Scotland to Argentina
Breaking down every step of the way
Ruffday Roadtrip
We set off on our epic adventure in October 2024 with a goal to explore as much as we can and hit every challenge head on…
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Meet the crew!
Oof, I’m Evie…
The emotional support dog that needs her own emotional support. A “working” dog permanently on holiday with more sass than any dog should ever have… And she has the side eye to prove it!
Jokes aside, Evie is the best guard dog, cuddle monster and “oof” producer any overlanding team could ask for.
Hey, I’m Blair…
From the tippy top of Scotland, I grew up tinkering and figuring out how things work. School wasn’t for me so as soon I could, I was out the door working on farms.
Every fix brings a new challenge (and an opportunity to buy more tools)!
Land Rover Pilot, Head Mechanic, Tinkerer and Goofball!
Hey, I’m Ellie…
Born and bred in central Scotland near where the film Braveheart was set. Growing up I had no idea what I wanted to do, and in all honesty, I still have no idea.
Farm worker turned Drone Pilot, Social Media Coordinator and Chief Organiser of Team Ruffday Roadtrip!
Hey, I’m Blair…
From the tippy top of Scotland, I grew up tinkering and figuring out how things work. School wasn’t for me so as soon I could, I was out the door working on farms.
Every fix brings a new challenge (and an opportunity to buy more tools)!
Land Rover Pilot, Head Mechanic, Tinkerer and Goofball!
Hey, I’m Ellie…
Born and bred in central Scotland near where the film Braveheart was set. Growing up I had no idea what I wanted to do, and in all honesty, I still have no idea.
Farm worker turned Drone Pilot, Social Media Coordinator and Chief Organiser of Team Ruffday Roadtrip!
Oof, I’m Evie…
The emotional support dog that needs her own emotional support. A “working” dog permanently on holiday with more sass than any dog should ever have… And she has the side eye to prove it!
Jokes aside, Evie is the best guard dog, cuddle monster and “oof” producer any overlanding team could ask for.
Our Story!
A long, long time ago… back in 2018, we met at Agricultural College in Scotland. Blair was studying ‘Agricultural Engineering’, and Ellie ‘Countryside and Environmental Management’ A.K.A Tree hugging!
We both knew that we wanted to travel and in 2020 we were planning a backpacking/farm working trip in New Zealand but we all know what happened in 2020 so I will spare you with the details. Flash forward to winter 2023, we had a cottage, settled with our routines and jobs, and most significantly, had an Evie. Life was starting to get in the way so we knew that we had to make the move to travel or else we might never get the chance.
Now that we had Evie it became a little different. She thinks too highly of herself to join us backpacking so we decided a golden carriage would suit her best. Blair mentioned that he had started watching some YouTubers (‘Next Meridian’, ‘GrizzlyNBear’ and ‘Expedition Rove’) and that something like overlanding could be cool. That suited Ellie down to a tee because she’s a big Landy fan. We did debate the comforts of van life but this style is more us and we obviously enjoy the tortures of breaking down.
Looking back, we have no idea why we chose Canada but we do now know that you shouldn’t travel in a tent in the middle of the Canadian winter… But it clearly didn’t put us off the idea because we decided to extend our Canada/USA trip and aim to reach the Sothern tip of the Pan American Highway.
THE RIG!
“Dingo” is a 2008 Land Rover Defender 2.4L (Puma) with serious reliability issues and a real attitude problem when it comes to hard work. In his past life he was a utility truck for Scottish Highland Hydro but since retiring from his government career, he has had an undetermined number of owners and more than a few questionable upgrades. We pulled him out of his easy life, gave him a well needed facelift and shipped him across the Atlantic.
We took on the build and paint job completely on our own (minus the AW4X4 roof top conversion) during summer 2024, juggling each task between our busy farm life to meet our goal to ship out in October. Dingo is a working progress still and we are constantly working to improve the set up and make it as close to “our” perfect as we can.
"Ellie wanted a Puma. I wanted a TD5. So we compromised and got a Puma!"
Blair Marks
OUR JOURNEY SO FAR!
MILES TRAVELED
DAYS ON THE ROAD
MAJOR BREAKDOWNS
We had the pleasure of being guests on the Explmore podcast where we talk about the build, the trip, sharing our stories and adventures, and some of the challenges we have managed to overcome.
We hope you enjoy listening as much as we enjoyed the conversation with Charles and be sure to check out the Explmore youtube channel for other travelers’ adventures.
THE GEAR
The backbone of our electrical setup!
We run Renogy’s 50 Amp DCDC-MPPT charger and 2000W inverter – Two essentials in our electrical set up that allow us to charge (stationary and mobile) our leisure battery and power our gadgets.
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We use Falken Wildpeak AT3 265/75R16. From -40c to +40c they have never let us down. They are great on road and offroad, they are quiet with loads of grip especially on snowy/icy roads and they handle great on loose gravel, sand or going through soft mud. They have been perfect for our overland adventure, with 45,000 miles (72,500KM) on them and still going strong.
We started our trip with a Darche 270 freestanding LED awning and we were so impressed by it that when we looked into vehicle additions along the way, Darche was our first thought. At the end of our time in Canada, we added the Darche spare wheel bag, which was a must for extra storage! We also opted for the Darche Gen 2 shower awning which is a total game changer.
On the roof of the Defender there are 2x YETI LoadOut 60 Gear Case which have proven to be truly indestructible! Through the harsh Canadian winter, insane Baja sand storms, and heavy tropical rain, the boxes have remained airtight, dry and kept our belongings safe. Although they do stand tall and add to the vehicle’s overall height, the amount of quality storage space that they provide has been perfect for us.