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Comment by grecy | Hacker News Reader

I did something similar.

I wanted a vehicle I could explore the world with, so I turned my Jeep into a house on wheels with fridge, drinking water and filtration, solar and dual batteries, interior cabinets and a custom modified pop-up roof so I can stand up and walk around in the Jeep.

I joked about applying for a home owners grant :)

The full pictures and story are in this album - http://imgur.com/a/OLK3o

I'm driving it around Africa now.

EDIT: I'm a Software Engineer too, and I decided there is more to life than sitting at a desk - a few years back I drove Alaska->Argentina, now it's around Africa for 2 years.

EDIT2: I've hit my posting limit.

Yes, I'm still alive!

Follow along if you want to see if I stay that way!

Facebook: https://facebook.com/theroadchoseme

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theroadchoseme

Twitter: https://twitter.com/dangrec

YouTube: http://youtube.com/c/theroadchoseme

And my website: http://theroadchoseme.com

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Oh man, I remember reading your reddit post, and pooh-poohing your idea as stupid and irresponsible.

I reckoned a Jeep was about the worst possible vehicle for the job, that you would break down and be stuck because nobody drives Jeeps in Africa. I still believe a Landcruiser, Land Rover Defender, or a G-Wagen would've been a better choice in terms of parts and repairs, but it seems the Jeep has held up fine.

I'm actually quite happy to have been proven wrong. Congratulations on a safe and fun trip!

I agreed. For central america at least, Land Cruisers (or anything Toyota) are your best bet.

> I still believe a Landcruiser, Land Rover Defender, or a G-Wagen would've been a better choice in terms of parts and repairs

Of course the landcruiser would have been. It also would have cost twice as much, and I couldn't get a diesel one in Canada.

Registering and insuring a vehicle in a country you don't live in is near impossible, and then renewing it while on the road is even closer to impossible. It's not something I wanted to deal with.

I find it strange the conventional wisdom is to drive a 25+ year old vehicle with 300,000+ miles instead of a near-near vehicle with <80,000 miles.

My last Jeep didn't have a single mechanical issue in 40k miles from Alaska to Argentina, and of all the overlanders I have ever heard of (a lot) I have never heard of a single landcruiser or defender doing that.

It's all about choice, and variety. If we all did the same thing, life would be pretty boring, wouldn't it!

A new landcruiser would probably cost twice as much, but a 10 to 20 year old won't break the bank. It actually makes sense buying an older vehicle because they're much simpler, mechanically.

Will the old landcruiser break down? Maybe, probably even. But the good thing is that any mechanic in even the remotest African village can fix it. Good luck finding a bush mechanic who can sort out a CANBUS-error in your Jeep...

Having said that, I have to admit I'm just an armchair warrior. I read your story on Reddit and I massively enjoyed your undertakings. Hats off to you for actually persuing your crazy plans!

> A new landcruiser would probably cost twice as much, but a 10 to 20 year old won't break the bank. It actually makes sense buying an older vehicle because they're much simpler, mechanically.

Of course, you are right.

Remember though I can't get a diesel.

> But the good thing is that any mechanic in even the remotest African village can fix it. Good luck finding a bush mechanic who can sort out a CANBUS-error in your Jeep...

Of course it adds to the complications if and when something breaks down, but that's all part of the journey. I have friends in the USA that can send me any part I need, and I'll kick back for a few weeks while it arrives and I install it, or have a mechanic do it for me. That's perfectly fine, I don't have a timeline. Waiting a month somewhere is not in any way a problem, it will just allow me to learn the language better and get involved with the community.

> Having said that, I have to admit I'm just an armchair warrior

It's interesting you acknowledge that.

I spent 2 years driving 40k miles through 16 countries. I created and moderate wikioverland.org, and have attended and presented at Overland Expo. I'm a moderator on multiple overlanding forums and fb groups, and I've personally met hundreds of overlanders, and "met" thousands more online. I've spent years of my life researching and planning and talking to people. I've watched and learned from literally hundreds of people that have made the same journey I'm making. Even one in a Wrangler!

I did do a tiny bit a research here, you don't need to "convince" me of your opinion that a Toyota is "better"

A Jeep wasn't a diesel either. There are quite a few rover converts roaming my area.

Edit: Didn't scroll down far enough to see your install ran away from you. Ouch..

Either way, it worked out well for you so who cares! Love your story.

Yeah, true story: I make 250K per year and live in a minivan. Wellll, ok, I actually have a mortgage and a house but that's somewhere else :)

Pro tip: xfinity is your friend.

The reality is that everyone can do this. And why not? The big problem with this model, though, is lack of property taxes. And parking spots.

I would happily pay for X per month for a nice parking spot though and my fair share of property taxes. Ok, maybe not happily, I have to admit I do enjoy free.

What will be really interesting for this model is when we get self driving cars.

Can confirm. Was crashing in my van around Palo Alto outside of Social Capital's office for a bit. I wrote a few articles about them: https://medium.com/@sinkorswim/one-free-night-425196d2e2fc#....

I basically founded my entire new startup and team while homeless. It sucked sometimes, but it was an experience. Would I recommend it to everyone? Probably not hahah, but if you're brave enough you should try it at least once. :)

Do you keep a blog?

How do you use restroom and shower during the night? I hope you are not one of those who drain their urine and recycled water to the curb?

I know of someone who does this and he uses Google's (his employer's) facilities. Given the forum we are posting on, I'd wager it's a safe bet for anyone making that much to have similar facilities accessible to them. Enough employers have "apartment" amenities now that it's starting to become a cool social experiment about urban living in some ways.

> The reality is that everyone can do this. And why not?

The need for a stable native (underclass) population to sustain the travelers.

You drove from Alaska to Argentina? How did you drive through the Darien Gap in Panama?

It looks like he took a ferry:

http://theroadchoseme.com/panama-to-colombia-vehicle-ferry-x...

I shipped the Jeep in a container from Colon, Panama to Cartagena, Colombia.

I wrote up the whole process in great detail so others could follow in my footsteps.

http://theroadchoseme.com/shipping-across-the-darien-gap-pt-...

There was no ferry when I did it, and it's been cancelled again now.

Lol, still rumours of a ferry. Was the same when we crossed in 2012

The ferry did actually run for a few months in 2014. A few friends took it.

Now it's not running again.

I read your story on reddit a little while ago. Its a really interesting choice and I applaud your sense of adventure. What I don't get was the swap to a Mercedes diesel. Your argument for it made sense, but why not a toyota diesel, for example? :)

At the time I thought it made sense... of course hindsight is great.

If I wanted a Toyota diesel, I would have just bought a Toyota, but I didn't want that.

The reason for the merc is that the engine I chose (the OM606) is the most sophisticated non-computer controlled diesel possible - actually it came from the factory with a computer, but by using the injection pump from the earlier OM603 it can be made fully mechanical. This is a boon for repairs, simplicity, and the ability to burn basically anything like kerosene. It also means it's powerful and efficient, and mileage was my number 1 goal.

Also, that Merc engine happens to come from the factory in many cars with exactly the same gearbox as in my Jeep (the NSG370), so things made sense there. Jeep have also used Merc diesels in the past (not in the Wrangler), so that made sense too.

It was an ambitious plan, and I'm glad that I tried, even though it didn't work out in the end.

That aside, I'm in west Africa now, having the time of my life :)

I also remember the reddit thread. There were a LOT of people questioning your decision to tour Africa, with some scary sounding warnings.

Have you run into anything as dangerous as they made it seem?

Nope, not one single thing. And I've been talking to many, many people traveling here, including people backpacking, and they are loving every second.

People here are extremely friendly and welcoming, and the landscape is breathtaking. "Africa" does not deserve the reputation it has.

I've never met anyone that has traveled in Africa that would say otherwise.

> I've never met anyone that has traveled in Africa that would say otherwise.

Because the rest are all dead?

> I've never met anyone that has traveled in Africa that would say otherwise.

That could be survivor bias.

> I've never met anyone that has traveled in Africa that would say otherwise.

I have. Many.

And not just "travelled" to Africa—actually lived there.

Africa can be safe, at times, but it can also turn brutal seemingly overnight depending on where you are.

Saying that it's safe (without any caveats) is basically irresponsible IMO—especially if you are white/foreign. Very different customs/culture. It's not for everyone.

Honestly, the same could be said of the USA. I live in South Africa. People smile and greet you on the streets, the weather is great. I feel secure.

What about an OM617?

That has to be one of the simplest, reliable, and over-engineered motors MB ever made. I spent 5 years running mine on vegetable oil! I figure that would have been a good Africa motor.

How's getting gas been so far?

OM617s are every bit as reliable as 603s and 606s, but

1) the non-turbo versions are absolute dogs 2) manual valve clearance adjustments are annoying 3) vibrate more

Why not just swap in a new motor at that point instead of getting a whole new vehicle? The long block should be pretty plug-and-play since all the adaptations had been done already?

I had already sunk waaaaay too much time and money into the conversion, and it was far from finished. I was burning money much too fast.

Even if the engine didn't blow up, there was still months of work to iron out bugs.

After the hard miles I've done here in Africa, I'm actually immensely happy it didn't work out, and that I have a factory drive train in my Jeep now.

I see you're on your way down from the Western Sahara into Mauretania. I was there in 2006 and the border is fascinating: it's a no mans land stretching for several kilometres, basically a minefield, with tons of burnt down car wrecks left and right, and many small potholed roads leading in all directions. Also there are some weird dudes driving around, trying to lure you in other directions than you were driving. We didn't have navigation systems back then, just paper maps, so it was an adventure.

You will probably encounter much more police checks in Mauretania and beyond than in Morocco.

At some border crossings, you can negotiate a visum on the spot. I had a 'visum' written with ballpoint in my passport. No stamps or official stickers, just a signature :) It was reluctantly accepted on my way out of the country.

I drove a sedan from the Netherlands to Burkino Faso, it was an awesome trip.

You're still alive! I remember reading about you and everyone tore you up for your route in africa.

Iirc he said he was going to drive through places like Syria, Ivory Coast and so on up the east side of the continent. He hasn't gotten that far yet, so there is still a good chance for him to stick to his original plan and die. I hope he doesn't.

I find your comment dissapointing.

You speak with such authority and finality, yet your basic lack of African geography makes me wonder if you have any experience at all.

When was the last time you were in Africa? For how long? where exactly did you go?

You may want to have a look at a map at where Ivory Coast is.

Maybe it should have been in quotation marks, I'm repeating what was said on the reddit thread from memory. I don't really care about the guy or his trip. The only thing I really care about is why he put a MB diesel in a Jeep (twice).

I'm "the guy".

I didn't put MB diesels into a Jeep twice, I only did it once.

When that engine blew up, I bailed out, and I'm now driving a completely stock driveline 3.8 gas engine Rubicon.

Curious as to whether you went with the 3.8 because it was what would have been OE, or if there was an advantage to it over the 3.6.

Unlike most others in here, I'm not trying to second-guess you -- everybody's choices are personal choices, and I'm sure you had reasons for every choice you made that we weren't necessarily privy to -- I'm just curious, as I don't hear of a lot of 3.8s getting swapped INto JKs

The Ivory Coast is west and Syria is not even in Africa...

Didn't say otherwise. Read it again because it says "places like" and "so on up the". Good luck 2nd time around.

I didn't know you were a hacker! I've been following you online for some time!

Awesome build - was that a DeLorean in the garage in http://i.imgur.com/wqXRJVp.jpg? Great taste in cars!

That's no DeLorean, it looks like an old Z28, maybe about ~1980

What a bummer about that engine blowing up, after all that work :(

But great to see you took that as a character building exercise and kept going!

You Are The Truth, Sir!

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