Namibia & Botswana Trip

[ScottyJ]

Hi Scotty,

I agree on the airbags in the rear. I have got spacers up front the smaller size available from Stofpad and have airbags in the rear. The rear airbags gave aound 30mm lift and the front spacers around 40mm lift and is a great combination that will not break the bank.

You can fit 2 jerry cans in the 3rd row seats storage space which would be good for water storage as well, and will have some space for a recovery rope as well to pull out the Hilux when he gets stuck

For travelling consider a packing shelf to make you overlanding easier and if you have a fridge a slide and a plug point in the rear would be a good addition.

I have some plans here somewhere on the packing shelf I think under members mods if I recall correctly.

Have a great trip and enjoy pulling the Hilux out,

Cheers

David

Hey David

Thanks very much. I have removed the 3rd row of seats and plan on putting my spare parts and some of the recovery gear in there. Might try fit some extra water in there aswell.

The Spacer and Airbag combo sounds like a good plan. I'll definitely chat about that with the installer.

I was actually looking for shelving/packing DIY plans for the back. I will be putting in a dual battery setup with a 55Litre Fridge in the boot and will try make a packing/shelving setup to work around this. I'll go look for you post about the packing shelf.

I'll definitely send pics of the Hilux being pulled out.

[Davidvan]

Hi,

Here are the links, I saw I posted in on 4x4community:

Members mods

https://www.4x4community.co.za/forum/sh ... hp?t=18184

My packing system

https://www.4x4community.co.za/forum/sh ... hp?t=39499

I have a 45l Campmaster and for longer trips I pack my deep cycle between fridge and seats and strap down securely. These connect-its are pretty tough, have really loaded my badly and done some really bad terrain and still going strong

Cheers

D

[ScottyJ]

Thanks David.

I have requested a quote from Maizey for the material.

I'll let you know if I go ahead with the build with some pics.

[hogbeast]

please give feedback regarding the air helpers, it is on my list of mods

what are the camping costs in namibia. it seems the costs are higher than bots?

what is your experience

[ScottyJ]

Hi

We are paying R250 per person per night in the Olifantrus Campsite in Etosha.

I decided to not go for the airbag and spacer options on the suspension at the moment, will save up and go for a full suspension upgrade.

[Keithk]

Hi Scotty

I have a 2.8 Pajero SWB I use a rooftop tent remove my back seats and pack all my kit into ammo boxes, I found on my last trip I "bottomed out" once and I came back and fitted the "airbags" and it has made a huge difference:
Reduced the body roll considerabley
Increased the body height by appox. 20-30 mm
Since fitting them have not managed to "bottom out"
The vehicle feels alot more solid off road as well.

I was thinking of a total suspension upgrade but I was talked out of it not only because of the expense but my feeling is once you start "customising" invariably you find problems start to appear.
Just my thoughts BTW have a super trip I am planning a trip to Tanzania ?

[Tim S]

Hi,

I've just come back from Botswana. The place is extremely dry and its the rainy season now!! I had the full OME kit fitted to my Gen 3 but regretted it almost immediately as soon as you hit off-road, you need a kidney belt. How much you load your vehicle will also alter the ride though. In my Gen 4 I put in Van Zyl spacers only and this suits me much better. Air helpers is also a must still to be installed.

As for your planning, you must get the Botswana vet fence co-ordinates and be prepared for them. You may not take red meat into Botswana and you may not cross any of the vet fences (north - south) with red meat either. Pork is red meat in their books. Some places you lose your tomatoes and milk as well. What i did was to "locate" my meat in the void left by the back seat under the floor about 10km's from the fence. A helpful compartment when the seat is removed. Booze is very expensive there too so another commodity for the compartment....

Take Pulas with you before leaving as some places do not have functioning card machines/networks.

Good luck and enjoy.

[Roelf_le_Roux]

The officials at the Palmwag (Namibia) vet fence zoomed in on my "void left by the back seat" to look for contraband. That was during April 2015, I think that secret is slowly getting out.

[ScottyJ]

Thanks Tim. Were planing on buying all out meat in Bots anyway, so not to stressed about that.

Shot for the extra info on the shocks, good to know. I hope the rainy season doesn't hit while we are there.

[ScottyJ]

Dropped the car off at Rugged Africa on Saturday. Will pic her up this Saturday. So far I have been very happy with the service and pricing from Rugged Africa, I would definitely recommend them. Hopefully the installation goes well.