Hey forum people, my lack of internet access and crazy travels has left me behind in replying to the question of how well we or the car and bed survived the journey - London to Mongolia.
Quick upgrade synopsis followed by what happened.
- Use a new 5mm-8mm sheet of ply.
- Fix the frame to the body of the car or better yet weld angle brackets so the bed ‘floats’.
- Split the front piece in 2, this allows you to access the foot wells easily once your bed has been made.
- The rear piece does not need to be cut to fit / shape. and it is a pain if it has been.
- Strap your spare wheel to the roof…..save your sanity.
As far as the bed was concerned, very well albeit 2 modifications and being constructed out of scrap bin finds and borrowed hand tools…..
After 2 weeks the ****ty plinth segment broke due to crap wood and crappier screws. A lovely Invernessian cut us a thick piece of scrap mdf for £1 (yes we knew it wouldn’t last either). This split enroute through Switzerland, which actually came in handy. allowing us to access each side of the foot well separately.
We eventually replaced it yet again with reinforced MDF(its all they had) in Elista Russia. It was originally free form a random encounter though we bought them some drinks and gifted foreign coins…. so really it was £10 but fun experience with local Kalmayk. This too broke in Siberia on our way to Mongolia and required some padding under the seat to old it in place.
Our biggest issue was the frame. Both in Kazakhstan and Mongolia the bed kept shifting forward requiring reseating each time we set up camp.
The car survived all the way to Mongolia and back to Kyrgyzstan where we ‘donated’ it.
Tyres: the original city tyres made it to Arvaikheer, Mongolia.
- We totalled 3 punctures and a broken tyre valve in Kazakhstan, 2 punctures in Siberia. cost of repair varied form 60 pence - £2, this included truing and balancing the wheel. 3 punctures and a shredded tyre in Mongolia Cost £3-6, no one balances wheels in mongolia.
- Replaced the front tyres in Arvaikheer, Mongolia for 85r off road winters. It snowed and we couldn’t drive a 1˚ gradient. They just fit in, though the right fender rubbed when turning left which suggested the chassis finally bent or the body slipped 1/2 cm. 2 x tyres = 30 Euro
- Replaced the rear tyres for 75r off road winters after reaching Olgii, Mongolia. A piece the size a CD threaded off, and we could not find matching replacements resulting in the pair purchase…. which was a blessing as more snow was encountered. 2 x tyres = 35 Euro.
Wheels: Brutally bent out of shape. Cause, Kazakhstan roads.
- All four tyres needed hammering into a circular shape and rebalancing. this was done after crossing the Russian border. 4 hubs = £10, over priced for Russia… but we had no other options and it was a little dangerous.
CV Joints: Clickity click. Cause, f’n Kazakhstan.
- We had issues once we entered Kyrgyzstan with clicking and slipping which progressively got worse…. still we continued to drive 2,000+ miles. We replaced the left side in Gorno Altaysk, Siberia. Exceptionally cheap and quick to fix we purchased the parts then dropped in to a garage turnaround 30mins!! CV joint £12.50 , Labour £8
- By the time we returned to Kyrgyzstan both CV joints needed replacing.
Miscellaneous: Various other incidents.
- Broken door lock in Bishkek,Kyrgyzstan due to brake in and having our laptops pinched…. We had an off day and were ill.
- Cracked wind screen from random rock from nowhere.
- Broken window wipers from the european summer rain.
- Number broke off in the Aral sea. after freeing out from a sand trap.
- Lost the bumper between the Gobi desert and a swamp land.
- Front lamps broke twice, cabling dislodged a few times as well. over priced parts in Mongolia £12.
Living in the Car: Awesome
We survived. The hardest part was the European rain which we had to endure as i was hospitalised and had to stay in the E.U due to Travel Insurance restrictions. Rain and cold make Micra Cramping a tiresome affair. We managed to preserver and set up our sleeping arrangement without getting out of the car. Sleeping through a few electrical storms was magical.
The heat of the Stan’s was difficult at first but mostly during the day while driving as we had no air con. Mongolian snow and instant change to winter was also an issue. Averaging -14˚ and on our final night at the border a survivalist -25/27˚. When its this cold you don’t care about open flames in a car full of flammable material and fill a aluminium pot with tea light candles and huddle under your camel hair blankets and hope for the best.
Our relationship survived too…. but it was testing at times. The roads are rough and make you grumpy after getting 200 miles in 10hrs.
We ate, washed, entertained, and cooked in the car. We used the heat of the day to cook our food, and the cool of the night and foot wheel to keep it cool and fresh.
Terrain: menacing.
We drove, got stuck, evaded, escaped and bounced through, overhand from:
- Pot holes the width of the car.
- Tarmac wave *slips the height of the car. * when the road heats up and 20 ton trucks drive by - the tarmac slips to either side causing ripples and waves in the road….
- Truck tracks in the tarmac. As above but only enough to get you stuck and scuff the bottom of the car.
- Sand traps in the Aral sea. There are also a slew of honeycomb tunnels under the seabed which cave in. We escaped using Yoga mats and our bed base as traction.
- Empty gas stations. No gas for 600 miles!! easily fixed with Kazakhstan hospitality.
- Carburettor flooding. Thanks to some ingenious nomadic Mongolians.
- River crossings.
- Rock falls.
- Half bridges and river planks.
- Roads that disappeared.
- Roads that turned into swamps, marshes and sand.
- Roads that were everything but a road.
- Ticks, Mozzies and leeches. Dust mites finally got us.
- 70˚ inclines on heavy metal roads.
- -˚17 blizzards 4m visibility and half iced river crossings.
- - 25˚ engine starts.
- A near head-on collision - Serbia.
- Stray dogs and drunken Tuvan's.
- Never paid a fine or bribe.
- No food poisoning.
- No terrorists.
- Got moved on twice.
- Confronted by a Buddhist monk for parking overnight at the monastery. He was happy to here i was from NZ, my wife was not a prostitute and that we would be moving on in the morning.
- Detained by Russian border control on suspected terrorism. Twice. Turkish visa + new issue female U.K passport + a gifted Koran = Terrorist, apparently.
- Oh, and we lost our smart phone in a snowstorm, we then navigated 3 weeks inMongolia using a compass, tourist sightseeing map, and the Mongolian nomads general ‘over there’ directions . FYI Mongolian maps are just general directions… not real roads or tracks.
Conclusion: Do it, keep doing it, never return.
Weather and visa issues permitting we would have kept on travelling this way and probably spent a little adding some useful modifications such as:
- Hatchback awning.
- Motorised water pump for the water filter.
- Roof rack for tyres and gas.
- Newer off 75r road tyres.
- Led spot lights front and back.
- Secondary battery for digital comfort.
As a camper it worked really well and efficiently. Gas was cheap - so were the road taxes for the size of vehicle. Also, no one would consider you would actually sleep inside. this helped with our urban camping in Europe.
It was sad to let the Micra go. We loved the Cramping lifestyle and the freedom we had.
Warning!!
Don’t make this your first adventure in life!!!
Now that we are on the road hitching and relying on accommodation and public transport the trip has somewhat ruined all current travel. The freedom of pulling over infant of an immense vista all to yourself can not be matched - watching eagles soar above (or alongside your car), horses gallop and fight, camels chase and spit, and clouds dance amongst 7,000m peaks - its hard to come back to earth. Even here in India where we have been the last 5 months where travel is cheap… the freedom of a capable vehicle is sorely pined for.
Power on!!!!
