Our seven month shake down trip is complete
Distance: 7,453 miles / 11,994 km
Time: 223 days
Fuel Consumption: 13.2 mpg / 21.4 l/100km
Countries: UK / Spain / Morocco / Portugal
It was always our intention to have a shakedown trip before setting off on our African adventure. And we have learned a lot: about ourselves, about Big Bertha, and about overlanding.
On reflection, BB is too big from an ease of driving standpoint (parking, narrow roads, trees etc.) on the other hand, the internal space makes long term truck living a breeze. An overlanding tardis is would be ideal!
We have learnt that Big Bertha’s off-road capability is formidable – BB coped admirably with Morocco’s desert and mountain tracks.
We need more refrigeration though. Luckily we have space to add a chest fridge/freezer; which we will do when we arrive in Namibia. This will, of course, impact on battery usage.
Clothes washing is a chore. In Europe, the plentiful launderettes alleviate this inconvenience, but hand washing in Morocco was a pain and not very effective (lukewarm water etc.). We thought of a washing machine as being a luxury, but in hindsight, it would be further up the list of truck ‘must haves’.
Living together 24/7 in a confined space can be stressful, but on the whole, we have survived and we both want to continue our adventure. So Southern Africa – see you in August!!
Hi Dave, just a quick message to say happy birthday to you. Sounds like you’ve had a good time, although I’m not so sure about 13.2 mpg !!! I’m just in Montreal airport vat the moment about to fly home (another work trip) but hope you are both well. Really sorry about the lack of Comms again, my fault I’m afraid, although the girls seem to have you on Facebook .
Let me know if you are likely to get to the UK before the big trip and we’ll try to meet up.
All the best for now, Gerry
Thank Gerry. 13mpg sounds bad, but we are not doing huge mileage and it works out about 12 GBP/day. So not exorbitant.
Well done both! “We thought of washing machine as a luxury” is a slight clue as to who wrote the blog!!😎
Ha Ha. Yes Gary!
Hi you both! Well done on the first seven months. Glad to hear it all went well and that you have had a chance to iron out the issues.
The fuel consumption is not bad considering what I got from my Jeep.
I here what you’re saying with regards to the pros and cons of Berta’s size, but think you will be really happy with your decision once you hit the unpaved roads in Namibia. Trucks just do so much better and I won’t even mention the view from above compared to smaller vehicles.
Enjoy the time off and good luck with the prep for the next bit.
Thank you Thom. I was pleased with 13mpg – and the fuel is cheaper overseas compared to UK. We can’t wait to get to Africa, and as you say the truck will excel in the open space.
Have a look at the Ezywash and similar hand-cranked washing machines.
Thank you Reinhard …will do!
Well done you both 🎉 look forward to seeing you before your next adventure 😘
Thank you Ghislaine, next stop Africa in August…