Discussion
Hi guys,
I have pretty much committed myself to doing the Mongol Rally in 2015, and was wondering if any of you have had a go at it yourself and would like to share your experiences? I have the following questions:
1. How much do I need to budget?
2. What kind of car should I use? (There will be a group of 4 of us, so I think a Suzuki Vitara or such like would suffice)
3. Do you know the maximum cost per car?
We will be trying to raise 4000 GBP for the human rights charity Amnesty International, so I will be sure to post an update about that once I have registered.
Many thanks,
Simon
P.S. Here are some of the crazy routes participants have taken over the years:
I have pretty much committed myself to doing the Mongol Rally in 2015, and was wondering if any of you have had a go at it yourself and would like to share your experiences? I have the following questions:
1. How much do I need to budget?
2. What kind of car should I use? (There will be a group of 4 of us, so I think a Suzuki Vitara or such like would suffice)
3. Do you know the maximum cost per car?
We will be trying to raise 4000 GBP for the human rights charity Amnesty International, so I will be sure to post an update about that once I have registered.
Many thanks,
Simon
P.S. Here are some of the crazy routes participants have taken over the years:
There's a few posters who have.
I spent about 3k I think. You can make it as cheap of luxurious as you want tho. We slept rough 3 to 4 days then had a night in a hotel.
Get something interesting to drive, the guys on here will help you.
My car was £120 on eBay and had been a farm hack. Just a breakdown everyday at least once and a small electrical fire, meh, no problem.
One of the best things I ever did, be warned its addictive.
I spent about 3k I think. You can make it as cheap of luxurious as you want tho. We slept rough 3 to 4 days then had a night in a hotel.
Get something interesting to drive, the guys on here will help you.
My car was £120 on eBay and had been a farm hack. Just a breakdown everyday at least once and a small electrical fire, meh, no problem.
One of the best things I ever did, be warned its addictive.
GolfSupplierAU said:
2. What kind of car should I use? (There will be a group of 4 of us, so I think a Suzuki Vitara or such like would suffice)
Might not go with the "1-litre or less" ethos...I do want to do this at some point, and I believe that they've got rid of the 10-years old rule too. Something like a K11 Micra would be best
I did it a couple of years ago with a friend. I spent about £3000 in total although that does include an accidental £1000 phone bill! Important tip, don't fall asleep on the phone.
A Vitara would easily complete the event but having something so capable may steal a little of the fun. We used an old Swift as they have reasonable high ground clearance, they're very simple, and they were sold the world over under various licences so parts are easy to get hold of. It worked too, with only a few punctures and a punctured fuel tank to fix along the way.
Other big tips are take a puncture repair kit of the kind always marked as not for use on road. I got mine from CPC and it was worth its weight in gold. It consisted of little gummy sticks you insert into the tyre with the tools provided to create a plug. Having such a kit will certainly ingratiate you with a few other teams too!
The other thing is to pack practically rather than excessively. Weight is what kills a lot of cars as the suspension dies and squashing a car lower to the floor means it takes a lot more hits from rocks etc. We started with a full on rally roof rack with spare wheels, track mats, loads of extra fuel etc but jettisoning most of that was the best thing we did. It helps when you settle on other teams to travel with so you can share the load and decide what doubled up items you can lose/sell.
Oh, and make sure you have steel wheels. They're a lot easier to bash back into shape with a hammer!
Matt.
A Vitara would easily complete the event but having something so capable may steal a little of the fun. We used an old Swift as they have reasonable high ground clearance, they're very simple, and they were sold the world over under various licences so parts are easy to get hold of. It worked too, with only a few punctures and a punctured fuel tank to fix along the way.
Other big tips are take a puncture repair kit of the kind always marked as not for use on road. I got mine from CPC and it was worth its weight in gold. It consisted of little gummy sticks you insert into the tyre with the tools provided to create a plug. Having such a kit will certainly ingratiate you with a few other teams too!
The other thing is to pack practically rather than excessively. Weight is what kills a lot of cars as the suspension dies and squashing a car lower to the floor means it takes a lot more hits from rocks etc. We started with a full on rally roof rack with spare wheels, track mats, loads of extra fuel etc but jettisoning most of that was the best thing we did. It helps when you settle on other teams to travel with so you can share the load and decide what doubled up items you can lose/sell.
Oh, and make sure you have steel wheels. They're a lot easier to bash back into shape with a hammer!
Matt.
Ben Coombs has done it and he will doubtless disagree with me when I say that you need to prepare. In fact, he probably wont as t'internet suggests that he is doing something similar on his way to Vietnam.
Anyway, Id suggest this book:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Build-Low-cost-Rally-C...
Not from Amazon now though as it appears to have doubled in price recently.
Anyway, Id suggest this book:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Build-Low-cost-Rally-C...
Not from Amazon now though as it appears to have doubled in price recently.
First of all I'll just say, you'll have the time of your life, you won't regret it for a moment!
I did it back in 2011 with two other friends in a Hyundai Accent, which was if anything too reliable, it just worked. The only issues we had were a few punctures, and a flat battery towards the end of the trip. We did crack the exhaust flexi-pipe too but that just improved the engine note!
Budget wise, I think it worked out at around £3-4k each including everything, car, gear, visa's, fuel, flights home etc. But I ended up spending more money than planned when out there. Once outside of Europe everything is really cheap, so your money goes a long way, I think I spent more money on one night out in Cologne than I did in the whole 5 days spent in Kazakhstan to put things into perspective.
Car wise, the proven sensible options are the Hyundai Accent, K11 Micra and Suzuki Swift, all will be cheap, relatively reliable and will get you there, but if I did it again I'd do it in an old V8 barge or something daft. We found it a bit too 'easy' in the Accent, I'd want a bit more of an adventure next time. You won't need a small off-roader like a Vitara or a Jimny, a 'normal' car will suffice.
Route wise, there are 3 'main' routes most people choose, top route through top of Europe into Russia then straight to Mongolia. The middle route (one we took), through central/southern Europe into Kazakhstan, Russia then Mongolia. And the bottom route, through Turkey, Iran and back up through Kazakhstan into Mongolia.
Top route is shortest and cheap (only two visas required) I wouldn't bother personally.
Bottom route is the longest and most expensive, I think the visa alone for Iran was around £800, but covers the most countries. We would have done it had it not been for budget/time restraints.
Middle route is a happy blend of time/distance and budget. But the rally is your own adventure, by all means take others suggestions/ideas but don't try to recreate someone else's trip. Plan your own route to your own criteria and adventure/experiences will find you along the way.
As mentioned before, weight is the main thing to try and keep down, we packed way too much stuff we didn't end up needing and off loaded a lot along the way. Things I would definitely take are a proper camping chair, not one of those small tripod ones, a proper one with arms, baby wipes, seasoning's/condiments to make the inevitable noodles/beans/pasta you'll end up eating more bearable, and a decent bottle opener.
Tools needed, multi tool, adjustable spanner, hammer, WD-40, duct tape and tie wraps, anything else is just dead weight.
Writing this has reminded me how good the rally actually was, you'll love it. If you have any other questions don't hesitate to ask. I'll sign off with a pic of our trusty steed we affectionately named 'Shannon'.
I did it back in 2011 with two other friends in a Hyundai Accent, which was if anything too reliable, it just worked. The only issues we had were a few punctures, and a flat battery towards the end of the trip. We did crack the exhaust flexi-pipe too but that just improved the engine note!
Budget wise, I think it worked out at around £3-4k each including everything, car, gear, visa's, fuel, flights home etc. But I ended up spending more money than planned when out there. Once outside of Europe everything is really cheap, so your money goes a long way, I think I spent more money on one night out in Cologne than I did in the whole 5 days spent in Kazakhstan to put things into perspective.
Car wise, the proven sensible options are the Hyundai Accent, K11 Micra and Suzuki Swift, all will be cheap, relatively reliable and will get you there, but if I did it again I'd do it in an old V8 barge or something daft. We found it a bit too 'easy' in the Accent, I'd want a bit more of an adventure next time. You won't need a small off-roader like a Vitara or a Jimny, a 'normal' car will suffice.
Route wise, there are 3 'main' routes most people choose, top route through top of Europe into Russia then straight to Mongolia. The middle route (one we took), through central/southern Europe into Kazakhstan, Russia then Mongolia. And the bottom route, through Turkey, Iran and back up through Kazakhstan into Mongolia.
Top route is shortest and cheap (only two visas required) I wouldn't bother personally.
Bottom route is the longest and most expensive, I think the visa alone for Iran was around £800, but covers the most countries. We would have done it had it not been for budget/time restraints.
Middle route is a happy blend of time/distance and budget. But the rally is your own adventure, by all means take others suggestions/ideas but don't try to recreate someone else's trip. Plan your own route to your own criteria and adventure/experiences will find you along the way.
As mentioned before, weight is the main thing to try and keep down, we packed way too much stuff we didn't end up needing and off loaded a lot along the way. Things I would definitely take are a proper camping chair, not one of those small tripod ones, a proper one with arms, baby wipes, seasoning's/condiments to make the inevitable noodles/beans/pasta you'll end up eating more bearable, and a decent bottle opener.
Tools needed, multi tool, adjustable spanner, hammer, WD-40, duct tape and tie wraps, anything else is just dead weight.
Writing this has reminded me how good the rally actually was, you'll love it. If you have any other questions don't hesitate to ask. I'll sign off with a pic of our trusty steed we affectionately named 'Shannon'.
:: Full disclosure - I am a volunteer for a charity called Go Help that runs an event called the Mongolia Charity Rally, but hopefully you find the response useful ::
1. How much do I need to budget?
On costs, the best recent post I have seen is from this team here. Well worth checking out, they kept a very complete log of all costs incurred.
http://catherineandalex.wordpress.com/
2. What kind of car should I use? (There will be a group of 4 of us, so I think a Suzuki Vitara or such like would suffice)
I originally drove in a Suzuki SJ 410. Awesome vehicle but unfortunately not a great donation once I got to Mongolia. A couple of tips: (1) think about the purpose of the trip, do you care about what happens to the vehicle, or do you just want a great ride? (2) The smaller the vehicle, the less comfortable you will be. After 10,000 miles in the vehicle, you kinda want to be more comfortable
3. Do you know the maximum cost per car?
Depends on the event: just have a think about what you want your vehicle to do once you're done with it.
We will be trying to raise 4000 GBP for the human rights charity Amnesty International, so I will be sure to post an update about that once I have registered.
That is great. You should also think about seeing what projects Amnesty or a similar charity do in Mongolia - if you are driving to Mongolia, one philosophical approach is that you can help the people of Mongolia with all the work you will be putting in to this awesome trip.
To be honest though: you can't go wrong with this - it is an awesome time. And with a bit of planning, you can have most of your costs covered by sponsors and fundraising. Good luck!
Dave.
1. How much do I need to budget?
On costs, the best recent post I have seen is from this team here. Well worth checking out, they kept a very complete log of all costs incurred.
http://catherineandalex.wordpress.com/
2. What kind of car should I use? (There will be a group of 4 of us, so I think a Suzuki Vitara or such like would suffice)
I originally drove in a Suzuki SJ 410. Awesome vehicle but unfortunately not a great donation once I got to Mongolia. A couple of tips: (1) think about the purpose of the trip, do you care about what happens to the vehicle, or do you just want a great ride? (2) The smaller the vehicle, the less comfortable you will be. After 10,000 miles in the vehicle, you kinda want to be more comfortable
3. Do you know the maximum cost per car?
Depends on the event: just have a think about what you want your vehicle to do once you're done with it.
We will be trying to raise 4000 GBP for the human rights charity Amnesty International, so I will be sure to post an update about that once I have registered.
That is great. You should also think about seeing what projects Amnesty or a similar charity do in Mongolia - if you are driving to Mongolia, one philosophical approach is that you can help the people of Mongolia with all the work you will be putting in to this awesome trip.
To be honest though: you can't go wrong with this - it is an awesome time. And with a bit of planning, you can have most of your costs covered by sponsors and fundraising. Good luck!
Dave.
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