Driving a Tacoma around the world

I hope the world opens up by then! I’m still hopeful that we can be in Europe Oct 1, but we’ll see. The X Overland people did a great series on driving down the Pan American highway, quite entertaining.

 

That there is a Vagabond Drifter

 

Those are cool looking and i suppose they’re quite light compared to my Fleet.

 

Cruiser Brothers of Stockton, CA installed Scheel Mann Vario F seats last week. Drove home 330 miles and felt great despite having a stiff back.

Here’s the Scheel Mann on the left and the stock seat on the right. They have adjustable depth/length of seat which is great for my long thighs. They also have adjustable lumbar support as well as having the ability of moving the lumbar support up and down for wherever support is needed. Super high quality.


First thing that was needed was a custom seat frame. This is the driver’s side - the easy one.


Passenger side was VERY complicated. In order for the front air bag computer to operate normally, each of these seat “legs” had to be removed from the original frame and welded on the new frame. There’s a sensor built in to each of the legs that notifies the computer to turn on the airbag if there’s enough weight in the seat, otherwise it’s disabled and now safe to install a car seat for a baby. This is the picture of the original frame.


They even adjusted the height of the seat so my wife can sit up a bit higher than stock. You can see the four circular spacers that will lift up the seat. They are in process of welding on side supports so that in event of an accident the seat doesn’t lever off the spacers - nice thinking on Cruiser Brother’s account.


They said that we have the only Scheel Mann seats in North America with fully-functioning front air bags.

Here’s a sneak shot at their shop. They are stuffed with all kinds of Land cruisers; 200 series, 80 series, righthand drive flatbeds, you name it they’ve worked on it.


Tried not to get any license plates. They do all kinds of off-road customizing.


Here’s a shot at the finished install. In the rear is the water purification system being installed. Took out the driver’s back seat and the under seat storage




Great people!

 

You can't drive there directly without shipping around the Darien. The road does not go through, and that is no place to be messing around!

 

I had Scheel Mann in my 80 Series and Panted Brackets. Best seats ever and I miss them in my Tacoma! Congrats on them.

John

 

Looking forward to driving down there! Anyone else planning on doing this someday??

 

So the front drivers seat I can just swap to one of these and everything bolts up and works? if its that easy, this is definitely going on the list. I'd just leave the passenger seat probably, no one usually sits there anyway.

 

So it is almost that simple. The drivers seat had a custom bracket made that you can see in the second photo. It is designed to fit into the four bolt holes in the taco floor and the seat mounts directly onto that.

You’ll notice that the custom mount is basically a flat plate while the taco’s stock seats have parallel rails mounted onto the four bolt holes. The custom mount is pretty simple, my guess it would be a $100-$200 cost.

 

Yes. I am scheming ways to make it happen. Want to explore Central America for a while before shipping to Columbia. I've been mostly following Dirt Sunrise and Itchy Boots trips, but there are a lot of others with great content for motivation.

 

Yes there's lots of good ones. I just finished X Overland. Seasons 2 and 3 cover Central and South America. It was good but they did a lot quicker than what we're hoping to do.

 

Lots of wonderful places to explore in Belize. Much lower population density than surrounding countries, great reefs for diving, most folks speak english, ancient Mayan cities with no one around, plenty of unpaved jungle tracks to tune up your mud skills.

 

Anyone curious about Darien Gap, there's an inspiring true adventure book by a retired US intelligence colonel who travelled by BMW GS motorcycle from Panama (with a pass signed by Noriega) to Columbia with his bike. Took him several years, leaving his bike behind during rainy seasons. "Obsessions Die Hard" by Ed Culberson.

 

Thought there was a jungle route through there? Really rough and hard to navigate but a route. I know most don’t attempt it because of “upset” in the area and hostilities to say the least.

 

Look into the Berkey Water Filters. I’ve used ours for years in multiple countries. Nothing really to break. I go nowhere without it.

 

Expeditions have winched their way through there and survived. Last I've heard of, was 20 years or so ago. With local political (narco?) connections perhaps. https://www.dangerousroads.org/south-america/colombia/79-darien-gap-colombia.html

 

Evidentially the situation in the Darien Gap is that it has been taken over by drug gangs and tourists are banned from going into it.

 

I loved Belize; a quiet sea surrounded by stormy oceans. We drove all over the country putting on 1,200 miles. Super safe, well Belize City is just okay. We’ve thought about settling down there after satisfying our itch to drive around the world. In Belize you’re an hour from everywhere; awesome diving, great jungle hikes, yeah and even Mayan cities like Caracol. Even the land is cheap

 

What I was referring to.

 

Find/download a copy of 20,000 Miles South. Story about a couple who drove an military amphibious jeep from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego with their Darien solution of driving into the Gulf water (it was still sketchy).

Anyways, with a little Top Gear ingenuity I bet you could make it happen. Can draw from Hovervan, Toybota, Ha Long scooter boats, Triumph sailboat, the list is endless!