In Response to the Congo Thread: A Technical Discussion

[vaulter09]

Since this seems like a more fitting location, can we have a decent discussion about a more appropriate way to outfit a vehicle for a serious overland journey?

From reading the original, it seems that no one has questioned their lack of preparation. I thought the general public of this forum was more technically minded than most others, but I am worried that too many people new to this will get the wrong idea. I personally do not think it is acceptable to go so unprepared for such a harsh environment.

SO, I would like to ask what would YOU consider to be the basic level of equipment and knowledge necessary for such a trip?

Myself, I see the lack of:
1. Vehicle Preparedness (winch, lockers)
3. Tools & Spare Parts (axle shafts, drivelines, etc.)
4. Basic Mechanical knowledge

I dare say if they had these, they would have cut out most of the drama and problems they ran into. Lockers and a winch would have eliminated the DAYS spent having locals push the rig up hills. Basic spare parts and some wrench turning ability would have eliminated the need for dependence on local mechanics and air-freighting in parts (anyone heard of welding a diff?)

 

[greentruck]

Wellll...

I think people have a variety of expeditions styles, expectations, and preparation.

Lots of things can defeat the ultimate realization of any expedition, but there are two basic factors, human and material. What the right balance of that is, depends. See previous paragraph.

In the case here, mechanical preparation might have helped, maybe not.

But there's no denying the human element. They were undefeatable, stubborn maybe to a fault in pushing down the road. In doing that, maybe they should have been better prepared. On the other hand, they chose the way they wanted to do it and after reading the whole thing, but not commenting previously, I think a good job was done in explaining why they did what they did.

They did it their way and, in doing so, plumbed the limits of their capacity to achieve their personal goals. I get the feeling that was less about testing their vehicle, than it was about testing their strength and values.

I see nothing to judge, but plenty to admire, although I'd do things different. We learn from our differences, not what we agree on.

 

[goodtimes]

In my opinion, too much time is spent trying to figure out what you (not directed at any individual) need in order to go, and too little time is spent actually going.

People were traveling around the world before lockers and winches existed.

Your preparedness, or lack there of, will certainly have a drastic effect on the trip you set out on -- but I think it is foolish to believe that if you don't have 3 of everything you could possibly ever need, then you shouldn't go.

 

[vaulter09]

I definitely agree with the spirit and adventure of the undertaking! Admire their willingness to get out there for sure. But there is a line between adventure and being irresponsible to the point of putting your life on the line. Heck, a guy died in an ORV park our here in WA on Monday night since he was alone.

I would like to see us as a community use this as a case study on preparedness and education. Again I ask Knowing what you do about the route they took, what measure of preparedness would YOU think is responsible

My opinion is that there is no need to build a Camel Trophy truck and have 5 everythings. However, 2 shafts and drivelines and some hardware would be the minimum amount of spares I would have before venturing into a third world environment. Also, lockers and a winch would be ABSOLUTELY necessarily.

 

[Shiryas]

I am with goodtimes on this.

I grew up in Saudi Arabia, my Parents worked for an oil company after leaving Detroit in the late 70's. Our first vehicle over there was a 2wd Suburban. It went all over most of Arabia including crossing the Rub-A-Khali 2x. It got stuck easily, but you learned to read the sand and be easy with the throttle. Basic tools and knowledge.

The vehicle was far from perfect, we just went and learned.

- You can not take a spare of everything.
- You can not plan for every unexpected situation, you have to adapt.

From the Vehicle Dependent guide (Paraphrased)
"First thing you do when something breaks is to get out the kettle and brew a cuppa tea. You are not going any where and you need to think about solutions rather than being hasty"

Helge Pedersen, Ten Years on Two Wheels
"Learn to trust the locals and have some faith in their 'backwoods' mechanical skills, they have been adapting a lot longer than you have'

Long Way Round - Managed to get their aluminum frame welded somewhere on the Steppes. (Should they have taken a spare frame?)

I think this was a heck of a trip by a very experienced couple who completed a journey with an oft heard motto "Improvise, Adapt, Overcome" and most important they WENT.

Chris

 

[Beowulf]

But there is a difference between being prepared and being lucky. Being able to find the mechanic, labor, tow truck...etc while in the bush is not always possible. I truly admire what they did and have the deepest respect for their upbeat attitude throughout the ordeal.

However, have we gotten to the point on this forum that we can objectively look at a situation and discuss how it could have been done differently.

As I said in a different thread if we are not supposed to look at a trip and discuss what we learned could be done better, then no one should study history to not repeat it. No one should study game footage to improve performance...etc.

I think all this discussion is not meant as an insult, but as a way for the collective masses to figure out how the next person to undertake such an amazing journey can have an even more amazing experience.

 

[haven]

"...the basic level of equipment and knowledge necessary for such a trip"

Just so we don't force everyone to read the 50+ pages of the thread describing Josephine and Frederik's drive across the Democratic Republic of the Congo, I'll take a stab at describing what "such a trip" refers to.

A young couple is making a circumnavigation of Africa. They arrive in the Democratic Republic of the Congo from Zambia. Maps show a vehicle track labeled National Route 1 running from their current location, Lubumbashi, northwest across the country to Kinshasa. The route is about 1200 kms in length.

Before departing from Lubumbashi, the couple gathers permits and information about potentially helpful contacts on the road ahead, and tries to learn as much as they can about the road conditions. No one tried to discourage them from taking the route they chose.

The couple are driving a Toyota 78 diesel camper with basic recovery equipment: Sand ladders, shovels, rope and straps. They had experience driving on roads in poor condition, and have prior experience extracting their vehicle from sand, mud and deep holes.

The vehicle is well used, having carried the couple across Asia and halfway around Africa. The vehicle shows no mechanical weakness before the trip begins. The couple pack enough food for 4 to 5 weeks, and enough water for a few days. They have spare fuel cans and two mounted spare tires.

The drive across National Route 1 went from difficult to extremely challenging. It became clear about halfway through the trip that no vehicles larger than a bicycle had traveled this route in years. The last 300 kms were extraordinarily difficult, and the vehicle suffered several mechanical breakdowns. At one point, the disabled vehicle had to be dragged by a group of local residents for several kms.

Through a combination of perseverance and hard work, and with an application of cash to purchase assistance and parts, the obstacles were overcome. After 39 days, the damaged vehicle limped into Kinshasa.

Any other details we should add?

 

[bobDog]

"...the basic level of equipment and knowledge necessary for such a trip"

Just so we don't force everyone to read the 50+ pages of the thread describing Josephine and Frederik's drive across the Democratic Republic of the Congo, I'll take a stab at describing what "such a trip" refers to.

A young couple is making a circumnavigation of Africa. They arrive in the Democratic Republic of the Congo from Zambia. Maps show a vehicle track labeled National Route 1 running from their current location, Lubumbashi, northwest across the country to Kinshasa. The route is about 1200 kms in length.

Before departing from Lubumbashi, the couple gathers permits and information about potentially helpful contacts on the road ahead, and tries to learn as much as they can about the road conditions. No one tried to discourage them from taking the route they chose.

The couple are driving a Toyota 78 diesel camper with basic recovery equipment: Sand ladders, shovels, rope and straps. They had experience driving on roads in poor condition, and have prior experience extracting their vehicle from sand, mud and deep holes.

The vehicle is well used, having carried the couple across Asia and halfway around Africa. The vehicle shows no mechanical weakness before the trip begins. The couple pack enough food for 4 to 5 weeks, and enough water for a few days. They have spare fuel cans and two mounted spare tires.

The drive across National Route 1 went from difficult to extremely challenging. It became clear about halfway through the trip that no vehicles larger than a bicycle had traveled this route in years. The last 300 kms were extraordinarily difficult, and the vehicle suffered several mechanical breakdowns. At one point, the disabled vehicle had to be dragged by a group of local residents for several kms.

Through a combination of perseverance and hard work, and with an application of cash to purchase assistance and parts, the obstacles were overcome. After 39 days, the damaged vehicle limped into Kinshasa.

Any other details we should add?

yes ... all the while they have a lack of understanding, bordering on distain and disrespect, for the locals. During this time they also seem to not really notice any beauty of the area or its people.

 

[Christian P.]

yes ... all the while they have a lack of understanding, bordering on distain and disrespect, for the locals. During this time they also seem to not really notice any beauty of the area or its people.

That is your own interpretation of the report and unnecessary pretty harsh statements, not knowning them personally.

I really hope that you join the presentation.

 

[1leglance]

I have stayed out of all this arm chair quarterbacking up till this point...
but now I have to say a few things:
1) I agree that it is good to learn from others, but only with due respect for those folks
2) Far too many people spend all their time and effort talking, and little if any doing
3) There is always a limit to payload & budget, if I have to chose between taking something I may or may not need vs more time and more food/water, well that is an easy choice.
4) They were never too far from some sort of help, I think you prepare depending on where you are Artic vs Amazon vs remote villages.
5) Lead by example, I challenge all of you who like to pick apart the efforts of others to get out there and show us how it is done.

I have huge respect for this couple not only for traveling so far, for so long but more for sharing this trip with us (even if some folks want to pick it apart).

 

[Christian P.]

I may not make any new friends but I will say it again - trying to be over-prepared is the reason why most people never leave their home and take on an actual Overland journey.
That's the reason why you spend the whole year working (to pay for that stuff), end up with 2 weeks vacation and in the best case go to Baja.

I am afraid that too many of you are looking at this and trying to get everything sorted beforehand. You have to realize that outside of South Africa there is not much in term of equipment.
After one year on the road criss-crossing Africa, everything you bring is probably broken or gone anyway. It's not like F&J could have stopped in Lumbabashi and get a winch there before starting to drive. There are no winch for sale in Zambia either. Even if they had a winch, would it have still been operational by then?

Yes there are a couple things they could have changed that would have made the trip easier. But it is not relevant.

I drove the entire length of Africa with no winch, no lockers, no spare parts and only basic tools. When the shocks blew in Ethiopia, we just drove slowly until we found a basic shop that had spares. Being able to make due with what is available locally is a better skill than bringing tons of material - especially in Africa.

We traveled with some Irish guys in an old beat up Defender and they broke down everyday - literally.

They had flat tires, transmission, starter, engine issues - you name it. Did we care?

These guys had a winch....guess what happened to it?

We had the best time ever and became lifetime friends.

I have seen a German guy in Jungle Junction spending over 10 days getting his stuff packed in his truck. Seriously. He had mountains of gear all over the place. He did not even have the time to chat with us as he was too busy trying to fit it all in his Troop Carrier.

Do you really need to carry two different types of shovel? There is not much snow in Africa.

You could apply the same principle to physical/mental preparations. If you start reading all the warnings from the US Department of Affairs, if you need to bring all kind of medications with you, if you need to have vaccinations for every disease known to man....well you won't go anywhere.

You have to remain a bit naive, a bit risky, a bit crazy if you want to experience a real adventure. You have to push the limits.

What would have happened if they had had a perfect truck with rear/front winch/sand ladder/pullpal/lockers/new tires?

They would have never broke down, never met people, never stopped anywhere, never ran across towns to find parts, never made contacts, never cried, never laughed, never lived.

They would not have written this trip report.

They would have just drove the trail and made it through in a few days.

How much fun is that?

 

[bobDog]

That is your own interpretation of the report and unnecessary pretty harsh statements, not knowning them personally.

I really hope that you join the presentation.

I only deduct these ideas from statements and the tone used in the report. This is the only way I know them and it would not surprise me to find that they are wonderful folks elsewhere.

 

[greentruck]

I would like to see us as a community use this as a case study on preparedness and education. Again I ask Knowing what you do about the route they took, what measure of preparedness would YOU think is responsible

I think that they explained the research they did. There wasn't much known, but they did what they could to pin down any good info.

Turns out there was next to none.

They set off on the route anyway in the spirit of adventure. After all, none of us know before we go someplace exactly what we're going to find -- or how extreme the circumstances might be beforehand. Sure, you can judge a range of the issues you might confront and do your best to prepare based on your own experience.

But if every explorer who every roamed prepared themselves for every eventuality, then the world would be a pretty dull and uninteresting place where we were all still divided by speculating what the folks round the hill are really like.

I think they faced some extremes beyond what they expected, but they were mentally prepared (most of the time, as I'm sure they will agree) and endured.

After all, it's the trip that counts, not necessarily bringing back the vehicle:coffeedrink:

Works for me.

 

[bobDog]

I may not make any new friends but I will say it again - trying to be over-prepared is the reason why most people never leave their home and take on an actual Overland journey.
That's the reason why you spend the whole year working (to pay for that stuff), end up with 2 weeks vacation and in the best case go to Baja.

I am afraid that too many of you are looking at this and trying to get everything sorted beforehand. You have to realize that outside of South Africa there is not much in term of equipment.
After one year on the road criss-crossing Africa, everything you bring is probably broken or gone anyway. It's not like F&J could have stopped in Lumbabashi and get a winch there before starting to drive. There are no winch for sale in Zambia either. Even if they had a winch, would it have still been operational by then?

Yes there are a couple things they could have changed that would have made the trip easier. But it is not relevant.

I drove the entire length of Africa with no winch, no lockers, no spare parts and only basic tools. When the shocks blew in Ethiopia, we just drove slowly until we found a basic shop that had spares. Being able to make due with what is available locally is a better skill than bringing tons of material - especially in Africa.

We traveled with some Irish guys in an old beat up Defender and they broke down everyday - literally.

They had flat tires, transmission, starter, engine issues - you name it. Did we care?

These guys had a winch....guess what happened to it?

We had the best time ever and became lifetime friends.

I have seen a German guy in Jungle Junction spending over 10 days getting his stuff packed in his truck. Seriously. He had mountains of gear all over the place. He did not even have the time to chat with us as he was too busy trying to fit it all in his Troop Carrier.

Do you really need to carry two different types of shovel? There is not much snow in Africa.

You could apply the same principle to physical/mental preparations. If you start reading all the warnings from the US Department of Affairs, if you need to bring all kind of medications with you, if you need to have vaccinations for every disease known to man....well you won't go anywhere.

You have to remain a bit naive, a bit risky, a bit crazy if you want to experience a real adventure. You have to push the limits.

What would have happened if they had had a perfect truck with rear/front winch/sand ladder/pullpal/lockers/new tires?

They would have never broke down, never met people, never stopped anywhere, never ran across towns to find parts, never made contacts, never cried, never laughed, never lived.

They would not have written this trip report.

They would have just drove the trail and made it through in a few days.

How much fun is that?

Looked at Jens site.....maybe he didn't need 2 shovels but my guess is he's been having a great time.
sometimes having a winch or part or extra stuff means you go further before stuff breaks and see more_enjoy more. Pain and suffering is only fun if you enjoy pain and suffering.

 

[BCHauler]

yes ... all the while they have a lack of understanding, bordering on distain and disrespect, for the locals. During this time they also seem to not really notice any beauty of the area or its people.

I have just this evening read their entire trip report from beginning to end. I did not for one second get this impression from their report.