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Beyond expectation and cliché
February 2022 - all decisions have been made: we will leave Germany. We will go to Africa. We will travel there. We will buy a new mobile home for it. So far, so good. But what will it look like and where will we get one? First we looked around for off-road motorhomes in Germany - we always found an expedition vehicle quite exciting. But this option, to have such a vehicle built in Germany, was quickly ruled out for us: exorbitantly expensive and delivery times of 2.5 to 4 years! Then we thought that in countries like South Africa, where off-roading and overlanding are at home, there are certainly the appropriate manufacturers. This would also have solved the question of a transfer.
And soon we found a whole range of interesting makes and options: not only motorhomes, but also trailers in all sizes are very popular there. Trailers, from fold-out trailers to special caravans for off-road adventures. Caravan? Well, that had no place at all in my dreams of travelling through Africa until now... pulling a "donkey cart" behind us?
But the more we thought about it, the more this turned out to be our perfect solution: a large trailer can serve all our must-haves: a wide bed for a lengthwise sleeper, sufficient room height (in which even Stefan, at 1.96 m, can stand comfortably), a cosy seating area with table and a small bathroom/WC, without having to convert anything for these points every day. After all, it is our future home and will not only be used for 3 weeks' holiday. At the same time, a trailer offers us the flexibility of being able to travel only by car, whether for shopping, on tours to remote areas or into town. It also costs much less and with a suitably selected towing vehicle we are on the whole cheaper. Perfect. That is our choice.
With this choice, however, another of my ideas falls through: The towing vehicle will then also not be a Landy be. So it's not going to work with the cliché images from my head, as you know them. Because the classic Landrover Defender doesn't have enough torque and horsepower to pull such a trailer over hill and dale.
"Harriet, stay open to all possible solutions and don't let yourself be limited by your ideas, dreams and the mainstream! This is the only way to discover possibilities that perfectly suit you and your needs."
Our WildBoar Keiler Trailer comes to life
During our research, we soon came across BorderX - a small manufacturer in Centurion, South Africa, between Johannesburg and Pretoria, whose story immediately captivated us: a South African couple, Desna and Werner, now with two boys and travelling a lot in Africa and the world themselves, were looking for a new trailer and couldn't find anything suitable. That was the birth of their own company: they build the trailers they were missing themselves. Trailers that incorporate all their expertise, experience and practical ideas. So we got in touch with them and after a few emails and zoom calls for individual wishes, we commissioned our double-axle trailer - even over this great distance and without having been there in person. We are delighted. We trust. We transfer regular instalments and have our new home built on 4 wheels. For personal collection.
09 November 2022 - we land in Johannesburg, pick up our rental car and drive straight to Centurion to BorderX and our trailer. What a big hello and warm welcome: finally meeting Desna, Werner and the team in person and seeing our WildBoar Keiler Trailer live!
The first few days we stay in a guesthouse, drive across town and do a lot of shopping - the Keiler Trailer needs to be equipped. Since we have old life in 4 suitcases packed and arrived here with only these, it is now time to buy the most important things for our life as overlanders: everything needed for kitchen, bed, bathroom, camping and tools.
In order to set up our new life, to get to know the Keiler Trailer and to still be close by for any questions or shortcomings, Werner pulls our trailer onto a campsite with his car and we follow behind with our rental car. So this is what it looks like when we are on the road! In the Dinokeng Game Reserve, only about 100 km away, we immediately dive into the African world with its animals and plants. These are unforgettable first days full of gratitude, impressions, pride and anticipation of everything to come.
With the trailer in camp and only the rental car on the road, we then start looking for our own towing vehicle. With our Toyota Landcruiser Prado we also find the second part of our set-up: an outwardly somewhat worn, but technically good and sufficiently powerful car within our budget.
How we turned it, and thanks to Robert, into a visually great and above all multifunctional, individual vehicle that offers us all the freedom and possibilities for our lust for life adventure, you'll soon find out here in the blog article "The man with the golden hands".
With the Prado, we pull our Keiler trailer for the first time over the gravel roads to just outside the Dinokeng Reserve. For some time, we live self-sufficiently and very happily on the small farm Stilte (Afrikaans for silence) in the middle of the bush, enjoying African freedom and at the same time being close to Pretoria. Why we still need this at the beginning, you can read in the blog article "Ready for a free life?" read up.
The following video and photos, which show what our Keiler Trailer looks like from the outside and inside, how we have set up and live in it, also come from Stilte:
Finally, you might be wondering what the name and logo WildBoar Keiler Trailer is all about?
It combines our motto "Abenteuer Lebenslust" with what we do:
Travelling = Overlanding with our trailer
and with us personally:
Friends call us after our surname Keil "die Keilers" = male wild boar = Wildboar
Possible questions for your personal journey of discovery:
Do you trust yourself?
Do you dare to give and invest trust in others?
Are you open to solutions that do not meet your expectations at first?
Can you question your ideas and truths?
How important are clichés to you?
Possible questions for your personal journey of discovery:
Do you trust yourself?
Do you dare to give and invest trust in others?
Are you open to solutions that do not meet your expectations at first?
Can you question your ideas and truths?
How important are clichés to you?
2 responses
I must say set up very nice. The nice thing about trailer is you can park it and still have transport unlike a camper where you still have to tow a car. South Africa also manufactures nices. 4×4 motorhomes but I think they cost a lot. We like getting out and about camping. We have all the basic canvas gear. Dec 2023 we are going to camp in Stellenbosch Mountains at a place called Orangeville guest house. So they offer guest house and camping. Its a good base to explore the area. Western Cape has lots to offer. We are also ardent hikers. We enjoy nature and the peacefullness. You must enjoy your overlanding. Also please be safe out there and observant of your surroundings. Kind Regards Guy and Bets
Dear Guy & Bets,
Thank you very much for your kind message - nice to read from you! I guess we have a few things in common! That's funny: we've also chosen Orange-Ville when we come back to the region for mountain biking. With your recommendation, we can really look forward to it! We wish you a wonderful time there, travel safely and who knows, maybe we'll see you somewhere on our tours. Best regards, Harriet & Stefan