A few people have been asking us about our preparations for the trip. So for the next couple of weeks, we’ll be detailing our prep in a number of themed posts (car, administration, health, budget…)
Today: The Car!
When we first set about looking for our mode of transportation, we quickly realised our own car would be ideal for the trip we had in mind. It gives you the most freedom, is reasonable in cost (compared to flying everywhere) and even gives you a roof over your head if the need would ever arise. The idea is to buy a car now, then resell it once we come back, further lowering our transportation cost.
A few of the criteria that were important to us while choosing a car:
– Large enough to sleep in (well, Wafa anyway),
– 4×4,
– Dependable (= Japanese),
– Easy to find extra parts.
In the end, we ended up scouting second-hand websites for RAV4’s (Toyota), Grand Vitaras (Suzuki) and others.
After a couple of weeks, we found our match! A 2001 Suzuki Grand Vitara, with 141000 km on the counter. Meet Suzy:
(Also take your time to admire that beautiful asscrack.)
To prepare the car for the trip, we’ve already done a number of things:
- Built a wooden platform in the back of the car: on top of this, we’ll put our mattress.
- Car maintenance: so far we’ve changed the oil, oil filter and the fuel filter. Still to go: brake pads. Note: we didn’t do this ourselves, so many thanks to Tom’s brother, Pieter!
- Changed the car radio (to include AUX, USB, Bluetooth…)
We’re also taking a few things with us on the road:
- extra oil, light bulbs, air filter, spare tire, a jack, starter cables, traction rope, duct tape, cable ties (‘colson strips’), tools…
We’ll make sure to post another picture of Suzy once she’s fully loaded!
PS: Suzy was not my first choice. I was thinking of something more intimidating and awe-inspiring. But hey, that’s living with a woman: you win some, you lose… always?