In Response to the Congo Thread: A Technical Discussion

[dwh]

I think they did fine. "Run Whatcha Brung".

I can say that after reading their journal I'm definitely buying a Tirfor:

http://www.highgearsales.com/Tirfor21.html

That plus 100' of cable and a tree saver would get 'er done. Slow but sure, but still sure.

Wonder if it would work with a synthetic rope?

 

[tommudd]

Seems to me more and more are not enjoying getting out and exploring due to them thinking they must have ______________(add everything here) including the kitchen sink. And if someone else dare do it, shame on them.
When I started back in the early 70s, we went with what we had, if we got stuck we dug ourselves out, if we broke down, we somehow wired, tied parts together whatever to keep going, and we had FUN doing it.
Now some think if you don't have ten spares of everything you can't go to the 7-11 down the street.
Granted I haven't had the chance yet to do the long travels in Africa I plan to do, but even then I will not plan and load down with every little thing, to me it will take away part of the adventure and take away the fun.
Stopping and meeting the locals, eating with them, buying where they buy, sleeping where they sleep, that's part of the whole experience. It's also what I do now when I am in Tanzania.

 

[dwh]

And the answer the OP's question. I'm a freak. I would have brought a generator, air compressor, welder and about a half ton of tools.

And a hammock. Hammocks rock! (<- get it?)

 

[luangwablondes]

I've done several 6 months to a year long self drives in East and Southern Africa. All in series land rovers. Not mechanical at all. Had all kinds of problems in the bush with the landies-5 landies in all- as expected. But you deal with it. Not that I would do the Congo. I already did my time going to the Omo River in '96, down tracks and overgrown disappearing tracks around the rainy season, and not on maps.

I can relate quite well to the difficulties they had. No more self drives where the words mud, rain, flooded, wet, etc. are a recurring theme. I learned to plan my travels with the seasons.

Dealing with surly natives is not pleasant either. Like encountering Somali gun runners. No fun in that. Locals that expect $$ to take pictures - thank-you Turtle Safaris in California for screwing that up. I prefer memories like driving over a hill and you see a couple people in the track in the distance. You get closer and can see they are carrying rifles. Closer and you notice that the rifles are AK47 and looks like a black powder musket. Closer yet then one of my fellow travelers(she) exclaims "he's not wearing anything". Now we are at a crossroads. Definitely don't want to go back. Flooded rivers, hours getting unstuck from muddy situations, among other enticing experiences. So we go forward. We're practically on top of them before we realize they aren't looking at us. But at the baboons in the distance- direct competitors in their daily lives. Apparently this tribe had little interest in white travelers passing through.

You learn patience on these trips. How to adapt. That you don't need all that gear and equipment, everyone touts. I believe what often enhanced my trips were the experiences I had when encountering the locals, especially under arduous conditions. Having a vehicle that plain ran and never broke down would never have given me that. Driving in a bubble and never getting out to experience the places you are traveling through is a crime.

 

[RMP&O]

Personally, I was impressed with their attitude. They kept going forward. The vehicle had problems, there were some low points, and they dealt with it. I wonder how many others on this forum could handle the challenges. I've seen a lot of people chuck a trip over far less.

agree

 

[RMP&O]

You have to take into consideration how hostile people are on the area you are traveling.

I tend to over prepare sometimes for the simple reason that spending a night on some of the trails I go to could mean losing my vehicle and/or life (With no authorities to help me), if that means I have to buy a winch or run oversize drive-train to avoid being broke down in the wrong place at the wrong time I will do it, even if it makes that particular trip less adventurous.

For me the best prep possible is just to take a buddy in another car just like yours and carry some spares, its a policy that has worked for a long time.

Saludos from bandit over-run Mexico.

exactly....

I am going to add that if you go to one of the most dangerous countries in the world un-prepared because you want more travel time than a well prepared truck, well you are very irrisponsible to your own safety and the safety of those around you.

They obviously worked or sold stuff to afford to travel for years on end. So why can't a person work an extra month before going on a trip for more than a year? Especially if that means the person can be prepared with things such as a winch. Why can't they sit down and learn to rebuild their own diffs before going on the trip? Or for that matter learn as they go. You bring a manual on your truck, tools and you go for it. You WILL learn, what else you got to do with your time? It is not like they went off and did a bunch of fun things while their truck was being worked on. They sat around and rested and waited for the truck to be fixed. Why can't they have a complete tool kit and more? Because they choose not to have the skills and the tools. Ok fine but they spent most of their time digging themseleves out of being stuck or trying to find people to fix the truck because they went very unprepared.

The roads they drove look like a lot of fun in a mildy built 4wd with 35's, lockers, more bar work, skid plates and F&R winches. Oh wait that would have took another 6 months of work before they left! Um yeah so what, better to go prepared and have fun driving not digging! They were able to contact home with their technology but they couldn't use it to get the quality parts? Sure they could have had they gone prepared. Any parts they needed were an email or a phone call away delivered within days to the next big city.


There are many ways to go about a trip and ways to be prepared. The authors of the Congo thread went their way. I enjoy reading the story but I got to say most of the story revolves around negative experiences and negative things that happened. Much of that they put themselves in those positions and their attitude is not very positive. As with anything in life if you think negative your experience is negative.

I am sorry man but the examples of the Irish guys with a Rover are not to good of examples! It is a friggin' Rover for crying out loud!! :coffeedrink:

Just kidding, but still my point is those guys didn't seem to need a winch to much so they didn't maintain theirs. It broke, they left it broken. It is one thing to have the right gear to be prepared, it is another thing to know how to use that gear and properly maintain it. For some reason in my mind I think it is responsible overlanding, especially outside your country to go prepared. To know how to fix your own truck. To not only have the right tools and gear but know how to use it and maintain it. To not spend all your time digging with a shovel and being stand offish with the locals. For some reason in my mind that will make your chances of an enjoyable overland trip much more likely. But hey I must be out of my head to think such things!

 

[goodtimes]

Shame on them actually getting off their butts and going on a trip instead of toiling their lives away working so that they could afford to buy a 5-ton truck to carry all the spare parts and equipment that people are chiding them for not taking -- along with 10 others that are identically outfitted, 'just in case'.

Arm-chair quarterbacking cracks me up.

 

[bobDog]

exactly....

I am going to add that if you go to one of the most dangerous countries in the world un-prepared because you want more travel time than a well prepared truck, well you are very irrisponsible to your own safety and the safety of those around you.

They obviously worked or sold stuff to afford to travel for years on end. So why can't a person work an extra month before going on a trip for more than a year? Especially if that means the person can be prepared with things such as a winch. Why can't they sit down and learn to rebuild their own diffs before going on the trip? Or for that matter learn as they go. You bring a manual on your truck, tools and you go for it. You WILL learn, what else you got to do with your time? It is not like they went off and did a bunch of fun things while their truck was being worked on. They sat around and rested and waited for the truck to be fixed. Why can't they have a complete tool kit and more? Because they choose not to have the skills and the tools. Ok fine but they spent most of their time digging themseleves out of being stuck or trying to find people to fix the truck because they went very unprepared.

The roads they drove look like a lot of fun in a mildy built 4wd with 35's, lockers, more bar work, skid plates and F&R winches. Oh wait that would have took another 6 months of work before they left! Um yeah so what, better to go prepared and have fun driving not digging! They were able to contact home with their technology but they couldn't use it to get the quality parts? Sure they could have had they gone prepared. Any parts they needed were an email or a phone call away delivered within days to the next big city.


There are many ways to go about a trip and ways to be prepared. The authors of the Congo thread went their way. I enjoy reading the story but I got to say most of the story revolves around negative experiences and negative things that happened. Much of that they put themselves in those positions and their attitude is not very positive. As with anything in life if you think negative your experience is negative.

I am sorry man but the examples of the Irish guys with a Rover are not to good of examples! It is a friggin' Rover for crying out loud!! :coffeedrink:

Just kidding, but still my point is those guys didn't seem to need a winch to much so they didn't maintain theirs. It broke, they left it broken. It is one thing to have the right gear to be prepared, it is another thing to know how to use that gear and properly maintain it. For some reason in my mind I think it is responsible overlanding, especially outside your country to go prepared. To know how to fix your own truck. To not only have the right tools and gear but know how to use it and maintain it. To not spend all your time digging with a shovel and being stand offish with the locals. For some reason in my mind that will make your chances of an enjoyable overland trip much more likely. But hey I must be out of my head to think such things!

HEH......I totally agree w/ you. I didn't see much "fun",. almost seems like they need to go back to see the Congo. But still they were very tough and brave and all those things that everyone noticed too. They work well together. Hope they get to use those skills in a fun and appreciative way on another trip

 

[rezdiver]

Just because some do not see the fun does not mean fun was not had. some people do not consider running ultra marathons over 100km long through a desert fun while others find it amazing. climbing everest is not an idea of fun for most but go ask the people that actually did it.

I did an overland for over 34000km years ago and I had no idea how to fix a diff and never carried a winch and i had fun. when it broke i just dealt with it. I packed up a few bags, made sure i had my camping gear and fuel and oil and a few bucks in the bank grabbed my passport and just went for a drive south for over 6 months.

over planning is not necessary for some. this story was not about anyone here having fun, it was about them, period. sure things could have been better, but that is relative, better for you is not better for me, some thrive on adverse situations. knock on my door and ask me to go for a 50km hike in the mountains and i will put my shoes and jacket on and fill my water bottle and go, knock on your door and you will have all your survival kit food for a week and rifle packed on your back just in case.

a trip like this is not done for fun , its done for the adventure. an all inclusive vacation on a beach is fun.

 

[bobDog]

Just because some do not see the fun does not mean fun was not had. some people do not consider running ultra marathons over 100km long through a desert fun while others find it amazing. climbing everest is not an idea of fun for most but go ask the people that actually did it.

I did an overland for over 34000km years ago and I had no idea how to fix a diff and never carried a winch and i had fun. when it broke i just dealt with it. I packed up a few bags, made sure i had my camping gear and fuel and oil and a few bucks in the bank grabbed my passport and just went for a drive south for over 6 months.

over planning is not necessary for some. this story was not about anyone here having fun, it was about them, period. sure things could have been better, but that is relative, better for you is not better for me, some thrive on adverse situations. knock on my door and ask me to go for a 50km hike in the mountains and i will put my shoes and jacket on and fill my water bottle and go, knock on your door and you will have all your survival kit food for a week and rifle packed on your back just in case.

a trip like this is not done for fun , its done for the adventure. an all inclusive vacation on a beach is fun.

I'm getting tired of hearing that a winch, a few basic parts and permatex with a large piece of gasket material is over planning. And if I drove a vehicle that broken some bolts fairly often I would have a bag of those too not to mention a drill and easy out!
I've been off road since I was 13 and could afford a Moped (Sears Catalog) that I modded the hell out of and I never went anywhere w/o enough stuff to keep me from having to push it home.

 

[Tony LEE]

I guess we could solve this fairly easily.

We all write down a list of everything that has ever gone wrong with our vehicle, or what sort of terrain has ever stopped it, work out what parts and tools and equipment would be required to fix the problem, and then combine the lists to work out what gear must be carried on every trip.

Simple.

 

[Deleted member 9101]

How about someone buy them a heavy duty come-a-long for Christmas, some extra rope, a tree strap and everybody can shut up and quit bickering?

 

[Marcie's Disco]

How about someone buy them a heavy duty come-a-long for Christmas, some extra rope, a tree strap and everybody can shut up and quit bickering?

:iagree: x2 on the shut up and quit bickering

What is it that makes us think we know the "magic formula" for expedition worthy vehicle, equipment or preparation? The vast majority of us are sitting behind a keyboard and not out there traversing third world locations on unimproved roads. We should be using this forum for exchange of experiences and ideas but instead we spend our time critiquing folks like this who have (successfully) completed epic journeys.

IMHO, the use of ExPo as a resource is lost by needlessly criticizing others equipment and preparations and miscategorizing theory as experience. We have a bad habit here of creating our own reality. We propagate that there is only one way to skin a cat and criticize anyone who introduces an alternative method. Has anyone taken a look at some of the equipment used by successful intercontinental or RTW travelers? They run the gambit, Holdens, LC, Defender, Series, VW van, Man, Beetles, CJ-5, Tata, Chevy Blazer, Econoline, sedans etc. not all are even 4WD. Why are these folks considered ill prepared compared to me with a catalog worth of gadgets bolted to a theoretically "pinnacle" automobile sitting in a suburban driveway? Doesn't it seem odd that you can look at a random photo of a vehicle and know it's an "ExPo build"? A large part of this forum has become vehicles prepared in the same image and standard, most of the rigs on here look the same and carry the same fridge or chair or stove etc. etc. Does it mean they are built improperly, no. I am only reiterating that there are alternative ways to achieve an end and that theory takes you to the launch of the journey. Experience is where refinement is found. Don't be so quick to judge until you have walked a mile in an adventurer's shoes or driven 1500km through the same desert or jungle.

I attached a photo of a rig without a winch or fridge that belongs to someone who travels internationally solo. As I am sitting at a keyboard with no 2010 stamps in my passport, I can't convince myself that I have any grounds to criticize his proven methods or preparations.

 

[goodtimes]

a trip like this is not done for fun , its done for the adventure. an all inclusive vacation on a beach is fun.

Too many people are enamored with the *idea* of an adventure -- but far fewer actually want to find an adventure.

Those who are into "adventure travel" can be divided into two distinct groups: Those who set out on a journey seeking an adventure, and those who set out on an journey hoping they never find an adventure. It's pretty easy to figure out who is who, once something doesn't go according to plans . . .

And with that, I'm taking my stock truck out to explore some back roads for the weekend. I'm not taking a winch, a hi-lift jack, a tire repair kit, a sat-phone, a RTT, or any other fancy piece of gear. Hopefully I'll make it back. If not, everyone can sit around and talk about how I should have gone to work instead of enjoying life.

 

[Lajning]

In the Congo they suffered the first major truck breakdown on the entire trip. Would it have been worth the hazzle of bringing a bunch of spares all around the globe when they never really needed it? I think not. They had no reason to believe that the truck would fail, and when they did they found out a way to fix it. With the help of locals and "trustee's".

So stop the bloody pissing contest for crying out loud.