Hindsight = 20/20...what did you wish you had left behind? What did you need?

Harkmamilton

New member
The bonus with Canada is that we have plethora of Right Hand drive vehicles that have been imported from Japan (most of these vehicles are located in British Columbia). As most people know, there are some really great 4x4 diesel vehicles that were available in Japan but never in North America, ie Mitsubishi Delica! I recently purchased a 1991 Delica Exceed 4x4 Diesel with only 140kms and it is in mint shape for a very cheap price! My fiancée and I are in the very early stages of planning our 6 month South American adventure and feel that the Delica might be a great option for us. We initially purchased it just for offload camping trips around BC Canada but I think it might be a very affordable way to do our 6 month adventure.
 

Dan Grec

Expedition Leader
The bonus with Canada is that we have plethora of Right Hand drive vehicles that have been imported from Japan (most of these vehicles are located in British Columbia). As most people know, there are some really great 4x4 diesel vehicles that were available in Japan but never in North America, ie Mitsubishi Delica! I recently purchased a 1991 Delica Exceed 4x4 Diesel with only 140kms and it is in mint shape for a very cheap price! My fiancée and I are in the very early stages of planning our 6 month South American adventure and feel that the Delica might be a great option for us. We initially purchased it just for offload camping trips around BC Canada but I think it might be a very affordable way to do our 6 month adventure.

Very true, the Delica is an excellent choice.

Keep in mind you'll have trouble driving a RHD vehicle through central America. Check http://wikioverland.org for up-to-date details on individual countries.
Pay close attention to http://wikioverland.org/El_Salvador and http://wikioverland.org/Nicaragua

-Dan
 

Kiwi-Yank

Adventurer
simple things I've left behind.
a can opener.
it's a nuisance when you don't have one.
I have punched holes in the tops of cans using a strong folding knife and a rock.
it's a bit primeval - but does work.
I wonder if anyone here has any other ingenious way of opening cans with improvised tools?
K-Y
 

madmax718

Explorer
simple things I've left behind.
a can opener.
it's a nuisance when you don't have one.
I have punched holes in the tops of cans using a strong folding knife and a rock.
it's a bit primeval - but does work.
I wonder if anyone here has any other ingenious way of opening cans with improvised tools?
K-Y

been too afraid to loose fingers
 

Navman

Adventurer
Sinks

In the 17 years I've owned my WV I used the sink once - the very first time I camped in it. It was only because I wanted to try everything out. Then I realized it drains right under the van and makes a mess right where I'm camping. Never used it again and never felt like I even wanted one. I also took out the water tank and pump. I prefer to have the extra storage and (re)movable water container(s).
 

Bip Bip

Observer
Re DAN and Mitsu Delica

Just finished two years Canada - Argentina with a Delica RHD L400.

Never had any issue with driving in Latin America. Only ONE country is a 'challenge' being tiny El Salvador. But with the right contacts and a month of lead-time you can get an official permit to enter and stay.

Twice I got hassled (Nicaragua border and Peru likely) that it was 'illegal' to enter with RHD. This is patently false and an attempt for payola.

Chris
bipbipamericas.blogspot.com
 

j2dd

New member
Vehicle Choice

Thank you for all of the incredible information here.

My wife and intend to make the trip from SF to BA with a mid 2014 est departure date. Our initial analysis of vehicle needs has us seriously looking at a newer Tundra and a Hallmark Milner pop-up (6.5 ft). Seems like most every poster here is either in a van or SUV but not a pop up camper. Any reasons why we shouldn't consider this set up?

We have camped a bit with a Westy which we loved but feel like we do want a bit more space and comfort. We plan on being gone up to a couple of years with no real agenda but discovering as much as we can about CA,SA and ourselves.

One more question. We are avid mtn bikers and would like to bring bikes. Are we crazy?

Any and all opinions will be greatly appreciated....
 

elipsoid

New member
It has definitely been done with slide-in campers. See https://www.facebook.com/SongOfTheRoad or https://www.facebook.com/PanAmNotes. I believe the reason why more people opt for a van or an SUV is simple - cost. Also one thing you need to watch is the weight of the camper INCLUDING all your stuff, water, etc. These pickups are often overloaded which is the one thing you don't want to do.
Toyota Tundra - I am not sure but I think that the Tundra is sold only in the US, so the availability of parts might be less then ideal. But who am I to judge, my European only van is currently on the way to Northern America as we plan to head south in September. What I have found is that a) Toyota models tend to share some parts, so you might be lucky and the part that brakes will be the same as on LandCruiser, or b) Official Toyota dealerships should be able to order ANY part and have it shipped in roughly a week - although how that will work in South America I have no idea.
 

j2dd

New member
Thanks Elipsoid...I have seen these two blogs as well as virtually every blog of those posted here and on their individual 'Inspiration' pages. I sometimes feel that I am cheating using all of the info available, but its incredibly helpful. I hear you too on weight as I am very cognizant of payloads and the need for airbags, etc. I will do more research re: Tundra in CA/SA. I also know that Adventurous Spirits took a Titan and an Outfitter down that seemed to work well. I am trying to Balance KISS with Comfort with just GO.
 

Ruined Adventures

Brenton Cooper
What I have found is that a) Toyota models tend to share some parts, so you might be lucky and the part that brakes will be the same as on LandCruiser, or b) Official Toyota dealerships should be able to order ANY part and have it shipped in roughly a week - although how that will work in South America I have no idea.
We've found this to be the case and sometimes you can even have luck using parts from other makes/models. In most of Latin America, you have to physically remove your part and bring it into the parts shop so they can compare it with the new parts in stock. In Bolivia I had to rebuild my brake calipers and replace the pads, if I remember correctly we found the pads from an 80 series were an exact match for our 4Runner, and the caliper seals were for a Nissan Pathfinder. Don't quote me on that, it's just an example.

We've found the Toyota dealerships to be typically useless, except for oil filters (since the box says which motors are compatible for the filter). Of course our Toyota is 27 years old and most of the world just uses cheap aftermarket parts. When going to the stealership, it helps if you look up the part number ahead of time. An incredibly useful website is ToyoDIY.com where you can enter your VIN and find the part number for your specific vehicle, then you can enter that part number and cross-reference the same part with different Toyota models which may have the same part under a different number(including the different part numbers for markets outside of N. America). This way, you can go in armed with several different part numbers for the part you need, chances are much better they'll find it for you. Also note, if you need Toyota to ship a part it can take over a month...that was always the time frame that was told to me by the parts guy behind the counter.

As far as a sink goes: what Navman said makes sense when you're at an official campsite or in the bush, but we've really needed a sink when "stealth camping" on the street in a town. Once we get our 4Runner stateside, we will be trying to stealth camp a lot more to avoid expensive campgrounds in between the BLM & state forest camps. A sink with a removable drain jug will be necessary so we can easily drain it at a gas station or on the side of the road. Otherwise the dishes pile up and we get too tempted to go to a restaurant for our meal. In Latin America, most travelers would probably just wash their dishes right there on the street (since you don't really need stealth to camp on the street there) but I always feel uncomfortable doing that.

Bikes: I think only if you're driving a monstrous rig and can afford the space to have a locking/sealed box to store it in. Otherwise the bikes get damaged from the elements and it's one less thing to worry about getting stolen. I've only wished we had a bike a couple times in the past two years but then I think about the pains of traveling with them. If you're really itching to hit some trails on a bike, usually you can find rental places. Just my .02
 

Darwin

Explorer
I second not taking bikes unless they cheap beach cruisers. If they are expensive mountain bikes they will ripe for the taking by thieves and take up space.
 

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