Cheers Gaz

Im hoping to only do 2 crossings.

1 to France
1 from Norway, Home

But this depends on how easy it is just drive into and out of Russia.
I know they stamp the car details into your passport so you can't just leave a car behind (not my fatty!) but also need to check if euro insurance would extend for a few days into Russia and see about the roadside assistance as well  FFRR MY06 facelift With TDV8 Alloys Zeros/ATR's
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Judging by the standard of driving you see on YouTube in Russia, a video recorder on the dash might be in order too!  Got - 2017 SDV8 Autobiography in Loire Blue
Had- 2008 TDV8 Vogue SE in Java black
Had - 2007 S/C in Stornoway Grey

alanm_3 wrote:

Judging by the standard of driving you see on YouTube in Russia, a video recorder on the dash might be in order too!

Note to self, must read the thread before replying!  Got - 2017 SDV8 Autobiography in Loire Blue
Had- 2008 TDV8 Vogue SE in Java black
Had - 2007 S/C in Stornoway Grey

hi Kingpleb,

Looks like a very interesting road trip. I've worked in the timber industry for the last 20 years, and I've spent a lot of time driving in Finland and Sweden, including around the top of the gulf many times where you are going. I've also crossed the border into Russia at some rather unlikely places although I've tended to use Russian drivers for reasons below. Some thoughts on your trip if any use....

1. When you head around the top of the gulf to pass into Sweden you will be only a short drive south of the Arctic circle. Would seem a shame not to make a detour if only to say you've had the RR to the arctic? Rovaniemi is a good place to head to

2. The roads in northern Sweden/Finland are excellent quality, but extraordinarily mind numbingly dull, mile after mile of long straight roads through unending forests (hence why I was there!). Hope you don't mind the suggestion, but it might be an idea to consider heading across to the Norwegian coast and following the coast road south. I've not been but a friend has (who also knows Sweden well) and he recommends it. Are in Sweden is a nice town to stay/head over into Norway. Also good skiiing in Are if you are going in winter.

3. Be very careful of speeding in Finland. I got fined just shy of £1,000 for speeding and I lied about my salary (its a calculation based on salary and amount over the speed limit). The roads are so empty and dull speeding is very easy to do and the cops know it. Also the speed limits reduce in winter months so worth checking before you go.

4. Crossing into Russia can be an interesting challenge if you are not obviously taking a tourist route (I tended to cross in the north of Finland as I was heading for Murmansk and Archangel region). Where you are crossing should be easier. Obviously make sure your tourist visa is in order, and be prepared to have to itemise and value everything you take in. Where you are crossing I would imagine is much busier so should be easier. My travels tended to be a little further north and the roads were hard packed gravel, but no problem for a range. Where you are travelling ought to be better I would imagine. I used Russian drivers, they occassionally start drinking early in the trip but they also can handle the regular police stops and "fines".

5. Obvious point I know but if you are going in winter the weather in northern Scandinavia is a challenge. I've experienced it down to -37 up near Kuhmo in Finland. Prepare accordingly if thats when you are going etc

It looks a superb trip.... hope you enjoy it and I hope you don't mind me chucking a few thoughts in  Lloyd Barnes

Current
Crendon 427 Sideoiler Cobra in build... 7 litres of madness!

Gone
2008 TDV8 Vogue - Black with Ivory/Grand Black Lacquer
2008 VW Touareg 3.0Tdi
6.3litre Dax Cobra - 12.34 Second 1/4mile at 114mph

Thanks for the thoughts LB

I think for the colder weather i'll be taking fuel additive with me as well but also swapping out the antifreeze for a 100% mix before going so as not to risk anything over there

Still need to get the bloody thing fixed mind but planning to get all the divorce papers in ASAP as well so i can enjoy a nice break on my tod most likely or with a mate and forgetting about the world for a week or two! FFRR MY06 facelift With TDV8 Alloys Zeros/ATR's
Mantec Sump Guard, Rigid Load liner, MY10 BT upgrade.

I most likely will alter the route to skip out a bit of Sweden and Finland should i run short on time as there is a ferry that crosses round and does it in 9hrs odd but also does it overnight as well which is a good way to get a night of rest but still cover a good distance

£240 ish for the crossing for 2 people in a car but cuts 1200 miles off the trek but most importantly the arctic circle! So its just something that i'll build in as contingency as i think fuel is going to be by far the biggest cost for this trip and i'll likely buy some beers and such before i get to finland/norway/sweden as last time i was there it was almost twice the price of here  FFRR MY06 facelift With TDV8 Alloys Zeros/ATR's
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Well time for an update!!

after removing the intank fuel pump i gave it a good clean and testing and it proved to test ok. So resealed the whole unit and just need it to go back in the tank which should be fun and then see how she rolls.

If that fails then i'll replace the injector wiring loom.

List of other things to do is,
Bonnet cable
Rear boot lid struts
IHU/AMP and some other systems need their firmware putting back on as one of them seems to have corrupted and the screen loads the LR logo but then the orange light just flashes No water ingress in the rear either so GRRR is all I can say to it at the moment

On the other hand some fella knocked on the door earlier and asked about a Citroen im working on as well. It just needs an ABS sensor fitting for the MOT but when I told him how much it would be for sale for he said the usuall 'oooooo that's too much' at which point I laughed a little and said the truth, he could go and get another cheaper one but then would spend a lot more sorting it to get it near this one... Anyway, he asked about the 'jeep' and asked what was up. So told him and he just went, 'ooo ill offer you £6k for it' i said for that he could have 2/3 of the car and started reeling off all the new things its had within the last 12months. Then he asked about the 'big shiny thing under the front' He said he would come back in the week and see if i changed my mind, just said the only way i'll change my mind is if he comes back and has £9k cash on him. He was waffling about it only being worth £9k in mint condition.. I pointed out that he may be lucky and get a decent '04 plate with the older rear and front end and older infotainment but for an 05 that was actually 06MY he would be never find one unless it was bashed up or needed some work.

Ah well if he comes back in the week without £9k and his irish accent in his transit he won't be taking the car with him

So Rover waits while another citroen gets some work and sold and then its rovers turn  FFRR MY06 facelift With TDV8 Alloys Zeros/ATR's
Mantec Sump Guard, Rigid Load liner, MY10 BT upgrade.

Funny, your update on this thread happens just when I was thinking of a Scandinavian trip. I wanted to go Hamburg, Copenhagen, Gothenburg, Oslo, Trondheim, Mo i Rana, Narvik, Tromso, then to the most Northern road in Norway. Route back - Murmansk, St. Petersburg, Helsinki, Talinn, Riga, Gdansk, maybe Berlin.

Trouble is, that's a really long way and I want to see it and not spend the whole time in the car. To do that you'd need 3 months really, so it's not happening anytime soon, but I'd really love to do it.

Hope you get the car sorted soon - it's been a while Will!

We could maybe arrange something next year david and take both vehicles. If one breaks the other can at least tow it without breaking a sweat

It just gets on my nerves that so much other cack is sapping my time away that i want to spend on it.

Road trips are always going to be a tossup between having enough time to cover the miles and enough time to visit places. my trip i reckoned on 350-450miles per day with 1 day off per week to help just incase of issues appearing as they always do and having a lower daily mileage will allow pickup on some days when touristing isnt possible due to the area. FFRR MY06 facelift With TDV8 Alloys Zeros/ATR's
Mantec Sump Guard, Rigid Load liner, MY10 BT upgrade.

I just remember my Croatia/Bosnia trip where the perfect day was no more than 4 hours in the car in the morning, and the rest of the day was devoted to non-car related things. More than that and I felt I was spending too much time in the car. I also spend 5 days in Dubrovnik and hardly used the car at all and that was paradise.

Guess I need to retire. Tell you what, if I retire definitely on for next year.

Don't hold your breath though.

Ha ha, if my numbers come up and i have a really cack day at work i'll probably fuel the car up and go for it  FFRR MY06 facelift With TDV8 Alloys Zeros/ATR's
Mantec Sump Guard, Rigid Load liner, MY10 BT upgrade.

Well I've put the new varta in and she fires up with some help but runs rough sometimes so I'm going over the log files tonight and will upload the avi's I took as well.

Some ecu modules seem to have corrupted firmware on as well which is great and I think it's been down to the old battery and dying no water in the car anyhere either

I'm now off to see if the hardware code on each unit is easily translatable into a firmware code so I can start flashing the units that are not responding properly or at all.
Also my faultmate is still complaint about see server versions 1 or two versions below what it expects so need to ask bbs about that.

Well at least she fired up and when idling smoothly sounded soooo nice!

Also had to recode the fob to the remote locking which was a simple process.

I just about got the varta 110ah I1 battery in as well and can't wait to run the fbh for a full cycle when she is running right again  FFRR MY06 facelift With TDV8 Alloys Zeros/ATR's
Mantec Sump Guard, Rigid Load liner, MY10 BT upgrade.

It lives!

Really pleased for you Will.

Cheers David, she's still a bit rough so I think wiring loom may be next and a fuel pressure sensor somewhere as well but ideally need to compare to someone's running one  FFRR MY06 facelift With TDV8 Alloys Zeros/ATR's
Mantec Sump Guard, Rigid Load liner, MY10 BT upgrade.

Bring it round and we'll compare. Could get some skiing in also, if you don't mind being humiliated on the slopes.