Hi I'm Chris from the UK
I'm a 26 year old self employed builder/plasterer. I'd describe my overlanding skill as Novice, although I scrutineer and marshal off road events for a local club so do a lot of technical 'off roading' in a near standard vehicle. For this I run a Daihatsu Fourtrak (Rocky or Rugger overseas) which has a 2.8td lump and is tough as old boots, although rust lets them down big time. I've done several 500 mile trips in it (Wales) 70% on road probably as we're not particularly blessed with legal mileage of byways etc here and it's been reliable as anything. 2 years of competitive off road use and not broken anything mechanical, which laughs in the face of the Land Rovers its up against.
Before you go thinking I'm a hardcore mud plugger that's not what I'm about. I like to drive independently and take in the scenery, to me there's nothing better than getting out and being able to look after yourself. My girlfriend and I often get strange looks when we're cooking a full breakfast out of the back of the truck, sat in two chairs, drinking tea and taking in the view.
I recently discovered Overland Bound on Youtube and I am currently building my first 'overland' vehicle as we speak. I heard about the forum and noticed the build thread section. I am currently building up another Daihatsu, I'm on a budget but capable of doing all the work myself. The body is currently on jack stands and I am removing all the rusty bits and replacing with new metal. I plan to get a build thread going shortly, the plan is to finish the truck for this years Adventure Overland Expo in Stratford. As soon as we can afford to we plan to hit Europe, with the Pyrenees in mind for our first real taste of Overland, we've got to start somewhere.
Here is a picture of the off roader, the new truck build is pretty well the same model just has an opening sunroof that doubles up as an escape hatch... Japanese ingenuity. The new build will be on a Galvanised chassis and will be modified end to end for our intended use, I may be a bit overkill at times but I like to be prepared.
Anyway I hope you find the build interesting and look forward to some advice/constructive criticism from real overlanders.
Thanks
I'm a 26 year old self employed builder/plasterer. I'd describe my overlanding skill as Novice, although I scrutineer and marshal off road events for a local club so do a lot of technical 'off roading' in a near standard vehicle. For this I run a Daihatsu Fourtrak (Rocky or Rugger overseas) which has a 2.8td lump and is tough as old boots, although rust lets them down big time. I've done several 500 mile trips in it (Wales) 70% on road probably as we're not particularly blessed with legal mileage of byways etc here and it's been reliable as anything. 2 years of competitive off road use and not broken anything mechanical, which laughs in the face of the Land Rovers its up against.
Before you go thinking I'm a hardcore mud plugger that's not what I'm about. I like to drive independently and take in the scenery, to me there's nothing better than getting out and being able to look after yourself. My girlfriend and I often get strange looks when we're cooking a full breakfast out of the back of the truck, sat in two chairs, drinking tea and taking in the view.
I recently discovered Overland Bound on Youtube and I am currently building my first 'overland' vehicle as we speak. I heard about the forum and noticed the build thread section. I am currently building up another Daihatsu, I'm on a budget but capable of doing all the work myself. The body is currently on jack stands and I am removing all the rusty bits and replacing with new metal. I plan to get a build thread going shortly, the plan is to finish the truck for this years Adventure Overland Expo in Stratford. As soon as we can afford to we plan to hit Europe, with the Pyrenees in mind for our first real taste of Overland, we've got to start somewhere.
Here is a picture of the off roader, the new truck build is pretty well the same model just has an opening sunroof that doubles up as an escape hatch... Japanese ingenuity. The new build will be on a Galvanised chassis and will be modified end to end for our intended use, I may be a bit overkill at times but I like to be prepared.
Anyway I hope you find the build interesting and look forward to some advice/constructive criticism from real overlanders.
Thanks
