Long Distance and Desert Conditions

[team:conquerthevoid]

Hey guys,

Come the summer my team mate and i shall be driving our SJ410 on a 10,000 mile charity rally from London to Mongolia. We're going to face some extreme conditions ranging from the desert heat to the freezing nights of mountain ranges. The long distance is also going to be a huge strange on the car.

Has anyone had experience with long distance driving or extreme conditions? What mechanical work would you recommend before leaving + also what is the most common part in an SJ that breaks which we aren't likely to be able to pick up on the road in Europe.

Thanks, any help is much appreciated.

Team: Conquer the Void

[zacspeed]

Although it's more bike orientated, The Hubb is a wealth of information for overlanders. There are a couple of section dedicated to 4x4 vehicles   :D

Do you have a website/blog we can see regarding your trip? What charity are you supporting?


Dave.

[team:conquerthevoid]

Hi Dave,

Thanks for the link through i'll have a good read of the website and see what information i can gain.

The rally we're taking part in is called the Mongol Rally and the official website can be found at http://mongolrally.theadventurists.com/.

Our personal website hasn't been fully updated yet (http://mongolrally08.theadventurists.com/conquerthevoid) but if you're on Facebook then you can find our group page on there http://ubrm.facebook.com/group.php?gid=10336542588.

The charities we're raising money for are Mercy Corps Mongolia and the Christina Noble Fund. Below is a quick extract from the sponsorship letters we've put together to explain to people about our charities.

We're looking for both corporate and individual sponsorship, but anyone that can help with mechanical advice or assistance will also be gratefully welcomed!
 
"The Christina Noble's Children Foundation (www.cncf.org/mongolia/aboutmongolia.asp) is an international foundation which is aimed to serve children in need of emergency and long-term medical care, nutritional rehabilitation, educational opportunities, vocational training, job placement and the protection of children at risk of economic and sexual exploitation. We are supporting their numerous projects with the Mongolian children, including The Sunshine Ger Village Project. This provides a shelter for street children and orphans who would otherwise be living in tunnels underneath the streets of Ulaanbaatar, begging and scavenging to survive.

Mercy Corps Mongolia (www.mercycorps.org/countries/mongolia) has one overall strategic goal – to support rural communities to mobilize resources to meet their economic and social needs, and thus, to provide a better quality of life for rural residents. The objectives are:

-To develop, diversify and strengthen rural businesses critical to Mongolia's agriculture sector, helping individuals, families and communities to become more self-sufficient , diversified in their production, and better linked to both value-added processors and local, regional and national markets.

-To enhance the ability of rural communities to make informed economic and social decisions and to act on those decisions; and to empower them to participate in public sector decision-making from the local to the national level."

[zacspeed]

Nice one!
I checked out your facebook site & you seem suitably mad enough to suceed on a trip like that  ;)

Hope you don't mind me quoting this from there:

Here's a few facts for you guys form the Mongol Rally in 2005. It highlights the situations we're heading for!

* 43 cars left London.
* 27 cars reached Mongolia.
* 14 cars reached the finish in Ulaanbaatar.
* 2 teams were robbed at knife point.
* 1 car snapped in half.
* 3 engines fell completely out of the cars.
* 1 team was held for 5 days in no-mans land.
* 1 team cycled 200km to get to the finish when their car gave in.
* 100's of tyres were blown.
* 1 team got engaged.
* 1 team found a 10ft deep pot hole.
* 1 team found a 25 tonne crane rolled by a pot hole.
* 3 teams attended weddings
* 1 team had to reverse up a mountain after losing all bar one forward gear
* 1 person spent 24 hours in a Kazakh jail charged with 5 crimes against the state.
* 1 person was stoned by a Mongolian nomad (who he then shot at with a gun).
* 1 team was rammed off the road after an argument over water melons.
* 1 person spent a day in a Turkish hospital.
* 3 people were banned from Turkmenistan for a year.
* As a result of an incident with a cow 1 person was detained by police in Azerbaijan and threatened with a beating from a dwarf.
* 2 cars flipped over in Mongolia.
* 3 teams were chased by armed bandits.
* 0 teams died

[Evilgoat]

From what I've broken on the vit and commen sense:

Filters, specially air, dust will clog it quickly and fuel consumption will go from high to insane. Take a good stock or maybe an oil bath filter.
Belts
Alternator, or at least regulator pack.
Ignition parts (coil, plugs, dizzy cap, rotor, hall sensor and a universal lead or two).
LOTS of fuses
Various sizes of hose (take lengths rather than made up ones)
Tyre Weld & Rad Weld
Few Lengths of Wire
Duck Tape (:) )
Cable Ties
Stock of odd nuts and bolts.
Maybe a Carb

Cant think of any engine parts I've eaten that would be classed as a roadside repair, same goes with drivetrain too I guess. New oils all through before you go, diffs, tcase and all. Maybe lube treatment, gear oil additive and slick50. Check coolant and the state of the rad too.

[Pep90]

for some preparation i would remove and replace all the bolts you are likely to need to remove once there.. propshafts etc.. theres nothing worse than spending an afternoon completing a ten minute job because something rounds/shears.. wouldnt like to think what it would be like in the desert doing the same!

[team:conquerthevoid]

Brilliant response guys, thakns for all the hints and tips Evil Goat. I did like the inclusion of Duck Tape in there. If it can't be fixed properly slap some duck tape on! I've actually suspended a human from the ceiling with duck tape but that's another story!

I definetly see your point Pep90 as the tempers will be frayed already in the desert so shearing bolts won't help the situation!

Does anyone know of a strategy to reduce sand intake? Some kind of mesh to cover the grill maybe, but would this effect air intake? Is it worth installing a snorkel to attempt to lift the air intake above nose level?

[team:conquerthevoid]

And by the way, my all time favorite fact about the rally (after the guys who reversed up a mountain because they lost all forward gears) is this one

- As a result of an incident with a cow 1 person was detained by police in Azerbaijan and threatened with a beating from a dwarf.

I'm so looking forward to finding a cow and seeing what you have to do to be beaten by a dwarf! Or not!