Kenya 2023: Chapter 11 – Land Cruisers

We are in love with the safari trucks, so we want to take a minute to talk about them.

The modified Toyota Land Cruiser seats seven passengers, plus two seats in the cockpit. Most trucks are tan/beige or olive green to help blend them into the landscape. There are varying configurations that include open-sided canvas and a photographer’s setup with rails and low shooting angles from the doors. Ours was an enclosed road truck and it suited us pretty well. The ample seating allowed us to store our packs in the back and stash cameras all over. The pop-top roof allowed us to stand during transit and view wildlife hiding in the grass.

Under the hood, the Land Cruiser is powered by an inline six-cylinder 4.2 liter 1HZ engine, Toyota's specially-built engine. The truck has two 80-liter tanks, enough for almost 700 miles of driving. Two spare tires and a jack are mounted on the back. Retrieval gear, like thick cable and hook are stowed in the back,but some models have an electric winch as well. On the front of the truck, the normal bumper has been replaced by a heavy-duty brush bar. The truck has a snorkel for deep water and aggressive off-road tires with a lifted suspension, perfect for crossing luggas with thick mud and steep banks. Most are manual transmission with locking differentials on the front and rear axles.

Power outlets are spaced throughout the truck that are run off a power inverter. We had forgotten about this aspect and had brought our solar chargers. We never needed them. There were two radios in ours for communication. A new feature aimed at reducing plastic waste was a USB-charged water dispenser for filling water bottles.

 A new one costs somewhere around 3.9M KES or $28K USD.