Exploring Options for an Expedition Vehicle for Global Travel

nickw

Adventurer
Again, I was responding to global travel. The fords, Chevy and others are ok as long as you stay in North America. As soon as you hit europe, Asia or Africa you are on your own. I'm sure there is a shop somewhere with a mechanic that "could" help. But how far away are they and how do you get there in case of a breakedown? I had a major breakdown in the middle of the Sahara and need to find transport to the next big city (Dakar Senegal). It took me 2 months to get parts and countless expensive internal phone calls till it was drivable.
Good luck!
I hear ya, but it's kinda pick the devil you know vs the one you don't. I suppose it depends on where you'll be spending most of your time. I have a buddy with an older Gwagon in Canada and the thing is in pieces and taking forever to repair, very difficult to source parts. Same "problem" with the older cruisers, certainly a workable solution, but there is no visiting dealerships to source parts.

Tom Sheppard had a problem with his Gwagen in a Sahara and had to ship it back to the UK/Germany if I remember correctly and took months to diagnose.
 

Sailmike

New member
North America, Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand. I’m currently figuring out how I can do the international traveling on my limited budget.
 

shade

Well-known member
North America, Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand. I’m currently figuring out how I can do the international traveling on my limited budget.
Check out @luthj's threads on ExPo and their personal site. They recently returned from a two year trip to Australia, New Zealand, & Tasmania, and they offer some detailed information about expenses, travel arrangements, etc. Good stuff.
 

shade

Well-known member
Build your Own Overland Camper - I found this book interesting. It provides a broad overview on the topic, covering vehicle selection and construction techniques. You may find it helpful in narrowing down what would be the right type of vehicle for you.
 

luthj

Engineer In Residence
Is the 30-40k your vehicle budget? Your travel budget? Or both? How long do you want to stay on the road? Sounds like indefinitely? If so, whats your income look like? I know for some these are highly personal details, but good responses to your query require it.

As far as rough costs, for one person, 50$ a day is doable in most of the developed world. That will cover fuel, food, motor insurance, incidentals, and some leisure. You will not be able to pay for lodging all the time, that eats money very quickly. Of course thats what a good camper is for. For two people 75$ a day is living pretty well. Assuming you mostly free/cheap camp. Remember that is saving ZERO for retirement, and minimal or no health insurance. Those figures also do not include depreciation/wear on your vehicle (home). They also do not include shipping a vehicle via ocean freight, or carnets.

Building your own camper is a HUGE time consumer. Especially if you want something comfortable and reliable for full time travel across the seasons (world). It can take 1,000 hours easily. Unless you have lots of experience with the various types of work this involves, or you have lots of time to burn, I suggest finding something pre-built that meets most of your basic needs. Then refurbish/modify it to suit your travel style.

Nothing on the market is going to be truly designed for full time overlanding (except some expensive niche vehicles). Even then its not going to meet your exact specs. Having built a number of complex projects from the ground up over the years, I can say its 50% less work to start with something, anything really, as a base. Most of the time eating design stuff (most of which no one ever thinks about normally) is done for you.

My final question. Do you need a truck or something with 4x4? Cause a motorcycle on a carrier gets you pretty darn far. If you eliminate the 4x4, you can choose one of many well built RV type vehicles. Modify for your usage as needed. These will have 30% more usable space, and be cheaper to operate and buy. For example a box on a cab-chassis, van or cabover, is very roomy with a good layout. Still parks in a regular spot, and can be turned around on a single lane road with patience.

Most of our travels are on our blog (signature below).

Th Aus porition is also posted here.

I am slowly posting the NZ part here.
 
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Sailmike

New member
Thanks for the link and book suggestion. The book looks like a good one.

I like the idea of buying something already equipped with certain things. I’ll have to look into what’s available. I’ve got plenty of time to build my own RV.
 

shade

Well-known member
Thanks for the link and book suggestion. The book looks like a good one.

I like the idea of buying something already equipped with certain things. I’ll have to look into what’s available. I’ve got plenty of time to build my own RV.
I think it's a good idea to keep payload capacity and power needs in mind from the start. Once you take a vehicle into the full-time living realm, it's easy to lose track of weight, and that can create cascading problems with fuel consumption, road manners, off-grid endurance, wear & service intervals, etc.

For house power needs, I like the idea of using electricity as much as possible. Solar charging is effective, and electrical power is very flexible. I can see how an adequate battery capacity and a powerful alternator paired with solar charging can add a lot of convenience. If the only other fuel used is whatever powers the drivetrain, life seems simpler than messing with batteries, propane, petrol, and diesel.
 

Sailmike

New member
The payload considerations is making me lean towards the F350. Better to be safe and get something that can get me out of a sticky or stuck situation. I’ll just have to drive shorter distances to accommodate my budget.
 

Bama67

Active member
A Super Duty XL with the 6.2 gas and 6 Spd auto is as bout a dead nuts reliable as a modern vehicle gets.
We had a fleet of them in West Texas and the punishment they took for hundreds of thousands of miles was amazing.

I sold my 6.7 Diesel and bought a 6.2
 

IdaSHO

IDACAMPER
If you are going beyond the borders of the US, and want to go SuperDuty, your best bet is the 6.2 gasser, for many reasons.
 

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