Raymond, Nereide and of course the FFRR, well done on a superb trip.

I've been following your entire journey, I found myself checking your websites (photos and trip log) on a weekly basis, looking forward to the next exciting instalment. The Marsabit Road account had me thoroughly engrossed, and I was pleased when you got through to Nairobi to the Mount Kenya, a thoroughly deserved relaxation point.

Excellent, I may be calling on your expertise/ knowledge in the future, as I also dream of taking my family and car on a similar trip.

Pah! Thats nothing... I regularly take my FFRR through Stoke-On-Trent



No on a serious note awesome roadtrip dude!

a credit to all who took part and a big big thumbs up for giving the FFRR a big chance to prove its as good as the other choices for expedition , youve done the brand proud  onto no6 Range Rover

Everyone needs a hobby

Thanks for the enthusiastic response folks! I'm really pleased that lots of you enjoyed reading our blog en route, sure makes the effort of putting it all together worthwhile. I'm particularly proud of the Rangie - lots of people thought we were mad taking it through Africa but I felt it was up to the challenge - it sure proved that it was. Must say, though, that even I'm amazed at how trouble-free it was. The trip is pretty hard on a car - few cars make it down the 'Marsabit Road' in Kenya without something breaking for a start.

As for where next, one day I'd like to do the pan-American from Anchorage to Tierra del Fuego - that would be one hell of a trip. I also fancy a crack at the Paris - Peking. After seeing how it performed in Africa I don't think either journey would be an insurmountable challenge for a FFRR.

Just need to earn some more spending tokens first...

SAppie, many thanks for your kind words.

You are welcome to contact me anytime - as is anyone else - if you are thinking about doing a similar trip. We sure learnt a lot during the preparation and the journey itself, so I'd be happy to share this.

I see you have a TDV8 - nice - it would certainly make easier work of the high altitude mountain passes in Ethiopia than the good old Td6!

best
RRG

That's a long way, good to hear it performed faultlessly,more than can be said for mine
Just curious in Africa is it far easier to find diesel than petrol?

Nappler, petrol availability was very good in Syria, Jordan and Egypt (in fact I struggled to find diesel). From Sudan onwards it was much easier to find diesel but petrol could be found for sure.

But where I was wondering about diesel quality (water content, dirt, had it been cut with kerosene or parafin etc) with a petrol car you would be worried about octane rating. In Sudan and Ethiopia you would be looking at RON numbers around 80 or worse. With knock sensors the engine will run but power will be quite restricted. This would especially be an issue at high altitudes in Ethiopia.

Your other issue would be fuel consumption and safe range. I drove gently but with an all up weight of 3 tonnes plus dreadful roof rack aerodynamics I only averaged 21.7mpg. I carried 40 litres of spare diesel and on a couple of occasions needed it to get to a decent fuel station. In a petrol RR I could imagine this being 15-16mpg and you would probably need to carry a lot more spare fuel to be on the safe side.

On balance I think diesel is the better choice for this trip but I'm sure it could be done on petrol. Go for it!

Tom Sheppard's book "Vehicle Dependant Expedition Guide" it definately leaves you with the impression that Diesel is usually better.

Did you modify the engine air intake in any way?
(Did ask on the other thread, but we have two the same running)
Thanks.

It's something that I think would be a great experience but not something I would want to do myself, just wondering if petrol was used much in Africa, I think going for a diesel would be better for that kind of expedition anyway, no issues if it gets wet-well not as many, and doesn't matter how cheap fuel is, with a petrol you would have to stop more
I just remember watching Ewan McGregors Long Way Down they had issues finding fuel at times.

Sorry Fox, my fault, I felt I was justified in having the first post in the Africa section of this forum with this thread. I then forgot to check it for any questions... Doh!

For this trip the engine air intake was completely standard (as was virtually everything else on the car). I was advised to get a raised intake as the current position of the intake makes it heavily prone to pick up dust churned up from the front-offside wheel. However no one makes a raised intake kit for the L322 (unlike the Disco 3 or 4) - I guess the demand would be miniscule. I was unwilling to start butchering the car and go to the expense of making a bespoke system so instead resolved to change the air filter more frequently.

I've detailed the servicing I did to the Rangie in the "Range Rover: a Eulogy" section of the website but in all I changed it 3 times in 18,000 miles. The third time - after driving through bits of Namibia on some seriously dusty gravel roads - the filter was unbelievably full of dust and grit. I was shocked I'd let it get into that state but bizarrely engine performance / fuel consumption was not noticeably different.

With hindsight leaving the standard system in place was the correct decision for our trip routing. However if you planned to drive hundreds of kilometres day after day on gravel roads or in the sand then maybe a change in air intake position would be necessary OR a daily bash-out of the filter would be required with outright replacement every few days.

For running in very harsh environments, this seems to be a bit of a weakness in the L322 design, especially as there is not a raised intake option.

hope that helps

RRG

ps: I'll have a look at the other posts on the Africa section now!

elpeede wrote:

Pah! Thats nothing... I regularly take my FFRR through Stoke-On-Trent

Seriously, well done RRG. I am envious  Paul

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