This isn't an exhaustive list of everything you will need to check nor is it going to tell you exactly how to check and fix everything either, but use this as a guide or a prompt to move around your moke and make sure the obvious issues are addressed well before you leave home. Find out what needs attention and dealing with it sooner rather than later will prevent unnecessary stops along the way or expensive repair bills in places you have never heard of.
Steering
Is your steering wheel pointing in the direction the car is going or is it pointing at the tree on the side of the road when you are driving straight ahead? Correct alignment of the steering wheel is less frustrating on a long drive and can be very helpful when you are losing or lost control of your car.
Does the steering wheel move but the wheels do not? Gently rock the steering wheel back and forth until you can move the steering wheel without seeing any movement in the wheels. There shouldn't be any movement or slackness in response between the steering wheel and the road wheels.
Try lifting the steering wheel up and down the column. If you feel movement or 'clunking' then the most likely cause is the bolt clamping the column onto the rack at your feet is not done up properly or the big nut holding the steering wheel on is not tight. Either of these problems can see you turn the steering wheel and the Moke going straight ahead as it strips the spline.
Wheel Bearings
The easiest thing to check for with Wheel bearings is movement by grabbing onto the wheel and giving it a shake back and forth listening for a 'clunking' sound or feeling the movement. The clunking sound can also be caused by loose/worn ball joints, so check for Ball Joint movement, as described below, and confirm if it is bearings or not.
Excessive heat is the other way to check for potential wheel bearing failure and if you have wheels caps or dust caps that prevent you from touching the large wheel nut you will need to remove them before this test. A failing wheel bearing due to dust, rust or no grease will generate more heat than normal.
Take the moke for a drive of about 15 to 20 minutes and then stop and feel the large nut that holds the wheel to the axle/CV. If one of the touches shows a significant increase in temperature compared to the others that the particular bearing will need some form of inspection to confirm its condition.
If you haven't done it for sometime a good re greasing of all the bearings may be in order.
Wheel Alignment
Having the front wheels aligned correctly will make your tyres last a long time, a bad alignment and you could wear them out in a day. A simple test is to check for 'feathering' on the edges of the grooves in the tread, smooth edges being normal while raised or lipped edges are a sign of the toe in/out is not correct and will need adjustment.
Significantly raising the height of the car via adjustable suspension or carry more load than usual as many will be be doing, effects the toe in/out of the vehicle. Unless you have the correct tool or know the techniques for doing it yourself best to get a tyre shop to do it for you, however just ask for a toe in/out adjustment as a full wheel alignment offering for modern cars is wasted on a Moke, in general we can only change the toe in/out.
Ball Joints
Ball joints movement shows up as a clunking sound when the wheel is shaken by someone pushing and pulling on the top of the tyre. If you do get a noise you need to place you finger across the gap between the dust boot on the ball joint and the upper or lower arm and have someone push/pull the wheel again.
If there is a problem you can feel it as either movement between the arm and ball joint or in bad circumstances you will feel the dull thud of movement inside the ball joint. While under the car check that the large ball nut is tight and the locking tabs are covering it properly.
And use a grease gun to put grease into each of the ball joint nipples until you see it squeezing out past the rubber dust boot.
Shock Absorbers
To check if the shock is working properly you need to remove it from the Moke and holding it vertical and open and close the shock over its full extension and feel that it is an even resistance over the full length of travel. Depending on the design, some will have high resistance in both direction while some will be high resistance one way and low resistance the other direction.
On the car try and move the shock looking for movement and wear in the eyelet rubbers and the bolt fixing it to the Moke. Excessive movement can cause breakages and premature wear.
I also strongly suggest removing the original factory fitted lower shock stud from the trailing arm and replacing it with the modification shown on MokeWerx(article not quite ready yet) to avoid lengthy delays from trying to dig out a broken stud from the trailing arm. Even though this is not a off road adventure, the undulations and bumps in the bitumen combined with the heavier loads people will be carrying are likely to increase the chance of failures.
Suspension Front
The main thing to have here is clearance between the bump stop and the top arm, located behind the shock when looking from the front. And checking when the Moke is empty is not enough, put some similar sized people/weight in the Moke to what you expect to be carrying for the trip and then get under there and take a look. At a minimum you want to be able to stick your index finger between the bump stop and the top arm.
For the rest of the suspension check that the rubber bushes at the front of the subframe and in the lower arm to subframe mount are not split or perished and that there is a nice fresh grease in the top arm pin.
Suspension Back
It is important to have plenty of movement in the rear suspension for this trip so with the Moke empty measure the height of the rear guard from the flat surface you are parked on. Now put your weight on to the Moke and bounce it up and down to get a feel for what should be a soft feeling.
Put in the Moke the amount of weight you expect to carry, including driver and passenger, and again measure to the top of the rear guard and not e it down. Now repeat the bouncing up and down of the rear of the Moke, does it feel the same or does it feel harder/stiffer than before. if it does it could be that your extra weight not means your Moke is sitting on the bump stops(not visible as they are inside the donut/suspension cone) and you have no suspension travel.
New donuts/suspension cones may be required to return your required travel or you may consider lightening your load or using Jacking rings, see MokeWerx. Fitting adjustable suspensions like HI-Los affects on the ride height and not the suspension travel which is the important aspect.
Loose Wires
Loose wires and ill fitting connections are going to annoy you and if it causes inconvenient delays and stoppages it will start to annoy other people. Have a good look over the connection on your Moke at the fuse box and terminals etc and look for loose fittings, bare wires and any place where a wire may have started or could start rubbing on a sharp edge and cause a short.
Alternator and Battery
You will need a multimeter for these fairly basic tests.
With everything turned off put the multimeter points across the positive terminal on the solenoid where the Battery cable connects and to the engine. The voltage should read 12.6V and above, anything less and the battery is on the downhill hill decline. If it is below 12V be prepared to buy a new one en route or be asking for a few push starts and try not to have anything charging or in use when the engine is switched off.
Now start the Moke and repeat the same test. This time the reading should be close to 13.3V to indicate the alternator is providing a charge at idle. If it is still the same figure as the first test, check for loose connections in the wiring and that the fan belt is firm.
With the engine at revs higher than idle repeat the test and the voltage should now read 14.4v or thereabouts. If it does fine put the multimeter away you are done, however if not then you need to find the cause of the no charge or take it to an Auto Electrician for further diagnosis.
Exhausts
Check the rubber mounts and the one that should be attaching the exhaust to the gearbox in most cases to ensure they are not split, broken or loose. Check for sings on fatigue or cracking around joins and signs of black soot at holes, welds and joins.
Also take steps to minimise exhaust gases in the Moke when the canopy is fully closed as it would be a shame to pull into a roadhouse and watch you whizzing by asphyxiated at the wheel of your Moke.
Cooling System
As a rule, don't leave home with leaks or a Moke known to have cooling issues in mild temperatures. There are lots of things to check here so pay attention to the fan belt, the top and bottom radiator hoses, the two caps are sealing and any hoses connected for heaters and or manifolds.
If you are unsure take it to a reputable radiator place and ask them to check it out and perhaps give it a good flush out.
Running an anti rust type coolant, i.e. the green or red stuff, should be a priority and if you haven't been then do seriously consider getting the radiator removed and flushed.