GARY WESCOTT’S WORDS OF OVERLANDING WISDOM

IF DESIGNING your own camper, the first thing you need to do is decide where you’re going and for how long. Will you be visiting national parks, taking weekend trips to the beaches of Mexico, or driving around the world? If the former, do you really need 4WD, a winch and locking differentials? Is it going to be warm and sunny where you’re going? These factors will influence both camper size and equipment needed. The second consideration is who you are travelling with. Will it be just yourself and a companion, or with two kids, a cat and a dog?

Next to determine is your level of comfort. You may be content curling up in a sleeping bag on the ground, crawling into a pup tent, or climbing up to a roof-top tent. Those are all fine choices, but they relate back to where you are going, for how long, and the weather.

When I began outfitting The Turtle I– a 1967 109 Land Rover – in the early ’70s, there were specific goals to be met. Most importantly, my travelling partner and I needed to sleep in a comfortable bed in any weather. That requirement does not change for a week in Baja or a year in Tajikistan.

We also needed to be able to go to the bathroom. Not necessarily the most important thing, but it will be if you can’t. Are you happy behind a bush with a shovel or a portable toilet seat or a toilet seat over a plastic bag and small trash can? Maybe a step up to a Porta Potti is preferred? The bush works really well provided there are bushes and not many people around. The plastic bag in the trash can is an excellent solution and we used this for years. It should be noted that it’s a lot easier to get rid of a plastic bag than it is to find a place to dump 20 litres of goo. Use a pee jar at night. Privacy you ask? If you are travelling in a small camper for a year and cannot go to the bathroom in front of your partner, you may have a bigger problem. Don’t

forget to include a bathing option – a solar bag on the roof, sponge baths, or a dive in the ocean. Be aware that you need to plan on how you will handle personal hygiene before you start to stink.

The next critical consideration is a reliable source of purified water. The concern in developing countries isn’t just bacteria, but viruses, too. There are all kinds of water filters and purifiers available, but the most practical solution we found is to chlorinate the water in the holding tank, then filter out the chlorine, dead bacteria and viruses. This allows us to fill the tank from any source – anything from a river, lake, irrigation ditch, or village well.

Cooking is another important component of a well-designed overland camper. Eating well is essential to your health. Aside from the cute little backpacking stoves that are designed for, well, backpacking, you have two choices with regard to fuel: diesel or propane. Both are available just about everywhere in the world. Diesel stoves have obvious advantages if you are driving a diesel truck, but we highly recommend you try one for a few days before you give up propane.

From a vehicle standpoint, you have to look at all of the above to determine how much storage you will need. If the goal is to see how far off the beaten track you can get and still be comfortable, it shouldn’t be too big to go where you want to go. Choosing a vehicle with an appropriate gross vehicle weight rating is key – adding bigger springs or stiffer shocks to a LOW-GVWR platform is not necessarily the answer.

Finally, you must consider the type of fuel. Gasoline is available everywhere, but diesel has always been the preferred choice for overland travel. Newer diesel engines require ultra-low-sulfur fuel and diesel exhaust fluid (DEF), which will pose a problem in third-world regions. I suggest starting with an older ¾ or onetonne American diesel pick-up (it will run on any diesel fuel) with the weight capacity you need. There are millions of used trucks out there and the aftermarket companies offer products that will make them stronger and more reliable.

The goal in building the Turtle V was to create a vehicle that was comfortable and reliable, and a home that was big on the inside and small on the outside. Did we succeed? For our kind of travel, which is living on the road and exploring the remote regions and cultures of the world, the answer is absolutely! Is this the ultimate overlander? It is a work in progress; check with us after we’ve driven around the world a third time.