​Since our last adventure most of our time has been spent trying to save the planet and the eco-systems we so dearly love and rely on. As every day passes the severity of the climate emergency we are in becomes more and more apparent. We dream of visiting the Amazon rainforest, but we fear that by the time we get there it might be gone!
 
Every action has a carbon cost attached to it, which is making decisions very hard to make. Should we even continue our trip? Will we feel huge guilt by doing something so selfish when we should be fighting for the planet? How will we get to South America? Do we need to stop using Bee-bee because she runs on diesel? Is it feasible to use an electric 4x4 to overland the world?
 
In this blog I’m going to focus on that last question. Is it feasible to use an electric vehicle to overland the world?

The simple answer is yes. In 2017, our friends, Magdalena and Benedikt were the first to circle the Caspian Sea in an electric vehicle (Tesla Model S), from Switzerland to Central Asia and back via the Baltic countries. The “official” charging points finished in Croatia, forcing Magdalena and Benedikt to get “creative” adding a new dimension to an already tough overland trip. I had the pleasure of designing the vehicle graphics and interviewing them on The Overlanding Podcast. 

On the 7th of April 2019, The Plug Me In project finally reached Sydney from the UK after travelling for 1,119 days through 34 countries, covering 95,000km becoming the longest journey in an Electric Vehicle to date.

So… It is possible, but...

​Is it greener to replace Bee-bee with an electric alternative?

​To calculate the carbon footprint of any vehicle is incredibly complex. The processes involved in getting raw minerals from the ground and made into a showroom ready vehicle are multifaceted and include many separate industries. Components have to be produced and often transported and then assembled. Every stage of the process requires energy and produces carbon, including the production of buildings and infrastructure (robots, phones, desks, etc).
 
Once the vehicle has been built, the way it is used, how old it is and how well it has been maintained are all wildly erratic variables that affect the amount of carbon it produces.
 
Luckily someone else has done most of the hard work for me. In his book “How Bad Are Bananas” – Mike Berners-Lee concludes that most new vehicles have a carbon footprint that equates to a monetary value. Berners-Lee suggests that a new vehicle will have a 720kg per £1000 that you spend on it. Unfortunately our vehicle isn’t new. Bee-bee is 26 years old and has a 3-Litre Turbo Diesel engine that has been well maintained.

Typically, embodied emissions produced in the production of new cars equal the exhaust pipe emissions over the entire lifetime of the vehicle. Bee-bee is older than average.
 
Berners-Lee deduces - “Generally speaking, it makes sense to keep your old car for as long as it is reliable, unless you are doing high mileage or the fuel consumption is ridiculously poor.” Essentially the longer you keep your vehicle the more the embodied emissions reduce per mile over time.
 
On top of the Carbon produced by burning the fuel there is the carbon cost of getting the fuel out the ground, refining it and then shipping it around the world.
 
Diesel engines are typically about 30% more efficient at turning fuel energy into vehicle movement. Unfortunately for us, each litre of Diesel has a slightly higher footprint (13 per cent) than petrol, but it produces a proportionately higher energy to compensate. Typically petrol is a cleaner option. Sadly diesel engines produce higher levels of microscopic particulates and nitrogen oxides and contribute massively to reductions in air quality that effect humans. These ultrafine particulates can penetrate deep into the lungs, causing irritation and can potentially trigger asthma attacks and cancer.
 
According to Berners-Lee “Overall, it is hard to say which fuel wins as the environmental vehicle fuel”. What we do know is that both petrol and diesel are pretty terrible for the planet, with diesel being worse for humans.

How does that compare with an electric vehicle?

​If the production of the vehicle produces about 50% of the total carbon footprint with exhaust pipe emissions making up the other half, does that mean that 50% of the total carbon footprint of an electrical vehicle is tied up in the production too? No, is the simply answer.
 
Electric cars use lithium-ion batteries. The extraction of the exotic materials (lithium, cobalt, magnesium and nickel) used to produce those batteries creates hotspots in the vehicle manufacturing process. In a head-to-head comparison, electric vehicle production generates about 97% more carbon than a traditional combustion engine, with about 43% (the hotspot) of that being the battery. As technology advances these figures should reduce.
 
Electric vehicles are charged by coal, gas and nuclear power stations, as well as some renewable sources, all of which have an associated carbon footprint. So that raises the question – how much of a carbon saving does an electric vehicle actually give you?
 
Well thankfully, again, someone else has done the hard work for me. Volkswagen (who can definitely be trusted when it comes to telling the truth regarding emissions) carried out a like-for-like cradle to grave comparison between a pure electric e-Golf and a diesel-powered Golf TDI.

Volkswagen concluded that “even in countries that are intensely reliant on coal-fired electricity, like China, a battery electric model will always pollute less CO2 than one with an internal combustion engine”.
 
Even with the additional carbon produced during the production of the battery the typical saving is about 15%. This would be greatly increased if the electricity used for charging was sourced from renewables.
 
That figure came as quite a surprise to me. I was expecting it to be a much higher saving.
 
It is pretty much impossible to come to a definitive conclusion as to the carbon saving figure we would make by switching to an electric vehicle – we simply can’t compare like for like. It would be fair to say though that we wouldn’t be adding more carbon by switching, especially if that vehicle was second-hand.
 
You only have to have a quick glance at the Electric Vehicle World Sales Database to realise the rate at which the sector is growing. 

As a result of the expanding electric vehicle market (and popularity of handheld devices), the demand for lithium is increasing exponentially. Between 2016 and 2018 Lithium doubled in price.
 
Ironically, as the world clambers to replace fossil fuels with clean energy in an effort to clean up the planet, the consequences of extracting that much lithium is becoming a major issue in its own right. Toxic chemical leaks from Lithium mines have wreaked havoc with ecosystems and it’s predicting that, by 2050, the demand for the exotic metals essential for lithium-ion batteries may be in short supply. The lithium extraction process uses huge amounts of water, in Chile’s Salar de Atacama, mining activities consumed 65% of the region’s water.
 
Lithium is not the only problematic metal used in producing batteries. Cobalt, unlike most metals, is classified as a toxic carcinogen and has been linked to cancer. It’s found in huge quantities across the whole of the Democratic Republic of Congo and central Africa and in recent years the price has quadrupled. These factors have resulted in unauthorised mines cashing in on the demand, resulting in unsafe and unethical methods of extraction, often using child labour, without the appropriate health and safety equipment and procedures.
 
The final issue with lithium-ion batteries is what to do with them once they reach the end of their lifespan. They are incredibly difficult to recycle.

Ironically when researching this blog post I discovered two companies, Voltra and Tembo, that make an electric 70 series Landcruiser… wait for it… to be used in mines that excavate coal. It is common knowledge that the world would be a much better place if fossil fuels were left in the ground. Where’s Alanis Morissette when you need her!?
​
“Voltra provides underground mining fleets with the durability and toughness of the original 79 series Land cruiser, but with zero emissions, significantly reducing a mine’s carbon footprint”.
 
Being an environmentally conscious overlander is hard work. Making the correct decisions to limit your own impact on the world is a minefield of complicated sums and moral dilemmas.

The market for off-road electric vehicles is currently slim. Telsa announced the CyberTruck last year. One part DeLorean, one part stealth bomber, it’s not the most attractive of vehicles and where would we put the rooftent? Elon Musk claims it’ll have a +500 Mile range, he also claimed it was bulletproof. At it’s big reveal, Telsa’s head of design, Franz vol Holzhausesn threw a metal ball at the windows to demonstrate how tough it was, embarrassingly the glass broke. With a price tag of +$60,000 for the all wheel drive tri-motor version and a release date of 2022 it’s highly unlikely to happen for us!

The most likely contender to populate the electric overland market is the Rivian R1. With a +400 mile range and some smart design Rivian are aiming for a market they understand. The Rivian R1 will be available as a pick-up and 7 seater station-wagon, has a wading depth of nearly a metre, up to 750hp, advanced traction control, a low centre of gravity and an incredible 0-60 time of 3 seconds. With independent motors operating each wheel it can even perform 360 degree “tank turns”. Again, with a price tag of +$60,000 and a pre-order waiting list I think we can cross this one off our list.

Some companies offer conversions for existing 4x4’s. For the traditionalist, Plower in Holland can build you an electric Land Rover Defender. In Germany Kreisel can build you a fully electric G-Class.

As all these vehicles are well out of our price range we find ourselves asking the question again - Is there a suitable vehicle, which could replace Bee-bee and appease our demand to see the world with as little impact on the planet as possible?
 
Yes… a bicycle. 

With a very limited budget, as well as frequently being presented with a wide range of items of varying price and quality, we spent a lot of time deciding where best to splash our cash when purchasing our adventure equipment.

These are the purchases we “ummmmed and aaaaahed” over buying at the beginning as, to us, they were expensive. In hindsight, the following we consider to be our top buys, our ‘best investments’.

The Toyota Hilux is renowned for its tank-like qualities, despite this, a trip like ours really takes its toll on the vehicle.  Our time back home has gave us the opportunity to do some essential work on poor Bee-bee and get her prepped for the next phase of our trip.

The 40,000+ miles we’ve racked up already had really started to show; wandering steering, pulling brakes, rattles and shakes. Regular maintenance is essential whilst travelling, but some jobs are just too large to undertake on the road, especially by a novice like myself.

The high mileage meant that Bee-bee’s second cam-belt change was due imminently and rather than trying to do it on the road it made sense to do it prior to our departure.

Any moving parts on the running gear really get worked hard off road. The rubber bushes on the anti-roll bars, track rod ends, steering idler and spring cups all required replacing as did the rear springs which had really started to sag due to being overloaded and overworked. 

The brake system had a full overhaul with new discs and pads/shoes all round. Whilst we had the wheels off it made sense to replace all the wheel studs as 70% of them had been over tightened and cross threaded by an over zealous tyre fitter with an air-gun. We changed all the wheel bearings at the same time.

The ECU Doctor came up trumps and has repaired the faulty ECU (Electronic Control Unit). My diagnosis, with a little help from the Hilux Surf Forum, was correct and the ECU is back in Bee-bee and she’s running fine. 

The ECU problem coupled with a few family legal matters that required signatures had delayed our departure for an extra few weeks. 

A quick service – all the filters, belts and fluids changed and Bee-bee is fit for the road.

Regular readers will be pleased to hear we’re currently on the French/Swiss border and heading southeast to eventually pick up our original route in Kazakhstan early next year. 

If you are new to our adventure you can get regular updates on our Facebook page. (Don’t forget to click ‘Like’) You can also check out our YouTube channel (don’t forget to subscribe) for short films of our exploits.

It’s wonderful to be wandering again and we are looking forward to making new friends on the road.

Bee-bee certainly picks her moments… The first time she broke down was in Russia when the alternator died and the battery ran flat leaving us stranded across a railway line!

Last weekend she again threw her toys from the pram at the most opportune moment!

On Saturday prior to leaving for a family camping trip she refused to start. The car was packed, the fridge was loaded, the batteries were charged, she turned over, but just refused to start. On closer inspection I noticed the glow-plug warm-up light wasn’t coming on either.  After a few checks with the meter and a quick visit to the Hilux Surf Forum I diagnosed the problem as the Electronic Control Unit (ECU). Hopefully.  It seems that it’s a common problem with at least two other people on the forum suffering the same fault this year. As it’s Bee-bee’s 20th birthday this year I’m wondering if Toyota have programmed a self-destruct sequence into the ECU!

So with a little white hire car in place we headed off camping with my nieces while Bee-bee missed out on all the fun, sat inactive and sulking on the driveway. The trip was planned to not only spend time with family but to also road-test all our kit prior to setting off again.

The ECU has now been sent to the highly recommended ECU-Doctor. With a car our age these kinds of parts are not available new anymore. Buying one from a broker is risky, so the best course of action is to get the ECU repaired and remapped. The ECU-Doctor can diagnose and confirm the suspected fault, repair it and offer a 12-month guarantee in the process. Let’s hope I’ve diagnosed it correctly and that he can work his magic on Bee-bee’s brain!

For the last couple of months there has been a bit of a lull in the car preparation whilst we concentrated on other areas of our trip planning; this is all about to change.

The spare bedroom at my parents house is already full of car part boxes and over the coming weeks they are going to multiply like little cardboard rabbits.

We have our work cut-out as we use the car on a daily basis, but we have formed a plan and it seems like a good one. Before we go into that, A WORD OF WARNING; from this point onwards this blog post becomes very techy and probably quite dull unless you have a keen interest in car cooling systems and roof racks.

Phase One: The Roof Rack

After spending countless hours on the internet downloading every interesting picture (they do exist) of an expedition roof rack I have come to a final decision on what will work best for us. The main problem with our car selection is the lack of roof gutters or roof rails. Essentially our little Bee-Bee has nothing to fit a roof rack too. After seeing the prices of expedition roof racks coupled with the lack of fixings I came to the conclusion that it would be better for us to get something custom fabricated. Custom normally equals expensive; enter Paul Bromley. Emma met Paul through her current job and had mentioned to him about our trip. Paul owns and runs a garage (Les Landes Garage) and knows a stack of people with all the expertise we need. After a chat with Paul we have arranged a ‘sponsorship in kind’ kinda deal with him. I’m keen to do as much work on the car as possible, but as winter is fast approaching I don’t really fancy working on our driveway in the pouring rain. Paul has agreed that we can do work in his garage and has offered up his expertise (which I will definitely need) at a discounted rate. He has also agreed to build us our roof rack for free. In return we will promote his garage and he will become one of our support partners. Paul is a genuinely nice guy and has a wealth of knowledge on anything practical; I can’t wait to get cracking and learn as much as possible from him.

Phase Two: The Cooling System

Over the last 8 months I have learnt an incredible amount about how our beloved 17 yr old Surf works. Out of all the mechanical areas of the vehicle that are going to need upgrading for such a trip, the cooling system is one area that needs the most attention to ease my mind. We are planning on visiting some hot countries and with a fully laden vehicle this can seriously put a strain on what is typically an engine that runs hot. The 1KZ-TE engine is notorious for boiling over and this can lead to burst radiators, split pipes and the worst-case scenario, a cracked head. The hot engine coupled to what is generally regarded a pretty useless temperature gauge is a recipe for disaster. After much research on the Hilux Surf forum, I have put together a plan which will safeguard our engine from blowing its top.

Before I do anything else, I’m going to fit an auxiliary digital water temp gauge and sender just to check what temperature the engine is running at the moment. This should give me a good idea of how successful my mods are. I will be keeping the original gauge and sender working as a back-up (not that it ever moves from halfway).

Next on the list is to fit the Kenlowe extractor fan on the bonnet, somewhere at the back with the vent facing the windscreen. This should improve the airflow through the engine bay and radiator no end. Apparently these fans can lower the engine bay temp up to 12 degrees, and with a black car in sunny climates that should certainly help keep all the temps down. We’ll check how effective it is once the digital temperature gauge is installed. In colder climates the fan should cunningly help de-ice the windscreen.

One of the major design flaws in the radiator on the automatic models is that the automatic transmission fluid (ATF) cooler is based in the lower half of the radiator. When under strain the gearbox oil can heat up excessively, the hot oil from the gearbox is then pumped through the bottom half of the rad. Instead of cooling, this can act like a heat exchanger and warm up what should be cool water in the radiator before pumping it back into the engine. Literally not cool!

As the vehicle is 17 yrs old and not knowing the full history of it I’m going to fit a new replacement radiator from Milners to ease my mind, at £115 this could be a saving grace. Whilst I’ve got the front end in bits, I’m going to stick an additional ATF cooler in, I’m planning on sticking this inline before the radiator so the oil is cooled before it enters the radiator for extra cooling. This additional cooler will not only help keep the temperature of the gearbox oil down (essential with a fully loaded car) but will also help prevent the gear box oil boiling up the water/coolant.

My final cooling system modification is a very simple but effective one. The fan on these vehicles is of the viscous type. This means that is has an oil operated clutch in it. When the engine heats up, the oil changes consistency and the fan starts to grip more and turn faster. Over time the oil can slowly leak out and make the fan less effective. The oil in the fan can be replaced with a different consistency making it kick in slightly earlier cooling the engine more effectively.

With the front end looking so bare, it seems that now would be a good time to install a new tubular winch bumper. The winch bumper obviously facilitates the option of fitting a winch, but also reinforces the front end should we every encounter a deer, kangaroo or Indian truck driver. After much internet hunting that generally led to dead ends I have managed to hunt down a man fittingly named Monster Truck Man (or MTM to his Hilux Pick-Up Owners Club forum buddies) who can make us one for our model of car that costs much less than the U.S versions I found so easily.

Once all these modifications are done I will be happy that our beloved Bee-Bee engine will be suitably prepared for our trip.

Andy

Last weekend, little Bee-Bee spat her dummy from the pram for the first time. I had spent the day clay pigeon shooting and boozing on the little island of Herm, on my return to Guernsey, Emma drove Bee-Bee into town to pick me up from the pub. When it was time to leave Emma went to start Bee-Bee and all we got was the dreaded solenoid click. By this time the days drink had caught up with me and I wasn’t on my top car fixing form.

The lights, windows, etc worked and so the batteries (our Surf is fitted with a winter kit which means it has two starter batteries for extra ummmph) were not completely flat. Although being a little drunk I still knew that this didn’t actually mean a thing, to start the car uses ALL the power and if the batteries had run down just a little they might not have had the kick to get the starter motor going. In my inebriated state I did the classic repeating myself thing, and constantly asked Emma if she had left the lights on.

Luckily with the bonnet raised someone recognised the international symbol for ‘car help needed’ and offered a jump start (from a smug Range Rover owner no less). We rolled the car back and attached the jumper cables. Still the starter motor just clicked away. I tried knocking the starter motor with a hammer to try and get the solenoid to engage, I also tried rocking the car back and forth in gear a few times too. The Range Rover owner left and two minutes later someone else offered a jump start, again nothing helped. In the end trying to fix a car in the dark, wet (it was raining...I hadn’t pee’d myself) and whilst drunk seemed a little pointless and so we pushed her back into a car park space and got a taxi home.

The next day with a clear head, daylight and a few tools we headed back down to the car. We initially tried turning the key in the hope that she might have magically fixed herself, but all we got was the dreaded click, click, click, click.

A quick mooch under the bonnet revealed one of the two fan belts that run to the alternator had snapped. The Surf has a three belt system (one for the air con and two for the alternator/water pump) so that if one snaps, the remaining belts will still power the water pump so the car won’t over heat. The remaining belt that was running to the alternator was loose and more than likely turned the alternator but not enough to maintain a regular charge to the batteries.

After a bit of tinkering and some butchering of some incredibly cheap jumper leads we managed to fire Bee-Bee up by jumping her off our Toyota MR2. I’m still a little confused why the Range Rover didn’t chuck out enough power to get her started whilst the little battery in the MR2 did the job fairly easily.

Anyway she was running and we managed to get her home. I ordered a belt kit with the plan to change all three belts whilst I was at it from Rough Trax. Two days later the belts turned up, along with a new heavy duty set of 3m jumper cables. I also collected my multimeter from work, with the plan of testing the alternator, starter motor and batteries properly.

I had Friday afternoon off work and decided to get busy on the belts. This was the first time I had worked on Bee-Bee properly and everything was going swimmingly, a few bolts were a bit awkward to reach but nothing out the ordinary...until! I got to the point where it was time to put the new belts on, the alternator was as loose as it would go on the adjustors but the belts seemed to by mm’s too short. I had no doubt that the belts weren’t correct as Rough Trax specializes in Hilux Surf’s. The only reason I could think of was that because the alternator had recently been replaced and that maybe the new one was not a stock Toyota part and the spacing was set-up slightly differently. Anyway after an hour of trying every trick in the trade to get them on I decided I had enough for one day as the light was dropping.

Feeling very disheartened I hit up the Hilux Surf forum with the hope that someone else had encountered the same problem and that the answer was awaiting me in html format. No such luck. In bed that evening I had a bit of a brainwave; if I removed all the alternator bolts rather than just releasing the tension on it, then I could angle the alternator, hook the belts over and bolt it back in place with the belts on. In theory it seemed like a good idea. On Saturday morning I logged on to the forum again and posed the question, being slightly impatient I didn’t bother waiting for anyone to reply and decided to just crack on with it.

The alternator is held in place with just two bolts; one acts as a pivot and attaches it to the engine whilst the other bolts it to the tension adjustment set-up. It was a bit of a squeeze to reach both of these but they came out without too much of a fight.

The alternator on the other hand was well and truly wedged in place between both sides of the pivot bracket, with some seriously wiggling/prying it dropped out. Having the alternator loose meant that it was easy to hook the two fan belts over the pulley. When came the time to put the alternator back I was faced with yet another problem. The mount on the engine block where the alternator pivots has a shim in it that tightens up against the alternator to clamp it in place when you tighten the main alternator bolt. This shim was wedged in position, to the point where I wasn’t even sure it was supposed to move. The shim being wedged in place meant getting the alternator back in between the mounts was nigh on impossible. Again I went to the forum for help, and again being impatient I didn’t wait around for an answer. I popped to the hardware store and bought a nut, bolt and washer set-up with the idea of sandwiching the shim back in place by tightening the nut and bolt through it. It worked, with the shim back in the open position it gave me loads more room to play with and slipping the alternator back in with the belts on was a piece of cake. The second bolt was a little more annoying to get in but it went with a bit of persistence. After that everything went back together fairly straight forward.

Once back together with the batteries in place I checked them with the meter and discovered they still had just under 12v in them. I tested the new jumper cables and she started first time, I checked the meter reading again and the batteries read at 14.3v so no problems with the alternator. I left it running for 10 minutes to build up some charge and switched her off and tried her again, she started first time.

So what should have been a simple 30/40 minute job turned into about a 3 – 4 hour job. Once I had finished I checked back on the forum and discovered that a few people had commented on my post, most advised it was a bad idea and pretty much not possible.

So despite all the problems and against the odds I was just happy that I managed to find a way to do it. Although in hindsight there may have been an easier way to do it by removing the water pump pulley and hooking the belts over. Anyway, it has been about 10 years since I have worked on any cars and if I had not been able to sort this it would have really knocked my confidence.

One thing it has taught me is that improvising works but having the correct tools for the job really speeds up the process and lessons the stress.


Andy