest. I was planning trans-Africa this year, but other projects have bumped it to 2016.

Bots and Namibia are stunning. The Skeleton Coast is all-world.

 

[robnmandy]

Thanks Scott. I'm so looking forward to it! 2016 is just around the corner! We've been planning for a while now. It all started with planning Marocco a few years ago

 

[Nonimouse]

Glad you are dropping the tyre sizes down - spare tyres are getting more and more difficult to get unless in super common sizes. Added to which the gearing and steering will get trashed. Lose the Britpart free flow filter and take standard paper elements from someone like Cooper - they work. The Terrafirmas will self destruct; bushes first then seals. They are down to less than £3.00 whole sale import cost form China now so the quality is through the floor. The new OME's are too over damped for a heavy truck and are snapping mounts. Trying Super Gaz on my D1 at the moment; the bushes are Deflex so similar to old processed cheese, as one would expect but I've swapped in SuperPro bushes so no worries. The actual shock is excellent - especially for the money.

Remember that the 300 is not tolerant of water loss, so avoid the crappy ali/plastic rads. If you have a brass/cooper one get another row fitted by Sercks. Also fit a transparent header so you know on quick inspection when you have a water leak...

All the best and have fun

 

[robnmandy]

the steering is fine with the tyres i have done most of the necessary to make it right, also if i was s stick with the size id change to a defender transfer box to get the gearing back, but honestly ive ran like this for a couple years now with no issues at all, (i understand its different in Africa and going to be harsh on the vehicle, thats why im changing them)

thanks for the info on the shocks, i haven't tried super gaz before. for the moment atleast i shall stick with the terrafirma purely because they are new, and i want to see how they perform on the shakedown trips i have planned before hand, admittedly i didn't look to hard but i could find much negative about them apart from the "stiffness" of them and currently on my vehicle i feel they are the best I've used with the weight im constantly carrying, simple speed bumps are now a pleasure to drive over, unfortunatly i havent had the chance to use in anger just yet, but i take on board what you say nonimouse

also as for the not tolerant to water loss, good idea with the clear tank, i had not thought of it, i was thinking about fitting a level warning.

 

[BeenThereDoneThat]

Looking forward to reading about your travels. Stay safe & enjoy.

 

[tacr2man]

Shocks are critical on a coil sprung vehicle as no inherent damping , if shocks fail they become almost undriveable on poor roads. Standards doubled up or a good quality one is a must, i use Konis on my 110 , a choice reached by 15years of outback travel . Standard bushes/ mounts apart from on panhard where poly work well , and you can change easily if carrying spares. New tyres, of a good make, eg BFG Kumho etc . either MT or AT , dont go SUV type , tread depth is the tell tale difference. RTT should be all thats up there save empty jerries. C of G is important . Just a few comments HTSH ps London to Capetown has been done by a silver spirit so not too arduous in the right season .

 

[Nonimouse]

The best shocks we've fitted to any live axled LR, Toyota or Nissan are Bilstien B6's - but like everything you pay's you money... I won't fit anything made by Terrafirma anymore m- simply because I cannot afford the risk for my clients. Damned shame as they made good kit before they got greedy; and it is greed...

The biggest challenge is balancing the shock spring combo with the weight. There is a reason why the D1 has a max roof load (in Europe) of 65kgs and that it has a max load of 660kgs. Get it wrong and you will destroy the vehicle no matter what you bolt to it. Unsprung weight comes into this in a big way - you are running 10-15kgs a corner more than God intended and that will destroy a shock

Africa and the former USSR do a good line in appalling roads. So pack light. then cut it down a bit. So many people simply carry too big or drive too big...

Feel free to drop down anytime to chat/compare; or ring/e-mail/pidgeon

 

[robnmandy]

The best shocks we've fitted to any live axled LR, Toyota or Nissan are Bilstien B6's - but like everything you pay's you money... I won't fit anything made by Terrafirma anymore m- simply because I cannot afford the risk for my clients. Damned shame as they made good kit before they got greedy; and it is greed...

The biggest challenge is balancing the shock spring combo with the weight. There is a reason why the D1 has a max roof load (in Europe) of 65kgs and that it has a max load of 660kgs. Get it wrong and you will destroy the vehicle no matter what you bolt to it. Unsprung weight comes into this in a big way - you are running 10-15kgs a corner more than God intended and that will destroy a shock

Africa and the former USSR do a good line in appalling roads. So pack light. then cut it down a bit. So many people simply carry too big or drive too big...

Feel free to drop down anytime to chat/compare; or ring/e-mail/pidgeon

thanks for the advice, were aiming to keep as light as poss, but needs are need and circumstances for some things, we have nothing but time and being able to take it slowly and carefully, i do appreciate what your saying though, ideal world and make do with what i have and all that.

we may pop down one day and take you up on that offer! ill at least definitely get in touch about driver training etc for the women, as confident i am i certainly dont know it all, i think they may benefit

thanks rob

Shocks are critical on a coil sprung vehicle as no inherent damping , if shocks fail they become almost undriveable on poor roads. Standards doubled up or a good quality one is a must, i use Konis on my 110 , a choice reached by 15years of outback travel . Standard bushes/ mounts apart from on panhard where poly work well , and you can change easily if carrying spares. New tyres, of a good make, eg BFG Kumho etc . either MT or AT , dont go SUV type , tread depth is the tell tale difference. RTT should be all thats up there save empty jerries. C of G is important . Just a few comments HTSH ps London to Capetown has been done by a silver spirit so not too arduous in the right season .

thanks for that. im well aware of what driving with no shocks is like i had to do it not so long ago! that's why ive ended up with whats on as i said before i shall be sticking with whats on for now, money is already tight, i do understand the concern though, i am researching it, and possibly thinking of converting rears to pin/pin type same as front. and also same as the other vehicle ill be traveling with, that way same shocks front and back both vehicles makes carrying a spare or two make sense.

bushes im sticking with oem all around as i find poly toooo stiff and they don't allow for wear, although panhard rod i may take your advice

also as for weight up top, Jerry cans is all i have. im stuck between a rock and a hard place, as i said money is tight and id rather go on a trip and do it with what i have than not go at all through fear of being a touch top heavy, in an ideal world id love to have a aux tank under the sills. and i am looking into making one, but this still costs money that i don't need to spend if i have cans...a perfectly acceptable way of carrying fuel, if i don't work out a way of mounting them to the side or rear of the vehicle thats cost effective then they have to stay up there, i will however at least spread the load abit better, 2 on each side rather than all on one side,

tyres, im sticking with hankook(albeit smaller), they are mt, they are a great tyre ive had this set on for well over 25k now and they are only around 35%worn, ive used on pay and play days. green laning trips/weekends and they haven't ever needed air through any fault of there own. ive used general at before, and they are good but not better imho. i thought the sidewalls were to thin as well.

regards rob

 

[Nonimouse]

If yuor bette rhalf is like my better half she probably packs heavy. We have three kids - well two, now that one has moved out; they are 3 and 7.5 and seem to require the most enormous amount of stuff. I thought it was bad when they were still babies... Having sold my 110 and downsized to a Disco 1 I can't get over how small the boot is. And how few 'extra spaces' there are... Most of my kit will fit in the cubby box!

 

[spikemd]

Sounds like an epic trip in the works.

I can re-iterate the poor quality of the Terrfirma shocks. My buddy went through 2 replacements before he finally threw them out. Total trash. One shaft sheared off and another leaked after 2 months. Sounds like money is tight, but imagine the cost of trying to get parts shipped into Africa?

 

[ZG]

Anyone is welcome to run any shocks they want... I get TF shocks relatively cheap through my company, I bought Fox after 2 sets of TF. Choose wisely, like Spike said there's not much availability when you're nowhere.