Safari Vehicle Breakdown and how much did it effect your hunt

[Ontario Hunter]

A couple of band-aids to take along on next safari. When the vehicle suddenly craps out and won't restart it's often due to electric fuel pump going out or computer needs reset. Find a long stick and thump on the gas tank. It works! Ask me how I know. Enough to get home anyway. To reset the computer, disconnect the battery for fifteen minutes. Reconnect and fire it up. There. Something to impress your PH.

 

[Tokoloshe Safaris]

A couple of band-aids to take along on next safari. When the vehicle suddenly craps out and won't restart it's often due to electric fuel pump going out or computer needs reset. Find a long stick and thump on the gas tank. It works! Ask me how I know. Enough to get home anyway. To reset the computer, disconnect the battery for fifteen minutes. Reconnect and fire it up. There. Something to impress your PH.

The only cruisers with computer are the V8s.
The breakdowns described sound like hot wire to injector pump switch
90% likely 10min fix. The second place to look on 79 series is speedometer sensor at the transfer case. There is another hot lead that can break (usually picking up a stick) stick. This can be diagnosed by speedo not working will usually blow ign fuse.

Lon

 

[Safari Dave]

There was a time when I had to give my PH a rubber glove to patch a tire...

(he had already used 2 plugs)

I didn't mind at all. It just added to the adventure!

(we were headed back to camp, after I had taken a good buff)

Now if a major breakdown had robbed me of a day or more of hunting, that would have been a different story.

My safari company had another Landcruiser at the ready, so the worse that could have likely happened was an hour's walk.

 

[Safari Dave]

IME, African PH's are much more prepared for contingencies than American "guides".

 

[BRICKBURN]

Stuck in the mud, stuck in sandy creek bottoms, frozen fuel, mechanical, etc.
No matter which country, it ended up being nothing other than a small break in the action and once that just changed what I hunted for an hour.

 

[K-man]

In Africa no more than a couple flat tires. Those vehicles were better maintained than my own at home. In Alaska once sitting on a hillside glassing and a plane circled the grass "strip" on the riverbank below us. The Guide said "I hope he's not trying to land down there with that taildragger plane" then the plane went on approach , and you guessed it, nosed over on landing. The guide looked at me, and we watched both occupants crawl out of the wrecked plane. My Guide said, "We should probably go check on them" so we packed up and finished the day getting down to them and getting the plane off the strip so someone could get in and pick them up. I called the pilot that flew me in and they flew in a mechanic that spent the day repairing the plane and flew it out.

 

[Tokoloshe Safaris]

Money spent on maintenance/ repairs this week, $2,000.00 70% of it was for failed original parts.

Lon

 

[Green Chile]

Lon I know the maintenance costs are high. I’ve always wondered how many tires are used every year per hunting vehicle. What would you guess?

 

[Tokoloshe Safaris]

Chili that is a great question, but there is a catch. The best lasting and puncture resistant Dunlop from Japan & Yokohamas. Those may last 3 years depending on the driver. On the average mid and low grade 6 months to a year. Remember every time you have a puncture you are going to do a bit of damage. Lets say budget at $1,500per year.

In a tubeless BF Goodrich by far have proven themselves 10 times over.

I do not want to deter from the original post, but we are field testing a different 4x4, with BF Goodrich. Repair $00.00 tyres no punctures 20,000 kilometers. We have 3 as new properly kitted land cruisers and says she will never go back.

Lon

 

[Troubleshooter]

I've been fortunate in not having any maintenance-related downtime during African safaris. One outfitter swapped out vehicles for a day, but my understanding is that it was due to scheduled maintenance. He kept his vehicles in tip-top shape.

On a European hunt some years ago, we switched between a Mitsubishi pickup and an old Lada. The Mitsubishi climbed like a mountain goat and gave us no problems. The Lada was surprisingly capable considering what it was.

We were driving up a mountain road for an afternoon spot-and-stalk when a horrible screeching sound began to emanate from the Lada's undercarriage. A cursory inspection revealed that one of the U-bolts holding the axle to the frame had sheared off and was causing the noise. The guide and I alighted at the next turn-around point and the driver went back down the valley to a nearby town to see about repairs. No problem, we just walked a couple hundred meters further up the hillside to where we would have stopped off anyway.

As it turned out, the outfitter had a friend in the town who happened to operate a machine shop. Lacking the correct replacement part, they simply made one. He met us at the pre-arranged pickup point that evening, maybe 15 minutes or so late. Again, no big deal and we had the opportunity to watch sunset turn into night from a fine mountainside vantage point.

But it made a big difference having access to an actual machinist/mechanic vs. a certified parts-changer!