Sahara Challenge 2: Equipment for Europe and Africa

Previous Bailey trips have crossed Australia, navigated the Arctic Circle in the middle of winter, and visited 21 countries in just 21 days. However, the Sahara Challenge is a very different beast indeed. The early stages of the trip pass through France, Spain and Portugal before we board the ferry for Tangier. Landmarks along Morocco’s east coast are popular tourist destinations, but once free of the cities, the magic of the Sahara Desert will draw us in. The route will be tackled by two Bailey Phoenix+ 642 caravans, towed by Ford Rangers that have undergone the MS-RT treatment. Flying the flag for motorhome owners is a Bailey Adamo 75-4T.

Experienced leisure vehicle owners will know that caravans and motorhomes are self-sufficient and require little more than a few ‘goodies’ to make extended travel easier. That said, we need to pack a few extra things for when the going gets tough.

Equipment we routinely use in the UK: Caravan-specific

• Towing mirrors.
• Tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS).
• Aquaroll and Wastemaster, plus associated pipework.
• Isabella Shadow sun canopy.
• Levelling ramps.
• Torque wrench for wheel bolts.

Equipment we routinely use in the UK Motorhome-specific:

• Covers for the cab glass to keep the night-time desert chill at bay.
• We also have a weight plate upgrade that grants us extra payload. These are available from Prima Leisure.

Essential kit for overseas trips

• European cable adapter. This allows us to use a 2-pin Euro-style socket at campsites.
• Polarity Checker. This ensures that the 230v feed is live-to-live and negative-to-negative.
• As Morocco doesn’t have an LPG network, we’ll fit one UK Calor bottle in each leisure vehicle and hire a Moroccan bottle when we arrive. To ensure the gas connection is as effortless as possible, the kind folks at Gaslow have supplied suitable hoses.
• The motorhome will be fitted with an external BBQ point as we’re hoping for good weather.

Being self-sufficient in Morocco (or on a UK pitch that doesn’t have an electric hook-up)

• The more remote Moroccan destinations don’t have an electric hook-up, so we’ll be self-sufficient during parts of the trip. We have a BBL Avon lithium leisure battery to keep us powered-up in the desert and a Truma solar panel that will make the most of the Moroccan sunshine.

Electronic goodies

Electronic additions include:

• Avtex Wi-Fi unit. I’ve used a similar unit in my caravan with excellent results.
• Avtex sat nav for each vehicle. If you didn’t know, the Avtex sat nav can be programmed with vehicle dimensions – length, width, height & weight – and will prepare a route accordingly. These units are pre-programmed with many UK and European campsites, which negates latitude and longitude coordinates when travelling on the continent. It’s worth noting that additional mapping is required for Morocco, but this is simply an external memory card that slots into place.

Security 

• Wheel lock.
• Hitch lock.
• Additional door lock to habitation doors.
• The motorhome is fitted with a tracker that will follow its route 24/7.

When the going gets tough

As we plan to follow a somewhat adventurous route, and with tyre choice being ‘limited’ during the Bristanbul trip, we’ll also take spare tyres and wheels. Romanian, Albanian and Turkish roads proved challenging last time, with elements of the Moroccan route looking tougher still. A spare tyre for the spare wheel may be overkill for a gentle family trip, but the Sahara Challenge promises to live up to the name. Both Phoenix+ caravans will be fitted with shock absorbers.

Wish us luck!