Driving a Tacoma around the world

Onto the Czech Republic.

Our first stop was the scenic river town of Český Krumlov. Weather wasn’t cooperating but still had an amazing yellow umbrella free walking tour. We really like doing them because it gives us a good historical overview.


The Unesco-protected town of Telč, possesses one of the country’s prettiest and best-preserved historic town squares.


Most of the structures were built in the 16th century.


Wow!


Karlštejn Castle was started in the 1300s and was built so secure it was used to shelter the Bohemian and the Holy Roman Empire crown jewels during the Hussite Wars of the 15th century.


Onto Prague. My wife and I visited it in early January 1990 as newlyweds and loved it but were hesitant to return as we’ve heard that it’s super crowded now.

How can you not love the Prague Castle?


Sites abound


And yup, there’s crowds

It’s still one of our favorite European cities

 

Awesome photos. I wonder what many Europeans think when they visit large US or Canadian cities, and see a lot of high rise towers, and fancy (too large) homes and such? Must be quite a cultural eye opener. Our history here as we know it is so young.

 

I wholeheartedly agree. I think it’s kind of silly when the US gets all serious about historic districts for 100-150 year old buildings. I guess if that’s all you have…

 

I’ve been there. In the 80’s it was sparsely visited. We did the full walk up and down. Perhaps 20-30 total people total at the time we visited.

 

Agreed. Heck, Europe has breweries 3X older than the US.

 

We were very lucky to get entry tickets the day before. Now they have timed entry tickets precisely (they’re German after all) very 15 minutes for only 20 people, unless you want to pay for a premium tour that’s $50. I’d bet thousands visit it every day during the 6 month peak period.

 

Isn’t that the truth. Even in the 80’s, when you saw a train coming down the tracks at 7:42, if your train was scheduled 7:46 you didn’t step up to the edge because that one might not be stopping at this station.

 

Too awesome!! I love traveling. Thanks for the great pictures!!

 

There are truly no words for Auschwitz, one cannot wrap their mind around this place until you visit it in person. I was blown away when I went.

 

On to Hungary. Hungary was another architectural feast. Similar to the Czech Republic, we found the architecture and urban settings to be fascinating, beautiful and haunting with history.


We found some great wild camping sites along the Danube, appreciating the fun combination of hiding away in nature while viewing the boat traffic from huge barges to small fishing boats.


Visegrád on the Danube river


Esztergom Basilica, largest church and tallest building in Hungary

Our most looked forward to stop, Budapest. Actually two areas, Buda and Pest, separated by the Danube, we decided to take a “rest” and booked an Airbnb on the Buda side for two nights. The promise of free parking with the accommodations was a little exaggerated on the hills of Buda, but we were able to find a safe place a third of a mile from our house. As we learned, Buda is the stately side with the old money houses and green space. The castle is on the Buda side. Pest houses the economic center of the city, including the government buildings and pedestrian shopping streets.


Iconic view of the Budapest parliament building on the Danube

We spent three days wandering the streets, walking 10 miles a day, taking free walking tours, photographing buildings and sampling the food. In the evenings we luxuriated in access to easy hot showers and laundry machines.


Loving the goulash. Yes, there really is Hungarian goulash.



Fisherman’s Bastion in Budapest

Definitely Budapest has turned into our absolute favorite European city. Thats it for now.

 

you've done good keeping weight down even with the flatbed+flatbed model.
I'm at 7000lbs full load also and I haven't even added a flatbed yet!

 

Thanks. It wasn’t by chance. I consciously looked for ways to reduce weight by staying with near OEM-sized tires, lightweight, but strong rims, synthetic line for the winch, a small (100 amp-hour) lithium camper battery, semi-flexible solar panels weighing only 6 lbs each, aluminum front bumper, and only a partial front skid plate in aluminum. I’ve even considered, but ultimately didn’t, a carbon fiber hood and lithium truck battery, which combined would have saved at least 50 lbs over OEM.

I’m even considering replacing the flatbed and 4 wheel camper with building a chassis-mounted pop-up camper built out of 1” thick carbon fiber and foam sandwich panels. Depending on the specific foam core, a 4’*8’ sheet would weigh between 17 to 28 lbs. Maybe when we get to Capetown, South Africa in 8 months.
The shell, without windows and doors would weigh 250 lbs

 

This thread is totally awesome. What an absolute adventure of a lifetime. Reminds me of the Long Way Round in a way. Stay safe and enjoy every moment of your adventures.

 

I follow your blog and have enjoyed reading about your build. Is there any truck mod you would not do again or have not used?

 

Thank you! We’re definitely enjoying ourselves. Sometimes though we have to look back at the photos to realize, wow that indeed was special. I guess that means we’re seeing a lot. After two years on the road at times it still seems like we’re moving too fast.

 

Good question!!

Probably not again
1) I built a mosquito net that hangs from our awning and has never been used. I know in Africa and Australia both have big fly problems, maybe we’ll set it up there.
2) Using a Norweld flatbed. Don’t get me wrong, it is a super high quality flatbed but I think it weighs 500 lbs, even though it’s aluminum. I’d probably look for something lighter
3) I just replaced the BF Goodrich KO2s after 60,000 miles. Original equipment was 265/65/17. I replaced them at 5,000 miles before we left with the KO2s in a larger 275/70/17, load range E. Now they’ve been worn out and replaced with 275/65/17, load range E as I couldn’t find the same size anywhere here in Europe. Wow! What a difference! As soon as I drove off from the tire place they felt so soft after bumps that I stopped and checked to make sure the tire pressure was correct and that they were load range E. Yup, everything was fine. Also the gas mileage was improved by over one MPG. Now I’m averaging 15 mpg. I guess size does matter, at least in somethings.
4) front locker. So far I’ve never needed it. So the jury’s out on this one. I thought that since we’re planning on traveling alone for most of our trip it was worth it. Stay tuned on this one

That’s about it. Now for the stuff we really would do again:
1) Tacoma - No kidding. Love the truck and it’s mid-size. Love the reputation for reliability. Love how its quiet and the clutch/manual shifts super easy. Over here in Europe I see more Ford Rangers than Hiluxs but i don’t want to drive a Ranger into Africa, just don’t trust the reliability. You could drive the world in a full-size pickup, hell we see people driving medium-duty semis converted into overland vehicles. But those people pay the price both at the pump and driving on most roads in Europe, excluding super highways. Some of the city roads are so small that I feel like I’m driving a full-size crew cab (I had one for 14 years). Just yesterday I got stuck on a very steep narrow dead end road where I actually had to back down and negotiate slight turns with the front wheels sliding. Wrong road, full size might have slid into a wall.
2) flatbed camper vs slide in model. I really love and use the extra storage and space that comes with it. However they’re even heavier than the slideins and much more expensive. But when you need the space…
3) winch. So far we’ve used it twice. Once for us and once for someone else. Traveling alone it just gives us piece of time.
4) Scheel-Mann seats. Although expensive they are amazing. After sitting in my seat for 6 hours today driving I really don’t want to leave and go sit in the camper. They are that comfortable. But I’m old with a back that sometimes shows my age. If you like yours then save the money.

 

Can you post a pic of your seats?

love this thread!

 

Here you go. I do have a write up in this thread about the seats here: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/driving-a-tacoma-around-the-world.585792/page-36

 

On to Croatia. BTW, if interested we’ve just posted our write up of Croatia on our blog at https://www.roguewanderers.com/blog/croatia if interested but here’s some pics of this outstanding country.


Driving down the Dalmatian coast of the Adriatic Sea.


This is the big town of Split, Croatia.

The city is paved with marble cobblestones.



The island of Hvar. Chose to park the truck and ferried out.


Unretouched photo. We did a day trip out of Hvar to the blue and green caves. The water clarity is amazing. The coast and shoreline in this part of the world is super rocky limestone.


Overview of the town of the Dubrovnik. Fans of the Game of Thrones show should recognize this.


The entire town is UNESCO protected. Unfortunately it has been overrun by tourists/Airbnb and almost no one other than tourists stay there now. It’s empty in winter.


There is so much history here literally thousands of years. Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman you name it, there’s ruins of it. This one happens to be Roman


We spent much of our time in an Airbnbs with family and friends However, we did find time to hunt up some outstanding campsites. This one is at an Austro-Hungarian Fort complete with three stories and a moat (immediately behind the truck). This is our actual campsite.

Croatia is amazing, a place for everyone should visit once in their life

 

On to Bosnia/Herzegovina. Our first stop was the beautiful Kravica Waterfall.


The water was absolutely gin clear.


Bosnia and Herzegovina was a country that we did not know much about and we were unclear what to expect. In our lifetime memories, the name is largely associated with hearing news about war and conflict between the majority Bosnian Muslim population who were seeking independence from the former Yugoslavia and the Bosnian Serbian Orthodox people seeking to retain ties to it.

Fortress at the top of historic town of Počitelj


These partial fortresses/castles are our favorite. Free and allowed to roam and image everywhere


The town is an incredible combination of historic ruins and houses that are still occupied.

Yes, that is a minaret connected to a mosque. Culturally, we experienced Bosnians to be practical and gifted with a wry sense of humor. More ethnically mixed than some of its neighbors, over half the Bosnian population is Muslim, over 30% are Orthodox and 15% are Catholic. Mosques and Orthodox churches share the same streets.

Our next stop was the vibrant ancient city of Mostar with its iconic old bridge over the Nerevta River which bisects the city


The water!!


Next stop, Sarajevo! The city surprised us. Once again, the name evoked the violent siege of the 90’s. It definitely shows the effects of the recent war. Grand old buildings from the Austrio-Hungarian Habsburg era stand side by side with Ottoman mosques, both equally scarred with shrapnel and bullets.



The Latin Bridge and corner where Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife were shot, eventually leading to WW1

We found a beautiful wild site High overlooking the Adriatic Sea


After driving by a bunch of these…this is a land mine warning


Bosnia was a wonderful place rich in history and tragedy. But today the people are moving forward