Democratic Republic of Congo: Lubumbashi to Kinshasa

[Caoboy]

I just want to say thank you for inspiring me to sign up for this forum officialy! This was a very interesting read. I would love to read more of your whole two year adventure! Maybe even just start a thread with links to each installment of this adventure?

 

[UK4X4]

Excellent report- proably better than i could have written it too, your feelings came out in the words you used.

Ignore the web travellers and their inane comments.

You looked for an aventure- and you found one !

Mission accomplished.


Your comments on aid and overpayment are seen and delt with in similar ways everywhere you see a traveler, nothing new or wrong in your behavoir.

I've done the same, and still do even here, in whats meant to be a relatively modern country.

Pricing by skin color is regular and rampant.

 

[stankfoot]

Excellent report. Thank You for taking your time to translate and share this with all of us. I commend you and Josephine for undertaking such a journey. I like the vast majority only dream of such trips.

Thank you for this report.

 

[Nick B]

Best read I've had in a long time . One thing I'd like to know and maybe you said it but I just missed it is what happened to the Land Cruiser ? Do you still have it ?

 

[valeriano]

Awesome report. :clapsmile
Some people are so captivating on there reports that you feel like you actually lived there experiences. Just like when you read a book and it makes you imagine the hole story in your head as you were there FOR REAL.
I might say this one really had me thinking about the environment in Congo and what would I do if I were in your place there.

 

[grahamfitter]

It takes a lot of guts to do what you did. It also takes a lot of guts to write about it so honestly in public. Well done!

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

It's been a real pleasure reading your "silly" trip report. I don't think that you have anything to apologize for nor were your explanations required. I hope to be back on the road soon and know that my next trip report will certainly be "silly" compared to yours. But you've got to admit it............. there's nothing better than traveling like you did............right ?:Wow1:

 

[greg.potter]

Thank you for sharing your journey - it has been very inspirational. Thank you for your blunt honesty, your observations and thought provoking perspectives.

 

[Rot Box]

What an incredible report--you are a talented writer and there were a few times I too was on the edge of my seat! Again thank you for taking the time to sharing it with us!

I would be VERY proud of that 70 series that's for sure!

 

[RMP&O]

I am a little confused....

Why pay these guys to fix your truck? Do you not have the basic tools and skills needed to fix the truck yourself? Every repair I have seen in this trip report can be done with a small tool kit. Some of the more major repairs like the broken hub bolts could be fixed easily with a small air powered drill plus easy out kit. So in saying that do you plan to carry more stuff in the future to handle minor and major repairs on your own without having to rely so heavily on the locals?

I mean from reading the trip report it doesn't sound like you even had some gasket maker like RVT or similar. So my big question(s) are.....if you do this trip again what would you do different in terms of perparing the truck? What would you bring that you didn't have in terms of tools and spare parts? Would you spend some time learning how to work on the truck yourself and how to do minor to major repairs?

 

[1leglance]

I can't repair the hubs or axles in my Sportsmobile, does that mean I can't go to Baja? Oh wait I do go to Baja and if I have a breakdown I get a local mechanic to help.

Oh and I don't carry spare brake pads, or spare axle shafts or any major component.

They didn't carry major bits either and made it all the way home safe & sound.
And that is the most important thing, they went, they survived and they are looking forward to traveling again.

As had been said before, it is far more important to just go than to spend so much time and money "preparing" that you never go.

Of course some people are into the tools, the repair skills and enjoy taking spare parts and doing field repairs. But not being into that thing doesn't mean you can't get out and see the world.

 

[Tony LEE]

Well, I'm not confused. In any trip we all have to make the best judgement on what spares to take and given the huge weight and volume constraints, and the fact that an obscure 2 cent O-ring can stop a vehicle just as surely as a diff, I think you managed perfectly well. You got to the end and just as importantly, your vehicle got there too and anyway, the total of the repairs wasn't a whole lot more than westerners have to pay for a grease and oil change.

Thanks for sharing it.

 

[RMP&O]

I can't repair the hubs or axles in my Sportsmobile, does that mean I can't go to Baja? Oh wait I do go to Baja and if I have a breakdown I get a local mechanic to help.

Why can't you repair them? Hubs are about as easy to fix as changing spark plugs. Many people on this forum are highly educated and intelligent people, fixing something is not much harder than putting together a lego set. Go to Baja all you like and have the locals fix your truck. What did I say to make you defensive? I didn't have onboard welding in Baja last time I was there and had to have a local do it 2x. Next time I go sure would be nice to have an onboard welder, especially if my truck broke a long ways out from a local welder. Will it stop me from going to Baja if I don't have an onboard welder? Of course not.

Oh and I don't carry spare brake pads, or spare axle shafts or any major component.

They didn't carry major bits either and made it all the way home safe & sound.
And that is the most important thing, they went, they survived and they are looking forward to traveling again.

As had been said before, it is far more important to just go than to spend so much time and money "preparing" that you never go.

Yup and agreed. So why is it so taboo to talk about more than just going? How am I tainting this trip report with questions on the truck, their wrenching skills, tools and spare parts? Why is anything in a thread like this that is not praise considered disrespectful and should not be posted? I don't get that....at all.

Yup, they went and made it and have told a great story. I/we can't sit in a pub and have that beer with them and BS or discuss these things. So the forum is the only option. Oh and if you asked, I always say just go to people, my own trip report to Latin America has examples of that. Yet, what is wrong with talking about the rest of it too?

Of course some people are into the tools, the repair skills and enjoy taking spare parts and doing field repairs. But not being into that thing doesn't mean you can't get out and see the world.

True enough but if wanting to do a trip through the Congo knowing what are good spares to have, the right tools and all this kind of info is rather important. It could be the difference of having a lot of problems along the way or not. Why would a person not want to give advise, insight or suggestions on how a trip could be done for lack of a better word easier than how you did it? How is that in any way not constructive to the trip report?

 

[Tucson T4R]

I am a little confused....

Why pay these guys to fix your truck? Do you not have the basic tools and skills needed to fix the truck yourself? Every repair I have seen in this trip report can be done with a small tool kit. Some of the more major repairs like the broken hub bolts could be fixed easily with a small air powered drill plus easy out kit. So in saying that do you plan to carry more stuff in the future to handle minor and major repairs on your own without having to rely so heavily on the locals?

I mean from reading the trip report it doesn't sound like you even had some gasket maker like RVT or similar. So my big question(s) are.....if you do this trip again what would you do different in terms of perparing the truck? What would you bring that you didn't have in terms of tools and spare parts? Would you spend some time learning how to work on the truck yourself and how to do minor to major repairs?

Go back to sleep.:bigbossHL:

Your "big question" comes off like a judgmental mechanic assuming that everyone else should have your level of mechanical ability and all the tools and equipment to solve every problem.

I do everything I can to keep my vehicle in top shape before my trips but I have no intention to rebuild my differentials out the trail.

I have taught my son how to pull and rebuild an engine in our garage.

Do I want to be prepared enough to do that on the trail? No way.

How about just accept that these folks were as prepared as they could be based on the resources that were available to them at the time. Then when they had challenges they figured out how to solve the problem with local resources and even wired $ from home if that's what it took.

This post trip arm chair quarterbacking on this amazing trip is driving me crazy. Let it go. If you think you can prepare better then do so and go drive the same route and tell us how well you did with no local support.

 

[1leglance]

RMP,
it was the tone of your questions...
it was evident by the fact that they didn't have the parts or tools that they didn't not have the skills or parts.

They were on the road for 1.5 yrs, even a tube of gasket sealer is tough to keep track of for that long. Or find a replacement of in many countries. Besides the mechanics had some sort of gasket sealer and it didn't work, so they would have needed real gaskets taking up more space, and which gaskets do you take...all of them?

In a public setting most folks would say something like "in the future will you take more tools and spare parts?" or " did you have any other mechanical issues out of the entire trip that would make you consider taking more tools & spare parts?"......since we have not heard about the entire trip this might be the only failure they had out of all that time.