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Full service incl oil change in all gearboxes & diffs
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Removed rear bench seats & centre seats (from 12 to 4!!). We made the unusual decision to keep 2 rear seats as we plan to have friends travel with us for short periods...
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Replaced all 4 steel wheels that were badly rusted on welded joints
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SUSPENSION: Fitted heavy duty rear springs (+1") + shocks (Scorpion racing). It seems that everybody installs a 2" lift kit of O.M.E. While the lift kit gives ground clearance, it also reduces stability (higher load). You also will have to change your radius arms and brake hoses.
** In retrospect I wish I had put 1" heavy duty springs all round, not only the back.
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45litre auxiliary fuel tank in the wheel arch. Total capacity now 120litres (=1200km).
I decided against carrying steel Jerry cans. Although it is nice to have the extra range, I knew I would not drive around permanently with full jerry cans on the roof (extra unneccesary weight on the roof). As a result we would be making a decision to carry extra diesel only when we thought it may be needed. From experience I know that plastic jerry's are available in almost every local market very cheaply (For DIESEL ONLY!!!!). These can be bought and used temporarily if required.
FYI: We twice carried extra fuel: once to enable us to use the remote Omo Valley crossing from Ethiopia to Kenya, and once to travel through Zim, where fuel supply can be difficult.
FYI: If you are thinking of saving money by carrying cheap diesel through expensive countries, I would estimate that you will save approx US$3-4 per litre of storage capacity (trip total!). ie: If you pay US$300 for 100litres extra capacity, you will break even. (but your consumption may increase, so give up!!)
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Front + rear dif guard (front originally fitted with front bash guard). When crossing from Ethiopia to Kenya via Omo Valley, I spent about 2-3 hours constantly catching the rear diff guard. Otherwise no contact on the whole trip.
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Installed security cubby between front seats, includes security for stereo
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Full length roofrack. I built a large secure wooden storage box for our table & chairs. I looked for ages for an aluminium expedition rack. Eventually I decided on modifying a galvanised rack (Made sure it has 6 feet to distribute weight). The cost of an Alu rack vs galv is approx £700:£140. The weights are not incomparable. The only thing is that the Alu racks look really good. However if we decided 2 months along to add something to the roofrack - we would be unable to get the expensive purpose made clamps most alu racks require. However every village along the way should have a dodgy welding shop where we could get a bracket made & welded in place.
Don't underestimate the convenience of having a convenient place where you can easily throw some firewood you collect on the roadside.
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Safari-Equip rooftent - this is a lower cost version of the Hannibal-type rooftents. We are happy with the tent, despite some teething problems.
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Awning: I made a full-length lightweight awning for the side of the car, fitted to the roofrack. To tell the truth, we only used it about twice.
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42litre Engel fridge. This was the one thing that we fitted, connected and just worked without headache!! Highly reccomended. 42litre is pretty large, but we kept it full most of the time.
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Inverter (220v power - 300W - for laptops, cameras, ipods etc...). In the past I have found they are very quick to blow up. I took a UK PowerRing unit that has been sucking dust & hot air for 5 months now and still works perfectly!!
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2nd battery (Exide deep cycle) and extra bank of fuses for auxilliary equip. You can get expensive charging & monitoring systems for these batteries, but I simply connected my deep cycle battery as the main battery. Then connect your ordinary battery in parallel through a large isolator. This isolates the "spare" battery, until you accidently run down the deep cycle one (fridge is the main culprit). Give your spare battery a charge occasionally.
How much power does this battery give? - In cool conditions, our fridge can run at 5deg for 2-3 days before the battery is flat. In hot conditions, sometimes as little as 12hrs.
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Extension cord (10-15m) + fridge socket. I thought I would rarely find a place to plug it in. However in the places where you spend more than a few days, there is normally power. Our battery lasts about 2days with the fridge, and 8days without. (Don't underestimate the power drawn by the stereo!). Alternatively you can put the whole car (battery) on charge when parked, but BEWARE: Engel & possibly other fridges don't like this!!
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3x 12V sockets for lights, drill, compressor, speakers etc
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2x 12V tube lights inside car + 2 tube lights on leads for cooking etc... B&Q in the UK sells some excellent lightweight 12V battery fluorescent lights that can be converted for use on your car. In addition they sell a smaller 6V LED version that we have used for 3 months with one set of batteries!!
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Fixed aluminium chequer plate, both to make her look the part, protect surfaces from loose stones & allow us to stand on the bonnet wingtops to open/close roof tent.
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We skipped some countries and expensive experiences. For another £2,000 we could have done a lot more, and it really makes sense to do that. You will only be there once!!!
My opinion is that most people overprepare for the trip. While it is fantastic to have every gadget, built in drawers, shelves etc, they are really not needed, and are expensive. Africa can be done in your standard 4x4 - it's really about what level of comfort you want. It is not the Moon!!!
A 12V cordless drill converted to run on car battery power. I cut the old battery off and soldered an extension cable to run from the car batteries.
The Carnet is a "passport" for your car. It is a document required by the Customs department when entering a country. Simply put, it is a way to guarantee the country that you will not sell your vehicle and leave the country. 
After leaving the EU, UK road tax seems to be worthless. However in South Africa (and probably Namibia & Botswana) you are required to have road tax on your vehicle. Importing your vehicle into SA can take several weeks, during which time you should have a valid tax disc.
Jaye was in charge of the medical kit. She did an excellent job of collecting all the things we might need along the way, and creating a good kit. It was suggested that we get a letter from a doctor reccomending that we carry these medicines, in order to avoid trouble at borders or checkpoints. As neither of us have a doctor in the UK, we simply printed our own letter.
It is a good idea to make a large number of passport photos before you leave. Get them in both black&white and colour. Perhaps the best & cheapest way is to make an image with 2x4 images and print them as jumbo (4"x6") photos. They will then size themselves correctly. See our sample. By doing them yourself, you get to re-take your pic as many times as you like, and don't end up looking like a passport pic!!
