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JOW240725



Member Since: 04 May 2015
Location: Suffolk
Posts: 7866

United Kingdom 2012 Defender 110 Puma 2.2 XS CSW Orkney Grey
Thanks for starting the write up Thumbs Up

Just a lovely purposeful 90, looks awesome! I always thought mud terrains weren't good in sand, obviously not the case? James
MY2012 110 2.2TDCi XS SW Orkney Grey - http://www.defender2.net/forum/topic43410.html
MY1990 110 200TDi SW beautifully faded Portofino Red - https://www.defender2.net/forum/post743641.html#743641
MY1984 90 V8 Slate Grey - https://www.defender2.net/forum/post744557.html#744557
Instagram @suffolk_rovers
Post #608758 11th Mar 2017 9:36pm
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Arierep



Member Since: 12 Apr 2013
Location: Portugal
Posts: 258

Portugal 1995 Defender 90 300 Tdi SW Alpine White
I think tyre size and pressure are much more important than AT vs MT.

Don't forget there were tons of Dakar participants along the years using the BFG MT. Even the Peugeot 3008DKR is running some race spec BFGs which say "AT" but have a mudish thread.

It should be noted that many of the locals simply run any bald 7.5R16 they can get (tubed) and go through the hardest places.

Sizewise you want tall and skinny, 85 or 100 aspect ratio. Me and some other guys were running 255/85R16, I believe it's by far the best size around, excluding the expensive and hard to get 8.25R16 or 9.00R16 (255/100R16).

In terms of pressures, you loose too much time if you try to adjust it to be perfect every single time. I used 3 pressure setups depending on the terrain of the day:

35PSI all around - road days

25PSI R 20PSI F - general piste offroad. Would keep it on the road if the distance was under 100km. Could also drive a lot of sand this way, due to the tyre size and the relative lightness of the Defender. Would run a bit higher pressure to protect the sidewalls if I had better suspension

14PSI R 12PSI F - for the sand days. Not bragging (OK, I am) but I was only one of the very, very few, like 3 or so, who never got stuck
Post #608819 12th Mar 2017 9:12am
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JOW240725



Member Since: 04 May 2015
Location: Suffolk
Posts: 7866

United Kingdom 2012 Defender 110 Puma 2.2 XS CSW Orkney Grey
That's interesting thanks Jose Thumbs Up James
MY2012 110 2.2TDCi XS SW Orkney Grey - http://www.defender2.net/forum/topic43410.html
MY1990 110 200TDi SW beautifully faded Portofino Red - https://www.defender2.net/forum/post743641.html#743641
MY1984 90 V8 Slate Grey - https://www.defender2.net/forum/post744557.html#744557
Instagram @suffolk_rovers
Post #609105 13th Mar 2017 9:43am
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Arierep



Member Since: 12 Apr 2013
Location: Portugal
Posts: 258

Portugal 1995 Defender 90 300 Tdi SW Alpine White
DAY2 - Beja(PT) - Asilah (MA)

It as time to head to the ferry crossing to Morocco.
It was drive through southern Spain B roads. Kind of boring but I've never passed there outside the motorway before, so it was different in that regard.


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Into Tarifa

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We there had a bit of a wait for the ferry with the rest of the group

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There was it

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Front the outside you have a very hard time believing all the cars fit inside, but hey, they do.
The Gibraltar crossing was spent standing at the line to get a passport stamp.
Then a long, long, long, long wait at the Moroccan aduana waiting for our visas.

And finally, Africa!
It was night and we were crossing Tanger, leaving the city to sleep at the hotel in Asilah. This was our first contact with Morocan traffic. Chaotic, intense, a thrill. Some guys hated it, but we had fun with it
Post #609253 13th Mar 2017 10:46pm
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L110CDL



Member Since: 31 Oct 2015
Location: Devon
Posts: 10427

England 
Great pic's and the scenery was very nice, many thanks Jose Thumbs Up 1996 Golf Blue 300Tdi 110 Pick up. Keeper.


Clayton.
Post #609933 16th Mar 2017 8:49pm
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Arierep



Member Since: 12 Apr 2013
Location: Portugal
Posts: 258

Portugal 1995 Defender 90 300 Tdi SW Alpine White
Hi again,

Now we have..........

Day 3 Azilah - Er-Rachidia


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The last day of our "age of innocence".....

Good morning Azilah!


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We are not in Europe anymore


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We had about 630km of Morocan B roads to reach our first camp near Er-Rachidia

Filling up with cheap diesel


Countless kms of crop fields


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And many small cities in between. Most of them quite decrepit by our standards, not much industry in this area of Morocco (in contrast with the west of the country)



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Batman was never the same after Christopher Nolan left the franchise


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There were 3 guy in this weird 4x4 having trouble to keep up with the group. Their car didn't liked to be over 90km. They ended up being our companions for most of the trip.

Turns out their car was a Portaro, a Portuguese made 4x4 from the 70's, 80's and early 90's


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They were a Portuguese reengineered Aro (Romanian brand) with Daihatsu engine and gearbox.
Pretty interesting car, specially for the time it was made. Wide, and an early adopter of IFS, with very long triangles.

Their unit was mostly stock, except a snorkel, rollcage, winch, long range tank. Everything very DIY. Their project was to get the first Portaro to Dakar since the oficial brand participation on the rally in the 80s. Joining their adventure was great fun and brought a sense of mission to our trip.

The mighty Portaro following us


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"I'm gonna kick yo in the @ss when you break down"



Starting to gain elevation as we approached the Atlas


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First signs of snow


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Then there were a bunch of monkeys. Fat, lazy monkeys


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Remember the "when you break down" part? Well, there it was, right in the middle of the monkeys. The auxiliary fan was stuck, rubbing the rad and the Portaro overheated.


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I was afraid the car could roll over into the berm


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Turns out the fan needed a spacer. Turns out, when I installed the Mantec steering guard there was a spare M12 (or was it M10?) washer that I threw into the toolbox randomly. Turns out the washer was the perfect spacer. Just like that, we're in the road again.

A couple km later we arrived to Antartida


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Bringing Chuck Norrisesque manliness to Morocco


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Just like the car


And photobombing, lots of photobombing


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Wasn't exactly anticipating driving through 10s of kms of this in Morocco


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We then started to descend from the Atlas and night fell. After hours of crazy driving in complete darkness we arrived to our first camp.

End of stage 3

Admin note: this post has had its images recovered from a money grabbing photo hosting site and reinstated Mr. Green


Last edited by Arierep on 5th Jan 2019 10:23am. Edited 2 times in total
Post #609972 16th Mar 2017 11:41pm
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L110CDL



Member Since: 31 Oct 2015
Location: Devon
Posts: 10427

England 
Many thanks Thumbs Up 1996 Golf Blue 300Tdi 110 Pick up. Keeper.


Clayton.
Post #610409 18th Mar 2017 8:21pm
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JAY BOY



Member Since: 04 May 2010
Location: Not here
Posts: 1706

Wales 
Looks a great trip. I'm enjoying your thread, Very good and thanks Thumbs Up
I wish you luck on your trip
Post #610413 18th Mar 2017 8:43pm
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JOW240725



Member Since: 04 May 2015
Location: Suffolk
Posts: 7866

United Kingdom 2012 Defender 110 Puma 2.2 XS CSW Orkney Grey
Great reading and photos, thank you Thumbs Up

Wasn't expecting to see snow! Shocked

How did the Puma's (if any?) fair? James
MY2012 110 2.2TDCi XS SW Orkney Grey - http://www.defender2.net/forum/topic43410.html
MY1990 110 200TDi SW beautifully faded Portofino Red - https://www.defender2.net/forum/post743641.html#743641
MY1984 90 V8 Slate Grey - https://www.defender2.net/forum/post744557.html#744557
Instagram @suffolk_rovers
Post #610445 18th Mar 2017 10:20pm
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Arierep



Member Since: 12 Apr 2013
Location: Portugal
Posts: 258

Portugal 1995 Defender 90 300 Tdi SW Alpine White
There was an Italian guy (very good driver) on a 90 Puma with basic preparation. He had no problems except for the HD steering rods which came loose at least once.

However, personally, I wouldn't take a post 300tdi Defender on this trip. Too much luck involved. You can get 300tdi parts everywhere. Two TD5 110s had electronic problems, one turned around in Dakla, the other made it to the end with a Nanocom connection.
Post #610473 19th Mar 2017 2:15am
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Outlaw1



Member Since: 11 Aug 2016
Location: east sussex
Posts: 266

England 2010 Defender 110 Puma 2.4 USW Santorini Black
Hi Jose . Excellent trip and thanks for sharing .
Was there any problems with RHD vehicles getting a visa to get in to Senegal ,especially re-entering from bissau as i understood you can only get transit visa if the vehicle is older than 8 years Thumbs Up
Post #610497 19th Mar 2017 8:37am
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Arierep



Member Since: 12 Apr 2013
Location: Portugal
Posts: 258

Portugal 1995 Defender 90 300 Tdi SW Alpine White
Hi Outlaw1,

The route you see on their website with the Guiné leg will be for 2017/2018, this year it ended in Dakar so there was no re-entering.

We had no RHD vehicles in the group, so can't comment on that.
There are severe restrictions on vehicle age to enter Senegal. In typical Africa fashion, I was told that if you are solo the restriction can range from complete prohibition to a hefty tax.

As a group we had our local guy who negotiated in advance our border crossing and managed for us to pay only something like 30 or 50 EUR for the older cars. We crossed at Diama and avoided the Rosso mess, but as I understand Diama is not always open. Mind that once in Senegal you'll need vehicle insurance, available in pharmacies, etc and cheap
Post #610513 19th Mar 2017 10:05am
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Arierep



Member Since: 12 Apr 2013
Location: Portugal
Posts: 258

Portugal 1995 Defender 90 300 Tdi SW Alpine White
Hi all,

Sorry for the loooooooooooooooooooooooonnnnnnngg delay.
Absolutely zero time lately to sort the pics, etc.
Anyway, here it goes

Day 4 Er-Rachidia - Mhamid (30-12-2016)

Night from day 3 to 4 was really cold. -4� cold.

Living the Portuguese dream. Notice the red wine, Barcelos rooster towel and general excess of cutlery

Everything was frozen in the morning

The plan was a 500km day, 90% or so offroad.

We started by crossing a 25km oasis. Incredible views in the morning

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Villages are leaving the decrepitude behind and turning into a quite pretty traditional style

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Looking like we were going to invade some country

YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Really feeling into the desert now

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First stop of the day

Guys keep pooping up everywhere in Motobecane Mobylettes and the like. They absolutely rock them on the dunes, experience and lightweight bikes do that. I learned to ride in one of those at 12. Without the turban

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Broness.........YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

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We kept driving along the dunes, amazing views

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King of the hill

Can you spell butt sag?

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"Want to buy some stuff? Like 100kg of cr@p of the 1500 we have in the back?"

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The tracks kept getting more sandy.
We had our lunch stop at an absolutely stunning scenery, among large rock formations and what looked like an abandoned fortification. The images just don't make it justice

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The panoramic view was something else

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Yes, that's a VW Syncro

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The sand was getting harder

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We then started our towing service business. Crazy profits, that's where it's at

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Then things started to go south.
The Portaro lost 4wd in the sand. We had to spend hours opening the transferbox, only to find the selector fork was overriding it's socked. That problem followed them until the end of their trip.

We got it moving with lot's of peanuts and Jack Daniels.
It's was then a race to the end of the stage, trying not to arrive well into the night.

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Driving at night in the desert with crappy lights is not the best of experiences

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It was a crazy night from then on.
Being very close to the Algerian border meant we had to cross some military checkpoints.

Then the VW Syncro engine died with kms and kms of very narrow, step and rocky tracks to go.

Then several hours later the Toyota towing the VW (which was way behind us) told us by the VHF that it was running out of fuel.

Then we turned around to get them fuel.

Then they found they still had fuel.

Then we arrived to camp at 23h30, completely burn out, still having to cook, mount camp and check up the White Camel.

End of day 4


Last edited by Arierep on 5th Jan 2019 10:29am. Edited 5 times in total
Post #626689 24th May 2017 8:05pm
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Blanc



Member Since: 14 Jul 2016
Location: Suffolk
Posts: 43

Many thanks for sharing your adventure.

David
Post #626700 24th May 2017 9:23pm
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L110CDL



Member Since: 31 Oct 2015
Location: Devon
Posts: 10427

England 
Many many thanks for the time to post the info Thumbs Up Thumbs Up 1996 Golf Blue 300Tdi 110 Pick up. Keeper.


Clayton.
Post #626702 24th May 2017 9:33pm
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