Bit OT ice cream vans...

Jules ("Jules" ) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

TBH, I think the Mongol Rally's a disaster waiting to happen - the timescales are *FAR* too tight, meaning you're bound to lose out on camaraderie and team feel. I really hope I'm wrong, but my gut feel is that it's not long before somebody's going to get left behind somewhere really inhospitable and come a cropper.

The Dakar's grown far too big, and been running unchanged for too long, too, imho. I've not looked around for any other similar events, but those I have seen are either a bit tame (just Europe) or a bit too commercial and seem designed to just make money for the organisers.

If the "legality" of the third seat's your biggest concern, you've got some surprises awaiting you...

Front end's a standard van. There may well be three seats in there already. If not, then, yep, you're going to have to rig something fairly solid in the back. And comfortable. Somebody's going to be spending a lot of time back there.

You buy it locally, at each border crossing or soon after. If you need insurance, there'll always be some local ready to sell you some. Or something they say's insurance, anyway... Gawd knows how you'd claim...

Yeh, we did the 2nd Plymouth-Dakar. Great trip, but the Senegalese were starting to get a bit hinky about it even then.

i thought that too, by coincidence, ITV2 had that jack Osbourne do it with a film crew in 3 old cars (and a huge 4x4 that got them out of trouble!)

I thought they had too much time, i can drive a 1000 miles in a day, done it a few times, but i guess the challenge was when was Cz

yup

yeah, i had thought the front end was a normal van, but from memory i saw a ice cream van just with one seat, but i guess that was just a mod, and a standard 3 seat can be fitted back in.

yeah i looked at that, just now...

I have trips around Germany and Poland a couple of times a year, in the old bimmer, campsites, dossing in cars and with chicks i pull, and have great adventures, and a couple of lads want to come with me next year(cos of the German beer n birds!!), but then a couple of girls i know saw the show so asked me (and they know what fun i have on my eurotrips). they asked there boss, who agreed to give them time off, and even a fair whack os sponsorship money...but like me are totally skint most of the time.

I had thought of 2 cars, with 5 of us, so incase one car dies completly, another car is available, even at a squeeze, my first thoughts were old Toyotas, having a load from the 70's there simple and hardy. then thought of a ice cream van.

the P-Dak you mentioned, now its only LHD and quite stricked..and the distance and challenge doesnt look too hard...fun..but not too risky (car wise)

what was your ups and downs of your trip? would love to know, and cars too. cheers

Jules ("Jules" ) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

Not on the kind of terrain you'll encounter out in the boonies, you won't...

We took a Saab 900. Because heated seats are _vital_ in the Sahara...

Apart from the fact it's just too damn big (so every chancer in the Sahel knows it's coming and sees you as their meal ticket) the big down on the P-D now is that there's a road all the way there now... Yawn.

yeah, forgot to mention no night driving, once outside Eu, and expect a couple of hundred a day, down to 50 at times, having driven in parts of Poland, where the roads are damn bad, so at 5mph dodging pot holes, i would expect much worse, esp with the maps and routes, my autoroute said a long road was just that...didnt mention that there was a river with a little floaty barge that only was operated in the day, and a few times, and if the river wasnt too fast...but that was part of the adventure

car make it ok?

ah, not so good. bit too easy forgot to ask, how did you get back? seems now, for the P-D its LHD only cars. so there goes the ice cream van idea

Jules ("Jules" ) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

Absolutely.

Flew.

cool

Did any Montegos run you off the road? I think that was the year I sponsored one.

"Jules" wrote

You need to insure with a company called "Black Sea and Baltic",

Fred ("Fred"

Fred ("Fred"

cool cheers

Fred ) gurgled happily, sounding much like

Post corrected.

Aye.

I watched the 'Jack Osbourne Mongol Rally' thing on ITV2, and at one point they were out numbered by about 30 random dudes in the middle of absolute nowhere in a Mongolian desert. As it turned out, they were friendly so it was ok. But it made me think too, these are hardly the most hospital of places - they could just have easily been a gang that were gonna take the cars, sell the women and shoot the men... And lord knows what would have happened if they knew his mum and dad were famous and minted heh.

I had some Kumho's on my 405 and they were actually quite good... Although they were like, Z rated, and 205 wide so I'd expect good grip I suppose...

Iridium ("Iridium" ) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

Stop moaning, and give me the Clio. I'll put some decent tyres on it and treat it more nicely than you obviously are. Probably.

Bit like Camden then?