We have been asked by a few guys for a few stats on the fuel, etc, so here goes:
We have been away for just over 70 days now and have covered 4,300 miles (6920km).
Fuel economy is a 12.8mpg, or 22lts per 100km in new money, this is very accurate and is almost exactly what we achieved on our 5 week tour of west Scotland and its Isles.
Fuel here in Morocco is much cheaper at about 63p per litre, so fuel economy is not quite so crucial.
In 4,300 miles, I have topped up with engine oil, on a couple of occasions, and the total used is a meagre 1.5litres. Pretty good considering the huge piston size and the challenging climbs that its done. In one day we went from sea level to over 7400 ft, up and over the Atlas Mountains. The truck was faultless on this day, and the brakes performed well on the long descent back down (no exhaust brake fitted).
In the desert heat (over 44c in the shade), both our fridges are going flat out virtually, but if the truck doesn’t move (no alternator charging the leisure batteries), the solar panel on the roof is enough to replenish the batteries during the day, this includes us using the water pump, a bit of charging of phones etc, and interior lights. Its not possible to use the Dometic Aircon unit unless we are plugged into a DECENT shore power, or the generator is being run all the time that its on. As we don’t have a shore power lead, the Aircon is a bit of a waste of time.
The cooling system seems to be working fine now, after the fan episode in Portugal.
The airline that came with the Viair Compressor decided it wasn’t man enough, so we have adapted our Air tank air line so it fits both compressor and air tank take off ( see http://www.lorrywaydown.com for full sorry tale).
We are still using our 1st UK spec gas bottle (we have 2no 6kg on board), but most of our cooking is being done on the diesel hob, which is proving worth every penny spent on it. The gas is mostly used for boiling kettle, and when we need quick heat (as the diesel hob takes a while to warm up). We were hoping to get our nearly empty bottle refilled in Agadir, this has proved impossible, as the main man (Mr Casa) does not have an adapter to fit UK bottles. We have also purchased a couple of smaller (3kilo I think) gas bottles for using to cook outside, just with a large burner head on the top. These bottles cost about £5 each and cost less than 80p to exchange for a refill.
When we had Colonel K built, Ed Perry plumbed the hot water calorfier (insulated tank) into the cooling system of the engine, this ensures that we have about 2 days of hot water when we park up. This “free” hot water also means that we don’t have to fire up the diesel hot water boiler very often.
I wanted to know how much water we used when taking a shower, so after we had both finished, we measured the water from the grey water tank and it was exactly 10 litres, so about 5 litres each, not bad eh, especially considering the 30psi pressure in the water system.
The gas struts have failed on one of the crappy Dometic roof windows, so are having 4 new ones from SGS Engineering sent over. It seems this is a recurring problem. The Dometic windows are crap too, the stays don’t seem to be replaceable, and the blinds I’m sure won’t last the trip.
Costs wise, we have budgeted at £60.00 per day for the two of us, for the whole trip. During our time in Europe (France, Spain, Portugal, and back through Spain), we averaged £72.49 per day. We always knew that this was going to be the costly part of the trip, though this was kept down to some extent due to us “wild camping” quite a bit, especially in Portugal.
As I write this we have been in Morocco for 40 days, and including the ferry from Spain, and our truck insurance (bought in Morocco), and a few extra items (such as a submersible pump and hose, an outdoor rug, a hookup lead and a few smal items), our average daily spend is £52.47. This also includes a trip to Carrefour Supermarket in AgadirAgadir today, where we topped up our stores and fridges, and will last us for a couple of weeks. The costs in Morocco have been kept down by the fact that we have not been “bombing” around from place to place, and indeed we have been at the same campsite in Agadir for just over a week.
I hope this goes some way to answering some of the questions that have been sent.
V
lorrywaydown 
Hi both of you what a pleasure to read your blog first thing this morning so much good information I only wish I could be there. Safe onward trip regards Rod.
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