Trip to Morocco 2016

[Giles Stone]

Hi all - just thought our trip may be of interest to R4 owners in the UK. A little background - Both my wife and I owned R4 F4 vans in the dim and distant past and always thought very highly of our little blue machines. Over the last few years we have moved to southern France where we are now permanently based. Obviously there are lots of R4's around and spares available.
Our first purchase was a JP4 which we had renovated and then stumbled across a website running trophy/raid trips in Morocco http://4ldefi-maroc.com/index.html - We were attracted by the idea that you had to have parental permission if you are under 45yr old .

So having decided to look at this trip we needed to find a suitable R4 - the choice was either to get one already prepared or a good vehicle and do/get the done ourselves. We managed to find a R4 F4 van locally which save some hassle.


This was an EDF van judging by the original colour. We have done some of the preparation and will try to put these up as time allows

 

[Giles Stone]

Having got the van home we realised that it had the 4 Renault alpine wheel and the spare was an original r4 wheel, so the search was on for 2 Renault alpine wheels. We managed to find 2 at a reasonable price over towards Marseille - not to far away!!! Now feel much safer having the right wheels as spares.

Whoops had an overheating problem and realised the temperature sender from the radiator to the fan had a poor connection/fault - decided to replace this and fit a temperature gauge and an extra fan connected to a switch on the dashboard.



This took a bit of time getting the spares but eventually got it done. The main problem was fixing the second fan as there is very little space and no where to fix the bottom of the fan. This was solved by using long bolts, so the the position of the fan could be adjusted so the fan blades didn't touch. The bottom fixing was solved with a stay across from chassis - two or three attempts before I got it right and clear of the gear box.

 

[Giles Stone]

Next it was time to start on the interior. I wanted net to go in the roof so that we could store light weight bulky items like sleeping bags out of the way. We managed to find a very helpful company in the UK - Nets4You - Who were more than willing to make an elasticated net to fit the roof and supply all the fixings http://www.nets4you.com/ If you need netting like this have a word with them - highly recommended.



The other job I wanted to get done was to line the interior by gluing woollen blankets to the inside - this I found in my previous F4 van in the UK cut down on the noise level and also got round the problem of condensation if you're sleeping in the back. We found a local man who does car upholstery and interiors the glue this up for us.



My wife did the next piece of work - making sliver screen insulation panels for all the windows all the materials obtained for local caravan/camping show rooms.

 

[Giles Stone]

The biggest problem for the interior was yet to come - we wanted to replace the original seats as they quickly became uncomfortable over rough tracks. After doing some research we decide that semi-bucket seats from a Renault Alpine would fit and increase the comfort. The problem seemed to be the they were not fitted to all Alpines and as a result there were not many on the second hand market - most that were available seemed to be in northern France. After weeks of searching we eventually found 2 seats in reasonable condition at Saint-Étienne. Not to bad a drive but decided to stop over-night.



Fitting was quite easy - I needed to raise them by 30mm which was accomplished with some box section running front to back. All the bolt holes were a match which life even better. You'll never believe this - a few days ago we were passing a scrapyard we'd already visited in our search when we saw a Renault Express van with the same seats in - as they say over here
C'est la vie

 

[Giles Stone]

The final part of the interior work was to construct a storage box that fitted between the rear wheel arches - the idea was to create storage and leave enough space above to sleep on if necessary. I also wanted to keep it as light as possible so used 5mm plywood. My only concern was, would it be strong enough. This was solved by putting dividers in to split it into four sections.



As you can see this also allowed me to put in storage for two 5l jerry cans.

 

[pepper]

Excellent work, I do like the f4 vans, I think Tom of this parish has done the raid in his 4.

It looked like an amazing trip.

 

[reidalpine]

Bon travail there Giles! -I'm nearing (at Looong last) my own project of giving our F4 some more oumphh! Not going to such way-out places like Marocco
but hope to zoom down to Montpellier-area this summer before going via Menton into Bella Italia..
-Anyways-Hope you guys have a cracker of a time in Marocco! -Reid

 

[JonathanT]

What an adventure! Lots of fun preparing too. Love the storage box idea

 

[Giles Stone]

Thanks for all the comments/support, pleased that this posting is of interest. Recently I had to replace the window screen as the old one was very scratched which made driving into the sun or headlights difficult. We found one locally at a garage who kindly fitted it as well - problem solved. It make a lot of difference when you can see where you're going .

We also fitted a cigarette lighter so the we could run the GPS/battery and phone charger. Also replaced the window washer set-up. Originally this van had the foot operated pump which delivered a dribble to the window screen. This was change to a larger bottle with an electric pump so I can now spray 2 or 3 car behind as well!!!!!!

 

[pepper]

I need to put one of these in my modern car by the look of it.

 

[jjad]

Ah, but there's nothing quite like stamping your foot on the floor to get the water on to the windscreen. After all, it's not like you need your left foot for anything else ... or do you?! Plus, it sometimes confuses the MOT testers.

:¬)

 

[Bobble]

Well it's looking good and i've picked up a few tips from you , i've fitted an extra battery in the back behind the passenger seat with a kill switch so you can run and charge both at the same time then when we stop at night or the weekend i switch over and just use the spare battery saves running down the main one, as we go camping in ours quite a bit, also fitted two extra sockets in the back for cigarette and usb so you can run most things.
I am starting to refurbish / repair one from Paul on here (thanks Paul)

 

[Giles Stone]

Hi pepper - yes it really makes a difference all the bits needed come with the kit, and the only thing I had to make was the bracket to keep it vertical. This is where is where I got it http://www.4lparts.com/electricite-...t-pompe-lave-glace-electrique-avec-bidon.html
I'm sure you can get these somewhere in the UK but I'm sure 4lparts would send them.

hi jjad - totally with your mind set on that one but my though was the possibility of lots of dust, as we will be off road most of the time, my left foot might need a rest!!!!!

Hi Bobble - I do like the way you've done this with a second battery. I already have a battery in an old caravan that might work - I might do that when we get back (hopefully we will only need to sleep in the van in emergency on this trip). If you have a wiring diagram that would help me and others?

 

[jjad]

Giles,
of course, it is a lot less dusty here!
:¬)

 

[Giles Stone]

While we are talking about dust I've also fitted a new air filter rig as I wasn't sure the original was going to be up to the job. I didn't particularly want to fit a full snorkel so eventually decide on a good carbon filter in the engine compartment.



Not only does it look good but the engine is running much better - it sounds really smooth. Better than a Porsche!!!!!!!

 

[Tomcat]

While we are talking about dust I've also fitted a new air filter rig as I wasn't sure the original was going to be up to the job. I didn't particularly want to fit a full snorkel so eventually decide on a good carbon filter in the engine compartment.

View attachment 15203

Not only does it look good but the engine is running much better - it sounds really smooth. Better than a Porsche!!!!!!!

Now that does look impressive

 

[petak]

Fabulous job you have done.

Especially with that double floor in the back.

Just my thoughts.

You could use hinges to make more square opening for easier access to storage.

For insulation you could use K-FLEX or ARMAFLEX. It Has one side adhesive. You can cut it with knife. And it is easy to apply. And not so expensive (at least here in Croatia)
But blankets are revelation to me.

I am expecting some road trip pictures to see after you get back.

Have wish to do trip from Croatia, to Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, back to France, Belgium, Holland, Denmark, Germany, Poland, Czech, HUngary and back. All around Europe.
Hope to make it happen one day...

 

[Giles Stone]

Hi - Petak thank for your comments. Yes I thought about using hinges but would have needed to use thicker ply wood and my main aim was to keep the weight down as much as possible. Thanks for the info on insulation material - no I'd never seen this material so just went with the way I did it in my youth!!!!

Yes - I'll try to get loads of pics on the trip

 

[Giles Stone]

I have also fitted some protection plates under the engine and fuel tank. I decided to use some ready made aluminium - these were quite easy to fit as most of the hole were already in the chassis, I only had to drill 3 small hole for the fuel tank protection.



Nearly ready for the trip just a few thing to sort out now!!!

 

[Giles Stone]

The itinerary will take us into the desert areas of Morocco as well as the High Atlas and the Anti Atlas mountains.
On the way we will visit some small Berber villages, where the villagers will welcome us as guests. The journey is really one of a humanitarian exchange, we will experience some amazing countryside and, hopefully take some great pictures, with the addition of an insight into the subsistence of the Berber population. We will donate much needed winter clothing and toys to the villages. At the moment we are collecting in some of these gifts together and will take as much as we can in the F4.