8000km with the roof tent through Morocco
18 days, 8000km, 14 hours a day on the road in an "old" Opel Corsa with a Lazy Tent roof tent on bumpy desert tracks in Morocco? Sounds crazy?
Oli and André dare the adventure for a good cause!
The Europe-Africa Rodeo is a low budget rally for a good cause. Before and during the trip, donations are collected which are donated to a charity organization. This year the money was used for the construction of a preschool.
The rally from Europe to Africa is all about having fun. It's all about reaching the finish line together. The wild ride goes to the Atlas Mountains, into the Sahara and the Atlantic Ocean is not left out either.
Which vehicle did you choose?
Our choice: an Opel Corsa, which had already had various tasty morsels of rust gnawed out of its body. It was inexpensive, had no superfluous electronics and no unmanageable comfort - that's what you call automotive raw state. Fortunately, we have tinkered with vehicles a time or two in our past and equipped ourselves with the appropriate tools. Thus, we were able to apply McGyver-like survival techniques at least until the emergency use of the desert ADAC...
How long were you on the road during the day and how did you spend the night?
In total, the rally lasted 18 days, with arrival and departure a little longer, and we drove almost 8000km. For 14 hours a day on the desert tracks we tested the Opel Corsa shock absorbers, which have already left their best days on well-maintained German roads far behind them. We constantly compared our own damping systems (especially cervical and lumbar) with the Corsa, with the result that every additional kilometer adjusted the condition of man and machine.
Bruised and exhausted from the eventful day, you have to burrow into the cold (!) desert sand with your sleeping bag for a few hours in the evening for an urgently needed rest. In the anxious expectation that the one or other scorpion or a snake are also grateful for a warm overnight place.
But luckily you had the Lazy Tent with you, how was your experience?
Each of the participants who can simply climb onto the roof of their vehicle and move into their luxury home should consider themselves lucky. Our roof tent Lazy Tent has really served us faithfully in Morocco and we have reaped envious looks from the other participants who have spent the night in the desert sand.
By opening and closing in seconds and the independently inflatable cozy mattress, it went Ruck Zuck in the horizontal. Guaranteed sand-, weather- and scorpion-protected! A proverbial desert loft! The Lazy Tent is so light that the roof of our Corsa played along without complaint, despite the extra weight of both pilots.
Restrictions? Absolutely none! Well, maybe one: No shower and no toilet installed! Should have been expected with the luxury that the tent otherwise presents.
Can you recommend the rally through Morocco with roof tent?
But without fun - our grade: Absolutely recommended! The roof tent, not the Corsa. It suddenly played rodeo and lost a horseshoe or wheel. The roof tent remained unimpressed in the "saddle". Then only the workshop helped. But there is nothing that a Moroccan "farrier" could not fix! On we went, towards our destination.
In any case, we stayed on top despite some resistance - not least because of our roof oasis: For this, many thanks for the generous support of our good cause! It will not be the last tour with your tent! But the next time with another vehicle. Maybe with a feudal Trabbi, a fiery R4 or a chattering 2CV-pre-war duck. Somehow you have to improve yourself...