RE: Time for ... coffee? Round-the-world G-Wagen
Discussion
to the man and his machine.gdaybruce said:
I wonder if there was a kind of golden age for vehicle design: when machinery had become robust and generally reliable (especially the likes of alternators, starter motors and electrical conectors generally) but electronic engine management had not taken over so the average competent bush mechanic could still fix most things by the roadside with 'normal' tools. If so, I guess the LR equivalent of the G Wagon would be something like a 200 Tdi Defender?
As much as I love the defender I would probably give the "most reliable and competent vehicle of all time award" to the toyota FJ-40
A lovely gentle man who loved his wife and wanted to see the world so makes the impossible seem almost simple and all the issues I put in my life look a bit daft!
And I agree - mid late eighties was the top - look at the Mercs from that era - not especially dynamic but they are still trundling round Beirut or Bogata with bullet holes for aircon and a taxi sign on the roof!
And I agree - mid late eighties was the top - look at the Mercs from that era - not especially dynamic but they are still trundling round Beirut or Bogata with bullet holes for aircon and a taxi sign on the roof!
Johnboy Mac said:
anonymous said:
[redacted]
+1.Having owned 'quality' German machines of the 70's to the mid 2000's, the late 80's has proved to be the best overall. If it was Jap stuff, I'd choose the early & mid 90's - every Toyota/Lexus, Nissan & Honda I have come across was bulletproof.
k anything that gets in the way",,,,, awesome.
So much awesome. 
Brilliant photos, absolutely inspiration.
Would love to do something similar.
Reminds me of the 'Spark Your Dream' book in which an Argentinian couple take a 1928 Graham-Page to Alaska (and beyond). Unfortunately, the book didn't live up to the 'epicness' of the journey (translation/preachy attitude) but prob worth a read nonetheless if you've been inspired by the above.
Brilliant photos, absolutely inspiration.
Would love to do something similar.
Reminds me of the 'Spark Your Dream' book in which an Argentinian couple take a 1928 Graham-Page to Alaska (and beyond). Unfortunately, the book didn't live up to the 'epicness' of the journey (translation/preachy attitude) but prob worth a read nonetheless if you've been inspired by the above.
Completely inspirational.
Just trying to figure this out. My maths wasn't really a strong point so please point out if I'm wrong...
500,000 miles, 23 years. Breaking things down into per year, that's 21750 miles a year. Driving his 80s 3 tonne (laden) G-Wagon diesel "like an elderly aunt", he might get around 30mpg or so? I'm sure fuel is cheaper elsewhere, but over here say 1.30/litre... so he would need about £4200 ish for fuel based on those numbers.
Food-wise, cooking out of the back of the Gelandewagon for two maybe you would want to budget 15 a day? Its a difficult cost to work out, but simple living it doesn't seem too far off the ballpark. That's £5500 there.
Annually, you would want to count in some money for things breaking, clothing, cooking fuel, other consumables, tyres, maintenance, visas and other such administration costs, transport by ship etc etc. Plucking a number out of thin air, another £500 sounds like it would be okay.
£10500 a year, right? Fuel and food could be cheaper, other costs could be higher.
You'd need the things you need to start with. G300 / Toyota (I don't know if there is any modern car that would do this journey better than Otto), spares, hammock, Kindle, camera, more spares. £40k? Not sure.
Say you had that. And you owned a 2 bed flat in East London. One which I am paying 950 a month. £11400 a year. Skim the property management fee of around 15% off that, and that gives you £9700 left if nothing goes wrong (there may be some other fees and stuff to deal with, not sure). You would need some other investments and/or savings to bring in the £1000 you are short - its possible a bigger property would do it.
I guess I only have 15 years to achieve that before I am 45, including the inflation which would be involved. But, we're likely to have children before then which will probably screw it all up. Then if my parents are still around, they will probably need looking after too...
Humph. Back to work I suppose. Or maybe start making a weekly £1 investment in the random numbers game.
Just trying to figure this out. My maths wasn't really a strong point so please point out if I'm wrong...
500,000 miles, 23 years. Breaking things down into per year, that's 21750 miles a year. Driving his 80s 3 tonne (laden) G-Wagon diesel "like an elderly aunt", he might get around 30mpg or so? I'm sure fuel is cheaper elsewhere, but over here say 1.30/litre... so he would need about £4200 ish for fuel based on those numbers.
Food-wise, cooking out of the back of the Gelandewagon for two maybe you would want to budget 15 a day? Its a difficult cost to work out, but simple living it doesn't seem too far off the ballpark. That's £5500 there.
Annually, you would want to count in some money for things breaking, clothing, cooking fuel, other consumables, tyres, maintenance, visas and other such administration costs, transport by ship etc etc. Plucking a number out of thin air, another £500 sounds like it would be okay.
£10500 a year, right? Fuel and food could be cheaper, other costs could be higher.
You'd need the things you need to start with. G300 / Toyota (I don't know if there is any modern car that would do this journey better than Otto), spares, hammock, Kindle, camera, more spares. £40k? Not sure.
Say you had that. And you owned a 2 bed flat in East London. One which I am paying 950 a month. £11400 a year. Skim the property management fee of around 15% off that, and that gives you £9700 left if nothing goes wrong (there may be some other fees and stuff to deal with, not sure). You would need some other investments and/or savings to bring in the £1000 you are short - its possible a bigger property would do it.
I guess I only have 15 years to achieve that before I am 45, including the inflation which would be involved. But, we're likely to have children before then which will probably screw it all up. Then if my parents are still around, they will probably need looking after too...
Humph. Back to work I suppose. Or maybe start making a weekly £1 investment in the random numbers game.
I planned a trip from London to Sydney a few years back. I had a G Class, and did a huge amount of the prep work to plan the trip. If we had done it we would have been the first people (that i am aware of) to do the route by road, including driving down the Ledo Road (Myanmar). The only bit of water would have been Malaysia to Indonesia, and Indonesia to Aus. No flights, except the return journey.
Sadly my co driver pulled out and the trip never happend. Still think about it all the time and really desperate to do it!
Sadly my co driver pulled out and the trip never happend. Still think about it all the time and really desperate to do it!
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