OTT #1: Show-And-Tell: Aardvark’s specifications

This is our first OTT (OVER THE TOP) post – specifically aimed at all the detailed orientated OCD people out there like me!

A very typical conversation amongst overlanders in any campsite sounds a bit like a “I’ll show you mine if you show me yours” party…a detailed conversation of the vehicle, the camper setup, and why we did this rather than that! Oh and what to still add to our own setup…always room for improvement!

As per our first OTT blog post, we bought Aardvark as a complete setup in December 2018. At that stage the LandCruiser had 83,000km on the clock, and the Inkunzi Camper was added to the Cruiser a year earlier in December 2017. Even though I’m sure we could’ve left straight away, there were several changes / additions that we made in the about 7months before we left, to ensure that Aardvark was ready for our epic adventure.

Firstly the details of the Cruiser:

2010 TOYOTA LANDCRUISER 79 4.0P V6 SC

· 17" 285 BFG AT KO2 tyres

· Tyre Pressure Monitor System

· Dual Long Range Fuel Tanks = 180Litres in total

· TJM Front Steel Bumper

· 12500 Pound T-Max Winch

· Burnco front bash plate

· Burnco side rock sliders

· Front & Rear OME Suspension

· Heavy duty clutch

· LED Spotlights and replaced the headlight bulbs also with stronger LED bulbs

· Desert Snorkel

· Dual battery system with battery monitor

· Inside the cabin:

o Auto Armor window tint and safety film

o Built-in USB charging points x 2

o Built-in additional 12V cigarette charging points x 3

o Built-in monitor for Tyre Pressure Monitor System

o Extra cup-holders and driver’s arm rest

o Rear camera with mirror monitor

o Garmin GPS (61LMT) with T4A

o Paper maps and T4A Atlas in cover

o Escapegear Dash Cover and Seat Covers

o Overhead console in-between seats

o IndelB 15l Fridge in-between seats with a build-in safe

o 150W TrailBoss 12V to 240V inverter

o 5ton Hydraulic Bottle Jack with chassis bracket with wheel spanner

o Fire Extinguisher

· Side-ladder

· Frontrunner Roofrack, fitted and loaded with:

o Desert Sand Tracks

o Braaier with Grid

o 6th 17" 285 BFG AT KO2 wheel casing (2nd spare)

o Spare 3kg Cadac gas bottle

The loadbin (weighing aprox 150kg) was removed, and the Inkunzi Camper fitted directly on the chassis. This not only reduced weight, but also ensure a more sturdy fit – very important given the type of roads we’ve encountered so far…and it will most definitely only deteriorate the further north we go! The total dry weight of the camper is about 520kg, which gives us a total Aardvark weight of c. 3tons fully loaded (that’s now including 220l fuel, 120l water, fully loaded fridge, plus driver & passenger!)

Excluding our food, drinks, clothes, bedding and other miscellaneous things (like medicine, toiletries etc), the below is our fairly comprehensive list of everything that is permanently part of the Aardvark setup!

2017 INFANTA INKUNZI CAMPER

· Back entrance climb-in camper fitted with pop-up roof with big windows in canvas covers with mosquito nets

o 12V hydraulics to lift roof (with manual override if need be)

o Roof and sides insulated with 38 mm polystyrene

o 1 x double bed on sliding system

§ Replaced the matrass with a new extra-length, almost queen size multi-layered Safarimax foam matrass, with an orthopedic memory foam topper

o Additional mosquito netting in front of entrance door and fridge openings

· Water & Shower

o Built-in outside shower with hot and cold water and canvas sides dropping from the shower compartment’s “roof”, with tent pegs

o 120l Built-in water tank with filler cap on outside, tank capacity monitor and 3 taps (at shower, basin, and next to car’s cabin)

o 19l high pressure geyser working with 220V or gas

o 12V water pump with plumbing for the above

o Hosepipe with array of connections to fill water tank

o Additional small hand-held battery-operated water pump, to transfer water into the tank if need be

o Porta-Potti

· Electricity

o Built-in 102 A/H deep cycle battery and battery monitor

o Wiring system to charge built-in battery from either alternator or solarpanel or 220V Caravan Plug.

o Semi-flexible Solarpanel (100W, 6.5A) mounted to the camper’s roof

o 12V / 10A CTEK Step-up charger (also a regulator for solarpanel)

o 220V / 10A CTEK Step-up charger

o 220V Inlet caravan plug

§ 220 Volt electricity with 3 normal 3-point plugs and 2 normal 2-point plugs

§ 220V Caravan extension lead for mains 10m + additional 10m lead

§ Multiple adaptors for various different camping electricity points

o 2 x 12V USB charging points

o 4 x LED lights inside camper, 2 x LED lights in kitchen compartments, 1 x LED light in shower compartment

o 2 x Built-in outside LED Lights (above kitchen and at back entrance door)

o Air Compressor for tyres, with quick release inflator “gun”

· Kitchen (2 compartments opening to the outside)

o 72L National Luna fridge/freezer

o 5kg Gas cylinder with adaptor to refill from bull-nose to Cadac

o Cadac two plate stove with aluminum wind protector

o Washbay bracket with collapsible basin (with different size basin plugs for washing up)

o 10l Cast-iron flatbed pot

o Large Bushchef cast-iron pan

o Cutlery holders inside kitchen compartments

o Stainless steel coffee plunger

o Normal 220V kettle, as well as 12V kettle

o 1l Thermos

· Fitted to the outside

o Fiamma F65S Awning

o Aluminium table

o Sparewheel bracket on rear, with first spare 17" / 285 BFG AT KO2 tyre

o EscapeGear sparewheel cover bag, containing small grid, triangle braai stand, braai tongs and wooden support block for the jack

o External LockBox for sparekeys

o Spade

o Double Jerry Can holder with 2 x 20l petrol Jerry Cans (can double as wood carrier if Jerry Cans are strapped to roofrack)

· Ad-hoc inside (permanent additions)

o 2 x Frontrunner camping chairs, plastic step, small aluminium drinks table – all in a Frontrunner double chair storage bag

o Fire Extinguisher

o Handheld broom and “skoppie”

o 1200Lumen rechargeable Handheld Spotlight

o 2 x rechargeable LED camping / work lights

o LED UV Torch – specifically to look for scorpions in the desert sands

o Small 12V (USB-charging) fan

o 2 x tasers and pepper spray

o 2 x LifeStraw Waterbottles

o 10l Plastic foldable water container

o Hiking stove with small pot

o Rubber mat for outside camper entrance / shower floor

o Picnic blanket

o 5m x 3m shade net to double as groundsheet, and to use a piece as a radiator / seed net if required.

o Slingshot and rubber snake to keep baboons away

o 20l plastic bucket with lockable lid to use as makeshift overlanding washing machine

§ Washing line and clothes pins

§ Plunger for extra clean clothes

· Recovery gear in separate lockable outside compartment

o Sandblocks

o Jumper Cables

o Snatch Strap

o Tow Strap

o 2 x Shackles x 2

o 2 x Luminous Safety Jackets

o 2 x Red warning triangles

o 2 x Pairs leather gloves

o Petrol funnel with filter

o Syphoning Pipe

o Axe

· Spares and tools in separate lockable outside compartment / under bed

o Fuel filter x 3

o FanBelt x 2

o Air filter x 3

o Numerous spare fuses and spark plugs

o Rubber Hammer

o Small rechargeable battery-operated drill

o Pop-rivet gun

o Tool kit including screwdrivers / Monkey wrench / etc

o Epoxy glues / Wire / Duct tape / Insulation tape / Ropes / Cable ties / etc

At the moment we cant think of anything to add for this trip…but we live and learn, and the one addition that the Germans showed us, and that Irene would love is a small oven inside…maybe one day!

J