California/Alaska/Canada Trip plan

[SWbySWesty]

I posted in the planning section, but since I've narrowed my choices down to two types of vehicles in THIS section, I thought I'd post here to hear about your thoughts:

It's something I've always wanted to do and I'm going to start planning to do it. The girlfriend is on board.

Departure date: after she finished law school (2015?)
Plan: Cali to Alaska. Cruise Canada to east coast. East Coast back to West Coast. If we're done by then, we are, if not, head south to friends in Chile.

Vehicle....yikes. I'm selling my 1997 Jeep Cherokee because it's not the right vehicle for the trip. I want something self-contained, BUT I have a HUGE problem...money. I have school loans and so will the gf so we're on a small budget.

I'm looking at Vanagons/Westfalias as a vehicle of choice. It's self contained and has place to sleep, stay warm, cook, clean etc without needing hotels. I could drop in a subaru engine or TDI motor. My budget for a vehicle is no more than $10k purchase price...gotta save for trip money.

Anyways - from people that have done trips like these, is this the wrong idea? SHould I stick with the Jeep and tent? If we're traveling this much, setting up and breaking down camp would get old. I'd like to avoid a Class C rv to keep a low profile (rest stops or side roads campin').

OK, I found a local sportsmobile near me that is affordable. They did the same Alaska trip in it that I want to do.

Do I NEED to get a lift on this thing? This is obviously MUCH nicer than any vanagon would be but it's not as practical and seems much more flashy.

THoughts?

a truck with camper is out of my budget from everything I've seen. There are older 70s trucks with campers, but I'd be too concerned with liability.
I've pretty much decided on these two:

VW Adventurewagen/Westfalia
or
Sportsmobile (probably like above with 2wd/no lift since those are affordable)

 

[BIGdaddy]

Hey garrett, I think the westy is a good choice, for sure. My dad has an 86 water-cooled, and it is seriously comfortable inside.

I think I might lean towards an older air-cooled version for simplicity of repairs, though. Generally those motors are good for a solid, trouble free 100,000 miles, and then they tend to have issues with compression, spitting cylinder sleeves out, etc.

Definitely do some pro/con research on the water vs. air dealio.

One thing about these rigs is that they're SLOOOW. We both have XJ's and are used to driving 65 on the freeway, but we have power in reserve to pass, etc. These vans wheeze their way up to 65 and are pretty much tapped out. Forget about 60/65/70 on hills and stuff...lol.

As for as the motor conversions, you're talkin' major bank. If that's your thinking, find a nice camper with a blown motor for $2000-3000.00. The conversion will likely run you around $4000-8000, depending on how much you do yourself.

http://www.vanaru.com/

Oh, and man 'o man is it going to be tough to smog in california after the conversion. That's one good thing about a pre-75 rig. No smog. put anything you want in there.

Perfect would be a newer diesel rig with a blown motor that's being sold cheap. You can put whatever you want in there, and no-one would know. You get the most modern van without going to a eurovan (crap).

Cheers Bro.

-Brian

 

[BIGdaddy]

Oh, and consider the Turtle expedition. They did around the world stuff in mid to late nineties ford diesel rigs, with 4wheel campers.

My dad just picked up a 4x4 ford ext-cab pickup with the 460 for about $5000.00. Add another $2000-4000 for the camper, and you're done.

You've got a reliable, common rig that won't stick out, and a is repairable by yourself or any good service shop in North america. I'll bet they'd be able to find parts in south america, too, but you could always stock up on rare bits before you go south.

 

[SWbySWesty]

Thanks Brian, that's good info. I'm actually going to test drive a westy on Sunday. Who knows, since I've never driven one I might say NO WAY NO HOW and move on...We'll see!

 

[BIGdaddy]

Thanks Brian, that's good info. I'm actually going to test drive a westy on Sunday. Who knows, since I've never driven one I might say NO WAY NO HOW and move on...We'll see!

Yeah, its all about the test drive. What Westy's bring as far as being self-contained, well-engineered and well-organized very much offsets needing
to include a mellower/slower pace in your plans...

It works very well for my dad.

They just don't try to cram in a bunch of sights on their trips anymore. They pick a dozen instead of two dozen "spots or sights" for a monthlong trip, for example.

They have actually enjoyed the "slowdown" more than they thought they would.

 

[Herbie]

As for as the motor conversions, you're talkin' major bank. If that's your thinking, find a nice camper with a blown motor for $2000-3000.00. The conversion will likely run you around $4000-8000, depending on how much you do yourself.

http://www.vanaru.com/

Oh, and man 'o man is it going to be tough to smog in california after the conversion. That's one good thing about a pre-75 rig. No smog. put anything you want in there.

The Subaru into Wasserboxer Vanagon thing is getting more common here in California, so if you stick with an established conversion kit and use the Kennedy adapter, etc., the chances that your SMOG referee will give you the thumbs up is quite high. Once you get the referee's approval, you get a sticker that clears you and all your subsequent biennial smog checks are just like any other car.

The main decision that makes the Subaru swap easier or harder to get past the referee is the choice of donor. The more common early OBDI or OBDII EJ22 (Legacy 2.2L) motor is well documented and much easier to fit/transfer all the necessary components versus the more exotic EJ33 (SVX flat-6) or EJ20 (WRX 2.0T) motors, which include extra sensors, and in the case of some of the EJ20s, up to THREE catalytic converters that must be retained. :Wow1:

OTOH, the promise of a drop-in 230hp versus the 130hp or so of the EJ22 is a big draw for a lot of people... If it were me, I might split the difference and shoot for the early DOHC version of the EJ25 from the Outback, LegacyGT, or '98 2.5RS, they were relatively simple electrically-speaking and didn't have the same gasket issues that some owners of the later SOHC engines reported. These were ~160hp or so. Even better would be if you could find the ultra-rare EJ22T from an early-90's legacy turbo. It was ~160hp in stock form, easily tunable, and OBDI simple. Of course if you snag one, all your subaru neighbors will be jealous.