I'll definitely be sure to do my research on what countries it will be safe for me to travel in and what countries it won't. No need to needlessly risk my life. I've taken some martial arts classes before, and I'll probably take a couple more before the trip, but those skills still wont do jack against a firearm or IED.

 

What countries were you looking at? When some one says arround the world or traveling then each has there own thoughts. If you have the time and have no restrictions then one of the best trips was the trans Siberian highway. We went from England to Valdivostock.

Are you planning on paying customs for importing your vehicle in the countires and hope you get the money back as you leave or use a Carnet de Passage? Some countries require you to have a Carnet

Tool boxes and jerry cans on the roof sounds like an ideal thing. It's ok they are locked and can't be taken. Try opening those locks after after a couple of days in the dust. Another reason to bring them in side.

One of the best sleeping arrangements I did was traveling in 110's we bolted hooks to the front and the back inside and strung hammocks inside the vehicle. I don't know how easy that wouldbe with the disco.

On average it took about 9-12 months to get every thing arranged as some countries require different things.

A couple of months before departure go on a week road trip living out of the car as you will be traveling and you can see what works and what does not and then adjust to what is not working.

 

Both of those things are things I still need to research. At this point I'm mostly spitballing where I would want to go and what it would take to get ready.

I didn't think about dust in the locks, but it makes sense. I'll see what I can come up with there.

Probably not hard. I don't much are for the idea if drilling through my roof, but I'm sure I could figure something out. Thanks for the idea.

That time frame is very helpful. Once I come up with my list of countries I'll do my research on that.

Oh yes, I've got another cross country trip already planned with my friend next summer. Should be a blast and I'll figure all that stuff out.

Thanks for your help!

 

I cannot advise about rigging your truck, you are getting outstanding advice already. However, you mentioned not ever being out of the country. I would advise you to make a trail run without your truck, if you can afford the time and money.

I know you will be studying thoroughly, however, it will be helpful to make a trail run without worrying about breakdowns , theft, spare parts, etc. You can then scout the route for camp areas, parts houses, food supply, bad areas to avoid, etc. with only yourself to worry about. More importantly, you will be getting your passport stamped by various countries. They will be more at ease when you arrive with the truck having a passport already stamped by them. The truck also may be "suspected" of drugs, contraband, or weapons. With your passport previously stamped they cannot risk allowing some items to "disappear" (into their pockets) since you may actually know someone important in the country who can get them in trouble if you complained.

Also, it would be good to know ahead of time safe places to get money. You can pre-visit a bank and get a lockbox and deposit local currency and a copy of your passport in case you get robbed and end up without cash and ID. Predepositing these items along your route would minimize the amount of cash you carry on you at any given time. Also wouldn't hurt to contact or visit the local US Consulate or Embassy.

 

I would love to be able to do that, but I'm afraid it wouldn't be possible. I'm in college right now and I'll be saving every penny I can towards this trip for the next 3-4 years. Man, I wish that were possible. Thanks for the recommendation though.

 

I just finished a 10 day trip in my Disco from Alberta to the northern Yukon. This was my first long trip with too much stuff on board, as I found out. It's a very good idea to go out and test on a short trip what you need and don't need. I logged just over 5100 km and only had one small problem that was easy to fix. Not sure where you are in the U.S. But how about starting off with a smaller trip into Central America? This will get you familiar with your vehicle and with boards crossings. I to want to send my Disco over seas one day, but not just yet. I would however be interested it any type of caravan to Central America........ Anyone interested? Hard to find guys out there that trust their truck enough to head out on long expeditions, oh right, there's the time and money thing too.

 

Yea, I'd definitely want to do a prep trip before hand. I'd love go to central America! As a matter of fact, I debated on doing that first and then the other a few years down the line anyway. Of course, I'd still have to finish building and prep the truck for that too, as well as actually save money for the trip, which would likely take the same amount of time as the africa/europe/asia/Australia circuit. That said, I will continue to research and crunch numbers, I might just do central America instead for the time being.

 

How much money do you have?

Silly but simple question, in the US you are used to cheap fuel, in Europe and Africa etc this is not the case, both petrol and diesel are expensive. In England diesel is the higher cost because the government has realised everyone is using it and has racked the tax up on it, everywhere else in Europe, petrol is more expensive.

I have a TD5 and it is great, almost bombproof and runs well, but if you are worried about spares and repairs then I would drop a 300tdi engine instead of the V8, yes it's not super reliable, but it is super easy to fix, most of the overland companies that run from where I now live in Spain, over to Morocco use 300 tdis and they say that any mechanic in any country can fix it, the engine is totally mechanical and can be bodged with parts from other vehicles.

Why are you sleeping in the back of your Disco and not on top, I would suggest going for a rooftent, that way you can prep your insides with nice lockers and suchlike and at night you can lock it all up inside the vehicle. We have a lot of petty thieves in Europe, not so much in the West, but it does exist. In Africa, if you leave something on top then you are asking for it to be stolen.

For tyres I would suggest BF Goodrich, they are awesome and can be found in most countries.

Winch is pretty much pointless unless you are planning some truly gnarly offroading, same with a 3" lift kit, try a lower lift, it will work better, take sand ladders, they have saved my *** loads of times, just remember to tie them to the back of your vehicle before you drive over them, that way you drag them with you and can stop when its safe to do so and not have to walk miles back tom pick them up.

For Africa and the mountains in Europe I would recommend underbody protection, diff guards, steering guard and tank guard, aluminimum will be fine, some of the rocks you throw up on the backroads can really ruin your day.

Any other tips just ask, I live in Southern Spain which is the jumping off point for Africa tours and the mountains around here are covered in trails anyine can drive on, just drop me a message when you get here, I'll take you round

 

To know what exactly you'll need look back historically at how many miles the truck has done between breakdowns, was it 5K, 10K or 20K? I've been running around with a new unused serpentine belt in my trunk, a tool kit, expensive tire compressor, tubeless tyre repair plugs kit, hmmm, guess what, I've never needed any of this kit and on average my truck has broken down once every 4 years, one was a reverse switch failure and the second was worn through fuel delivery hose, yep, there have been minor issues like leaking PAS hose but in all never a show stopper. If the truck is well serviced and you carry the unavailable high risk spares and routine spares I can't see any real issues. Oh, I reckon I've covered nearly a million miles in all Landrovers from Series to Range Rovers on most inaccessible places and terrains but they have all been my own well serviced and maintained trucks. I have never, ever suffered a puncture in an LR in 45 years (I wish I hadn't written that 'cos you know what'll happen tomorrow )

IMO you're more likely to run out of fuel than suffer a breakdown. Always fill your truck with fuel via a filler filter in out of the way places as they don't maintain their underground fuel tanks and rust and crap is a real show stopper.

 

Right now, I have no money, but I plan to save over the next 3-4 years.

That's all great info. I was actually thinking about sand Ladders yesterday, but I'd never thought if tying then to the back of the truck so they drag along. As for the roof tent, those things are really expensive and I'm trying to keep my build as "budget" as possible, atleast for a trip of this size. Everything on the roof will be bolted/welded/locked down though. I'll even weld the bolts so they can't be undone without and angle grinder. As for the underbody protection, I was planning on diff guards but I guess I'll add plates to the list too.

I appreciate the offer, and maybe we can get together when I do finally do this. Thanks a lot!