California to Tierra del Fuego... in a 40?

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Forgot

I almost forgot, your time estimate. way too short. Even if you plan a hard driving death march trip, that is barreling down the Pan Am at 45mph the whole time it is still going to take you a week +/ country minimum just stopping at must see places sampling the food, getting know the folks etc. For example, are you really planning to go all the way to Tierra del Fuego and not take the boat ride to Antarctica? I suspect not and I suspect that there are probably 20+ places like that that will just take time to soak in, Machu Pichu for example. I suggest that you budget more time or maybe take in fewer countries.
 
In many countries diesel is around the same price as Canada/US, but it is almost always the cheapest fuel, unlike in the US where it is the most expensive. There's a few countries that I know fuel is cheap in... in Ecuador it is $1/gallon, so fill up your tank for $20! In Bolivia I've heard it's cheap too, and in Venezuela the word is $0.12/litre (gallon?) although I haven't been there. Also Mexico was cheaper than the US... maybe half the price? Not sure.

Food and lodging costs always depends on how popular the place is for tourists/gringos. In an out of the way town you can often eat a delicious full meal for as little as $2 each, and get a room for the night for $10. In more popular places that's going to go up... in Ecuador expect as much as double that, or at least be more difficult to find it cheap. To give you an example you can stay comfortably in the gringo/tourist area of Quito, the capital of Ecuador (Ecuador seems a bit wealthier than peru) and have your own room with private bathroom for $14 a night (for both of you), and eat a delicious meal for $7-$9 for both of you including having beers and whatever. That's knowing where to go a little though... you can eat in the restaurant next door that's not any better and stay in a similar hotel next door and pay four times as much.

If your girlfriend (or you) likes to cook and shop at local markets, things will get really cheap. Everything is dirt cheap and the local produce is usually superb. Don't ever bother buying fruits and veggies at grocery stores, the quality is lower and the price ridiculously higher.

Also if you get a roof top tent, a lot of hotel staff and such will let you camp in their guarded parking lots if they have a big one. Sometimes they'll want a few dollars, sometimes nothing. As I understand it, when they see that you want to camp you go from "rich gringo to be ripped off" to "someone who just wants somewhere to sleep and can't afford the hotel" in their eyes, and they'll go out of their way for you.
 
Not sure about the fuel prices. I was in Guatemala last week and diesel was running about US$5.00/gallon, (about Q37.00), no matter where we went. Just a thought for budgeting purposes. Good news is food and beer is still dirt cheap! Looking forward to hearing about your preparations and trip. I think this is something many of us wish to do but few will.

Cheers!
 
amaurer,

i just saw this thread. i came back to work a few weeks ago and the MUD time has been minimized. i'll reply when i have more time with more info but briefly, my trip was 29k miles and i shipped home from Buenos Aires so your estimates might be low. also you can get around the darien gap for $1900. cheaper if you can find someone to split a 40ft container with. fees and freight in panama was $1400 and then another $500 or so in Colombia to pick it up. (this fee will vary according the to strength of the dollar) It's a huge obstacle but I found a company that is amazing and will do the job right. i'll reply with more when i have more time. real life sucks.
dmc
 
DMC what was your shipping cost home from Buenos Ares? We were thinking of maybe skipping Brazil and North of there (by car at least)... but then I heard that biodiesel is cheap in Brazil, so I don't know... I might end up basically weighing the cost difference somewhat.
 
This sounds awesome, I would love to do this in S America but know I never will, just be careful, and though its a beautiful country I would bypass as much as Colombia as you can, I was just there for 8 months and things are a little unsettled there as for now, maybe a little better in 1-2years when ur ready for the trip. I drove Costa Rica for a week in a rent a heep and it was absolutely the funest thing I ever did, had no reservations anywhere, just went and made the best of it.

Rob
 
From what I hear driving Colombia the word is stay on the Panamericana where there's military presence and you'll be fine. Other than that... backroads are a very bad idea, especially near any of the border regions.
 
Damn ! I was mising this thread ..

1. Drop a mail to Sand Cruiser, he is in Costa Rica, at this way you have contact in Guatemala, El Salvador ( I have a friend in Nicaragua ), Costa Rica and me here in Panamá .. so you are not alone ! :D

2. Gas bill with the prices rising .. who knows how much it will be for the hole trip at the time that you do it.

3. Ship your Cruiser right to Venezuela o Ecuador / Peru safe .. mmmm relative, but thought more than travel throught Colombia .. but Dave do it and can share with us direct experience. Also have a contact in the Toyota dealer in Colombia.

About the space .. I thought you can carri all that you need in your 40 .. no clues, here you have plenty of spares for all .. about the comford .. definately I wil take it mind, since amd a confy driver .. the 80 woudl be the best ..
 
joshoisasleep said:
DMC what was your shipping cost home from Buenos Ares? We were thinking of maybe skipping Brazil and North of there (by car at least)... but then I heard that biodiesel is cheap in Brazil, so I don't know... I might end up basically weighing the cost difference somewhat.
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For some reason I thought I replied. Sorry about that. Grand total including the additional fees for having my container flagged for additional inspections on the US side was $4800 from Buenos Aires to Long Beach California. About $1900 for all the fees, stuffing, and taxes. An additional $2900 for freight. Little heftier than i anticpated but still not too bad. The addtional crap in the US mean another $700. that was frustrating to say the least.
dmc
 
Huh... so no cheaper than driving back and shipping cheap the same way I did on the way here... especially when taking into account airfare. Thanks!
 
joshoisasleep said:
Huh... so no cheaper than driving back and shipping cheap the same way I did on the way here... especially when taking into account airfare. Thanks!
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But time and wear for driving it back counts to me ..
 
Tapage said:
But time and wear for driving it back counts to me ..
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Well yeah, but also awesome fun and dropping in on some mudders in central america! :D Heh... my truck's in better shape now than it was when I left.

I count it... but as a positive!
 
dmc said:
For some reason I thought I replied. Sorry about that. Grand total including the additional fees for having my container flagged for additional inspections on the US side was $4800 from Buenos Aires to Long Beach California. About $1900 for all the fees, stuffing, and taxes. An additional $2900 for freight. Little heftier than i anticpated but still not too bad. The addtional crap in the US mean another $700. that was frustrating to say the least.
dmc
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I am surprised at how expensive this is. I was under the impression that having a truck shipped across the Atlantic was only $2000 or so...

Darn, for this kind of $$ one can start on another 80 in the US. No way to sell the truck legally in S. Am, eh?
 
e9999 said:
Darn, for this kind of $$ one can start on another 80 in the US. No way to sell the truck legally in S. Am, eh?
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At least here in Panamá it should be done .. pay the introduction papers .. taxes, papers .. bla bla and done .. have it legal and ready to sell ..

If you found who pay the price of a midified truck with plenty of km on it.
 
No problems in the BJ42. Heck...I just did Copper Canyon in the Troopy with little prep other than chaning the fluids and putting the fridge in it...Make Tacos Not War...FJ45 Wanderings in Mexico. - Expedition Portal Forums

You'll need to ship around the Darien, but that can be arranged in Panama. Or, there is a thread on ExPo about sharing a container next month to Chile...then you could drive back:

Expedition Portal Forums

I'd suggest, for your research, going to Horizons Unlimited - THE Motorcycle Travel site Mostly moto trash (present company included) but tons of good info.

Just go. That's the hardest part.

-H-
 
diesel in Costa Rica is 625 colones/liter, I think. 622? anyway, that works out to about $4.30/gallon.
It is going up, not down in the foreseeable future.

Back roads aren't worth the risk in most of Central America. You'll satisfy 90% of your wanderlust by taking the main road. "Main" here is probably not too different to whatever back roads you usually take.

My cellphone in Costa Rica is 83 76 62 78. I've always got it (I sell real estate, can't turn the dang thing off!). My office phone is 26 53 1102. My assistant knows how to find me.
I'm always available to other travelers, can't always offer a place to stay, but can always point you in the right direction/help fix stuff.

Re: the pretty copilot... just dress conservatively and you shouldn't expect problems. Attractive but Plainly dressed/no makeup/hair down women down here don't get a whole lot of hoots n hollers. Just about any woman walking around in short skirt, skimpy, makeup, hair "done" is going to get attention. Plenty of it. The local fellas seem to think that the latter is an invitation.
 
sandcruiser said:
Re: the pretty copilot... just dress conservatively and you shouldn't expect problems. Attractive but Plainly dressed/no makeup/hair down women down here don't get a whole lot of hoots n hollers. Just about any woman walking around in short skirt, skimpy, makeup, hair "done" is going to get attention. Plenty of it. The local fellas seem to think that the latter is an invitation.
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I dunno man... my girlfriend dresses pretty mildly... sweaters and jeans and any time we spend a day apart she's always like "thank god you're back... the creepy men... the catcalls... I can't walk 10 feet!". Like (I think) I said... it's an advantage! Use it!


In the Andes I feel comfortable on backroads, even at night (but not really late). But the Andean people are very different from the rest of the world... traveling in the Andes I fear for nothing more than my iPod. Lower than... I dunno 7,000 feet in SA stay on the highway? That's kind of a weird generalization but it's a realization I came to recently.
 
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I'm sure it depend a lot on the area as well.... different always grabs attention.

Regardless, my wife has often commented that she frequently feels "watched" but very very rarely feels threatened.



joshoisasleep said:
I dunno man... my girlfriend dresses pretty mildly... sweaters and jeans and any time we spend a day apart she's always like "thank god you're back... the creepy men... the catcalls... I can't walk 10 feet!". Like (I think) I said... it's an advantage! Use it!


In the Andes I feel comfortable on backroads, even at night (but not really late). But the Andean people are very different from the rest of the world... traveling in the Andes I fear for nothing more than my iPod. Lower than... I dunno 7,000 feet in SA stay on the highway? That's kind of a weird generalization but it's a realization I came to recently.
Click to expand...
 
e9999 said:
I am surprised at how expensive this is. I was under the impression that having a truck shipped across the Atlantic was only $2000 or so...

Darn, for this kind of $$ one can start on another 80 in the US. No way to sell the truck legally in S. Am, eh?
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depends on the country. not any issues selling in Chile. a little more difficult in Argentina for sure. i'm sure it can be done for cheaper, althought i was quoted $6800 by a different company, but after the month long hassle of finding someone that could actually make it happen i was okay with the price. i did have a quote from brazil to fla, roll on roll off, for $2400 total but the visa issues etc with brazil sort of killed that plan.
dmc
 
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