  | |
| |
 | ||||||||||||
vehicle : 1995 land rover defender 110 station wagon name : tshukudu engine : 300 Tdi mileage : 125,000 miles and counting purchased from : the Land Rover Centre in Huddersfield delivery date : 4th february 2005 previous home : well cared for by JCB for the last 10 years
*what’s in a name? tshukudu means white rhino in setswana (one of southern africa’s 11 official languages). a reminder for us of a wonderful safari holiday in the madikwe game reserve in south africa in february 2004. the fact the white rhino is an endangered species, weighs 2-2.5 tonnes, lives up to 45 years and has a top speed of 30 mph also seemed to make tshukudu a pretty relevant name for our landy. why this vehicle? ok, so we could have bought a toyota land cruiser, with superior build quality, comfort and refinement; a powerful engine rather than the landy’s piffling 2.5 litres; air-conditioning, “auto-dimming electrochromic rear-view mirror with compass” (?!) and nine cup holders, etcÉ and it is true the world seems to have voted pretty convincingly in favour of the land cruiser with some 4 million sold over the past 50 years vs. less than 2 million land rovers since it’s launch in 1948. but we went for the landy without any real hesitation. it just felt right. in much the same way i’m swapping the comfortable hotel with satellite TV and room service for a life under canvas with the bugs, then it seems right to make the trip in something that’s noisy, uncomfortable and liable to break down at any moment. otherwise, i might as well ask the company i work for if i can buy the car i'm currently driving and use that for the trip. we decided on a station wagon model instead of a hard top (van) for access reasons in part during the trip and also in case the landy becomes our main means of transport ongoing. 5 doors and the option of rear seats might come in useful we felt. Ready to go or “do it yourself”? we bought a standard station wagon and will have spent 8 months transforming it into our home/kitchen/bathroom on wheels by the time we set off. it would undoubtedly have been easier buying an ex-overland landy already complete with all the necessary toysÉ and way less stressful. but heh, we had the time, the money (to get jobs finished when we had to admit defeat or ran out of patience) and we’ve got to say it is much more satisfying to be able to say “i made/did that!” than having everything done for us. having stripped pretty much the whole interior down, touched up the body work and rebuilt the insides to our specifications we do feel we understand the landy a lot better. we saw it as an integral part of the prep for the trip getting tshukudu ready. so what did we do or have done? firstly, thanks to a number of professional people, without whom we wouldn’t have managed to get things done. land rover centre: cheers to mark g., steve, colin and mark in the trim shop for their advice and patience from the word go. they know how to look after you and your landy and take pride in making sure that work is done properly. les, phil, andy, and phil from huddersfield technical college. we enrolled on 2 evening courses in motor repairs and restoration, taught by les on monday and phil on tuesday. not only did it allow us to learn a lot of the basics but also to save money by doing things ourselves. It gave me the confidence to drill and rivet the landy without wincing too muchÉ as well as learning what work a well-known automotive supply chain actually does (or doesn’t) do in some instances to earn £40 from you for “fixing” your car radio! pam and nigel from mobile storage systems. a lovely couple who build and sell some wonderful units to help organise the interior of your landy. our first visit to their stall at the lro (land rover owner international) show at driffield in may 2005 was a joy like kids in the sweet shop we were. nigel's on board safe is a wonder to beholdÉ clare and tim from trek overland. being based in york meant they were very accessible for us (rather than having to trek down south). we came across them at the driffield show as well and not only loved the gear they were selling but also their attitude and friendliness. their help and support while we were getting ready for the trip has been tremendous; thanks very much guys! graham, andy, james and all at prolek n.d. haigh (+44(0) 1484 426 479) electricals in huddersfield for their work on wiring in the dual battery system, alarm, immobiliser, and lighting. great value and always a first class job! so what equipment have we had installed? engine and mechanics: raised air intake: safari snorkel and breather kit (for keeping water and sand out hopefully!)
suspension: Old Man Emu (OME) medium springs, shocks and steering dampener.
fuel and water: internal 40 ltr stainless steel water tank 20 ltr water bag tyres etc: 6x bfgoodrich 265/75 all terrain tubeless tyres rear and bonnet spare wheel carriers viair portable compressor
electrics: split charge battery system (optima batteries and national luna management system) car alarm and immobiliser ipod, car radio and griffin road trip (linking ipod to radio - brilliant gadget!) internal 12v light national luna 40l fridge/freezer external roof rack driving lights more powerful headlight bulbs
communication: iridium satellite phone garmin 76c gps
living: howling moon 1.4m roof tent and rear canvas extension 2.5m side awning shower/water purifier unit camping gaz cooker (mounted on interior of rear door) every size of mossie netting available!
organisation: roof rack from trek overland drawer and chest units from mobile storage systems rear door cooker housing unit home-built cupboard (from bookcase donated by mary & jerry)
safety: husky superwinch bull bar & roll bar from north off road vehicle developments. (shaun does brilliant work and we highly recommend him; we shopped around and found he offered fantastic quality and value!) hi-lift jack waffle boards steering and diff guards (thanks mark g. at land rover centre!!) | ||||||||||||
 | ||||||||||||
 | ||||||||||||
 | ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
| ||
| | |
