Sun March 04 2018  —  e-mail Manfred

Boxes and how to organise load

About Travel Photography,
Colors of the World.

Manfred is creator of ThisFabTrek.com, travel photography, a travel blog and a photography blog (a journey from 2004 to 2013). 'I set out to see the colors of the world, always I try to capture the colors'.

Seeing, is understanding, so I report and photograph, but formost enjoy and live those different conceptions of life (all that TV [and the web] cannot give). I reject jealousy, animosity, bigotry. Be free!

Manfred in the desert of the Western Sahara

The mind, when pondering at night and always asked those questions. What am I doing in corporate wonderland of bank, university, office or church? Who is the other animal asleep deep inside, the thinker, punk, creative, or Indian, vagabond and healer, maybe artist, writer, photographer, traveler, globetrotter? Oh God, dare you to think. When I saw the lies, gambles and manipulations I follow the old dream and set out for the journey of life lived, the journey to see the colors of the world.

During years on the road I have taken the turns as they came along, and realized one thing: Only such a small part of the planet can be explored and such a vast land and sea mass will always remain unknown, to me; many swamps, jungles, deserts and oceans will never be traveled. But then I am father of twin boys, Daniel and David, my most important, and I show them some of the wonders and colors out there.

ThisFabTrek, Photography and Journey, the Stories from the Road and Life around the World, stopped in August 2013 after more than 9 years, Love and Peace.

Last vehicle.

G20, Chevy Gladiator.

Chevrolet Gladiator G20, The boys in Cordillera Blanca, Peru.
The boys and Chevy van, Peru.

The G20, the vehicle that came to me for the Americas adventures.

6 wheeled Land Rover.

Land Rover Defender 6x6
Link to Foley

The vehicle of the Africa adventures, a Foley 6-Wheeled Land Rover Defender.

Before, the MB307.

Manfred and MB307
Journey, Middle East.

The vehicle of the Middle-East and North-Cape Journeys. See all vehicles.

Daniel and David with nanny Aisha, the best we ever had, black African Woman carrying white twin babies, in Bamako, Mali.

Travel Blog

contains Festival/Fiesta/Art photography.

"There is nothing more powerful than an idea whose time has come." - Victor Hugo.

"What matters in life is not what happens to you but what you remember and how you remember it, to tell the tale." Living to Tell the Tale - Gabriel García Márquez.

"They never taught wandering in any school I attended. ... they never taught the art of writing a book, either. It's all so mysterious."
"Wandering is an art in itself. Wandering and writing don't mix"
"Writing demands commitment and if one thing your wanderer is allergic to is that very quality of commitment, for once one is committed he runs that very risk of failure ..." Wanderer - Sterling Hayden.

www.thisfabtrek.com > land-rover > boxes

Maximum flexibility

Food box.
Food box.

Boxes. Everything is stored in boxes, mainly 58x38x38cm aluminium variants. There surprisingly well sealed. But not that ruggedised. There are a few smaller Aluminium boxes and 2 larger ones made of steel. Most boxes are on top of the vehicle 

Makes the vehicle pretty top heavy, I know.

A Box for books and maps, one for kitchen equipment, one for food stuff (inside the vehicle), one for electronics equipment like my slide-scanner (which I stopped using since going digital, I left it in Bamako) and other photo equipment.

The bigger boxes hold all the backpack, tent and mountain gear plus the golf kid and wetsuit.

One box for clothes. There is stuff for winter and summer, rain and sunshine, the beach, the mountain and the city,

3 boxes for tools and spares and the air compressor (using it a lot, PS. till it broke, funny) and 220V converter (hardly used as everything works on 12V as well).

There is a shovel attached to the high-lift jack these days, I bought in a souk for 4Euros, sand ladders are mounted at the sides over the windows.

2 additional jerry-cans for diesel (each 20litres). The Landy is already equipped with 3 diesel tanks capable of holding a total of 160litres. Allows travelling over a distance of one thousand kilometres on sealed roads (only 400 to 500 kms on sand).

There is a 40 litre water tank which broke at the edges and needed rewelding twice. Now the rust takes over where it had been welded rendering the water useless for drinking. Three 20 litres plastic water canisters carry now all the drinking water. There is an additional plastic reservoir carrying use water with a larger top opening which can and is used as a washing mashine.

Most of the boxes are on the roof-gallery, some inside the car. The fridge is inside as well. There is a bed inside 110cm wide 200cm long, actually there is a lot of room, even for two.

Top heavyness addressed: As well documented we turned over the Landy once. To lower the centre of gravity I could possibly put everything inside. There is a good plan of how to, on the drawing board it works. Strap everything down, tighten it well. (PS 2011/04: I did that once, when driving the Liberian jungle in 2008.

I could then put up my tent on top...

Really I prefer to sleep, cook, eat, read and write on the laptop inside the Land Rover. It gives a sense of privacy.

And there is still the idea of buying a trailer (Sankey), ... So what for, to carry more? So-far I have resisted the temptation.

PS 2007/01: But now with kids, this idea will clearly be revisited.

PS 2011/04: I never bought the Sankey, I abandoned the Land Rover in Mali. One day I will go back and take it through the whole of Africa.

www.thisfabtrek.com > land-rover > boxes

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