North East Morocco?

Happy Birthday Buddy  

hi guys sorry been on the road for the last month so not really been keeping up with the blog....
just a couple of points don't worry about fuel there are lots of fuel stations its only when you go south they get a bit scarce...but if you feel the need take 1 jerry can that will be plenty..and as for water in spain go to the Dia supermarket pick up a pack of 12 x 1lt bottles then as you use them bin the empty bottles.......that way you have clean drinking water all the time....and plenty of tire repair guys over there.......simples...... 

Great local knowledge as always Tuggy.
I have decided to take 2 Gerry cans for diesel fill them and the truck up in Andorra @78p a litre that should see me through Spain with a splash and dash for the ferry then do the same in Morocco for the return hopefully keeping the travel costs down and in Morocco maybe fill one for emergencys.

On the spares side I was contemplating taking a spare fuel pump as well as a couple of spare filters or is that a bit over kill ?

Thanks for the B-day wishes...

As for spares, I am just taking a fan belt, radiator hoses, and U-Joint, some bulbs/fuses and that is about it. Of course the real repair kit as well...duct tape, silicon sealant, lots of spare nuts and bolts.

As for Tuggy's suggestions for water, yep all good. But since I don't know Morocco that well, I don't know how they handle rubbish. In alot of African places if you stick your masses of empty water bottles in a bin, that just gets dumped in a field on the outskirts of town. I am not much of an eco-nut, but truly do hate seeing rubbish everywhere across Africa, especially in the bush. So, I am happier just taking water from wherever and filtering it.

Got my CB hooked up yesterday but have no one to test it with. Flipped around the UK FM channels but didnt hear anything...so either I got something wrong or not many CB users close by. I only have the 3' whip, so range would have to be pretty close. So, will be looking to do a comms check at AO.

Forgot to wish you happy birthday James.
Have you SWR ed the antennae ? If not I will have my trusty meter at the show.
Re comms check, I drove from Oxfordshire to Scotland with my cb on and all I heard was some Polish taxi drivers, and I know mine works ok as I've used it on various off road excursions before and after.
I think the mobile phone has killed CBs off pretty much are a communication medium for the traveller well certainly in the UK did get a few more contacts in France earlier in the year but apart from that the only usage I get from my CB is in convoy on an outing

On the spares front I'm going to give the fuel pump a miss take some spare fuel from Europe and a couple of filters, fuel and air, alternator belt, spare air shock and a wheel bearing.

The Disco is getting a full service this week including new brakes all round inc hoses, gear and diff oil and a once over on the air suspension side.
She's just had new shocks and springs and a full set of fuel hoses, the cooling system and turbo hoses have been replaced in the last 8 months as we're only out of the euro zone for 3 weeks max I'm hoping I've not left too much to chance, that said it is a land rover so anything is possible  

take a couple of wheel bearing, and think about 1 maybe 2 uj's as well

Spares, will take hoses, air fuel filters, bearings box of nuts jublie clips fusees and other odds and ends cable ties duct tape, we have a traker to put in next week, that's about it then.
And if we don't have it will have to go without.  

Right all kick off is getting closer by the day and as we're contemplating eating as a group taking in turns the cooking I thought it may be prudent to ask if we have any special dietary requirements ?

In short have we got any finicky eaters, myself as you can tell by my waist line I will eat almost anything except beet root can't stand the stuff.

Is everyone ok with chilli, spag Bol, curry etc as I was planning to take some tin stuff or packets incase we can't lay our hands on any fresh meat when we're in the wilds and refrigerating space will be at a premium.

Thoughts please people

For me, the only thing I can't eat is bell peppers (red, green...any colour). Love hot peppers (banana, jalapeno, birds eye)...just can't stomach bell peppers. Love beetroot though!

I would probably say, big batches of chili, pasta, curries, is probably the way to go. Given that we are in Morocco for 15 days and there are five vehicles, we each need to plan to cook 3 meals for the group...not too taxing.

Sorry to say, Dilys and I do not eat chili, pasta, curries, also can not eat cheese, we have tried cos-cos different types and found them not to our taste.
So will check with everybody at the show.

Good job I checked Kevin, we all need to get together at the show and decide on a menu that we will all eat

Good job that you asked Gary, I must admit that I was thinking along the lines of the chilli, pasta and curry type meals as well.
I cant stand beetroot either Gary, don't like fish either.
We'll need to discuss this at the show.eating: 

Personally, although I'm not going   along with the usual belts 'n' stuff, I would take a spare water pump. Mine packed up in Northern Spain once, so it was easy to find a replacement. Morocco may be a tad more difficult.

If you don't use it, so be it, you have a spare in the garage, but if you do need it ...

I suppose the same could be said of an alternator. Overkill, not really? Again, if you're staying in Europe then I wouldn't bother, but Africa??? Both a water pump or an alternator going down will really hamper progress, reckon it's money well spent.

Alternatively, if you've a friendly 4x4 dealer that you know, ask about a sale or return deal. May even get them to throw in a ball joint and propshaft CV as well, can't do any harm asking surely?

Tom Mc wrote:

Alternatively, if you've a friendly 4x4 dealer that you know, ask about a sale or return deal. May even get them to throw in a ball joint and propshaft CV as well, can't do any harm asking surely?

I was thinking about doing that sale or return.  

wideformat4x4 wrote:

On the spares front I'm going to give the fuel pump a miss take some spare fuel from Europe and a couple of filters, fuel and air, alternator belt, spare air shock and a wheel bearing.

The Disco is getting a full service this week including new brakes all round inc hoses, gear and diff oil and a once over on the air suspension side.
She's just had new shocks and springs and a full set of fuel hoses, the cooling system and turbo hoses have been replaced in the last 8 months as we're only out of the euro zone for 3 weeks max I'm hoping I've not left too much to chance, that said it is a land rover so anything is possible  

Hi Gary, the front and rear "wheel bearings" are different i think. The front is a complete hub not sure on the rear but i think its different to the front. Also i'd take a crankshaft sensor as its the only sensor on the disco that if it fails will completely stop the car, all the others the ecu will bypass if there's a fault. As mentioned take a uj or two and a spare rubber doughnut for the rear prop, only get a genuine one though or a gkn one as the pattern ones are know as being crap. Also on the air suspension front, you can get little push on valves with a car type valve to cut into the airline to a bag so that if the compressor goes down you can inflate the bags with a normal pump and they stay up. Hope i have not scared you too much, see you soon

Cheers Jez Wrexracing sorted out my suspension and recommended pretty much the same as you but the crank sensor seems like a good idea  

James happy birthday ;)you share the same day as me  
Serviced the truck a couple of days ago and she is good to go  
Been thinking about my trip to the south of Spain. I was going to drive through France and Spain but I have now changed my mind. I am now going to ferry to north Spain and take a steady drive south.
I can't believe how quickly this trip has come round and I can't wait.
Looking forward to meet everyone again at the show to talk over the finer details.
Will there be room on the stand to park my truck or shell I just park it in the car park??

I for one was hoping for all the trips vehicles would be on the forum stand ! At some point

Tom and I will make room for all Morocco motors on the stand.  

That's great Roamingman looking forward to all meeting up again, not long now!!!  

Great news! OK then we will see everyone and their vehicles at the stand. I will be coming back from a conference in Brussels on the Eurostar late Friday afternoon, so will drive up either Friday night or very early saturday morning.

Getting close now!

The last few weeks have flown by, still loads to do but slowly getting there but the more I do to the disco the more I find needs doing

I know the feeling Gary, I expect that we are all having the same problem. Still it'll be OK the day I'm sure. It'll be good to all meet up again.

Well today went better than I thought it would got the storage boxes fitted and labeled up with the contents, water bladders on board fridge fitted and wired in.
Fitted the fire extinguisher packed spares and tools and managed to find my old mechanical jack much more reliable than the hydraulic one that tend to leak fluid in the heat and the handle is longer so its less hassle to raise and lower.
So the truck is clean inside and out and loaded with most of my camping kit just personal stuff to load and jerry cans and tent to be roof mounted along with the sand ladders bush pig and wind break.
Last few spares to pick up tomorrow and pack then sort out the garden furniture and last few jobs at home then off to the overland show before setting off south