RMP&O
Expedition Leader
Yup CA1 is Pan Am HWY
TDI Panamericana
- Thread starter haven
- Start date
Yup CA1 is Pan Am HWY
It will be interesting to see which route the team takes through USA. There are a couple of different roads in USA that claim to be the Panamerican Highway.
The team stuck to the coastal highway in El Salvador and Nicaragua. The original Pan American road goes through the mountains because Guatemala City and San Salvador are located in the (relatively) cooler highlands. The region around each capital city is very densely populated, making for congested traffic. And the road map would be much more difficult to follow. Taking the coastal road was expedient, but they definitely skipped a portion of the original Panamerican route.
The team deviated from the Panamericana in Argentina, as well. The original route is State Route 7, which runs west from Buenos Aires to the border with Chile. The team skipped BA altogether, choosing to drive north from San Antonio Oeste rather than northeast on National Route 3 to BA. This change in route saved several hundred miles of driving.
Maybe the team's route could be described as today's fastest south-north truck route.
The team stuck to the coastal highway in El Salvador and Nicaragua. The original Pan American road goes through the mountains because Guatemala City and San Salvador are located in the (relatively) cooler highlands. The region around each capital city is very densely populated, making for congested traffic. And the road map would be much more difficult to follow. Taking the coastal road was expedient, but they definitely skipped a portion of the original Panamerican route.
The team deviated from the Panamericana in Argentina, as well. The original route is State Route 7, which runs west from Buenos Aires to the border with Chile. The team skipped BA altogether, choosing to drive north from San Antonio Oeste rather than northeast on National Route 3 to BA. This change in route saved several hundred miles of driving.
Maybe the team's route could be described as today's fastest south-north truck route.
Bill Beers
Explorer
Garry Sowerby and Tim Cahill did it in '87(?) in 24 days, which I think was the record a the time. No plane for them though, I think maybe a ferry? I can't remember. It's been a while since I read Cahill's book about it, Road Fever. Great read!
cdm
Adventurer
not to mention all the bandwidth they have with inmarsat to stream live
it's one of these all out made for sponsors/fame trips. money isnt an object, neither is sightseeing.
looking at the way they drive, they will probably be arrested at least once(no local license in leu). reminds me of gumball of sorts
The mighty Touareg crossed the Mexico/USA border at 5:30pm local time. They chose a less busy customs station west of Juarez/El Paso. It's clear sailing now up I-25 past Denver to Cheyenne, Casper and Sheridan WY, Billings and Great Falls MT, and on to Calgary, Alberta.
The team took only 8.75 days (including that airlift) or 210 hours to travel from the most distant point in South America to the Texas border. At a minimum, that might translate into a month of driving for a USA resident in less of a hurry, if you travel only during daylight hours and stop to smell the roses along the way.
The team took only 8.75 days (including that airlift) or 210 hours to travel from the most distant point in South America to the Texas border. At a minimum, that might translate into a month of driving for a USA resident in less of a hurry, if you travel only during daylight hours and stop to smell the roses along the way.
Bill Beers
Explorer
Just crossed into BC.
The Touareg and its drivers took 28 hours to drive from the USA/Mexico border entry station west of El Paso to the Canada/USA exit station at Coutts, Alberta. According to Google Maps, they traveled a little more than 1600 miles in USA. That's an average speed of 57 mph (92 kph).
The Touareg's average speed increased marginally to 93 kph as the team traveled 1160 kms across the farming country of Alberta in 12.5 hours.
With a fuel capacity of 106 gallons of diesel, and averaging a reported 26 mpg, the Touareg has a range of more than 2700 miles / 4300 km. Next stop, Alaska!
The Touareg's average speed increased marginally to 93 kph as the team traveled 1160 kms across the farming country of Alberta in 12.5 hours.
With a fuel capacity of 106 gallons of diesel, and averaging a reported 26 mpg, the Touareg has a range of more than 2700 miles / 4300 km. Next stop, Alaska!
cwsqbm
Explorer
That range would have been almost necessary, given that the Touareg (unless modified) would require ULSD. They probably had dedicated fuel stops where they brought their own.
EDIT: after watching some video, I saw them fueling at a normal station in Argentina. He made the comment "here in Argentina, we can just use the fuel from pumps" implying that it would be different elsewhere.
Figure driving 8 hours a day (not counting lunch, bath and fuel stops, border crossings, and one cargo plane), it'd take over 26 days if you could match their fast pace. Even just crossing Mexico in 33 (?) hours is impressive.
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The travelers are in Alaska now, about 650 miles from their goal. I expect they will reach Deadhorse, the northern terminus of the Haul Road, in another 15 hours or so, depending on the number of flat tires they have! The Touareg has a single spare tire.
The team left Ushuaia, Argentina on 2 July at 4am local time (11pm 1 July in Deadhorse, AK). If all goes well today, they will complete their 16,000 mile drive in less than 12 days. Time for a shower!
The team left Ushuaia, Argentina on 2 July at 4am local time (11pm 1 July in Deadhorse, AK). If all goes well today, they will complete their 16,000 mile drive in less than 12 days. Time for a shower!
digitaldelay
Explorer
Woohoo!
They made it!
:rally_guys:
They made it!
:rally_guys:
Scott Brady
Founder
Well done to those drivers- quite a run.
Yup, they reached the end of the road at Deadhorse, AK about 8pm local time on July 13.
The team made nice quality YouTube videos during the trip. They show scenery and details about the trip. See them here http://www.tdi-panamericana.com/video.php
In one of the videos, they reveal how they were able to drive the TDI, which requires ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel, through countries that don't yet sell ULSD in service stations. The team pre-arranged fuel stops where they were met by a truck carrying barrels of the ULSD fuel. It takes about 20 minutes to fill up with about 100 gallons of fuel.
The support crew is from the Kuehne + Nagel Group, a German logistics company that is one of the TDI-Panamericana trip sponsors. They're the folks who arranged for the plane ride from Colombia to Panama, for example. They also meet the team at border crossings, providing items like proper insurance for the next country on the route.
Another video shows the Touareg getting service at the VW factory in Mexico, which is located a few miles south and east of Mexico City. The factory manufactures Jetta and New Beetle models for USA.
I wonder how the Touareg will return to Europe. Why not ship it to Vladivostok and drive the Road of Bones across Siberia?
The team made nice quality YouTube videos during the trip. They show scenery and details about the trip. See them here http://www.tdi-panamericana.com/video.php
In one of the videos, they reveal how they were able to drive the TDI, which requires ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel, through countries that don't yet sell ULSD in service stations. The team pre-arranged fuel stops where they were met by a truck carrying barrels of the ULSD fuel. It takes about 20 minutes to fill up with about 100 gallons of fuel.
The support crew is from the Kuehne + Nagel Group, a German logistics company that is one of the TDI-Panamericana trip sponsors. They're the folks who arranged for the plane ride from Colombia to Panama, for example. They also meet the team at border crossings, providing items like proper insurance for the next country on the route.
Another video shows the Touareg getting service at the VW factory in Mexico, which is located a few miles south and east of Mexico City. The factory manufactures Jetta and New Beetle models for USA.
I wonder how the Touareg will return to Europe. Why not ship it to Vladivostok and drive the Road of Bones across Siberia?