One of the hurdles we knew we’d have to overcome when we started planning for our rally was the question of what we’d actually get to Mongolia in.  Those of you who’ve checked out our pictures will notice that we’re not the smallest team in terms of numbers and, indeed, of size!  We worked out early on that we needed something that would accommodate all 5 of us, get us there in one piece and in relative comfort and most importantly of all, provide a valuable piece of kit to whichever NGO or charity is lucky enough to get her when we get there.

In early September, we started a letter writing campaign of epic proportions to find ourselves something suitable.  On the very first day the letters (all 300+ of them!) arrived, we had a phone call from Paul Wood of Reliance Care Services down in Bristol who thought he might have something for us.  After a lot of emailing, phone calls and some nail biting on our part, it was a done deal.  We headed down to meet Paul in early February, and Sheila was born.

Sheila was named by our friend Faith, who, as our first £100 donator to Breakthrough Breast Cancer, earned the right to name our steed.  Sheila is the name of Faith’s mum, who died from ovarian cancer 2 years ago.  We’re delighted to honour Sheila’s memory by naming our vehicle after her.

Make: Renault
Model: Master LM35 DCI
Registered: 2002.  She’s a baby!
Engine: 2453 cc
Fuel: Diesel
Mileage: 101790 at last MOT
Colour: White
Seats: Currently 9, being reduced down to 6/7 to accomodate more kit, and donated wheelchairs.
Features: Fully working wheelchair lift (up to 300kgs – nearly enough for Nick / Ben), fire extinguishers, a sexy casette tape stereo for mid-80s retro music moments, wheelchair grapples / floor mounted seatbelts for wheelchairs / disabled beds, a ceiling vent that we don’t know how to work, a missing ‘T’ off the front Renault sign, an umbrella left inside by Paul
Drives like: A dream.  Apart from the odd cut out when Ben stands on the throttle.

Although Sheila is in mint condition, there are a few things we need to do.

• Sump / Shock Absorber  Guard – After Russia, the roads in Kazakhstan and Mongolia are pretty much non-existant.  Gravel rocks and potholes means we need to guard the underside of the vehicle.  A big sheet of metal should do the trick.
• Vehicle Snorkel – Mongolia, in particular, has a fair few bridges that are not suitable (ie washed away!) across some decent sized streams and rivers.  To ford these safely, we’re looking at fitting an intake snorkel to the engine to prevent it getting flooded.
• Spare Tyres – a minimum of four, and the likelihood is we’ll need to repair these on the way.  In the past, some teams have made it with only a couple of tyre changes but the majority of vehicles such as ours have gone through 6 – 10 changes.  Fun!
• Jerry Cans – Fuel can be hard to find in the Gobi desert.  Need a couple of these for sure.  Note to self:  remember to fill them!
• Spare Shocks – After tyres, these are apparently the most vulnerable part of a vehicle on the Kazakh and Mongolian roads.  Need some spares.

We’ve been very, VERY lucky to have got hold of such a fantastic vehicle.  All we need to do is make sure we do her proud and look after her for 10,000 miles.  Avante Sheila!

If you think you or your company might be able to help out with any of the stuff we need, please visit our Sponsorship page or email us on sponsorship@mongolia5.com to have a chat about how we can repay the favour.

We’d also like to thank WDS for their donation – WDS sell a whole range of gas struts, stainless steel hinges, castors & wheels, machine feet, quick release pins, pip pins and more!