Builds DMC South America Expedition and ROTW write-up

[Romer]

That doesn't look too bad Dave. Did you save the flare?


It looked like mostly scrapes and no major dents, is that right.

Keep the stuff coming and liked reading your blog.

 

[dmc]

have fun!

plus now that she's been baptized, you can relax and enjoy things more...!

yep i think the same thing. the odds me of making it all the way to ushuaia without incident were very slim. if this is the worst that happens i'm okay with it. i think i got off not too bad all things considered.
dmc

 

[dmc]

I think you made the right call on walking away from that accident..Hate to add salt to your injury...but--what spray on bedliner did you use to paint your flares? Did you use a spray gun?

I was very happy with my spray on liner until I made a dumb mistake. It was starting to flake a bit off the rubber gasket so I ran a razor blade down the seam of the flare and gasket thinking it would save the flare and let the liner peel off the rubber no problem. it caused the liner on the flare to start rubbing off too. however trunkmonkey/fzjfillmore had it on his truck for almost 3 years and it looked great and handled the utah weather no problem.

this is what i used. aersol can and gave it a good sanding first. i like it because it's not as rough as a lot of the other liners. almost smooth but rough enough to take a bit of abuse. you can see the smoothness in the pic.
dmc

 

[dmc]

Read his blog you chump!!!!

-Ferg-

you tell him ferg. his brother is signed up on it. i hear rumor you're shopping for fj43s. they are all over in colombia. very cool trucks. frank is a solid cat too.
dmc

 

[dmc]

NICE RIG! Where can I get that roof rack?

you can see in this post that it is just a prototype but I think Mule is getting close. one of the things his production racks will have that I don't is that the upper bar can come off. i also forgot to mention in the initial write up is that i can lower the 'deck' as well. there are adjustable slots vertically as well. i could go down about 2 notches (3/4 in) but never got around to it.
dmc

 

[dmc]

That doesn't look too bad Dave. Did you save the flare?


It looked like mostly scrapes and no major dents, is that right.

Keep the stuff coming and liked reading your blog.

it could have been far worse for sure. i'm hesitant to wash it because i'm sure it will look worse but that's what bedliner is for right?
dmc

 

[CF1128]

Great Job

Like an idiot I have been going to the original website for updates not the blog.
All caught up now.
Looks like great times.
Very Jealous up here in New Hampshire.
Pics and details are perfect.
Congrats on the battle wounds, they add character.
Be Safe.

 

[Box Rocket]

Ryan's gotta like seeing you rockin the Ratio shop shirts in another country. And Michelle wants to know why you were wearing gloves to eat? But after looking at your pics, she also says she's ready to sell the house and take the kids out of school and travel. I told her we could but we'd probably have enough money to drive to Omaha and stay for a couple weeks.

 

[dmc]

in the truck

I had a situation today that prompted this post. I took my truck to get serviced, grease ujoints, change the fluid in my front diff, (got some water in it during a river crossing in Costa Rica) and repack the knuckles as much as possible without a rebuild. some slop had been building up in my steering and the tie rod ends were bad. so without further ado my list of spare parts and tools. might be more important for expedition info than actual ROTW mods but i think it has value...

(this is from memory so i may leave a few things out)

TIE ROD ENDS! thanks to eric v/ginericlc. (i owe you dinner) for donating after he swapped his 80 for a 100 series. eric also donate a bag of bulbs for brake and turn signals

I had to replace a connector on my slee harness and Christo threw in a bunch of spares and various parts for the harness. thank you sir.

parts
One of my sponsors is the local Toyota Dealership in my home town and sponsor of Wasatch Cruisers as well. their parts guys are awesome. as part of their sponsorship I got the following at their cost. they also let me keep an open ticket during my prep work for almost 2 months.

Alternator
Water pump
Starter Contacts
Wipers
2 sets 100 series front brake pads, 1 set rear (and a used set of rear in decent shape)
2 sets of belts plus the used ones i swapped out on before leaving
3 oil filters (now 2)
2 fuel filters
Distributor cap and rotor
Spark plugs and wires
u-joints

From a friend's wrecked 80 (thanks trunk monkey)
complete set of fuses and relays
a staggering number of bolts from seat belts to dash screws, bag weighs about 15lbs

Parts I had before the trip that I always carry with me.
hub flange
birfield
various gauges of wire and connectors
spare hoses
battery terminals
bulbs for headlights (standard after I upgraded to HIR)

Now the tools
metric wrenches from 6mm up to 24 for the control arms
ratchet wrenches 11mm - 17-mm
deep and standard sockets metric
allen wrenches
assorted standard and phillips screw drivers
impact gun and air ratchet
hack saw with 2 extra blades
cordless lithium ion makita drill
mini sledge
rubber mallet
8, 12 and 24 inch pry bars
axe
shovel
hub socket
c-clip pliers
needle nose and channel lock pliers
vise grips of 3 different sizes
utility knife and extra blades
50 ft of 3/8s air hose and fittings
dikes and wire strippers
pipe wrench for tie rod/drag link/adjustable arms
strap wrench for the scepter cans

random stuff i'll call miscellany
box of rubber gloves
2 tubs of grease for the knuckles
assorted electrical connectors
tape: duct, electrical and teflon
zip ties
brake fluid
power steering fluid
arb hi-lift attachment
lug nuts
a bag of random ratchet and tension straps and bungee cords of various sizes
FSM

i'm sure there are other things but this is a pretty good list.
dmc

 

[dmc]

congrats!! what a trip!

tell us a bit more about the formalities and administrative stuff of border crossings, insurance, taxes etc? A nightmare or no big deal?


And what about space? An 80 with roof rack is plenty big to be fully self-sufficient out there in comfort or are you cramped and hurting for more room?

So the paperwork isn't too bad. it's actually pretty straight forward for most countries. Getting the paperwork processed however IS a total nightmare. The low level bureaucrats don't care at all. As far as they're concerned you could sit there all day and it wouldn't bother them. nor do they care if you have all the right paper work. they do their one thing and that's it. they don't tell you the next step, they don't let you know what you're missing. nothing. so the great thing this indifference breeds, dozens of teenage kids screaming and yelling at you to use them to help you. and they are aggressive. jumping on your sliders, yelling into the window, begging for your documents to speed things along.

i've written two post about it on my blog...

On The Road To Ushuaia: indiana, indiana, let it go...

this one contains the one exception of the trip...

On The Road To Ushuaia: vive motagua

that pertains to Central America. shortest border 2.5 hours. longest 6, if you count having to go to a different crossing since the first was out of tourist stamps then 6 becomes 11.

So far only one crossing in SA. Colombia/Ecuador and it was pure bliss. entire process took 30 mins. people were nice and friendly and willing to help you out.

As far as the 80 is concerned. I have soooo much room I don't even need to stay organized because of the space I have. I also brought too much crap with me. I could have left a lot of clothes behind and had even more space.
dmc

 

[dmc]

congrats!! what a trip!

tell us a bit more about the formalities and administrative stuff of border crossings, insurance, taxes etc? A nightmare or no big deal?


And what about space? An 80 with roof rack is plenty big to be fully self-sufficient out there in comfort or are you cramped and hurting for more room?

So the paperwork isn't too bad. it's actually pretty straight forward for most countries. Getting the paperwork processed however IS a total nightmare. The low level bureaucrats don't care at all. As far as they're concerned you could sit there all day and it wouldn't bother them. nor do they care if you have all the right paper work. they do their one thing and that's it. they don't tell you the next step, they don't let you know what you're missing. nothing. so the great thing this indifference breeds, dozens of teenage kids screaming and yelling at you to use them to help you. and they are aggressive. jumping on your sliders, yelling into the window, begging for your documents to speed things along.

i've written two post about it on my blog...

On The Road To Ushuaia: indiana, indiana, let it go...

this one contains the one exception of the trip...

On The Road To Ushuaia: vive motagua

that pertains to Central America. shortest border 2.5 hours. longest 6, if you count having to go to a different crossing since the first was out of tourist stamps then 6 becomes 11.

So far only one crossing in SA. Colombia/Ecuador and it was pure bliss. entire process took 30 mins. people were nice and friendly and willing to help you out.

As far as the 80 is concerned. I have soooo much room I don't even need to stay organized. I also brought too much crap with me. I could have left a lot of clothes behind and had even more space.
dmc

 

[reffug]

Awesome truck.

Great write up.

As always thanks for contributing.

 

[Romer]

We have a new ROTW for this upcoming week. I find myself enthralled with Dave's story so I renamed this thread and will leave it up so we can all follow Dave's story as he has connectivity to tell it

I have also edited his first post to add the link to his Blog so it is easy to find.

Since I feel like I am living a bit vicariously through Dave, I felt it appropriate to help pay for "My vacation" by sending a $50 donation via paypal to dave@expeditionamericas.com. This is a personal donation incase someone thinks I have access to woody's $$, I wish.

Good Luck Dave! Have fun and then get your ass back to the states safely!

 

[robmir]

So the paperwork isn't too bad. it's actually pretty straight forward for most countries. Getting the paperwork processed however IS a total nightmare. The low level bureaucrats don't care at all. As far as they're concerned you could sit there all day and it wouldn't bother them. nor do they care if you have all the right paper work. they do their one thing and that's it. they don't tell you the next step, they don't let you know what you're missing. nothing. so the great thing this indifference breeds, dozens of teenage kids screaming and yelling at you to use them to help you. and they are aggressive. jumping on your sliders, yelling into the window, begging for your documents to speed things along.
.
dmc

This is something quite common in any undeveloped third world country, be it in south america, africa. far east, etc.

It's unfortunate that US citizens are not welcome in many of this places lately, blame it to some very bad foreign policy, we know is not your fault but for them you are the closer one to blame.

Do your best to learn and speak spanish as most as possible.

Take care and sincerely hope things will improve once you arrive to Chile and Argentina.

 

[dmc]

We have a new ROTW for this upcoming week. I find myself enthralled with Dave's story so I renamed this thread and will leave it up so we can all follow Dave's story as he has connectivity to tell it

I have also edited his first post to add the link to his Blog so it is easy to find.

Since I feel like I am living a bit vicariously through Dave, I felt it appropriate to help pay for "My vacation" by sending a $50 donation via paypal to dave@expeditionamericas.com. This is a personal donation incase someone thinks I have access to woody's $$, I wish.

Good Luck Dave! Have fun and then get your ass back to the states safely!

romer,

thanks for the dontation and the sticky. i will do my best to keep this thread updated on my progess and post pics whenvever i can as well. dinner is on me cm09. or at least a beer.
dmc

 

[dmc]

This is something quite common in any undeveloped third world country, be it in south america, africa. far east, etc.

It's unfortunate that US citizens are not welcome in many of this places lately, blame it to some very bad foreign policy, we know is not your fault but for them you are the closer one to blame.

Do your best to learn and speak spanish as most as possible.

Take care and sincerely hope things will improve once you arrive to Chile and Argentina.

you know i'd like to think it was anti-american sentiment. i would feel better if it was. but the process was no different for me than anyone else in line. South America has been a completely different process. simple, easy, people willing to help out and answer my questions. central america suffers from a TON of xenophobia. belizeans degrading mexicans, guatemalans bad mouthing the 'blacks' of belize. hondurans mocking the unsafe and squatty guats. etc etc. entering costa rica the disdain nicos and tico hold for each other was truly evident. my gringoness did not slow that process. fear of outsiders did. it's really too bad.

i have quite a few more thoughts on the differences (so far) of central vs south americas and their disparate views and attitudes toward 'norteamericanos' but i'm going to wait a few more weeks to finalized them and ideally save them for print.

where are you in SA? i'm looking for some advice on the atacama and sulars of bolivia. pm or email if you prefer...

dave@expeditionamericas.com

dmc

 

[dmc]

Awesome truck.

Great write up.

As always thanks for contributing.

thanks.

and after all i've gleaned from mud, including buying my 80 here i figure trying to pay back is the least i could do. same reason i'll always have a silver star despite my embarrassing average of less than 10 posts per month. ie. professional lurker/searcher.
dmc

 

[ranma21]

Great trip, one dream for a life time. I always want to do a trip like these, have to really work hard now and do it =) Good luck!!

 

[voorland80]

The stars are amazing in south america. They were awesome on the night drive back to cuzco.
It's cool you have your cruiser with you.

 

[robmir]

Dave: I am worried because of the severe conditions you will face since is raining hard and you will find many mudslides washing the roads. Things are not looking good down there.

Keep us updated !!!!!