Crossing from Europe to Africa with our Ford Bronco. Wild day, anyone had similar issues?
Posted by walljet@reddit | overlanding | View on Reddit | 8 comments
We took our Bronco from Spain to Morocco for the first time, and the whole day felt like a rollercoaster. Border confusion, wrong stamps, ferry chaos, engine stress… and then a perfect moment when everything calmed down again.
If you’ve done the Algeciras → Tangier crossing: Did you run into any problems at the border or on the ferry? Curious how common this is.
NTS-PNW@reddit
Guessing the front rotors drilled for 8lug? Or did someone figure out how to swap in a D-50?
walljet@reddit (OP)
Good eye! It’s an 8-lug conversion, but not a D50 swap. The previous owner upgraded the hubs/rotors to 8x165.1 heavy-duty hardware, basically a reinforced setup, but the original Bronco/TTB geometry is still there.
creamofsumyungae@reddit
Very cool. Why the ford bronco? Tell us Americans more haha, that is not something I would expect over there. How are parts etc? Here in the US there has been a big shift towards Toyota, I rarely see American on the trails besides jeeps I guess. Safe travels!
walljet@reddit (OP)
Thanks! Great question. The Bronco wasn’t a „strategic choice“. It was a heart choice. 😄
It’s a 1991 XLT that already survived a full East World trip with its previous owner. We bought it because of its story, not because it’s the “smart” Overlanding vehicle.
Is it practical? Sometimes yes, sometimes absolutely not. Parts are manageable in Europe, less so in North Africa. That’s why we carry a massive box of spares (sensors, relays, filters, coils, brake parts… you name it). 162 parts are travelling with us!
Toyota would definitely be easier, but this Ford Bronco has character, history and a V8 soul. It’s not the efficient choice, it’s more the adventure choice.
And honestly: it turns every breakdown into a story :-)
tea_and_biology@reddit
I always find it's rather straight forward; you just need to remember to get your passport and paperwork sorted on the ferry. Otherwise it's an absolute breeze, especially compared to other borders further down the road (Oof, Senegal!). Everyone speaks English, or at least French, and it's all rather boring and official without any extortion attempts.
There's a dude called Carlos near Algeciras who can get good rates, usually better than online / at the terminal purchases.
FYI there's an x-ray scanner so make sure to hide contraband (e.g. drones) deep in the middle of the car, with tools, electronics directly above and to the side to obfuscate them. There are drug sniffer dogs too, but generally the customs officials and border guards don't bother checking anything beyond a cursory glance if you're white European - they'll be strip searching every cabinet if you're Moroccan though, eep.
They don't care if you go over the official limit with alcohol imports (I think it's 1.5 bottles of wine? IIRC); just don't be silly.
walljet@reddit (OP)
Thanks! We actually did go to Carlos in Algeciras — totally agree with you, super straightforward, fair prices and zero stress. His place is exactly as helpful as people say.
Our crossing itself was also smooth… …until we made it about 2 km past the Moroccan border and our Bronco died on the highway. So our “easy border day” turned into a full-on overlanding adventure pretty fast. 😄
But the border officers were professional, no scams, no pressure, just the usual paperwork. Your description matches our experience 100%, except for the part where our V8 decided to take a break.
walljet@reddit (OP)
For everyone who wanted the full story, we wrote down the whole day in our travel diary: https://www.kaufkraft.de/blog/reisetagebuch-kapitel-9-ein-tag-wie-ein-ganzes-leben-unsere-ueberfahrt-nach-afrika
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