Overland trip to Pyrenees
I have just purchased a swb 3.00 GES 463 and am preparing it for an off-roading trip to the Spanish/French Pyrenees. I have the following issues I need to address:
1.How do I ascertain how wide my alloys are.They are 16"but there is no marking on them to tell me the width.I'v done a search on the Russian website which indicates that my vehicle was originally fitted with 6 inch alloys.However I have no way of knowing whether these were changed.
2.I was intending fitting 235x85x16 BFG A/T's which seem a good compromise between road and off-road.What do you think-recommend.If the alloys are 6x16 then I assume that there will be no clearance issues. But what affect will the increase have on the accuracy of the speedometer. The current tyres are 205x75x16.
3.Do I need,and if so where can I source (a) diff guards
(b) tank guard
(c) any other underbody protection. Trailmaster seem to require the fitment of the above for their tours.
4.What spares do you recommend that I carry. We will be driving down via Dover / Calais which will take a couple of days each way and spending 14 driving in the Pyrenees.
5.Where can I source a suitable expedition roof rack. The second hand ones only seem to fit the Land Rover products. I was comtemplating modifying one of them as I can't justify spending a £1000 on a roof rack.Has anybody tried to alter a Land Rover one,if so with what success.
6.Where can I source a snorkel.
7.Where can I source a dog-guard as I intend removing the rear seat and don't wish the content of the boot to be joining me in the front.
8.Members recommendations and advise on prepartion for such a trip would be most welcome especially from someone that has already made this trip wether it relates to vehicle,personal.medical or any other aspect of preparation.
Most of what you need can be sourced from www.orc.de though I don't know of anyone who has found the need to put any further underbody protection on their G unless they are doing serious rock crawling. Due to the ladder frame most of the "precious" components are tucked up and well protected.
The snorkle can also be found at orc or from a Merc dealer.
One of the Defender racks fits but not sure from which model. I think twodogs might have the answer.
One thing I’ve noticed about these trips is that people get a little wound up about the amount of gear they need to take and the modifications they need to make.
IMHO fit the new tyres (sorry don’t know if those will fit your rim’s. the only possible issue being that the rim’s are quite narrow which may affect what you can fit. Try ABC4x4.com for info. on rim’s) then change the oil, give it a good check over, grease anything with a grease nipple, rip off the side steps and off you go.
Diff. guards? Don’t drive at rocks.
You are looking at £300 for a snorkel, unless you intend driving through water over the bonnet…..save your money and spend it on wine.
Dog guard. Try eBay, or get someone to fabricate s steel mesh arrangement. This is something worth sorting. You don’t want a spare alternator smacking on the back of the head at the first emergency stop. If not cargo nets?
Check out the HUBB.com for more info.
Standard 16" alloys were 6" wide. 235/85-16 will fit nicely. Error will be around 10% slow.
I wouldn't bother with underbody protection, snorkels or anything else like that. A second spare tyre and tube would be more useful. Compressor, second battery if you are camping.
Jerry can of juice.
Before you go spending a fortune tell the company that's leading you that its a G wagen and see if that changes their mind on a spares list to carry.
Really, front protection is in place and there is a rear tank guard already. Otherwise just a little caution and care. Thule make very strong roof bars so it might be possible to mount a frame to them.
Previous poster is right I think 6"x16" alloy as standard. Depending how intense the off road bits are 235/85x16 BFG MUD T/A might also be a consideration. Or a 245/75x16 A/T BFG. All these will last far longer than this year and next years trips so should be money well spent.
Regards,
Mike
Thule does make baskets for their racks. If you can get some from either their professional series or US range then they are more robust and not so cheesy looking.
I agree with the other posters: people tend to over-build for these trips. perfect case in point was a guy I knew who prepped his landcruiser so much the thing ended up being too heavy for normal greenlaning back home. Regarding the rack, it really depends how many of you are going; if there are only 2 of you, don't bother. Get roof bars and put a tent on it and use the rear bench to put your stuff on. If there are more (i.e. kids), then you'll be VERY wise to invest in a proper rack and get a ground tent. I'd have to strongly recommend the Patriot Roof Racks. They are by far the most superior rack on the market today and cost about the same as the 'top' south african makes (which are mostly made in China anyway these days: patriots are made in bedford). Unlike ALL of the South African/Chinese racks which are singular welded structures, the Patriot ones are modular (i.e. bolted together). If you should dent any part, just replace the section when you get back instead of binning the whole thing. Practically what it also means is that the Patriot one will flex a lot more with the roof, thereby - eventually - not leading to cracking along the weld seams of the roof. Get a decent set of tyres: BFGs either the TA or the MT can't be faulted. Other than that, just make sure you service the 'G' well and off you go......one last point. If you're going when it's hot, spend your hard-earned cash on a decent fridge....you'll never regret a cold beer after a long day! Have fun.
Tomo,
I agree with the other posters about 'over building'. We have done a quite a few offroad trips in our 'over built' Discovery and have never really needed the underbody protection (haven't hit anything so far :D ) or the snorkel. If you park your G next to a Defender and look underneath, you can see that the diffs on a G are actually less vulnerable the ones on the Defender.
Good tyres and a fridge are the essentials for a happy G :). If you replace your 205/75s with 235/85s, it will give you a 1.81" lift, which is better than fitting a suspension lift kit :). Mortinson has 235/85s on his G. See http://www.gwoa.co.uk/index.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=44182#44182
The one thing that is nice to have if you're doing a lot of long trips is an auxiliary fuel tank. This can add a good margin of safety and allow you to save a bit of money when you fill up at the right price.
I don't know if you seen any of Tom Sheppard's books but his mantra is 'keep the weight down'.
BTW. Don't forget to visit us in the Pyrenees...
All the best for your trip
Richard
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