Driving long distance.... any advice?

[minkukel]

My advice, take it, dont take it

Dont stop every 2hours. Or every hour. Stop when you need to stop. I always find myself trying to make up the time i lost due to the stop. Ending up speeding and being worse off.

Your car got serviced last month? Dont service it now again, just asking for issues,

You should be able to do 700ish a day comfortably. Plan on that.

Keep a bottle or three of water in the car and a pillow,

enable roaming on your phone, incase you get into nam and cant find a sim car for what ever reason

Dont rush the N3, there are always roadworks on there. Just drive and be safe

And a covid negative test.

Seems that you can do a rapid test at the border. I'll just check on another forum.

 

[Big Rat]

thanks man... I am very excited lol. was even thinking of having the car sent to a proper workshop for a service lol....it is running great so far but can't be too careful

Don't. Every time i made extra effort to service or change oil or do anything before a long trip it backfired for me.
I check tire pressure, i check oil and water levels. and top up the window washers.

 

[RonSwanson]

And a covid negative test.

And pay your TV license.

 

[Agent_Smith]

Moose is back in Oranjemund.

Oh!! Well, scratch that idea then...

 

[ngoni615]

Eish another thing. covid 19 test should be valid and must be done within 72 hours before entry. Meaning if you are to make it to Namib while it is still valid, one has to hit the road right and cover as much ground as possible?

 

[ngoni615]

Don't forget to pop in and visit @Mortymoose when you hit Swakopmund. I'm sure he'll ply you with copious amounts of beer and vleis!

All jokes aside, travel safe, watch out for idiots, stop regularly, and enjoy the trip. I hope you plan it to reach Swakop around sunset. I drove the Swakop / Walvis route many years ago at sunset and was awestruck by the sheer beauty of red desert to my left and blue ocean to the right.

Damn you been to Nams? how are the roads that side?

 

[azbob]

Use this thing as necessary unless you still want sand in your car 5 years later.

 

[ngoni615]

My advice, take it, dont take it

Dont stop every 2hours. Or every hour. Stop when you need to stop. I always find myself trying to make up the time i lost due to the stop. Ending up speeding and being worse off.

Your car got serviced last month? Dont service it now again, just asking for issues,

You should be able to do 700ish a day comfortably. Plan on that.

Keep a bottle or three of water in the car and a pillow,

enable roaming on your phone, incase you get into nam and cant find a sim car for what ever reason

Dont rush the N3, there are always roadworks on there. Just drive and be safe

Appreciate it bro....

 

[minkukel]

Eish another thing. covid 19 test should be valid and must be done within 72 hours before entry. Meaning if you are to make it to Namib while it is still valid, one has to hit the road right and cover as much ground as possible?

You can do one in Upington. Let me just check.
The government hospital is cheaper than Pathcare, and will give you your result in 2 hours.

 

[minkukel]

Damn you been to Nams? how are the roads that side?

Better than SA

 

[Agent_Smith]

Damn you been to Nams? how are the roads that side?

Yeah done a bit of driving up there but it was years ago. I would say just be careful when driving after dark. Taxis and other bad drivers are not the only problem. Animals are all over the place up there. Last thing you want to do is whack one at 100km/h as it runs out in front of you.

 

[ngoni615]

Better than SA

Very nice.....windhoek?

 

[ngoni615]

Yeah done a bit of driving up there but it was years ago. I would say just be careful when driving after dark. Taxis and other bad drivers are not the only problem. Animals are all over the place up there. Last thing you want to do is whack one at 100km/h as it runs out in front of you.

Thanks man appreciate it. would be a shame to hit an animal

 

[minkukel]

Very nice.....windhoek?

Roads are in general better maintained than SA but then the drivers are just as bad. Windhoek has the morning and afternoon traffic problem.

 

[Sepeng]

Most of what I'd say has already been covered.
Maybe to add...

Get yourself a tire pressure gauge - too many garages gauges are just way off.
Maybe some sort of tire leak repair kit as well. And know how to use it obviously.
Food - so I know roadtrips you're generally eating fast-foods, chocolates, and that's part of the whole appeal. But I find if I drink water and have like a home made sandwich I just feel better through the trip. Pee far more often but you're by yourself. Trip is way too long for this to always hold true but when you can, try it.
Fill up, even if you think you don't need to.
And enjoy and be safe, come back and tell us how it went.

 

[ngoni615]

Most of what I'd say has already been covered.
Maybe to add...

Get yourself a tire pressure gauge - too many garages gauges are just way off.
Maybe some sort of tire leak repair kit as well. And know how to use it obviously.
Food - so I know roadtrips you're generally eating fast-foods, chocolates, and that's part of the whole appeal. But I find if I drink water and have like a home made sandwich I just feel better through the trip. Pee far more often but you're by yourself. Trip is way too long for this to always hold true but when you can, try it.
Fill up, even if you think you don't need to.
And enjoy and be safe, come back and tell us how it went.

would like to record the trip so i guess a dashcam is necessary. thanks bro

 

[Barbarian Conan]

My wife and I did a 2500km round trip not too long ago.
We planned for 4.5 hours, 6 hours max per day. It worked great. No rush, and if we somehow made a longer stop, everything was still fine.

Pack snacks. Protein bars work great. If you're in the middle of nowhere and hungry, a protein bar can keep you satisfied for 3 hours.

Edit:
Don't pack your snack box / cooler box to the brim. You will probably stop at farm stalls with nice stuff to buy.

 

[minkukel]

Most of what I'd say has already been covered.
Maybe to add...

Get yourself a tire pressure gauge - too many garages gauges are just way off.
Maybe some sort of tire leak repair kit as well. And know how to use it obviously.
Food - so I know roadtrips you're generally eating fast-foods, chocolates, and that's part of the whole appeal. But I find if I drink water and have like a home made sandwich I just feel better through the trip. Pee far more often but you're by yourself. Trip is way too long for this to always hold true but when you can, try it.
Fill up, even if you think you don't need to.
And enjoy and be safe, come back and tell us how it went.

Now every one is going to laugh:
I always made sure I had tinned food like viennas and baked beans, meatballs and baked beans etc in the vehicle and at least 5 liters of water. And something like this: https://www.outdoorwarehouse.co.za/product/coghlan-s-folding-stove
You heat the tin on the stove and eat.
My other favourite were russians and chips. You drive with 1 hand and eat with the other.

 

[Mortymoose]

Not sure if this helps...

 

[minkukel]

Not sure if this helps...

View attachment 1066543

Thanks Moose. The freaking rules changes too much.