OLH Updates and corrections

p.14 ~ Budget
An excellent and detailed report here from Nick, breaking down the costs of a one-year trip across Africa. Such info are rarely published or often glossed over, but this is what it really costs, and why.

p.20 ~ Is it safe?
According to this handy FOC map, mostly yes. Note that black-listing a given country in dark red does not necessarily mean the entire country is written off.
(4/11)

p.21 ~ Second passports
Tim G writes:
"One other thing I happened to notice is on p21 regarding second, and dual national, passports.
I’m a dual national (UK and Ghana) and have always understood that the main issue with carrying both documents (aside from the risk of being disowned by both governments in a crisis!) is not that simply carrying them is illegal itself as suggested on that page, but that many countries do make it illegal to “use a second passport to attempt to deceive an immigration official”, or words to that effect. An accusation of deceit is not at all easy to counter if a hidden passport is found in a search or if you present it by mistake either at a checkpoint inside the country or on exit when it doesn’t have the entry stamps in it. You then risk being exhorted for a “fine” or, worse, having one passport confiscated and losing the visas in it. My solution has been to present both documents at entry, not keep one hidden, or instead to carry only one on any journey, chosen by reference to which countries I’m visiting.
I’m not sure which of your contributors advises on keeping one passport hidden, but I would not advocate doing this whether with a second British passport or with two different countries’ passports."

CS: I was refering primarily to a second passport and still think presenting both at immigration would not go down well at all in some countries. Very often immigration officials do not have a clear understanding of the laws in their own country and tend to be over zealous in the face of any anomaly.
(3/11)

p.52 ~ Buying a vehicle abroad
OLH contributor Silviu Stanescu from Venezuela offers the following suggestion:
In Venezuela there is a huge secondhand market for Land Cruisers (40, 60, 70, 80, 90 and 200 Series). You can find them in stock configuration or ready for overlanding with all the bells and whistles as we have a huge overlanding culture as well. All are exclusively petrol engines although a tourist can buy a Venezuelan car without problems. Interesting thing is that a carnet issued by the Venezuelan Touring and Automobile Club, costs about US$300, $150 of which is returned on completion and return of the carnet to them. No other fees are needed. So even though getting a petrol engine might be a little bit more expensiveonce out of Venezuela, if somebody (mainly US/Canadian overlanders) is traveling to a place where a carnet is a must (like Africa) and cannot afford to tie upthe necessary guarantee money, buying a truck in Venezuela might be an option.

Check this website for offers on used trucks. The current black market exchange is aprox 8.5Bs per 1US$ You will see there are tons and tons of offers on all series (only petrol engines).
40-Series
60-Series
70-Series SWB
70-Series LWB
80-Series or here
90-Series LWB
90-Series SWB Exclusive to the Colombian and Venezuelan market, it comes with a 2.7 liter engine, the same as the Hilux.
200-Series
(6/11)

p.101 ~ Land Cruiser FJs in the US
Chad D writes...
On page 101 you mention that the most likely FJ60 Land Cruiser available in the States would be automatic. This is not true. FJ60s in the States (built from 1981–1987) are by definition manuals (at least in the States) and are much more prevalent than FJ62s (built 1988-1990), which are automatics. The FJ60 came with the petrol 2F (carburetor) engine and the H42 4-speed manual transmission in the States and the FJ62 came with the petrol 3FE (fuel injected) and automatic transmission. Rust-free examples of these vehicles can still be found in the Pacific Northwest, California, and the Southwest, where they don't use salt on the roads in the winter. I currently have a rust-free FJ60 [which I fitted with a turbo diesel] 12H-T and H55 manual 2.32 split-case.
(5/11)

p.99-107 ~ Land Cruisers
Corrections from Julian V. at Overland Cruisers
p.99 - 90s and early 120s known as Colorado in the UK market and Prado in most of the rest of the world, not the other way around.
p.105, 1st para implies early 80 series engines problematic, apart from minor changes to the fuel pump the engine was unchanged from launch in 1990 through to Jan 1995 when the 24 valve came in.
p.105, 1st para - all 1HD-Ts were prone to big end bearing problems, not main bearing problems. Only fixed under warranty in Aus, not worldwide. If there is no history of them having been changed ... it is essential that it gets done, regardless of the mileage.
p.105, 2nd para - We had VX, GX and GS models in Europe and certainly in the UK they are all permanent 4wd with diff locks all round - it was only RoW where you got the 'poverty pack' version with selectable 4WD, freewheeling hubs, sub tank, etc as standard. It is also worth mentioning Japanese Domestic Models (JDM), similar to some found in middle east that are permanent 4wd, but with an LSD in the back and an open front diff.
p.106, 1st para - in 1995 the diesel was changed to the 24valve 168bhp 1HD-FT engine, considered by most as the best pre electronics LC diesel - it was based on the 1HD-T block and was updated in 1998 for the 100 series with electronic injection systems and an intercooler and was re-badged the 1HD-FTE.
p.106, final para - Only the petrol 100 series Amazons came with ATC and VSC.
p.107, 1st para - the Active Height Control system on 100 series is hydraulic, not air. It is worth noting that once replaced with uprated springs, torsion bars and dampers the 100 is an extremely capable overlanding vehicle.
(3/11)

p.104 and p.113 ~ 80-series and Lexus GX470
Silviu Stanescu writes: The photo caption under the 80-series Land Cruiser says that in the US the 80-series came with a V8 petrol engine. This is incorrect. In the US the 80s were in-line sixes: either the 3F carb or 3F-FE (FI ) until 1993, then 1FZ or 1FZ-FE (carb' or FI) up to 1997 when the 80-series was discontinued. The 80 never came with a V8 petrol anywhere, not even on the 'Lexus'.
p.113: The Lexus GX 470 is not a luxury 90-series Land Cruiser Prado. It is a luxury version of the 100-series Land Cruiser. The 90-series was never sold in the USA. Both the 100-series Land Cruiser and the Lexus GX 470 came out with the 2UZ-FE engine (in its petrol version) which is a V8 engine. The 90-series Land Cruiser Prado (4 door) came out with the 5VZ-FE engine (in its petrol version) which is a V6 engine.
(6/11)

p.118 ~ Land Rover ally origins
Like most, I have believed what now appears to be an urban myth that the first LRs were built in aluminium due to a wartime surplus for aircraft production. Not so. OLH reader David Andrews has pointed me to a new video from Teeafit which interviews the aged Arthur Goddard who was on the original team. As their website says: Arthur [Goddard] emphatically denied that — they were aluminium so that they wouldn't rust, and the metal was a new, special formula that had nothing to do with aircraft.

p.120 ~ Land Rover 200 or 300 Tdi engine?
As mentioned on the HUBB: "...the 200 has separate drive belts for water pump, alternator and power steering. The 300tdi has one belt that drives the lot. If any of your engine ancillaries throw a bearing and you don't have a spare, then you've lost the lot. This happened to my 200tdi alternator on returning from Libya. We just removed the belt and got on with it. the two guys with 300tdi's suddenly realised that they would have been in trouble had it happened on their cars! (3/11)

Steve P adds: Just a note on the LR 300tdi/200tdi comparisons (both in the book and on this site). The 200tdi "package" is somewhat simpler and more agricultural than the later 300tdi package (with rear disc brakes, for example).
My experience (one long tip up to Zambia and back) in a 200tdi was that the higher turbo mounting produces a LOT more heat to the passenger (left) side - to the point it's hard to keep your feet on the floor on a hot desert day.
The LT77 gearbox is nowhere near as nice to use as the R380.
Regarding the serpentine belt driving everything - it's simple enough to buy a shorter spare belt that bypasses the alternator (the most likely failure point) or even the PS pump as well. Belts are cheap and light. (5/11)

p.139 ~ Mercedes G-Wagen
Check this out.

p.162 ~ Mercedes Sprinter (pictured)
Here's a blog on an Iglhaut 4x4 Sprinter conversion currently on the road in Africa.
(5/11)

p.173 ~ Overloading
Good article on how easy it is to overload a vehicle.

p.190 ~ Recommended tyre brands
Chad D. observes that although a BF Goodrich AT was pictured on p.191, it was inadvertantly not listed among the recommended tyre brands for overlanding.
(5/11)

p.345 ~ UTM
Accomplished overlander Stephen Stewart of xor.org corrects the following:
... there is however one part that I think [is] wrong as published. The bit on UTM on page 345. As you say you can express latitude and longitude in degrees, minutes and seconds (i.e DD MM SS) and you can also use degrees and decimal minutes (i.e. DD MM.mmm). You should have gone on to say that you can also just use decimal degrees (i.e. DD.dddddd) and you can use +/- instead of North/South and West/East.
None of these however are UTM. They are just different ways of expressing the angular measurements of latitude and longitude.
UTM is indeed a coordinate system but is measured not in degrees but in linear distance within one (of around 60) zones. To use UTM the Zone has to be specified. In UTM notation Graceland seems to be Zone 15 Easting: 771552.3 Northing: 3882192.7
(4/11)

p.347-8 ~ Importing your own maps into Garmin
My pessimistic prediction was way out. Using Garmin's CustomMaps feature you can now scan a paper map or take any digital map, import it as a layer into Google Earth where you can stretch it into shape and so calibrate it. That done you export it as a kml and import it into Garmin's new BaseCamp software which replaces Map Source. You can then run that map off BaseCamp plugged into a GPS receiver to accurately display your position.
It's a good alternative to buying expensive proprietary maps, though much will depend on the chip power and memory of your GPS unit, and of course the quality of the maps you are importing.

p.428 ~ SPOT Trackers
Since I wrote the book I've had a chance to use a SPOT Tracker. See this discussion and my thoughts here.
(2/11)

p.429 ~ Satellite phones
Steve P adds: I know [it] was too late for your book [but] ...Immarsat's new Pro is "world" coverage compared to the old Africa/Asia-only. I've been using it since Christmas. Works in US, Canada, UK and SA so far, but more finicky about clear line of sight to sats than Iridium (Immarsat uses geostationary sats, so they are always over the equator and lower the further N/S you go).
I gave up my Iridium as I couldn't justify the ongoing use-it-or-lose-it costs. Immarsat has a more user-friendly pricing, and accepts standard sim cards for local use (although I'd recommend a throwaway "decoy" GSM instead).
(5/11)

p.582 ~ Sahara routes
For the latest on crossing the Sahara click this.
(5/11)

612 ~ AA of SA Cross Border Information new link:
http://www.aa.co.za/content/2202/cross-border-information/
(6/12)

p.616 ~ In Khartoum:
Abdulsalam - +249912304675
FarBest Auto - N15 34.446 E32 34.644
Loves overlanders, extremely well connected, will help anybody anywhere in Sudan for very little (not just repairs), good English, you can camp for free in his yard and sleep in his office with a fan at night. Very happy if 10 overlanders turned up each day, not for money, just for fun and friendship. [from roamingyak]
(6/12)

p.616 ~ Ethiopia, Gallabet border
See this for updated details with GPS of crossing from Ethiopia into Sudan at Gallabat.
(3/11)

p.617 ~ Omo Valley (Lake Turkana) route
Account from 2011 going north.

p.662 ~ Place to stay and shipping resources in Panama
Check out Panama Passage owned by Christian P whose long car is picture opposite p.368.
(4/11)

p.663 ~ Shipping around the Darien
For a good account of shipping a Land Cruiser from Cartagena to Panama City in 2010 click this. As of 2011 Aires Aero no longer flies to Panama, but there are other Colombian airlines that do.
(2/11)

p.707 ~ Hotel Benz
Arno W has a new Hotel Benz. Read more about it here

All updates and errors gladly received. Please contact the author

Copyright Chris Scott ©2011