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Some guy plans to travel Africa in modded Jeep

607,734 Views | 3116 Replies | Last: 1 yr ago by CactusThomas
Cave Johnson, CEO
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Here's a link to his blog. http://theroadchoseme.com/adventure-starts-now

and a link to the pictures of the modded Jeep and a short description of what he's done to it. http://imgur.com/a/OLK3o

While certainly cool, he plans on doing this unarmed and with no escort. My question is, how long into his trip until he's murdered in his sleep or carjacked at gunpoint?

Here's the route he plans on taking.




Unemployed
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What kind of cooler did he bring along? Outdoors Board does have a stupid fascination with coolers so I figured they would like to know.
aggieforester05
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I think I would skip the whole west coast if I was him....
Centerpole90
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That dude is going to drive right through OEFM's area of operations!

We could get a first hand trip report.
Papa_Blaze
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I hope he's packing a kevlar snuggie. Also I don't see why he needs a passenger seat, that's extra square feet he could use
Aggies Revenge
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That jeep can't possibly carry enough bribe money to get him across all of those borders.
Centerpole90
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You have to read the narrative in that image catalog. This is the second jeep he built; the first was converted to diesel with a Mercedes engine that ran away and grenaded itself!
Guitarsoup
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That's nothing. This fool tried to drive a Jeep in Central Texas in rainy season.

https://www.facebook.com/kim.jacob.a/posts/10206830923944167
EMY92
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quote:
I think I would skip the whole west coast if I was him....
The east and north aren't that appealing either.
stdeb11
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Cruising war torn nations in a vehicle that looks like HMMWV...

cool vehicle, interesting idea. hope it doesn't end up shot to pieces and stripped to the frame
RogueAg
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I'm no Jeep expert or even weekend 4x4'er.... but that Jeep doesn't look nearly modded enough for a trip like he's undertaking. And I'm not even talking about the roof mounted minigun he'll need just to make it through alive.
Hulla Baller
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Well, he's gonna die.
GE
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From the comments:

quote:
slothen2 0 points : 2 hours ago reply

I look forward to reading your obituary in about a year.

FIDO 96
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He should consult the guy who tried to take a motorcycle along the Shawshank route to Zihuatanejo on the west coast of Mexico.


Oh yeah. He got robbed and murdered by cartel members.
BenderRodriguez
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quote:
He should consult the guy who tried to take a motorcycle along the Shawshank route to Zihuatanejo on the west coast of Mexico.


Oh yeah. He got robbed and murdered by cartel members.


When did the cartels take over Africa?
ursusguy
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Heck, I'd be tempted to rob and/or steal that thing.

Angola or Algeria for my bet.
aggiedent
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When it was apparent that every guide vehicle I saw was a Land Cruiser, I asked our Tanzanian guides if anybody used Land Rovers or Jeeps. He just smiled and said, no, because nobody wants to break down out here.

Which made me think, does this guy break down or get shot first?
powerbelly
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quote:
Which made me think, does this guy break down or get shot first?
Why not both?
Bird Poo
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Reminds me of the American backpackers that were kidnapped in Iran.

I applaud this kind of adventure seeking, but does it have to be in the most dangerous areas in the world? Idiot.
BenderRodriguez
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quote:
Heck, I'd be tempted to rob and/or steal that thing.

Angola or Algeria for my bet.

I'd take that bet. Tunisia/Libya border is not a happy place at the moment. Looking at his travel map, that jumps out as the most dangerous spot I can see for someone who is going to stand out as an obvious Western tourist. Most of the rest of the continent will just want his money....they're going to want his head.

ISIS, Ansar Al-Sharia and AQIM are all supposedly busy spreading the religion of peace in the area he's going to drive right through.

ETA: Bet subject to change depending on if he's planning on traveling clock wise or counter clock wise.

Presley OBannons Sword
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a) sounds like a totally bad ass idea and I would love to do a trip like that

b) I would never even consider doing something that remarkably idiotic in actuality

c) he will die
Presley OBannons Sword
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from the comments, and apparently not being sarcastic:
quote:
I'm sure you've thought about it, but it may be a good idea to get LED bars spread on the front and rear to give you some more visability.
javajaws
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Not sure I'd want to put a lift on my Jeep that had control arm drop brackets on it if I was going to circumnavigate Africa. The drop brackets will help your on-pavement handling (reduced nose dive) but you sacrifice clearance and durability - exactly the opposite of what you would want for a trip like this I would think. I would think some adjustable control arms would have been a better choice.

You can see one of the drop brackets right behind the front wheel:

Cave Johnson, CEO
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https://www.reddit.com/r/DIY/comments/4m7do7/i_built_my_jeep_into_a_house_on_wheels_to_live_in/

Here's the reddit thread I found it on (it was on the front page). Some of the comments are pretty hilarious.

quote:
The next post in this story is, "so Ive been captured and my jeep has been dismantled by the locals. They said they will cut my arms off before they let me go."

quote:
How do you tie a tournaquet around your wrists when you don't have hands? Make sure to be armed with knowledge before you go.

quote:
I'VE NOTICED THAT YOU'RE NOT VENTURING INTO SOMALIA OR CENTRAL AFRICA. WHY NOT HAVE SOME FUN AND COME PLAY WITH US?

and to the point...

quote:
You're going to die
easttexasaggie04
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He could sleep inside this giant YETI cooler and be pretty safe...


TUNDRA 350
$240 Worth of Pudding
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How much time is this guy planning on devoting to this? Not to sound trite, but does he have any idea how BIG Africa is? That is a LOOOONG GD trip he's got mapped out. Even if the continent was full of puppies and bunnies, I'd be seriously concerned with the viability of my vehicle over the course of that trip.
P.H. Dexippus
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Where's the .50 cal? I mean at least give yourself a sporting chance
Kenneth_2003
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Just reading the very first set of comments, we're about to follow this dudes online obituary. Without expanding all of the comments, it seems his replies are "It is what it is" and "I'll deal with it as the situations arise."

He boasts on his build thread about how he built his water system and other small things, but he doesn't have a clue in terms of his own security.

This is a well financed (albeit mostly on credit it seems) version of the Chris McCandless story.
powerbelly
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Ditto. This dude has zero idea what he is getting into.
$240 Worth of Pudding
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Just to add some perspective to my earlier comment:
Presley OBannons Sword
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I had the same exact though, re: mccandless, while I was reading through his webpage. if he lives it will be blind luck.
powerbelly
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quote:
How much time is this guy planning on devoting to this? Not to sound trite, but does he have any idea how BIG Africa is? That is a LOOOONG GD trip he's got mapped out. Even if the continent was full of puppies and bunnies, I'd be seriously concerned with the viability of my vehicle over the course of that trip.
He thinks 2 years. IMO it will take much longer than that.
BenderRodriguez
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quote:
How much time is this guy planning on devoting to this? Not to sound trite, but does he have any idea how BIG Africa is? That is a LOOOONG GD trip he's got mapped out. Even if the continent was full of puppies and bunnies, I'd be seriously concerned with the viability of my vehicle over the course of that trip.

From his website: "You can also read back through my 40,000 mile, 22 month adventure in a Jeep Wrangler through 17 countries from Alaska to Argentina. "

I'm not saying this is smart, but it's not his first rodeo of stupid.

Presley OBannons Sword
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over/under on life expectancy is set at seven and a half months.

what do ya got
powerbelly
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quote:
over/under on life expectancy is set at seven and a half weeks.

what do ya got
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