The Explore Life · Africa series
Brown Davis Africa · Since 1978
Australia’s toughest tanks, now available in Africa
For over 40 years we have built long range fuel tanks, underbody protection and fuel filter kits in Australia, taking thousands of people to the most remote parts of that huge country and bringing them home safely. Now the same gear is fitted to bakkies and 4x4s across southern Africa, for the long gravel roads of the Kalahari, Namibia and beyond.
The Explore Life · Africa series
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The Explore Life · Elephant Sands, Botswana
Cape Town to Dar es Salaam · 5 countries · 4 borders
6,000 km across Africa.
8 fuel stops. Or 4.
Four long legs, each more than 1,000 km, through Namibia, Botswana and Zambia. On a Ranger Raptor with the factory 80 L tank you stop for fuel 8 times between cities. With the FRAP22R1 140 L Brown Davis tank, 4.
- Cape Town → Windhoek1,480 km · N7 · B1Factory 80 LBrown Davis 140 L
- Windhoek → Gaborone1,100 km · Trans-KalahariFactory 80 LBrown Davis 140 L
- Gaborone → Lusaka1,465 km · A1 · KazungulaFactory 80 LBrown Davis 140 L
- Lusaka → Dar es Salaam1,945 km · Great North RoadFactory 80 LBrown Davis 140 L
Approximate road distances. Fuel stops between cities at 12 L/100 km, refilling in each city and keeping a 10% reserve. Fuel is not always available in small towns, so plan every leg.
The Explore Life · Africa series
Africa series · 11 episodes
South Africa to Victoria Falls.
Eleven episodes of Africa.
Four years in the making, The Explore Life’s Africa series follows Matt, Dean and the crew in a Land Cruiser 200 and two Hiluxes, an N80 and an N70, from South Africa into Botswana. They chase black-maned lions across the Kalahari with bushfires closing in, pole a mokoro through the Okavango Delta and push through the flooded tracks of Moremi.
Then come Linyanti and Savuti, a broken N80 Hilux nursed out of the bush to Kasane, and a finish at Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe.
EP 151:018 Nov 20254 Years in the Making... Our Biggest Trip YetMatt lands in South Africa to help Dean finish the Africa 4WD builds before the trip begins.
EP 724:2220 Dec 2025We Didn't Expect Africa to Look Like ThisInto Moremi Game Reserve, with creek crossings and flooded tracks.
EP 1137:007 Feb 2026The Trip That Broke Me...The Hilux is back on the road, and the team cross from Kasane into Zimbabwe.Route drawn from the episode descriptions. Approximate, not every track.
The Explore Life · Africa series
Under vehicle protection
Bulletproof armour for your underside.
A punctured sump, a tail shaft jammed with logs or a damaged radiator can leave you stranded a long way from help, facing a costly repair. A full Brown Davis set covers the four parts that cop it most.
- 01RadiatorFront guard. Protects the radiator and steering components.
- 02SumpKeeps rocks and stumps off the engine sump.
- 03TransmissionCovers the gearbox on rocky climbs and ledges.
- 04Transfer caseProtects the transfer case and keeps logs out of the driveline.
3 mm steelLaser cut and folded plate
Recessed boltsBolt heads tucked away from rocks
Angles keptApproach and departure stay the same
Powder coatedGrey finish against stones and salt
Made per vehicleShaped around each vehicle’s vital parts
DIY fitAll hardware supplied, easy to remove
Patriot Games
Fuel filter bracket kits · keep the fuel in your new tank clean
Don’t let one bad fill-up ruin your trip.
A bigger tank means more fuel from every fill, and on a remote trip some of it comes from a bowser you know nothing about. One batch with dirt, water or algae in it can block your main filter and leave you in limp mode, a long way from a mechanic.
Fit a Brown Davis pre-filter with your new tank and the nasties are caught before they reach your factory filter, pump and injectors.
How it works · from your tank to your injectors
The pre-filter takes the hit. Your factory filter doesn’t.
01
Your Brown Davis tank
Up to twice the fuel from every fill, and some of it from bowsers you know nothing about.
In the fuelWaterAlgaeDirt + big particlesFine particles
02
Brown Davis pre-filter
20 micron element and a clear water bowl. It takes the hit from a bad fill-up, and you can see and drain what it catches.
Caught hereWaterAlgaeDirt + big particlesPasses throughFine particles
03
Factory filter
About 2 micron. With the big stuff already gone, it only has fine particles left to deal with, so it lasts and keeps flowing.
Caught hereFine particles
04
Pump and injectors
Clean diesel only. No limp mode, no blocked filter on the side of the track, no costly repair.
Reaches your injectorsClean diesel
Why 20 micron?Common rail diesels run about 2 micron main filters to protect the pump and injectors. A 20 micron pre-filter is 10 times coarser, so it takes the worst of a bad batch before your main filter blocks and drops you into limp mode.
Water and algaeAlgae in diesel grows in the water. The clear bowl lets you see water building up and drain it on the side of the track, so the sensors downstream keep working.
In the boxVehicle specific 3 mm zinc plated bracket, 20 micron filter with water bowl, quality fuel hose, corrosion proof brass fittings, 8.8 tensile hardware and stainless clamps.
The Explore Life · Africa series
The jerry can maths
3½ jerry cans.
Or one Brown Davis tank.
The TH15R1 for the Hilux 2015–2025 replaces the factory 80 L tank with a 150 L Brown Davis tank in the same place. That extra 70 L is three and a half 20 L jerry cans you no longer strap to the roof.
3½ × 20 L · about 17 kg of diesel in each
Factory 80 LBrown Davis 150 L59 kgof diesel lifted by hand at every refill
4pours, caps and chances to spill
0cans on the roof with a Brown Davis tank
3½ × 20 L jerry cans
Brown Davis tank
Carrying it
On the roof rack, raising your centre of gravity
Under the vehicle, inside the chassis line
Refuelling
Stop, unstrap, pour, repeat 4 times
Fill at the bowser like your factory tank
Lifting
About 59 kg of diesel lifted by hand
Nothing to lift
Spills and fumes
Every pour is a chance to spill
Sealed system with a rollover valve
Theft
Cans on the roof are easy to take
Bolted to the chassis
Knowing what is left
Lift each can and guess
Read it on your fuel gauge
The Explore Life · Africa series
Which product is right for you?
Gear for every bakkie and 4x4
01Bakkies, 4x4s and wagons
Long range fuel tanks
Replacement and auxiliary tanks in steel and poly that add fuel without giving up ground clearance.
Find out more ›02Sump, gearbox and transfer caseUnder vehicle protection
3 mm steel guards for the parts a rock will find first.
Find out more ›03Diesel enginesFuel filter kits
A pre-filter that catches water and dirt from a bad fill before it reaches your injectors.
Find out more ›04Land Cruiser and HiluxFloor mats
Deep tray mats that keep the red dust where it belongs.
Find out more ›Molly Dixon
BD Tank Team
