Resources for expedition prep

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Author Message   Jess Brandt (Disco285) Member Username: Disco285 Post Number: 144 Registered: 09-2002 Posted on Thursday, November 20, 2003 - 10:33 am:    just wanted to request some bed time reading, possibly videos or websites are welcomed... i am just attempting to prepare for an expedition... so any resources are extremely helpful... thanx guys!   R. N. Katz (Rangierog) New Member Username: Rangierog Post Number: 17 Registered: 09-2003 Posted on Thursday, November 20, 2003 - 11:58 am:    Jess, check out http://www.bordertoborder.com site. Good pepole, good info.   Geoff 93 RRC (Geoff) Member Username: Geoff Post Number: 150 Registered: 11-2002 Posted on Thursday, November 20, 2003 - 12:33 pm:    Try an Australian site. With 18 million people (80% on the coasts) on an island larger than the continental US they're used to it. From my experience its usually not the engine/trans/xfer case that leaves you stuck. Its the driveline/axles so extra tires, axles, all seals, extra fluids, and tools to change out the stuff are needed. They get beat up from terrain stress and water crossings. Obviously knowing how to diagnose and fix your vehicle is a major plus. Knowing how to drive it offroad is paramount to keeping the vehicle from getting damaged or stuck/unstuck. (You will get stuck). We used a '97 Disco to journey to lots of places and no modifications were necessary other than to create places to store everything. I suppose more purpose built offroad tires with stronger sidewall construction would have helped (eg BFG MT or GY MTR). A winch is nice but not necessary. More versatile is a hand operated jack such as the Hi-Lift and snatch blocks. One useful trick I found was that you can bury a tire to act as a winching point in areas with no natural alternatives. With the gasoline engine fuel is always a problem. You can burn a third of a tank just getting unstuck somewhere. There were expedition (larger) fuel tanks available in Australia when I lived there. I would definately consider it. With or without extra fuel, I would reserve about a third of the tank from your calculations or generally be very conservative.   Clif Ashley (Cta586) Senior Member Username: Cta586 Post Number: 384 Registered: 04-2002 Posted on Thursday, November 20, 2003 - 05:51 pm:    www.northbyrover.com Very well put together site, with lots of info. Documents vehicle prep, gear prep, and the trip itself.