IH8MUD™ Forums - View Single Post - The perfect Pan-American Expedition Vehicle

dmc · 04-04-08, 04:33 PM

Jilt,

email these guys....

Feral Green - 4 friends take a green trip in a biodiesel hybrid

i hung out with them a bit in panama as we tried to get around the gap. i don't want to comment on the financials of their trip but they had some issues with their truck. Ford f350 is not common in Panama and the parts had to be flown in from miami. they could have flown to miami bought the part themselves, flown back to Panama and put in on in the parking lot of the hotel for cheaper than they had to pay the dealer to do it. the part? a brake caliper. no need to bring something like that for me since they could be sourced in almost every country along my route.

a new car is good but i'd take an old toyota in the latin world over a new ford any day. hell i do it in the states but even more so down here. i rolled into two shops on my trip. once for tie rods and once for my exhaust. both shops did excellent work, knew and had experience on my type of vehicle. work was done well and cheap on the spot.

Not to volunteer too many of the people on this board but you'll never find a community in the f350 world like you will in the land cruiser world. i've been in it for almost 10 years, long before IH8MUD but all i've learned on my trip is land cruiser people are special everywhere and are more than willing to go out of their way to help out. take it for what it's worth. if you are limited in skills a new car may be the best option. however if something goes wrong it will cost you considerably more. one other thought is if you have plans to visit the altiplano, salars, lagunas and andes of southwest bolivia/northeast chile you will see one type of vehicle. Land Cruiser. that is both an endorsement for the brand and also a recommendation that in the most remote, desolate and rugged portion of the continent you'll find people who know your truck and carry parts if need be. i saw only 3 other cars in 2k miles. both 80 series and both well equipped for the terrain. a breakdown out there could be disastrous.

i should add, i'm biased. but i guess you knew that.
dmc

04-04-08, 04:33 PM	#12
dmc IH8MUD Addict Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Wandering the Western Hemisphere TLCA# 11141 Posts: 586	Jilt, email these guys.... Feral Green - 4 friends take a green trip in a biodiesel hybrid i hung out with them a bit in panama as we tried to get around the gap. i don't want to comment on the financials of their trip but they had some issues with their truck. Ford f350 is not common in Panama and the parts had to be flown in from miami. they could have flown to miami bought the part themselves, flown back to Panama and put in on in the parking lot of the hotel for cheaper than they had to pay the dealer to do it. the part? a brake caliper. no need to bring something like that for me since they could be sourced in almost every country along my route. a new car is good but i'd take an old toyota in the latin world over a new ford any day. hell i do it in the states but even more so down here. i rolled into two shops on my trip. once for tie rods and once for my exhaust. both shops did excellent work, knew and had experience on my type of vehicle. work was done well and cheap on the spot. Not to volunteer too many of the people on this board but you'll never find a community in the f350 world like you will in the land cruiser world. i've been in it for almost 10 years, long before IH8MUD but all i've learned on my trip is land cruiser people are special everywhere and are more than willing to go out of their way to help out. take it for what it's worth. if you are limited in skills a new car may be the best option. however if something goes wrong it will cost you considerably more. one other thought is if you have plans to visit the altiplano, salars, lagunas and andes of southwest bolivia/northeast chile you will see one type of vehicle. Land Cruiser. that is both an endorsement for the brand and also a recommendation that in the most remote, desolate and rugged portion of the continent you'll find people who know your truck and carry parts if need be. i saw only 3 other cars in 2k miles. both 80 series and both well equipped for the terrain. a breakdown out there could be disastrous. i should add, i'm biased. but i guess you knew that. dmc __________________ dave connors 1997 FZJ80 - Ruby Claire Ruby Claire Part 2 www.expeditionamericas.com Last edited by dmc; 04-04-08 at 04:43 PM.