Thank you to those of you who have supported the fund to send a warrior on a life-changing journey. Your generosity will go towards marked mental and emotional healing for one of our service members. We greatly appreciate you.

I would also like to thank those who have checked the links to the charity organizations we are representing. It brings a smile to my face when I see traffic go in their direction.

We are working out the last few details with Taubenreuther GmbH to outfit our truck for us. After searching Germany and a few surrounding countries for a company capable of professionally outfitting a Land Cruiser for an African overland trip, we discovered Taubenreuther. Their webpage is extremely well done, and the browsing and shopping experience is seamless. They keep two websites, one is the company site that covers various projects, workshops, and fairs they hold or attend and the other is their shop, which showcases a huge selection of 4X4 upgrades and accessories. The attention to detail paid to their website, it’s active stock indicators, and the responsiveness of the staff (I placed a test order) all displayed an efficient and professional company. I decided to write Mr. Taubenreuther an email to let him know about our mission and charities. After a few days of review he responded positively. His team inspected our list of requested items and immediately made excellent suggestions to improve it, helping to ensure we have all the tools necessary to accomplish our task. I am very pleased with the relationship we are developing. Celine and I look forward to working with the Taubenreuther Team and are excited about how things are progressing. As we move forward I will keep you updated and will do my best to cover installation of the upgrades to our truck. Once on the road I will write detailed reviews of each piece of gear, as I know we will have the opportunity to use each item.

Check out the photos from my trip to Botswana on the “Warrior Safari” Page. I am uploading a video as well, but it takes a bit of time. Thank you for your patience.

We contacted Expedition Lighting Systems (ELS) in the United States to discuss their vehicle light bars. ELS is a startup company that we feel has the values we are looking for in a sponsor. They are honest, straightforward, professional and caring. They have an obvious passion for lighting systems that was developed through their experience in 4X4ing and time spent in Afghanistan serving our great nation.

After talking with them about our project they have decided to design a custom light system for our vehicle and to deliver it to us in Germany. We thank them for their service in the military, and their support for the charities we are representing on our trip. What a great group of guys. We look forward to abusing their lighting system and reviewing it on the blog as the trip progresses. Let me tell you more about the light bars.

Understanding both recreational and professional lighting needs they have designed a new line of LED light bar systems that are durable and far less expensive than other companies. In this case, inexpensive does not mean lower quality. Rather than using various “cheap” materials and leveraging inexpensive manufacturing techniques to line their own pockets, they decided to create a quality product affordable for everyone. Each light bar utilizes a modified PMMA lens, FF Reflectors, integrated aluminum end caps, and has a powder coated finish. They have 22″, 30″, 40″ and 2X2 light bars that can produce spot and driving beams as well as work and camp lighting. We will update you once we hear more about the design they choose for us and keep you abreast of shipping, installation, and function details as they progress.

1997 Toyota Land Cruiser Amazon GX (United Kingdom)

Model: HDJ80R-GNMEWW

Powertrain: 1HD-FT, 24 Valve, Turbo-Charged Diesel, in-line 6-Cylinder, 4164cc Engine; Manual Gearbox; Front, Center, and Rear Manual Locking Differentials

There are many powerful and durable trucks in the world. I had to wade through so many models and options to come to this decision. I have experience with a few U.S. made trucks and utility vehicles as well as the HWMMV, Mercedes G-Wagon (military variant), and various makes of Toyota. While all of these companies make some pretty amazing trucks, and there are a variety of opinions as to which is best, I steered away from the “cool factor” and wrote down my needs as I could see them. I wanted a tough, large, powerful, four-door truck with enclosed storage space that was accessible from inside the vehicle. I also wanted a truck with a reliable mechanical history, a wide availability of parts, and which had a good, collective, world knowledge-base supporting it. After reading many opinions, reviews, traveling overland through Botswana, crossing Kuwait and Iraq in a G-Wagon and a HWMMV, and talking to several 4X4 mechanics it seems the only sensible answer to the “which vehicle” question is the Toyota Land Cruiser 80-Series, specifically the models made between 1995-1998.

Besides the linked article, which I found after beginning research on the 80, it was the comments from the South African I met up with that put me on this path. They were all very experienced overlanders, having previously owned safari companies and 4X4 shops. There were a variety of vehicles present around the camp, but the discussion always turned back to the 80-Series. It is the last high end model that has minimal or no electronics, a direct injection engine, solid front and rear axles, and very tough gear boxes. They also come standard with manual lockers and have the most reliable history any of them could think of. They all swore they’d trade there 100-series if offered one, but that they were to expensive and too hard to come by in South Africa. By too hard to come by I mean, no one will sell them and f they do it’s very expensive, and most of the SA versions have the 1HZ engine and no turbos.

While praise was given for the Land Rover, it was consistently followed by “You have to love them and you have to love working on them.” I enjoy doing mechanical work, but on a trip that can stretch from 17,000 to 40,000 miles, I wanted to get something that would run reliably with minimal maintenance. I’m not going to blanket statement this, though. Many people have crossed Africa in Land Rovers, many in Land Cruisers, but people have used and continue to use other trucks as well. I think I was finally sold by the mystique and what I read about mechanical reliability.

Not an 80, but still a Land Cruiser!