North East Morocco?

Oh no, not Insa Turbo Dakar tyres?

They may be great in the mud, but there are others out there that are just as good without the rumble on tarmac. Sounds as if a aircraft is landing ... correct?

I would recommend 255/65R16 109P Kingpin Technic Amazon Tyres all day long. They are amazingly quiet on tarmac, very good in the mud (although maybe not quite as good as the Insas - the jury's out on this one), for an open pattern surprisingly grippy on wet roads, hard wearing, and okay price-wise. Had them on a V8 Rangie BTW for 18 month or more, before passing on the vehicle to my son Dean. I did one 3,000 Alps/Pyrenees recee on them, plus an actual Landy Rally (2007) then Dean did another Landy Rally on them in 2008, then were still good enough to pass an MOT and get sold with the vehicle.

Just Googled Amazon Technic Tyres and this was the first company I came up with - http://tyresdirectuk.co.uk/shop/product-info.php?prodname=255/65R16-109P-Kingpin-Technic-Amazon-Tyres-&id=16232 - thus no idea if this is the best price or company.

My advice ... sell the Insas while they are still 'as new' and get a really good set of boots!

Glad the new vehicle worked out...must be a relief. I will be interested to see what it can do.

I am taking two spare tires, I always do after blowing two in a row in Tanzania a couple of times. I am also going to fit a snorkel as I expect we may have a few (or alot of) river crossings to deal with.

Tembo wrote:

Glad the new vehicle worked out...must be a relief. I will be interested to see what it can do.

I am taking two spare tires, I always do after blowing two in a row in Tanzania a couple of times. I am also going to fit a snorkel as I expect we may have a few (or alot of) river crossings to deal with.

as far as river crossings go we will be in the dry season so dont think there will be much water as i just came from up there the river crossings run over roads that are marked with little concrete blocks and most of them were dry... :shock: ...

as for two spares if you were traveling alone yes but if your in a group there will be somebody with a spare and the next town is never far away and there is always a repair shop.....the point im making is try and travel light a second spare is a big item to carry around for thousands of miles...but of corse the choice is yours.......

wideformat4x4 wrote:

There's a couple on my Face Book page, can't seem to add them on here might well be a setting on my iPad not sure

whats your fb page..???

ok guys just a couple of questions. ..just to clarify....


have dates been agreed ?
how many are coming ?
where are you meeting up ?
whats your point of entry ?
how many days will you be in morocco ?
have you got a plan you would like to follow ?

Tembo wrote:

I have been following events pretty closely...mainly because I get paid to. In the past six months police in Morocco have busted up a couple of small AQIM-linked cells and arrested Moroccans trying to head to Mali to fight. Tension is definitely higher but one of the facts not often mentioned is that the local populations rarely support...and often actively resist jihadists becoming active in their neighborhoods. Mainly because they are the ones who suffer through increased violence, reduced economic opportunities and higher crime levels (jihadists and criminal gangs go hand in hand). So while there may be small groups of troublemakers around, the majority won't be involved...kind of like alot of British neighborhoods after a football match...

So, as we get closer to our trip I will continue to monitor what is going on. On the plus side, we will be travelling in the least populated area of Morocco and well away from the normal tourist routes. On the down side, we will be travelling reasonably close to the Algerian border. But The Algerians are seriously ramping up their security in the south, so that should be in the plus column.

But for all of us, I would say it would be prudent to plan their routes so that we camp away from towns, and the more remote the better. Also that when we do hit towns to fuel up and buy supplies, we keep those visits relatively short and do not advertise our route outbound to anyone. Finally, I spend a big part of my time training people to work safely in high risk areas so we could do some briefings before we set off for the group. Hopefully Tuggy can give us some info when he comes back from the rally through that area.

So, while something to keep in mind, I wouldnt put too much into it at the moment.

there are quite a few more check points on the roads they seem to be on top of there game......we just waved at them and we never got stopped but as we will be in a group i dont think we will have much trouble......

tuggy wrote:

ok guys just a couple of questions. ..just to clarify....


have dates been agreed ?
how many are coming ?
where are you meeting up ?
whats your point of entry ?
how many days will you be in morocco ?
have you got a plan you would like to follow ?

We have provisional dates (8th of October out but I'm not sure on the return date) and numbers, but I think we will be firming these up on the June the 8th meeting also looking at the routes that have been planned between the four legs.

On the entry front I think we will probably be guided by yourself or other advise gleaned from the forum.

I'm sure someone else will be along shortly to correct me

From the minutes of our meeting in January, here are the following answers:

Dates- The group agreed to meet in Malaga on 14 October and take the ferry over that night to Melilla. The Group planned to return to Mellilla on 30 October. Some would then spend some further time in Spain. So time in Morocco would be 15-30 October.

Vehicles- Currently there are five vehicles coming from the UK, plus yourself Tuggy and your friend if he is still onboard.

Meeting Up: The plan in January was to meet in Malaga and take the ferry over. However, given what you (tuggy) told us regarding the Melilla border hassles we may want to change that part of the plan.

Total days in Morocco: 15

The Travel Plan: I will PM you the details Tuggy.

Next Planning Meeting: June 8th to review and possibly change the ferry plans, and review the planned legs for each stage.

The 8th was when I was setting off but things have changed for me in the last 3 weeks I decided to retire early so my plans for later in the year are slightly different

Well congrats on the early retirement!!! Well done. Hopefully you can still do the trip but if not Morocco will still be there.

Yep I'm still doing morocco, you won't be able to keep me away.
I may well have to reschedule some other event I was looking at doing, the Flat Dog tour at the end of June has been cancelled which is a shame I was going to stop off in France after that then travel down to Spain and spend a week with the Spanish 4x4.com guys but may well leave that now and go later in the year I'll have to see.

My face book page is Gary Horne if you search by email address look for rubberhubby@hotmail.com and you should find me.

On the tyre front Tom the Insa Turbo Dakars are relatively quiet compared to the Kobras and the Special tracks I've had in the past as mud tyres go they seem relatively well behaved on the road so I think I'll keep them at the moment.

Tom are you having a laugh I've just checked out the Amazon tyres you recommended there the same tread pattern as the Kobras I have on the Frontera they are nowhere near as quiet as the Dakars in fact at low speed on the road they are like driving over a cattle grid

I think I will be sticking with the Dakars worst case I swap the tyres over on the rims and that way I've got the best of both worlds.

May be the same tread pattern, but if they're a different compound then everything changes. I tell you, the Amazon Technics I had were really good ... virtually rumble-free.

tire choice...always a good debate.....

When I bought Tembo he came with seven brand new military Michelin XZLs, which is essentially the same tread pattern as the Insa Dakar's. Love these but know I wont ever find them again so have been looking at the dakar's when I eventually need replacements...so will be interested to see how they do...

And glad you are still onboard for the trip!

Just found out today I have double booked myself for June 8th meeting I'm away from the 3rd to the 11th and then again on the 15th

Probably being the least experienced on the trip it would be of great value to me to have been there, can we change the date or failing that can someone act as a proxy for me on the day ?

Despite the pain, I think it would be better to reschedule. I am sure there is one day where at least those planning legs can be there. My crazy schedule ends on May 31st, so pretty much anything after that works for me. Why don't you proposes some dates Gary and lets see what the others say?

Since my retirement 3 weeks ago I have had to reschedule a few event here's when I'm away

May 11th and 12th then 17th till the 27th
June the 5th till the 12th and then the 15th
July the 3rd till the 10th

Hope that helps so I'm ok for May 28th to June 4th then any time from the 17th June until 2nd of July or after the 12th of July until early August
Busy, busy, busy lol

I may be in Nepal up to May 28 and then will have to get back, I will know this week coming hopefully. Anything after that is possible for me I think.

Okay, my Nepal trip is cancelled and I am going to be at the Hubb event for all four days as it stands now helping Tom and the rest at the forum display. Maybe an option is just to meet up at the event on the saturday or sunday. We can spread the maps out in the back of the forum stand (would be good PR for people to see a trip being planned by members...) or head over to the beer tent for a proper planning session.

Any takers?

Hi James
I am at the hubb as well should be arriving late on Thursday also to help out Tom.
So this seems like a plan to me as I am still not 100% wether I will be able to meet the June meeting

Sounds like a plan. Large enough marquee to house a planning session - more the merrier!

Great, will bring my maps and notes. Now we just need to see if we can get Steve to come up.

Well sorry guys but due to circumstances beyond my control think i am not going to make this trip have to come back to the UK and shall be committed to other things for at least 4 months.. ...but will always be available for advice if needed.... .

No worries...life happens. But if you are out to Tom's Overland show maybe we can have a chat and pose a few questions in exchange for a couple of beers then.