Epic Road Trip... What Gear?

So at the start of next year I'll be heading off in a van to support a sponsored walk from England to Egypt via Eastern Europe and the Middle East, that's about 3000miles.
As well as communicating back home and driving people's gear, I'll be filming our progress as we pass through.

The majority will be shot on a 7D. But I need to start compiling a list of hardware to take with me. So far I've thought of...
- 28-135 IS lens plus primes
- Manfrotto tripod legs with 501HDV head. - £270
- Rode Videomic Pro with good wind-shield - £160
- Either an LCFVF or a screen shade - £30-80

For extra hardware I was thinking a Hauge Steadycam (£190), and/or a mini glide track for scenery (£160)
These I'm unsure of, do you think they're worth it? Remember anything I don't need for when I'm on foot can stay in the van, so it's more an issue of cost to be honest.

Anything else you think I should consider? Essentials will be sorted (CF, Batteries, External HDD's)

Definitely going to need some nice space... There are some rugged External HD's out there. Little pricier than normal ones...

How many CF cards are you planning on getting?

vegasboy wrote in post #12530476
Definitely going to need some nice space... There are some rugged External HD's out there. Little pricier than normal ones...

How many CF cards are you planning on getting?

As of now I have 56GB of Sandisk cards, which equates to roughly 2.5 hours film. I'm going to get a new laptop with a good 9hr battery so that I can just drop files on as I go every evening. I have a 250GB external now... but your idea of a rugged drive (those LaCie ones are great) is a good thought. My current 250GB can be a backup.

benesotor wrote in post #12530506
As of now I have 56GB of Sandisk cards, which equates to roughly 2.5 hours film. I'm going to get a new laptop with a good 9hr battery so that I can just drop files on as I go every evening. I have a 250GB external now... but your idea of a rugged drive (those LaCie ones are great) is a good thought. My current 250GB can be a backup.

Good call. I think you should be good with that amount of cards... Yeah check out the rugged ones.. I remember seeing joey l using some rugged HDD's on his trip to africa. While i was watching his dvd.

vegasboy wrote in post #12530517
Good call. I think you should be good with that amount of cards... Yeah check out the rugged ones.. I remember seeing joey l using some rugged HDD's on his trip to africa. While i was watching his dvd.

Yeah I've taken one to the desert before and had no worries. They are quite pricey, are there any other tough external drives out there? I've only ever known the LaCie one.

a couple gopros inside the car would be a good idea... can do time lapse too.

Chippy569 wrote in post #12530683
a couple gopros inside the car would be a good idea... can do time lapse too.

Ah great idea. If I have any spare funds after the essentials I'll definitely consider that. For some of it I could somehow mount it to the roof the van too which could be cool.

Are there any similar small/cheap video cameras that are quite tough?

kodak zi8 or contour HD, the gopro "motorsports" kit comes with a suction cup mount.

Yeah i got the gopro HD... The suction cup is amazing. Highly recommended. I know there are thousands of videos out there but i made this one. http://www.youtube.com​/watch?v=6e2tJde2Gjk