Sahara desert adventure

Hi everyone
Mr very Newbie here!

I'm very new to off road driving and not the most mechanically minded person you will ever meet so thought I would sign up to your owners club and ask you clever people for some advice...

To put it in a nutshell I'm looking to buy and take a Frontera into the Sahara Desert, but not entirely sure it's capable.
2 of us will be driving from the UK through France over the Pyrenees into Spain then onto Morocco and into the desert. We will Probably be taking 4 or 5 days getting from UK to the desert, spend 4 or 5 in and around it and 4 days coming back.

I'm confident a Frontera can handle the milage and the un-surfaced roads we will be going on along the way, but what about the sand?

I've traveled extensively over the years using Motorbikes or public transport and been on tours to the dessert, but fancy a bit of a different adventure on a small budget so camping and sleeping in the Frontera will be a given

If anyone has ever done this before it would be great to hear from them as would any hints or tips... Right down to the best model for the job and what to look out for when buying one.

Thanks everyone!

Hi and welcome

For sand I would make sure you have a good make of All Terrain tyres and a snorkel with a swirl filter fitted to help keep the air filter clean.

In my opinion the 2.8 Frontera would be best purely as it is reliable and very easy to work on and being a Jap engine parts are likely to be more available in that part of the world than VX parts, added to the fact parts can easily be botched by enterprising locals.
No electrics to go wrong, though try and get an air con model.

Drive train wise its near enough all Isuzu same as the engine so that should not be a problem only the axles are Vauxhalls derivative.

On sand with lower pressures you should be fine, there are no diff locks on the Frontera but locking annual hubs would be stronger than the auto hubs if you get stuck and are snatching the drive to free yourself, though good sand mats or a short section of angle iron welded to a 3 foot ladder style should help when stuck and is cheap and replaceable.

This thread should inspire you I reckon :wink:

viewtopic.php?f=34&t=22022

Thanks for the advice.
Is it expensive to fit a snorkel and how much pressure should you loose in the tyres for rough terrain and sand?
Thanks again, and the link was great!

I would echo Drfty on the engine choice ... and possibly add get a LWB as you can carry more supplies. I will warn you slightly on the 2.8 front. The 2.8 (and 3.1 derivative) fitted in Isuzu's in hot dusty climates were fitted with a gear driven cam and fuel pump ... not belt. Now the gear driven ones do exist in the UK as they were fitted to some brava's, TF's and Chevrolets ... in fact our very own Gregster here has a gear driven version in the Chevy Brava Fing. The reason they did this was to remove another weak point in an engine which would be nice to avoid when in a desert miles from anywhere. The normal belt driven version would be more than fine for what your doing, but I would be tempted to take a spare timing belt kit and set of push rods for peace of mind as you may find spares of these harder to find.

Tyre pressures are kind of moment dependant but nothing below 18psi in really soft sand and you shouldnt loose the tyre from the rim if they are sand tyres, so a good compressor such as T Max will be on the spares list.

Admin, am I allowed to suggest the following book which was published recently:

Overlanders Handbook by Chris Scott, isbn: 978-1-905864-07-2

It covers planning, vehicle choice, modding, etc.
Also has outlines for various expedition routes including Africa, Sahara.

A few jealous folk on here when it comes together "adrenalinrush".

More than welcome Dave, its a legend in the 4x4 Overland community anyway that book :wink:

Most places £24 but Amazon its £14 :wink:

Thanks Ste. :drink:

As much as I would agree on the 2.8 being the weapon of choice, it would be worth checking on fuel availability etc out there...
A lot of the distant places use petrol for everything, unlike over here, and diesel parts or even getting fuel could be an issue.
LWB also has the advantage that you could sleep in it, should you be unable to pitch a tent...ditch the rear seat and make a storage box that fills the rear footwells and a 6ft-er or 2 would have no probs, the folded seat base eats into the sleeping area otherwise.

thanks, you have all been a great help, much more info than I ever expected

When we get to Morocco and the desert region (Erfoud, Meknès-Tafilalet, Morocco is the intended destination) we don't plan to spend days driving around the dunes and further into the sahara, we will probably just go a few hours into it. Far enough, but not to far if you know what I mean, then just do a bit of camping under the stars for a few nights before we move on to another region or down to Marrakesh.

Once again thank you so much!

One more thing keep us updated and send or bring back lots of photos and vids for us lot that are not aloud round the block

have a good journey and stay safe

Chuck a load of fuel filters in the back and use veg oil if fuel is an issue

Diesel is never an issue in North Africa, at worst the truck drivers will sell you some from their tanks to make a few bob, Ive seen this happen in Kenya :lol:

Bigger villages on established overland routes keep well stocked with fuel and Fanta. :wink:

Even so a couple of gerry cans would be a good idea.

I would take a wheel bearing set, split cv gators, aux belts and depending on mileage spare brake pads, the sand will kill the pads double quick.
Oh and a padlock for the tail gate :wink:

I would still take some spare fuel and air filters

check your route with home office a friend of mine had to cancel his expedition earlier this year due to civil unrest

Hi all!
More questions i'm afraid...

The plan has changed a bit now. we now plan to drive directly to Morocco in one hit around 1500 miles mainly motorway at a constant 80mph. (May stop for a couple of hours sleep if we are both to tired to drive at any point) Spend a week in Morocco and take a week coming back around the Spanish coast.
we wont be driving deep, deep into the desert for days, but probably 3 to 4 hours staying there overnight and then heading back down to Marrakesh onto Casablanca, Tangiers then back into Spain, So on average 70% of the journey will be on tarmac 20% on un-surfaced and 10% on sand.

So my new question is...

What frontera estate, what age and what milege frontera should I go for??? Petrol or Diesel? I'm thinking diesel. :?:

And is it capable for this kind of journey?

My line of thought is if I go for a higher milage (say 100-150k) it would have been well run in and any niggling problems sorted like cambelts, or a lower milage (say 50-70k) either will go in for a full service before we leave anyway.

Not worried about the weight being carried as its going to be the bare essentials, and a couple of jerry cans that wont be filled untill we get to Morocco. (Although a crate of beers may be picked up along the way)!

We are going for the estate and taking the back seats out to allow for sleeping room as suggested so we should loose some weight there to.

Thanks once again, and I have to say this is one of the most helpful sites I have ever come across!

I would still go for an estate 2.8 diesel, and stick to a steady 70 all the way. The 2.8 will happily trundle along at that speed all day long and still return 30+mpg. Also the 2.8 is better suited to hotter climates than anything else due to its cool running nature. I think you might suffer from overheating issues with anything more modern. Definatly avoid the 2.2 petrol. They have a habit of eating headgaskets, or the bottom end going. Its the weakest link in the Frontera range. The 3.2 Petrol will be a silly idea as well as you will suffer from lack of spares if anything goes wrong. The only other options are the old 2.3 which again is a workhorse but take care of oil pressure issues. Most of the time its a case of dodgy sender. An advantage of the 2.3 is its fitted with a cam chain instead of belt (one less thing to worry about) but don't ever think your going to hit 80. Its a slow beast but on the flipside it can pull a house down. The VM 2.5 diesel. Now when its running its a good engine, but it can let you down at a moments notice. A variety of things go wrong and sometimes quite catastrophic from what I have read. I may be proven wrong but I would avoid it. The last one in the bunch is the 2.2 DTi. Its a good engine but needs care In fact I would seriously consider it apart from the spares part.

So your options taking into account LWB:

Diesel

2.3 Series A leafer
2.5 Series A facelift
2.8 Series A facelift
2.2 Series B

Petrol

2.4 Series A leafer
2.2 Series A facelift
2.2 Series B
3.2 Series B

Personally the 2.8 Diesel its my first and only choice for reliability, power, economy, simplicity, spares (Isuzu is quite prevalent all over the world ... more so than Opel/Vauxhall and as such it opens opportunities for pretty much everything on the entire truck then)

dude,,,,took my fronty swb to morocco this year,,and had a great time the fronty never missed a beat im down near gib so if you have any problems you have help down here which is good to know check out www.tugs4x4.com morocco is still safe but you still have to be on the ball,,,,
when are you going,,,,we are going at the new year to see the eco rally,,,,[old dakar] and also im doing a 16 day trip in feb,,,,so doing a lot more over there next year,,,ok just a few pics to get you in the mood.....

I just thought...blimey that roof tent is flippin huge....then I saw the front of the Landy poking out!!! :shock:

Nice to offer assistance down that way...that would be proper peace of mind for the OP knowing help is at hand so far away... :well done: