Getting ready

Today we got up early. First we tested the tent and made the beds so it's ready to sleep in. After that it was time to see how to fit everything in the car. It went very well. I also mounted the new TPMS tire pressure system. The temperature readings seem a bit unreliable, but the pressure looks ok. Now fixing travel food and preparing the navigation devices.

We were also reading in the news this morning that the remnants of storm Maria will hit the Baltic Sea exactly when we're planning to cross over to Poland. To be continued...

Laundry...

I spent today trying to figure out how to obtain one of those cool laundry kegs experienced overlanders use on trips.

You fill it up with dirty laundry, add water and detergents, close it, and let it sit in the back or on the roof all day. By the end of the day, the laundry is clean thanks to all the bobbing around. BUT! Where to find one? The ones I found cost over €50 including shipping, which is way too much. I visited about 7 stores and as many on the internet, but ended up with nothing. I think we'll try to find laundromats instead. :D

Staples RULE!

Today I got a fantastic phone call from Amanda at Staples. We have been in touch for a while and I had suggested that they could perhaps support the project by donating school equipment. She realized it was now too late for the equipment to reach us in time, and instead Staples decided to support installations for two full schools!!! One from Staples Sweden, and one from Staples Norway. So we have expanded the initial 4 schools to 6! Amazing news! Thank you Staples!

Sony sponsored us with an Xperia Z4 tablet

Today I went to the Sony Mobile Communications office in Kista to pick up the Xperia Z4 Tablet they are sponsoring me with. It is totally awesome, and by far the fastest and clearest tablet I have tested. Much faster than my previous favorite, my iPad Air 2.

I immediately loaded the following essential apps on the tablet to prepare for the trip:

• Action Launcher 3 - better than the stock launcher
• Avenza maps - will test this for maps
• Bluettoth GPS - to use with my Garmin Glo external GPS receiver
• c:geo - Geocaching!
• Gaia GPS - Offline maps
• GoPro - For communicating with my GoPro Hero5 cameras
• GPS Essentials - Baisc GPS stuff
• iOverlander - Camping sites
• Google Keep - Notes
• Locus Maps - Map app for testing
• Map of Morocco Offline - Could possibly be useful
• Maps.me - Offline maps and navigation
• Navigon Europe - Offline navigation within Europe
• OneNote - Trip notes
• Pushbullet - For easy sharing information between devices
• Park4Night - Camping sites
• SkyMaps - For clear nights
• Soviet Military Maps - Map app for testing
• Spotify - Music
• SwiftKey Keyb oard - The best Android keyboard
• Waze - Online navigation
• WikiLoc - Offline offroad tracks
• Xplore - File manager

Plus added "app" links to Furkot and SearchForSites.

I also received my Brodit Z4 car mount. All mounted and ready to go! :)

Maintenance and repairs done - sort of...

This morning I took the Toyota to the Toyota dealer in Åkersberga, loaded with the new exhaust system and some other spares. When I picked it up in the evening, I had 22,000 SEK less in my account. Apparently it was very difficult to change the suspension. But now it's fixed. And the new exhaust system - well it's there but it didn't fit very well. Fenno Steel from Finland - you need to get your act together if you're going to sell aftermarket stuff! I called their Product Manager, and he promised to investigate.

At the same time, I decided to replace the battery. Seemed like a very good decision. Now the car starts better - there were definitely issues with the old one.

On top of all this, I noticed that the car has a strange and very annoying vibration with the new tires. Fortunately BFGoodrich are on it and will investigate what it can be - and possibly we need to replace the tires with another set. But let's see what they come up with first. TBC. (To Be Continued...)

Oh, I managed to find a new Sponsor for the project also. Staples have decided to sponsor. They haven't announced with how much yet though... Oh! I also spoke with an awesome solar power company the other day - SaveBySolar. They seem very cool and were very interested in our project!

List of schools

These are the schools we are going to work on. We'll start from the top and work our way down as far as we can on the list.

Updated list. And two more will be added!

School	Location
P1 - Afakfak sehb laghnem, Dayet Aoua	N33° 29.651' W5° 02.789'
P2 - Zaouiat sidi Abderrahman, Tizguit	N33° 40.100' W5° 11.640'
P3 - Bouislikhane, Bensmim	N33° 34.643' W5° 21.471'
P4 - Tisfoula. Ain Luh	N33° 14.123' W5° 20.658'

Our own solar panel - for the car

Today I finally managed to finish the assembly of our own solar panel for charging the car battery. I bought a large, flexible solar panel made in China from a SWES (Swedish Expedition Society) member earlier in the summer, to be used for charging the car battery the days we're not driving, since the fridge/cooler uses a fair amount of battery power. But it had some weird connectors, so the first thing I had to do was to try to figure out what they were called and try to buy a pair so I could build a cable to connect the panel to the battery. After some investigations I figured out they were called MC4, and that they are quite common for solar panels. Next step was to find cables and connectors. I ended up ordering the connectors from AliExpress, for $1.66 including shipping.

The next step was to find cables. I was told to get at least 6mm cables. They cost a small fortune wherever I looked, so I ended up ordering 2 x 5m cable (black+red) from AliExpress as well. Total cost $35. I found battery clamps at Kjell & Co for 19 SEK/piece.

Once I had received the products, I spent the better part of the day figuring out how to build the MC4 connectors. After a number of tries I got it right. I measured that the panel was giving at least 15-16V charging in the sun, which is great. I had also bought a regulator to avoid overcharging the battery.

When I started tinkering I quickly realized that the crappy battery clamps I bought at Kjell & Co

were made for kids or toys rather than heavy duty car batteries. Very small, and silly quality. It would also be impossible to connect the thick 6mm cables to them. What to do? Jula to the rescue. They had heavy duty 10mm starter cables for only 79 SEK. I cut them to desired lenght, connected them to the regulator, and voila, I was finished! Solar power rules!

New BFGoodrich tires, generous friends and colleagues, repair episode 2

Earlier this week, our fantastic Land Cruiser was adorned with a complete set (5) BFGoodrich All Terrain KO2 tires, courtesy of BFGoodrich. They were mounted by Euromaster in Täby, and I would just like to mention them as they were very friendly and professional.

Yesterday I made some notice papers and put out in the Verizon office. Nothing much happened, but today I have received 7 Swish payments, resulting in over $120 in donations for the project! Thank you colleagues! Add to that over $750 donated from Facebook friends. Thank you friends!

Not only that, but I also got a very positive email from Sony Mobile Communications. More about that when all is ready.

And a short update about the earlier repair scare. The parts I ordered from Japan were sent back and forth between the seller and Japanese customs, but they were finally on their way on September 9, and today (September 13) they are standing in my hallway! I also picked up the new (Fenno) exhaust system. And Toyota in Åkersberga have received all the other necessary parts. So we're all set for the Monday repair day.

After the repairs are done, we'll start preparing the car for real. :)

Now in the (Swedish, local) news!

We're in the news!
https://mitti.se/nyheter/marocko-solpaneler-lasten/?omrade=sodraroslagen

Routing sites

In addition to all the paper maps, we've been looking at digital support for routing, especially when driving through Europe. How far to drive each day, what to see along the route, where to stay at the end of each day, configuring the routes to choose highways some days, and smaller roads other days, etc.

Routing sites

Site	Suggested day segments	Hotels	Camping	Multiple trips	Comments
ViaMichelin	Yes	No	No	No	No detailed configuration	https://www.viamichelin.com/
Furkot	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Super detailed and configurable. Great support	https://trips.furkot.com/
RoutePerfect	Yes	Disabled	No	No		https://www.routeperfect.com/trip-planner/
Roadtrippers	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Very little configuration of trip	https://roadtrippers.com/
Google maps	No	No	No	Yes	Route only	https://www.google.se/maps/

The undefeated choice is Furkot. It has everything a route planner could possibly wish for, and more.

If you just want to get a route, either of the sites will do the job. ViaMichelin and Google maps are probably the fastest. But if you would like to tweak the trip, see how far you will possibly get each day, what hotels and/or camping sites are available within a certain radius of the day's end, where to get fuel, save different trips or versions of the same route, and much more, Furkot is the choice. You can even get the route offline, even though it's not an app!

GPS-applications to use when traveling

Since there doesn't seem to be a good summary of good GPS apps, I have made one for different GPS programs to use with my Nexus 7 Sony Z4 Tablet (Android) and iPad 2 together with a Garmin GLO.

I generously received a Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet as sponsorship for our project. The tablet was mounted on the side of the dashboard using mounts from brodit.nu, and it turned out to be vital for the trip, providing both guidance and night sleeping spot recommendations.

This is by no means a scientific and full test of all the programs. I am not a paid reporter who has weeks to spare for fun stuff like that. I have done thorough research of currently available and popular apps, and tried to test most of them from my perspective of going to Morocco.

Web mgmt means you can set up and edit a route on your computer and automatically pick it up in the app

Rating is my very subjective rating, and it can change as I test the applications deeper.

Tested home means I have tested if it works and the looks, but not for a long trip.
The ratings are highly subjective and may change when I try the app more

UPDATE: We are now home again, and the clear winners during the trip were: For online use: Google Maps and Waze. For offline navigation between two addresses: Maps.me. For offline navigation on a route on roads: Navigon Europe. For offline navigation without roads: Locus Maps and Gaia GPS.

Updated 2017-11-01 20:25

Program	iPad	Android	Offline	Web mgmt	Navigation	Cost	Map source	Comments	Tested	Rating	Used on trip
WikiLoc	-	Y	Y	(Y)	-	Free	OSM	Detailed offline maps. Save tracks (search on website) and follow in car. Record own tracks.	Yes	5	Yes
Maps.me	Y	Y	Y	-	Y	Free	OSM	Simple navigation capabilities	Yes	5	Yes
Google Maps	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Free	Google	Some navigation incorrect	Yes	5	Yes
Waze	Y	Y	-	Map edit	Y	Free	Waze	Worldwide	Yes	4	Yes
Navigon Europe	Y	Y	Y	-	Y	$100	Navigon	Europe only	Yes	5	Yes
Locus Map Pro	-	Y	Y	-		3 maps free	OSM+SwissTopo+Outdooractive	Download GPX coordinates (from e.g. iOverlander)	Yes	5	Yes
Gaia GPS	Y	Y	Y		Y	$60	Gaia	Extremely slow map download. Needed 6 separate downloads for Morocco alone	Yes	4	Yes
OfflineMaps	Y		Y		-		?	There was a special map for Morocco, so I'll try it out	No		No
Soviet Military Maps app	-	Y	Y		-		Soviet Military	I'll bring it as a backup	No		No
CoPilot GPS	Y	Y	Y	-	Y	Free+$1-$40/map	Own?	Horrible interface on tablet. Not good and led us wrong (old maps?) Didn't like it at all. Choose Navigon instead.	Yes	2	Yes
iOverlander	Y	Y	-		-		?	Useful locations such as camping sites, mechanics and water. No navigation	Yes	4	Yes
Park4Night	Y	Y	Y	-	-	Free		Great complement to iOverlander	Yes	5	Yes
SearchForSites	Y	Y	-			Free		Complement to iOverlander. Web app	Yes	4	Yes
HERE WeGo	Y	Y	Y	-	Y	Free	Own	Not for Morocco	Yes		No
Avenza	Y	Y	Y	-	-	Free	Many		Yes		No
Map of Morocco offline		Y	Y		-	Free	?	Play Store link. Good reviews.			No
Rever	-	Y	Y	Y		Free	?	A bit complicated. Can't skip waypoints. Can't change routing in app?	Yes	3	No
PocketEarth	Y	-	Y			$2-$15	OSM	GPX Download possible. First 3 maps free. Weird location names in the Morocco map. Same map source as Viewranger?	Yes		No
Be-On-Road	Y	Y	Y				OSM	Updated 2015 (Apple) Using OpenStreetMap.org Rudimentary maps, and childish interface. Few settings			No
TopoGPS	Y	Y	Y			$1-$30	?	Doesn't seem to have Morocco			No
Sygic Morocco	Y	Y			Y	$40 (iPad)	TomTom			2	No
Navitel	Y	Y	Y		Y	$13-	OSM?	Europe & Russia, Iran and near Eastern. Seems great - but no Morocco maps		4	No
ViewRanger	Y	Y	Y	(Y)		Free ($100/topo map)	OSM + own topo	Detailed topographic maps for 23 countries	Yes	4	No
Lokalsinne	-	Y	Y	-	-	Free	Lantmäteriet	Sweden only			No
MapOut	Y	-	Y	-	-	$8	?
OruxMaps	-	Y	Y	-	-	$5	?		Yes		No
MotionXGps	Y	-	Y	-	-	$4	9 different
TomTom	Y	Y	Y			Free, $10-30

OSM = OpenStreetMap

Garmin MapSource format maps for Morocco: http://www.island-olaf.de/travel/marokko/gps.html

iOverlander GPX: http://app.ioverlander.com/countries/places_by_country

Comparison Gaia GPS vs. Motion-X: https://blog.gaiagps.com/gaia-gps-vs-motion-x/
More suggested apps for Android (BackCountry Navigator, HERE WeGo, MapFactor, MapQuest, Polaris Navigation and more) : http://www.androidauthority.com/best-gps-app-and-navigation-app-for-android-357870/

PLEASE let me know if you find any errors in the table!