The Home of my Saharagelber W123 300TD
My Saharagelber adventures are published on this site!
Follow me on 300TDorg@Twitter to keep up to date with this blog, images, articles, video, history/maintenance etc.
Not all the routes are added yet (still missing: Great Britain, Danmark, Wales, Czech Republic, Alpes (France) )
27 december 2009
I am now busy updating my blog. In the mean time, you can browse around to see what’s already written.
From now on, every couple of days I’ll add some more stuff about these trips. I’ll add text, images and video in the coming weeks.
The last posts are from West-Africa, which is 2006. I will finish Africa soon and then continue to add the trips from 2007,2008 and 2009.
Update (29/01/2010): Finished West-Africa!
In 2010 we start the world trip, which we will do in different phases. We will travel Asia in 2010 and then we will see… Probably entering the USA by boat from Vladivostok.
Also, you can checkout the images on my Flickr account: The Best W123 shots.
Some image sets:
The Saharagelber in various countries
At the moment I am converting the 300td even further, to prepare for the world trip which is coming pretty soon already.
This sumer we built a camper conversion which can be found here:
Camper Conversion
Camping in the open, Western Karpats, Ukraine (old USSR)
On the way to the Dogon, Mali
Hi! I love your car. In fact I love it so much I have bought my own! I Live in Cairns, in Australia. I found a great 1981 300TD in yellow, in Melbourne. I promptly bought it and flew down to get it. Unfortunately, the car had not been driven or maintained for the last 15 years. It had 93,500km on the odometer. I drove it back to Cairns over the next 4 days. It stopped once on be because of a leaky fuel hose which was sucking air. $80 fix. I have refreshed it to near its former glory. I love it. My next step it getting the roof rack and camping tent fitted. I also want to get a 2nd battery set up to a solar panel mounted in front of the tent on the roof. This can run a fridge and any other electrical needs I have.
I have spent hours looking through your photos. I love looking at the car and the terrain you take it through, the people you meet and the stuff you tip into your fuel tank!
Enough for now, I would love to show you a pic of my car some time.
Are coming to Australia?
Yours sincerely,
Sam
Hi Sam,
Wow, you just bought the same car because of the blog?
Well, you won’t regret what Mercedes produced in these years, I am sure you will drive very comfortably and are assured of the capabilities of the car and the reliability. I’d like to see some images of the car, quite a story then, that it wasn’t used for the last 15 years! I hope you renewed the engine oil!
So you want your cold beers, hey? That’s cool, in both ways I guess, oh well.
I am very curious about where you want to set up the 2nd battery, I thought about it too, but didn’t bother yet.
If you plan to put a solar panel on the roofrack, you aren’t able to carry cans or a 2nd spare wheel anymore.
Another thing you must take into account is weight, it’s best to travel light. A fridge, 2nd battery and solar panel adds quite a lot to your gross weight. You need to think about everything you stuff in on or your car ‘How necessary is this item?’.
Nice to hear you enjoy the images. More content is now added everyday, that’s a new years resolution.
After Mongolia it’s not for sure where we want to go to yet. What are your plans?
Kind regards,
Jurgen
Hello Jurgen and greetings from Freezing Finland! (-27 celcius)
It´s very nice to watch Your warm and funny pictures. Even after selling my own “yellow bastard” W123 300TD -78&-80&-81&-84 some 5 years ago. It was my first Mercedes and I will not change the label anymore. In fact I have been planning to purchase a one 300TD again soon, but this time I´d like to have a vehicle which has not been put together from 4 different cars!
Best regards and good luck for adventures to come. If You are going to traven north in winter, don´t hesitate to ask tips how to survive
Petteri Kivimäki, Finland
Hello Jurgen.
I have sent you a private message on the Mercedes Forum from Romania. Maybe you will read that first…
I just want to tell you again that we are very pleased to watch you pictures. Everybody says that it was an extraordinary thing that you do with your car!
Maybe when you are going in you next trip you will stop in our country! We will be glad to quest you!
Best regards
Dan,
Senior Member of ClubMercedes Romania
glory. you great . cheers. i too want traveling in africa.
……….if you want write me. my e-maill
mmedala@abv.bg
mercedes is perfect. im in bulgaria.
hi
you great . if you want cam here in bbulgaria. weill be traveling together. in africa……….
please write will be great.
mmedala@abv.bg
greetings from bulgaria.
Hi Jurgen,
We are very impressed of your car and trips.
) Now we have a plan to go to Jordan to the Red Sea. We just have made our web site ( http://www.naszeexpedycje.com pl – it means “our expeditions”)
).
We are fans of yougtimers and classic cars too. Last spring we have bought an Opel Ascona B from 1980, with little 1.3 engine and took a trip to Crimea in Ukraine.
We have done about 6000 km without any defect (almoust
and want to ask you for permision to put the link to you web site on our web site (but we already did it
By the way, we want to recomend you to visit the Crimea.
Good luck and C U on the road!!!
Dawid and Gosia from Poland
Sorry, I forgot a dot between “com” and “pl”
http://www.naszeexpedycje.com.pl
Sorry again for spaming your web
Love your website and all the great photos! We too are passionate about the W123, and love overland trips. Our first car ‘Priscilla’ was a 200D and was bought for a charity rally from UK to Banjul. We promptly bought another as soon as we got back home. We now have ‘Elvis’ 300D, and ‘Ralph’ 240D. I included a link to my blog of the Banjul rally – thought you may like to take a look at our pics. So much fun. These cars will be with us for a very long time
All the best for your future adventures!
I’m a recent 300TD convert. I have enjoyed a 240D for a while, but the extra room and power the 300TD provides are nice. Mine had a few issues when purchased: Clogged fuel screen was the most fun to find and fix. It has a 4 speed manual transmission and a two tank WVO system. If you come near New York, NY or Newark, NJ do let us know! We’d love to meet you and your Saharagelber!
Amazing, I lived in Germany as a small boy and my father bought this same color wagon but with the gas engine, loved it so much we brought it back to Alabama and drove it for years and years. Best color ever.
Hi Jurgen,
It was a pleasure to discover your site! I own a W123 sedan so would never have thought to use it for your types of travels, but I’m very impressed with what you have been able to do with the 300TD, and wished I owned one! I also own a 96 Camry station wagon but it’s not in the same league. I also own a 92 Land-Cruiser diesel wagon, which is the vehicle I am equipping for overland travels in North-America. Actually, most of the people I read about who head out for overland travels in Africa, Asia, etc., usually will build a rugged 4×4 expedition truck (Land Cruiser, Land-Rover, G-Wagen, etc.), so it’s so nice to see someone use a rear-wheel drive diesel car like the 300TD to do similar “off-the-beaten-path” travels!! Obviously, this is a testament to the dependability of the W123 MB diesel car.
Happy continued travels to you, and look forward to reading more about your journeys.
Best regards,
–Robert (Ottawa, Canada)
hey guys,
this is Fabio and Eleonora this year we going to cross Africa in a Toyota land-cruise troop-carrier 1984,with the same car in 2007 I cross Australia, south east Asia
India and Meddle east until Europe.
At the moment we live in Melbourne were we r saving money for the trip,we will come back to Italy(were we both from and where the car is at the moment) in july….I think I will fly this time! We intend to reach Portugal in meddle august to attend a musical festival, from there drive to Gibraltar and crossing in to Morocco.The goal is to reach Cape Town by land.For sure won’t be possible passing through Algeria and unless we going to take a couple of ferry in the Mediterranean i think the only other way is to crossing the desert down to Mali.For what i understand you will do the west coast pretty much in the same period can u tell us how u going to do it and how u r organized for that part of the journey to be honest I’m not so sure to drive completely alone in that desert, u never know what it may can happen to your vehicle so I’m looking for another car to share that part.
Hope to hear from u
regards
So you must be a real fan! You had it shipped to Alabama from Germany?
That’s funny! Is it easy to get WVO around that place? I’d let you know when I visit New York, we hopefully will ship the car to the USA next year. But plans might be changed.
Thanks for your comment!
Thanks for your message! Cool to read the W123 stole your heart too
Did you happen to do other travels since that Banjul rally already?
Cheers,
Jurgen
Hi David and Gosia. Thanks for your messages and the link!
What is the Crimea?
I see you did the trip to Jordan and Syria! Nice one!
Thank you very much! I’m honoured!
Thanks for your message!
Hi Petteri!
Did you manage to find one?
Absolutely epic.
W123 is a truly excellent car.
Keep up the good work and enjoy the tour bus!
Hi there,
hope your Asia preparations / travels are going well. If you plan to come to Singapore, we would be happy to welcome you to our country.
Do keep my email address and let me know. We’ll introduce you to the pleasures of Chicken Rice and Black Pepper Crabs!
Regards
Paul
Just dropping a line to say great blog, looks like an amazing trip! i am planning on buying a W123 D when i return to the UK in then next couple of weeks. Keep up the good work
Alex.
Beste Jurgen,
Super om dit alles te lezen. Ben zelf al maanden op zoek naar een goede w123 td. Helaas nog geen geluk. Hoe ben jij deze toen op het spoor gekomen? Internet? Of gewoon door Duitsland struinen?
gr
Hi great story with the car and amazing trips,i love this cars but its hard to get one in ok shape here in norway.
The only thing is that i do miss a update here:-)) long time sins you have don that,how are the world trip going??
Erlend
hello
superb, i’m planning to travel to south est asia with a 300d
will like to discuss the houw and about with you,if your in
Antwerp some day ,pop for a a meal in seree thai fine food
and ask françois,good luck
franços
@Francois:
Hi,
Sure, if you have questions you can ask me of course, I’m happy to help out. Thanks for the invite, but I’m not in Antwerp anywhere soon..
Regards,
Jurgen
@Paul:
Hi,
We went up to Asia but did not go up to Singapore, although that would have been nice
Next time, in 2011 we go up to Mongolia.
Thank you for your message!
Jurgen
@Alex James:
Thanks! Did you manage to find a W123 D?
Jurgen
@Twanjo
Puur toeval, ik kwam deze tegen inderdaad in Duitsland. Ik weet wel een soortgelijke te staan, het is een 240TD voor 15000 Euro.
Hi Jurgen, what an adventure, i love the W123 300TD and have plans to one day buy one. Your trip, the pictures, the car are just amazing, thankyou so much for sharing it all!
all the best
anthony
Jurgen-I’ve thoroughly enjoyed reading of your and your TD’s travels! I’ve spent many hours reading and looking at your pictures and look forward to your future adventures.
I have an ’80 TD that I would like to outfit for traveling here in the U.S., so offroad capability isn’t so important. But I would like to set it up similarly to yours otherwise. I’ve found a source for a rooftent but the cargo/safari rack has proven to be a bit more difficult. Was yours purpose-built or did you purchase it from a manufacturer? All of the ones I’ve come across have bars all the way around while yours appears to be clear where the tent is attached. Would you have any pics of the rack without the gear on it so that I might be able to duplicate it? Or did I somehow miss it in your pictures? Any help you could offer would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks and I wish you continued happy travels!
@anthony : Thanks for your kind message!
Just buy one, you won’t regret it
Hello to all lovers of w123. Days reading and watching pictures from a trip, incredible as it says and I do not like poduhvat.Naravno so long way to start would be visited some surrounding zemlje.Posedujem v123te wagon, you would also like to set up a tent roof and could no limit to linger in various mestima.Sve this plan so we developed the experience needed. I am from Serbia. driving in Serbia contact us I will gladly be your host and show their zemlju.A tomorrow if through your country I am going to have someone to show it.
from Serbia
Awesome. I had planned something similar. I recently tracked down some heavy duty rear springs for mine. Just need the compressor to put them in. I will be fitting a custom fuel tank, to increase range. Rebuilt engine and transmission is ready for fitting too. I did byt a complete set of steering and suspension parts and bushes for mine from a supplier in the old country. So I will be doing a complete front to back rebuild of the entire car. I came close to an OM603 upgrade but will stick with the 617, proven technology.
I run mine on a mixture of WVO, used and cleaned engine oil mixed with Diesel. May be not the best option environmentally but….
I am also in Australia and have had 300D’s for quite a few years. Got 2 old sedans for parts but decided to switch to the Estate.
Cheers, Jens.
greetings from spain! i am currently fixing up my 1979 300td to do some travelling as well! i am very interested in your roof rack, but i don’t know if it will “pass” the motor vehicle inspection here in Spain! does anyone have any info on installing a second battery? any info/links to help outfit my car are much appreciated!
best and happy motoring — you are a shining example!
hi, can you please send me your email? it would be great if we could do at least part of a trip together! i want to introduce my wife & daughter to the world of W123 travel! best!
Greetings from Milano Italy! We love you blog! Can you please tell us the website where you got your tent?
Thanx!!
Jurgen,
I am so happy to have run across your site.
We are thinking of buying an old Benz W123 now.
Is there a place you have already written about your car and the specifics of any upgrades you have done?
My intercontinental Motorcycling days are over http://motorcycleforcharities.com (for now) and, with my small family your style of travel looks like a good way to go!
Thanks,David
Very inspiring! Do you know of a good winch system to install on a 123 sedan? Also do you have the Mercedes part number and a source for the “Unterbodenschutz”?
Regards
Robert Bell
Napa California
Beautyfull trip !
Hallo Jurgen,
Met eerste plannen om een lange reis overland te maken, kwam ik jou “reisproject(en)” tegen. Ziet er echt fantastisch uit! Nu heb ik voor jou een specifieke vraag. ik heb gezien dat jullie jullie hond overal mee naartoe nemen. hebben jullie dat ook gedaan in Afrika en zo ja was dit te doen en welke specifieke voorbereidingen hebben jullie daar voor moeten nemen?
Hartelijk dank en beste groeten,
Filip
Hello Jurgen,
I am currently at the end of a trip in a setup with my own 300TD. You have been a truly inspirational traveler to learn from; I am looking forward to the day I go from Alaska to Argentina in my trusty 1982 W123 300TD, or perhaps a G-Wagen.
You can check some diary entries and pictures at http://300TD.blogspot.com/
Thanks and keep up the blog! Would love to see more soon!
-Miguel Llorente
w123 is the best car ever made. Strong, big but with all this is very easy to drive.
I had a few crashes with my old 300D w124, and my car remaines almost intact, compare to the others.
I drived it through mud roads, rocky road, forest roads, roads where few cars can go, and it was no difficult for my 300D with Hankook w440 tires.
Now I bought a w124 250D (because of the lower taxes in Romania).
I wish you all have nices journeys and no problems.
Wow what a trip! You travelled through a lot of countries and exceeded more than 4000 miles with that car. Did you have any complications at all? I can hardly imagine it being all smooth with all that tough surface in Africa. But simply brilliant a lot of respect to you for having done this.
Wow, such great pics and trips. I admire your setup immensely!
I have the same color ’83 300TD. Where did you get your roof rack or did you assemble it yourself?
Awesome site!
Thanks for sharing!
Love your car! Did you have any break downs in the outback?
Incredible story there. What happened after? Good luck!
Hi, Love your blog. I’ve been shopping for a W123 Coupe and a Wagon–I actually want to buy both. I stumbled on your though another MB website. So glad I found you. I will be following you.
Conrad