Hi peeps, newbie here, just bumping this thread as I'd be interested in hearing about experiences of long distance and long term travel in a Cali, in particular vehicle preparation. Did you take spares? What about repairs/maintenance/servicing in foreign countries?
I hadn't even considered the Cali until I browsed a LR site and read about a guy chopping in his 110 Defender for one, looks sweet!
My shortlist up until this moment includes a Defender 90 with a Maggi pop up rooftent (they are the biz). Plus overland prep such as leisure battery, invertor, side awning, etc. etc. A late model specced up as I want it would cost about 35k. (Think tons of soundproofing, improved lights, decent stereo, it adds up).
Other option is a Freelander, again with a Maggi up top, this is the soft option, luxo overlanding, but less customisable, probably do away with 240v which limits the amount of electronics I can use without being near civilisation (laptop, etc).
Why Landrover? Europe wide roadside assistance and high residuals (plus if I'm honest, the Defender looks the part). I doubt I will encounter anything that would be anywhere near the offroad limits of these 2, but Morocco could get interesting...
Both would require outside cooking, improvisation wrt to domestics but that's part of the fun. There is a budget for hotel/B&B stays maybe once a week. Campsites and wild camping the rest of the time.
Which brings me to the California, with my all-in vehicle budget of 32-35k I could probably go a bit higher as I have seen a few nice looking vans at near 40k. Lot of money but essentially ready to go, and a high residual although part of the plan is to keep the vehicle after the trip is over.
Aiming to be away for about a year, no real route plan, muck about in Spain and France for a couple of months first.
Defender - Can go anywhere (noisy, characterful, tons of fun). Infinitely customisable.
Freelander - Can nearly go anywhere (and a practical car when put back to normal). Lots of
comfort)
California - Most comfortable by far, offroad an unknown (although I've driven 2wd vans in
Bavarian winters with no problems, just need winter tyres).
I'm going to be really struggling to make a decision. Would welcome comments and thoughts on long trips and how the van would stand up to rugged use.