Central American Expedition Vehicle Question

[MK13]

I am new to this site and I am loving all the great info!!! I currently own a well used '84 Toyota regular cab 4WD and I am starting to give more serious thought to converting it from a beat up trail truck to a more usable expedition type vehicle. I would love to do some exploring in and around the U.S. but I would also like to do some traveling around Central and South America. I'm not really sure my old Toyota would be up to leaving the country but I have other ideas and that is where you guys come in.

My In-Laws have a house in Guatemala so I am able to visit anytime I want. I have been down there several times and really love the country. When we visit we always try to go see as many places as possible. I believe I would be better off purchasing a good truck in Guatemala and keeping it there for expeditions through out Central and South America. I see several advantages to doing this; easier to blend in to the local population therefore safer, there are plenty of available options that are already diesel powered, and Guatemala makes a good start point.

So here is where you guys who are more experienced can help out. My father in law has a Mitsubishi L200 that I really love to drive while I'm down there. It is diesel and other than the horrible turbo lag off the line the truck really drives great and gets really good fuel mileage. I'm just not really sure it would be the best choice for an expedition base so I was hoping you guys could give me some suggestions for a good base vehicle new or used?

Thanks

 

[postalWagon]

A beat up toyota blends in most any where in the world. on mods dont go over the top, clean up the rust, make it mechanicly sound and it will work just fine.

 

[Daislandbrah]

I drove from south Florida to Costa Rica in October last year in my 1994 4runner. Blew a head gasket in Guatemala. Parts for your Toyota will be readily accessible, you can get better mods, equipment in the States than in CA. So your build will be better unless you are completely fabricating everything yourself and all you need is raw material. Imported anything in CA is ridiculously overpriced and everything that isn't is from China. If you want a vehicle that is diesel and already in Guatemala then I would suggest the LR Defender. Or the land cruiser. 70 series if not then 80. I now have a BJ40 that will not win any races but will not die. All depends on your budget really. But for generalizations... Toyota 4x4 is the way to go for overall quality, availability of parts, and moderately priced. Remember with the Guatemala tag you can freely drive the CA-4 countries. You will need sanborns insurance to venture into Mexico, Nicaragua will require a 12$ insurance, CR will require about 50$ insurance.

 

[MK13]

Thanks for the replies. I am going to start with the Toyota I already have and see what I can come up with. The main reason I was considering getting a truck in CA was that I could start with a diesel platform to build off of.

 

[Inyo_man]

I drove a '80 Toyota Pickup to Costa Rica and back again without any major issues ('92-'93).
The rig was bare bones, with only a few mods, and we went everywhere we wanted (from the Baja desert to the jungles of Central America). Mods. included: Weber carb., headers, cat. removal, three inch lift, electric fuel pump (with hidden switch). The only issues were easily solved...broken radiator mount and bearing replacement on one wheel.
Toyota parts are very easy to source south of the border.

 

[magentawave]

I used to drive 9 hours below the border with a friend of mine in his 87 Toyota 4Runner 4 X 4 with the 22RE. You had to be totally self-contained so we had that thing loaded down with food, water, beer and ice for a week, bikes, surfboards, sailboards for surfing with a quiver of 5 sails for each of us plus extra masts, booms and all the other stuff you'd break in the surf. I'm serious when I say that we had at least 3.5 feet of stuff piled on top of the roof racks. The last 2.5 hours of the drive was on a gnarly washboard dirt road that we did in a little over an hour because my maniac friend would take it at 60. One time we went into a slideways slide at 60 (with everything piled on top!) and I was fully expecting we'd trip and roll and she corrected and came out of it no problem. That 4Runner handled like a dirt bike. The only modifications he had over a stock 4Runner were slightly bigger tires but they weren't huge tires either. He drove it hard until it got stolen with 280,000 miles on the original engine and the only thing he ever did was regular maintenance. Yup, I gained MAJOR respect for Toyota's because of my friends 4Runner which is why I'm currently rebuilding an 18' 82 Toyota Sunrader motorhome with the 22R and a 5 speed that I'll use for serious travel when I'm done. So yeah, a stock Toyota truck can do it. I hope you will keep us posted on your progress.

 

[GR8ADV]

First off, don't worry. You have a rig down there, awesome use it. No worries, no problems, and if there is, folks down there are incredibly adept and fixing things. That is the land of keeping things running and not the land of, damn it has a scratch and it has 90,000 miles, we better git rid of it honey before...

Mexico has its own middle class now if folks haven't been paying attention. Guate is great, and in Antigua for example there are many restaurants with fine linens and wine glasses. The small towns are incredible, but not quite the same . Honduras is much worse off, but not to worry there. Costa Rica seems to be more like the US every day. Make sure you find the time to spend a day or two off road in the mountains enjoying each country you go to. I say make time, because one can easily go from the US to Panama on paved roads as good as you will find here.

Enjoy the trip, it sounds like a real adventure. For folks that have ventured south they will tell you that there is not much, if any, real adventure left anywhere in north america when compared to travel south, some intersting trips, but little real adventure. You are in for a remarkable time. And if you speak the language, it will be marvi. My advice is to not take advice from people who have not been there, and quit reading the paper and watching TV. Fear sells, it is big money, and they want you to be afraid.

Lastly, don't worry. enjoy.