Meet Canadians Jason and Kara, aka Everlanders, who are on the trip of a lifetime in their custom-built 2004 Ford F-550 expedition camper. The duo sold everything back in 2018 and headed south to explore the United States and Central America before shipping to Colombia and heading to the southern tip of South America. I watched their latest episode exploring the high mountain passes of Peru, and it didn’t take long to see why so many people are tuning in to follow their adventure.
Firstly, it’s refreshing to see a Ford F-550 embarked on a long-term international overlanding trip. This platform is oftentimes the choice for upmarket expedition vehicle builders such as EarthRoamer, Adrenalin Industries, and Rossmonster, and for good reason. Unfortunately, due to the astronomical price tag of these vehicles, it’s uncommon to see them exploring outside of North America, which makes Everlander’s trip in a custom-built F-550 all the more fascinating. Inspired by the legendary travels of Gary and Monika Wescott of The Turtle Expedition in a 1999 F-550, the Everlander’s specified an almost identical truck with the epic million-mile 7.3-liter Power Stroke diesel motor, 4WD, 4.88 gears, and a 6-speed manual transmission. The truck was then topped with a custom-fabricated habitation box that enjoyed a full camper build-out.
In today’s episode, they make their way up one of Peru’s highest mountains, Huascaran (22,205 feet). The Everlanders navigate narrow streets, unmaintained roads, and precarious wooden bridges to join a switchback that will take them 15,538 feet up the mountain before passing through it via the 1-kilometer Olimpica Tunnel. Once on the other side, the plan is to camp at the glacier, which is accessed via a narrow dirt road. The couple sensibly scouts the route on foot first and measures sections to ensure they can pass safely. Jason then drives the truck with Kara walking ahead as spotter. I have to say that watching the enormous truck navigate the rocky trail made me grateful for my dinky Vanagon Syncro, but the F-550 took everything in its stride. The park up at the top was nothing short of extraordinary and is one of the most beautiful I’ve seen in an overlanding film, with panoramic snow-capped peaks, a huge glacier, and a turquoise-blue lake. At this height (15,419 feet), there’s 45 percent less oxygen than at sea level, and this becomes evident both through their breathlessness when hiking and later that day when their diesel heater struggles to ignite. Fortunately, they get the heater working and enjoy a cozy evening under the stars despite temperatures outside dropping to 0 Fahrenheit. What comes up must go down, and after a dreamy night, the Power Stroke bursts into life, and they snake down the mountain switchbacks with Kara shooting some fun shots of the rig from her electric scooter.
Everlander’s channel delivers on all fronts, and I subscribed within minutes of watching. If you’re interested in learning more about their current trip, rig, or plans for the future, then head over to their website or Instagram.
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