Hello from Twickenham, SW London: MY24 Fieldmaster with full Trialmaster extras

[BruceClaassen]

Hello from a slightly damp SW London - I'm now the proud owner of an April 2024 Trialmaster (petrol) that I purchased a few weeks ago from Hollybrook in Northern Ireland. In addition to the usual Trialmaster specifications, it is fully loaded with all the Trialmaster extras plus winch (it's a low mileage ex-INEOS director's car) and I am now in the process of kitting it out with the bare essentials for an overland trip down to the Saraha in southern eastern Morocco in mid-late November, via a shakedown run through the French/Swiss/Italian alps in late June.

In the interim it'll be used as the family & dog carrier. It's already received lots of positive interest from the locals with numerous chats from passing people in recent weeks, helped no doubt by there being no others in the area that I've seen or been made aware of.

This replaces my outgoing Land Rover Discovery 4 / LR4, which has been a great car and seen many adventures, but I just don't trust it for a long distance north-africa trip where I'll be travelling both solo and with passengers but unsupported by any other vehicles.

All tips and suggestions welcome for overlanding setup. My aim is to travel as light as possible (2-man tent, trangia stove, 1 pair of hiking boots, etc) in order to keep weight down and avoid the clutter of unnecessary paraphernalia.

I've found the INEOS forum extremely valuable for research, tips & tricks, and will no doubt be posting a few questions and observations in the near term - thanks in advance to all helpers!

 

[Logsplitter]

I’m just touring around northern Spain, after a small stint in Portugal to try the Port wine this is after a tour of Morocco inc the Sahara and a stretch of old Paris Dakar route. Things are changing fast in Morocco since my last visit five years ago. More and more tar roads and many fuel stations with more under construction. You shouldn’t need to carry extra fuel if you plan carefully and fill up when you have the opportunity. There are plenty of camp sites and very cheap and good guest houses. Off grid / wild camping is possible in more remote regions but is discouraged because of a few bad eggs ruining it for everyone.
A compressor and deflation device is a must if you’re going to be driving off road especially in deep soft sand. Also helps if you air down on rough roads to aid the suspension. Some recovery boards and a spade would be useful if traveling alone.
Happy to help if you need any ideas or advice either through a private message or via this thread.
By the way my Grenadier is a petrol model.

 

[BruceClaassen]

I’m just touring around northern Spain, after a small stint in Portugal to try the Port wine this is after a tour of Morocco inc the Sahara and a stretch of old Paris Dakar route. Things are changing fast in Morocco since my last visit five years ago. More and more tar roads and many fuel stations with more under construction. You shouldn’t need to carry extra fuel if you plan carefully and fill up when you have the opportunity. There are plenty of camp sites and very cheap and good guest houses. Off grid / wild camping is possible in more remote regions but is discouraged because of a few bad eggs ruining it for everyone.
A compressor and deflation device is a must if you’re going to be driving off road especially in deep soft sand. Also helps if you air down on rough roads to aid the suspension. Some recovery boards and a spade would be useful if traveling alone.
Happy to help if you need any ideas or advice either through a private message or via this thread.
By the way my Grenadier is a petrol model.

Howdie, thanks for making contact and suggestions for Morocco! I am still in planning phase, but yes will definitely be carrying an air compressor, sand boards and a shovel.
I have been going through Chris Scott's book "Morocco Overland" version 4 and you are right, careful planning can provide good access to petrol. There are some great mapped routes, but I'm also researching routes that get off the roads and cross some of the more remote areas.
For me it's a case of carrying an extra 40 liters to give me the ability to stray a little further without any worries. As soon as it's consumed I'll decant the jerry's into the main fuel tank, reducing unnecessary roof load.
How easy was it to find water, both for drinking and washing?
I toured through the Spanish Pyrenees 2 years ago, criss-crossing the smuggler routes and farm trails - amazing scenery. A boot full of Portuguese and Spanish wines makes for enjoyable evenings!

 

[Logsplitter]

I took extra fuel but didn’t need to. Drinking water was more of an issue as we found the local water too salty for our tastes. Didn’t do many days off grid so our 3 x 20l plastic Jerry cans were enough.

 

[simonpa]

Hello from a slightly damp SW London - I'm now the proud owner of an April 2024 Trialmaster (petrol) that I purchased a few weeks ago from Hollybrook in Northern Ireland. In addition to the usual Trialmaster specifications, it is fully loaded with all the Trialmaster extras plus winch (it's a low mileage ex-INEOS director's car) and I am now in the process of kitting it out with the bare essentials for an overland trip down to the Saraha in southern eastern Morocco in mid-late November, via a shakedown run through the French/Swiss/Italian alps in late June.

In the interim it'll be used as the family & dog carrier. It's already received lots of positive interest from the locals with numerous chats from passing people in recent weeks, helped no doubt by there being no others in the area that I've seen or been made aware of.

This replaces my outgoing Land Rover Discovery 4 / LR4, which has been a great car and seen many adventures, but I just don't trust it for a long distance north-africa trip where I'll be travelling both solo and with passengers but unsupported by any other vehicles.

All tips and suggestions welcome for overlanding setup. My aim is to travel as light as possible (2-man tent, trangia stove, 1 pair of hiking boots, etc) in order to keep weight down and avoid the clutter of unnecessary paraphernalia.

I've found the INEOS forum extremely valuable for research, tips & tricks, and will no doubt be posting a few questions and observations in the near term - thanks in advance to all helpers!

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Nice views of Grenadier/dogs and Bushy Park - I know it well !