The Stockholm to Prague adventure is over since a while back now, i will in this post explain what i would have done differently. What gear i would and would not have brought if i did this trip again. This was my first longer overlanding adventure.
Gear
The first thing that i would have changed is to not bring a Jerry can. I brought a plastic 20L Jerry can or “Jeepdunk” as it’s called i Sweden (means “Jeep can”). Before my departure i thought it was necessary and kind of cool to have one. But the truth is it’s not needed, and to add to that is the fact that if you leave it inside a car on a hot day there will leak fumes in to the cabin. As long as you are traveling in West-Central Europe there are gas stations everywhere. If you fill your vehicle up every time it gets to half tank you will most probably not need a Jerry can. I will most probably not use the Jerry can on my way up to Sweden again, it will be empty or left here in Czech Republic. A better option to the plastic style Jerry Can would have been external mounted Rotopax cans.
One thing that i would want to add to the gear is a ARB or WAECO compressor fridge and a dual battery system to power them even during the night. There where as hot as 44 degrees Celsius at a point i Poland, even though we had AC in the Jeep there would be nice to be able to grab a cold soda. A dual battery system is planed, just a question of time and money. A fridge is simply not justifiable in Sweden, at least not for the price of a nice compressor fridge.
The navigation i used on the trip was a Samsung S4 running the HERE app made by Nokia. I was recommended to get a dedicated GPS unit, like a Garmin. But i felt that was very unnecessary. The Samsung S4 performed with no problem, fast and accurate. Always got a GPS fix withing seconds.
I have no complaints about the HERE app, worked like a charm and it’s free with no ads and even run in off-line mode with downloaded maps. The maps were detailed and even had some of the off-road trails i dove on. The only thing i can think of that’s missing is the ability to see terrain elevation (topo-map). A big thanks to Nokia for providing such a awesome app!
The Jeep where also very heavy loaded since i moved down here to stay. I would have liked to have Jeep at least 100kg lighter. I would not recommend anyone to travel with a heavy loaded vehicle, keep your weight down! It saves gas and the environment and also is less punishing on the vehicle.
Route
I would have liked some more time at each place, some stops were a bit short. One or two days extra would have been nice. But sadly there were no time for to extend the trip since my brother had to be back in Sweden at a fixed date. Except for that I’m very happy with the stops we made, no regrets regarding that.