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

[Ruined Adventures]

Something else that has affected our vehicle lately is the super fine dust encountered in Southern Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina. On unpaved roads, there is a top layer of dust which is really the consistency of talcum powder. We do a full chassis lube with every oil change, which may sound extreme but it's necessary in such a dusty environment. This hasn't caused many issues because of the strict maintenance schedule, but our weatherstripping has really suffered. Our doors and tailgate weatherstripping can no longer keep the dust out. Before bed we have to wipe down our interior to get rid of the dust that coats everything. I know many people say that A/C is a luxury, but now I'm starting to wonder if we could keep the dust at bay using positive pressure from the A/C. If only it didn't self-destruct in Guatemala...

 

[RMP&O]

Ruined, thanks for the detailed reply. So you went through it, that is good.

While I have not driven SA and I have no doubt at all you drove some rough roads for long distances. I still feel it can be done without major or even a bunch of minor repairs.

As you know CA the roads are not all that bad. But you still have a lot of rough pavement. Potholes galore! I basically did the same thing to my 04 Taco before heading south. Brakes, not only changed pads I upgraded to Tundra brakes. Wheel bearings and seals, new ones put in. Rack & pinion steering, new assembly installed. Suspension, dialed in 3x over. On and on. My truck was super charged which if you read around the forums people will say that is a no-no for long distance overland travel south. First trip was 15,000 miles in 4 months. My only problem on this trip was the TPS sensor failing in the throttle body. Which by the way had been a problem for a few years before I went south. It is a heat sink issue when you super charge. It had showed it's self a number of times before I left but I could not figure it out and so I foolishly ignored it. It got worse the farther south I went until it was pretty much failing badly by Belize. This was about 6,000 miles into the trip. I replaced the TB and all was well. Finished the trip and got home no more issues at all. To prevent it in the future, I added a TB spacer to help reduce heat sink. Didn't do much else to the truck before the next trip besides add quality air bags and dump the junk air bags I had. Next trip was 10,000 miles, also in 4 months but the actual driving part was less than a month. Not a single problem on the second trip. Now I did both these trips on a set of BFG AT's that had 30,000 on them before the trips. Not a single flat! Now the Taco is not a top of the line Toyota product. A 4-Runner from the same year or a Cruiser is a much higher quality truck. And my truck was at 6,000+lbs for the drives which is way over GVW.

Again, I realize the routes you traveled are rougher than the routes I traveled. No argument there! However, I took a highly modified truck, did 25,000 miles and only had one problem. It was/is a low end Toyota truck compared to others from the same year. The problem I had was there before I left too and is a well known problem with a super charger. So if I can do it in this truck, I believe anybody can do it!

Cheers

 

[Ruined Adventures]

Of course I don't always take the extreme routes, like in CA. I'm not saying the roads in SA are worse, but for the roads that we encountered, Bolivia/ARG/Chile were our worst. I hope it didn't sound like I was saying my route was worse or more difficult than what you've seen. I meant that encountering those roads towards the end of our 30,000 miles was the straw the broke the camel's back. Going 30k miles with field maintenance and cheap parts just isn't easy on any vehicle whether it be stock or highly modified.

A 10,000 mile journey south gives you the flexibility of putting off a repair until you get back stateside, sometimes you can limp home with hopes of finding quality parts and replace it in a clean workspace. I had a really tough time finding quality parts in CA/SA, aside from waiting a month on Toyota to ship them in ($$$). With multiple short trips, I would imagine you could avoid repairs because it's a realistic interval for preventative maintenance. Since we were continually going further south, we just didn't have that option.

To me, the likelihood of needing to do a repair vs. preventative maintenance is not absolute on long-distance journeys.

 

[Wiley]

Also this 25,000 trip is with a loaded vehicle, on often times steep mountains terrain and teeth jarring washboard. Everyday things like brakes will go much quicker than the norm, but I agree major repairs can be avoid unless unlucky.

 

[Dan Grec]

Something else that has affected our vehicle lately is the super fine dust encountered in Southern Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina.

Oh ya. My soft top was absolutely not air tight, and I remember having to take off my sunglasses to clean them every 15-20minutes in Bolivia, because I couldn't see out of them anymore!

I still feel it can be done without major or even a bunch of minor repairs.

Absolutely. My TJ did the whole 65,000 kms (40k miles) without a single issue or repair - other than flat tires with nails in them.
It was the perfect vehicle.

-Dan

 

[1leglance]

This thread continues to be one of the best on Expo....not only for the detailed responses but because it is spearheaded by the ACTUAL travelers vs a bunch of arm chair wanna be's that the rest of us are

Huge thanks to all of you who take the time during or after your trip to give the info to those of us planning our trips.

 

[Wiley]

I know many people say that A/C is a luxury, but now I'm starting to wonder if we could keep the dust at bay using positive pressure from the A/C.

I do not know how well it would work with a truck, but this absolutely works with the Astro. I love driving with the windows down but have read many guys on the Astro site say they use the AC to keep dust out, meanwhile my van was constantly filthy.

 

[RMP&O]

Of course I don't always take the extreme routes, like in CA. I'm not saying the roads in SA are worse, but for the roads that we encountered, Bolivia/ARG/Chile were our worst. I hope it didn't sound like I was saying my route was worse or more difficult than what you've seen. I meant that encountering those roads towards the end of our 30,000 miles was the straw the broke the camel's back. Going 30k miles with field maintenance and cheap parts just isn't easy on any vehicle whether it be stock or highly modified.

I am not taking it wrong. Just agreeing you saw worse roads than me. I also get your points and am not disagreeing. I had some repairs done while traveling, mostly maintenance. Just like you or anybody I consider normal, you don't want to dump fluids on the ground. So you take it to a mechanic for this. That consisted of most of my shop visits but a few other things were addressed, mostly troubles with low quality air bags.

A 10,000 mile journey south gives you the flexibility of putting off a repair until you get back stateside, sometimes you can limp home with hopes of finding quality parts and replace it in a clean workspace. I had a really tough time finding quality parts in CA/SA, aside from waiting a month on Toyota to ship them in ($$$). With multiple short trips, I would imagine you could avoid repairs because it's a realistic interval for preventative maintenance. Since we were continually going further south, we just didn't have that option.

For sure and agree. I did just this, waited until Texas to get some maintenance done. I did have to ship the throttle body to myself though. They would not take my CC in the USA with me out of the USA. So I called my bank and directly wired the money. I had the part shipped ahead of me. I shipped it while in Mexico to Belize. Was on route to Belize. I got to Belize, watched the shipping and saw when it landed in the country via internet. It got held up in customs and I almost had to pay a 50% tax on a $1000 part! However I was able to tell my story to them and not pay the tax. I installed the TB myself in the dirt. This kept me down for 5 days waiting for the part. I also shipped new air bags to Cabo in Baja, sent them to a Toyota dealership. I ordered them while in Loreto. This was a much bigger hassle and cost me 2 weeks but hey I just played on the Cape for two weeks while I waited! My point in this little story is simply that you can have parts shipped to you if required and you can ship them ahead of you if not broke down to minimize the wait.

To me, the likelihood of needing to do a repair vs. preventative maintenance is not absolute on long-distance journeys.

Totally agree. I am just stressing the point that it can make a difference.

Cheers

 

[grimbo]

I use the air con all the time to keep dust out of the Patrol while travelling the outback. It still gets in the back door due to seals needing replacing. Hit a section of bull dust that was like talcum powder only finer, kept most of it

 

[Ruined Adventures]

No worries, RMP&O. I guess sometimes I get paranoid about being misunderstood, which is easy on these forums.

...don't want to dump fluids on the ground. So you take it to a mechanic for this. That consisted of most of my shop visits...

Seriously. I've taken our rig to mechanics just because I didn't know what to do with the old oil, then I always wonder: are they actually disposing of this stuff or just dumping it in the storm drain like everyone else.

Sounds like you got lucky with the air bag timing in Baja...if only we could plan our mechanical issues to pop up when we're in fun locations!

 

[RMP&O]

No worries, RMP&O. I guess sometimes I get paranoid about being misunderstood, which is easy on these forums.

Seriously. I've taken our rig to mechanics just because I didn't know what to do with the old oil, then I always wonder: are they actually disposing of this stuff or just dumping it in the storm drain like everyone else.

Sounds like you got lucky with the air bag timing in Baja...if only we could plan our mechanical issues to pop up when we're in fun locations!

You are at the mercy of whatever they do with the old oil/fluids. Nothing you can do but try and do the right thing.

Cheers

 

[realwarrior]

This is a great tread and allows me to reminisce. I was stationed for 2.5 years in Panama back in the early 90's. Back then you could have buried a vehicle in a pothole on some stretches of the Pan Am. I plan on making the trip again in 6 years when my youngest starts college.

 

[truffledog]

It's nice to have bikes when you're traveling with kids. Silly idea to put them up on a hitch mounted bike rack?

 

[Dan Grec]

It's nice to have bikes when you're traveling with kids. Silly idea to put them up on a hitch mounted bike rack?

The Aussie couple from http://thebrownbus.com have bikes on the back of their VW Westy. I figured they would get stolen early in Central America.
They're in Ecuador now and still going strong...

I'd say make sure you chain the bikes up, and don't be too attached to them so if/when they do get stolen, you don't feel too bad about it. (Don't take your kid's favorite, in other words)

-Dan

 

[hakalugi]

I read every post on 15 pages. Thanks for sharing, all.