Chantal and Thomas on the road
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Gibraltar – Spain – Portugal – France – Switzerland
It has been a few days now since we left Morocco for the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, just before the Islamic month of Ramadan. It was also a departure from another world. As soon as we had passed the border controls, we were already in a familiar culture; for us, Ceuta was the stepping stone to Europe. Read More
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…a few reflections on the last 90 days
We liked the Kingdom of Morocco very much. We still rave about the south, i.e. south of the High and Anti-Atlas, where we would have liked to stay a little longer and enjoyed the endless expanses more. But we couldn’t hide our enthusiasm for the north either; in the cities as well as in the villages, life is vibrant and, in addition to the landscape, the people were also very approachable. However, there are also other things that rather deterred us and made us think. There were things that made our stay a burden at times and we almost cut our trip short in the kingdom; but just, almost. Read More
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Agafay Desert – Middle Atlas – Meknès – Rabat – Tangier – Ceuta (ES)
We were amazed by the Agafay desert; long weekends in Morocco with a full experience in the desert, where you can recover from the exertions of the quad tour in the pool and see the snow-capped peaks of the High Atlas. Crazy world! No, we left this commercialism behind and continued our way towards the High and Middle Atlas. Read More
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Finally, the time had come; a stable weather window promised us no getting stuck somewhere south of Tizi n’Tichka – a pass in the High Atlas – and also on the northern side the wet weather period should be over. We quickly packed our things on the campsite in Zagora and when saying goodbye to the groundsman, he casually remarked that we would surely be back at the site soon. We laughed together and hoped that it would not be so. Read More
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Tan-Tan – Agadir – across the Anti-Atlas – Iriqui-N.P. – Zagora – Ouarzazate – Zagora
We had a ‘déjà vu’ at the Ksar Tafnidilt (Tan-Tan); again strong wind from the east and not exactly the best weather forecast. Further northeast, i.e. towards Agadir, the weather and temperatures should be much more pleasant and our food and drink supplies had been used up in the meantime. Even further north, i.e. beyond Agadir, almost wintry conditions were predicted. Read More
(The information is listed consecutively and contains some very interesting details. Just scroll through for more details).
Service and maintenance in Morocco
Driving in the desert puts more strain on a vehicle than in normal traffic and this is taken into account in the operating instructions, i.e. the regular maintenance intervals are halved. So our Jeep was also exposed to increased stress from Merzouga and the first sandstorm also put a strain on the other systems. In addition to the engine, the air filter was clogged with sand. Our Jeep has a washable K&N air filter; after cleaning and drying, the lamellas were carefully oiled again. We then went to the Jeep branch in Agadir, where the engine oil and the oil filter were replaced. Surprisingly, the oil filter for our diesel engine was in stock there.
After the second desert excursion, another vehicle check was carried out, where all oil levels were checked and topped up if necessary. The air filter was not particularly dirty, so it did not need to be washed.
The steering knuckles on the front axle were lubricated and all the rubber seals on the front and rear axles were maintained.
The brake pads were checked for wear, which revealed that the rear brake pads would need to be replaced soon.
After visually inspecting all the mounting screws and attachments, the wheels were adjusted according to the operating manual.
The constant malfunction of the driver’s airbag could not be rectified. The bumpy rides were probably too much for the sensitive sensor technology. Let’s hope that the airbag does not deploy when it is not needed.
30 November 2024 / Roquetas de Mar (Almería)
209,609 km / new brake callipers on the rear axle and minor maintenance work
Despite the vague recommendation of the mechanic at the Jeep garage in Cartagena, I no longer trusted the rear leaking brake calliper; more and more brake fluid was dripping out of it. Since such brake callipers are difficult to obtain even for the official Jeep dealer and the delivery time was uncertain, I decided to order these parts directly from a German after-market supplier where they were in stock and offered me express delivery.
After three days, the longed-for package arrived at the campsite in Spain and I immediately got to work. The brake callipers were replaced on both sides, the guide pins were serviced and, with Chantal’s help, the brake system was bled.
Further minor maintenance work was also pending and for our onward journey we relocated our wheels in accordance with the maintenance book. So we should be prepared for the Spanish Sierras – the test drive – and Morocco.
Losing weight
Autumn 2024
After the problems with the wheel bearings, which were, among other things, caused by the total weight of the vehicle, we decided to make our ‘RuGa’ lighter. So far, I (Tom) have designed the entire interior out of steel and textured coated plywood. The advantage was that I could process and weld the steel myself and when choosing the textured coated plywood, I always selected the most stable thicknesses. This way we already had a decent total weight without any additional load. In the end, with all the additional load, we were about 200 kg over the permissible total weight! Read More
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Plage Blanche – Agadir – Tafraout – Erg Chegaga – Tan-Tan
The sandstorm was very strong by our standards and visibility was limited at times. After intensive study of the weather maps and forecasts, we decided to head north for the time being from the campsite on the lower reaches of the Drâa river. It should be a lot better there and the mountains should provide better protection from the strong northeasterly wind. With this hope we left Ksar Tafnidilt and followed the Drâa river towards the sea on the right bank. Read More
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….lower the tyre pressure and off we go
No sooner had we arrived at the foot of the Erg Chebbi – a large sand dune landscape east of Merzouga – than all sorts of ‘guides and advisors’ for desert adventures were standing next to the car. They all wanted to make us the ultimate offer; we really were spoilt for choice. But we left ourselves some time for our arrival day. Instead, we had to help a German traveller repair his caravan. A ‘guide’ led him out to the foot of the Erg Chebbi and after a crash half the inner floor was missing from the caravan and the ‘guide’ was nowhere to be found. Read More
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…a short trip around Almería and a dip into Moroccan life
Our express delivery with the required spare parts arrived almost on time at the campsite in Spain. The rear brake callipers were fitted that same afternoon and the brake system bled accordingly. After the further maintenance work, the work done of course had to be thoroughly tested. We still had time and the nearby sierras were perfect for testing the new brake calipers. Read More
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…the long way to Morocco
The days were getting shorter, the nights longer and our desire to continue our journey south had increased almost immeasurably. After moving into our new shared flat in Dornach and making many adjustments to our camper van, i.e. the slimming programme (see also under ‘Technology’), we packed our bags. I would have liked to have done this or that, but Chantal was tired of waiting. Read More