Vehicle Dependent Expedition Travel

Sterlin is our 2002 Land Rover Discovery II and our first choice as expedition vehicle.

The dream started in 1992 in a desert town in Morocco where 2 fully expedition worthy Discoverys were our neighbors for a night in the campground.  These were the years where Land Rover Discoverys dominated the Camel Trophy Expeditions.

We believe that the Land Rover Discovery is an excellent choice as an overland expedition vehicle.  It has great ride comfort, is more than capable off-road and can take us on any road we would want to go, has passable fuel economy and range and there is adequate international support for servicing and repairs by trained mechanics. In an ideal world we would elect for a diesel engine without an ECU which is simpler, more reliable and typically offers better range, but alas we could only get the petrol/gas version in North America.

Although we have had Sterlin for over 10 years and have added 90,000 miles to the clock, it has been maintained well and is in very good mechanical shape. In addition to regular maintenance, Sterlin has undergone a comprehensive mechanical review with pro-active repairs including new shock absorbers, head gasket, transfer case seals, radiator, thermostat, radiator hoses and partial ABS replacement. And we figure, what could possibly go wrong traveling around the world in an aging high mileage Land Rover?

In preparation for overland expedition travel, we have made some minor modifications to Sterlin and added the necessary travel and camping equipment.  The modifications and add-ons have been a labor of love involving many hours on the internet researching options and just as many hours implementing the changes in our alley in front of our apartment.  


This blog provides more details than you could possibly want to know on what we have done to prepare Sterlin for our expedition and records the issues and resolutions during our journey.


Car Preparations and Enhancements

Here you can find out about all the modifications and add-ons we made to our beloved Sterlin. These made the car more ready for the journey and the journey more enjoyable for us.  

Modifications include:


Add-ons include:


Mike Murphy: car mechanic in Vientiane, Laos.


Meet Mike Murphy, who did everything in his power to help us trying to fix a potentially trip-ending issue with Sterlin. Not only did he spend a day on the phone trying to help us remotely and talking us through different scenarios and possible solutions; the next day he drove Caroline from and to the airport and spent some hours trying to sort out parts for Sterlin. You see, we are not the first 'overlanders in a jam' he met and helped.

If ever you are in Laos and need work done on your car, he's the guy to call for help and/or advice. Here are his details (not only with permission: Mike was very happy for us to share them and so were we!!!)

Mike Murphy. 
LAO CAN-AM Int'l Auto Services Co., Ltd.
Ban Phonesinuan, Sisattanak District. P.O. Box 8587. Vientiane, 01000 Lao PDR.
mobile: 856-20-5550-3491-2
laocanam@laopdr.com
laocanam@gmail.com