Vehicle Choice: The Landrover 110 seemed to be just about the most suitable vehicle for Overland Travel for a small party (in our case two). It is permanent 4WD (easy to use!), coil sprung (comfortable) has a payload of 1200kg (largest of any vehicle in its class?), it is known throughout Africa so parts should be available and Landrover have had nearly 50 years experience building exclusively 4WD vehicles so they should know what they're doing. Of course the fact that I spent my youth living nearly opposite the factory and had therefore always wanted one had nothing to do with my decision making!
Why Diesel?: Well it is more economical than petrol (a major consideration when travelling > 20000 Miles). Generally more reliable than a Petrol engine (none of those pesky spark plugs, coils, leads, distributors to shake loose, smash, or get full of dust). Diesel is more readily available than petrol and usually cheaper (Except in South Africa where it was the same price). All we had to do to the engine was change the oil as required (v. important with any vehicle under these conditions) and clean the injectors once (in Kenya) which resulted in improved fuel consumption. Fuel consumption was something around 11 Litres /100 Km. Diesels are less susceptible to dirty fuel or local 'performance' additives (e.g. water, kerosene etc). The only drawback is the lower power/ speed although most of the trip top speed was not important and low end torque was. So not such a big drawback. We decided against a Turbo diesel as it is rather a complicated piece of equipment to take out into the wilds. Especially a second hand ones. Turbos seem very susceptible to bad handling (wrong oil etc.) and you just can't tell how its been used. We met some people in a brand new Tdi Turbo Diesel Landrover and they had no problems with it and it was economical, powerful etc. But they looked after it and drove smoothly and carefully. At one campsite in Malawi the couple in the latest TdI (The first one in Africa) were parked next to a 33 year old LWB!
We had a County Model (i.e. top of the range, comfy seats, tinted windows, Levelled suspension etc. This was mostly luck but worked out well as on a trip like this comfort can be quite important. Also the county models often have an easy life in the U.K. being owned by rich people who *need* a big 4WD to go across the occasional field or look the part at Horsey events etc. So for very little extra we got a relatively low mileage vehicle which had only rarely been off road before.
Preparation: this consisted of removing the rear seats, fitting a roof tent, split charge circuit and auxiliary battery, raised air intake (stops fine dust from clogging the air filter and prevents water intake when wading - a good idea) guards over the lights, bull bars (already on vehicle). The second battery was connected to five Hella sockets (3 internal (1 fridge only) and two external for water filter pump, tyre pump, internal/external neon lights, nicad battery charger etc. Auxiliary 45L Fuel tank.
Other equipment: Cooking equipment, multi fuel spirit stove(Optimus), High lift Jack, Manual winch(Tirfor), Tyre levers, Tools, Jerry cans (5*20L Nato Plastic - water 4*20L Metal - fuel), Saw, Shovel etc. Don't be fooled into buying an electric winch. They look macho and safari prepared, but a good one will cost nearly 1000 Pounds - as much as our *entire* equipment bill (including manual winch). You may never need to use the winch (we used it for recovering ourselves only once) and if you're recovering someone else make them put some effort into pulling themselves out - serves them right getting stuck like that. If you're feeling really poor you can use a high lift jack as a winch.
Problems: Broken windscreen (replaced in Nigeria for about 75 Pounds - would have been more expensive in U.K.! but don't break your windscreen after Nigeria as parts become *very* expensive). Worn suspension bushes - replaced in Uganda, replaced steering damper in Uganda. Brake problems (overhauled rear wheel cylinders, relined rear drums, overhauled master cylinder, replaced front pads) one cracked injector nozzle and replaced rear shocks. Pinion oil seal leaking on rear diff neads repairing. Apart from a few scratches and a couple of dents the vehicle looks (and feels) as good as new. Parts were available but quite expensive. Most African countries charge enourmous import duty on foreign goods so take as many spares as you think you will need. Especially things like hydraulic overhaul kits, rubber bushes etc.
Driving: The Landrover 110 is easy to drive, especially as ours has power steering, although it is a little larger than I was used too. To prepare myself for the conditions ahead (I had not previously driven a 4WD or of road ) I took a 'vehicle familiarisation course' at Landrover in Solihull U.K. This was certainly a good investment, they get you to drive over *impossible* obstacles with ease and really give you an idea of what the vehicle is capable of. So when we encountered *worse* obstacles in real life we had the confidence to get in there and go for it.