buying a taco to travel South America.... I have some questions

That's a lot of work... how about not getting stuck in sand in the first place? DEFLATE!
If your tires are spinning and you are not moving forward, then you are moving down (to the frame)! Don't spin tires in sand! Letting air out of your tires is so easy, no digging, no burying your spare tire (which is no fun to get from under your truck), no work.

 

I agree, just saying if worse comes to worse there are other ways to use the winch if you don't have a tree or other truck around.

Getting stuck is part of the game, happens to everyone that participates at some point or another.

 

Oh hi! I answered you reddit thread about this trip earlier. Glad to see you're getting some awesome info from the TW guys too!

 

one for sale at Silk Road autos in Vancouver, 1991 70 series, 104,000 miles, $17,400 USD.

You will be fine in pretty much anything you drive down there, lots of blogs on people travelling South America in all kinds or rigs, having fun.
Looks really good right now with all the snow and cold we are having!

 

Omg, droooooool... Trade ya an 80 series OEM locked front and rear on 40" Michelin XML's, ARB front bar with Warn M8000, Solid Rock Off-road sliders, 4x4Labs rear bumper, regeared to 4.88, 4" OME competition coils, etc. for it?

 

@phx13 @ramonortiz55 Thanks for the encouragement we are pumped. We have a lot of planning left to do and won't leave for another few months. I plan to start a blog though and keep it updated throughout w pics and probably also some of the planning stages (I'll update this thread when the blog is up). You can be my friend if you want! I am Max Buck on facebook. I went to Ohio State (that should narrow the people down a bit).

And thanks everyone for the great advice! This was my first day posting on this thread after lurking for a week or so. You guys are awesome! Update from me is that I am now looking at a 2001 Tacoma and a 1999 4Runner. Both are 3.4 V6s and neither has a rear locker. The 4Runner is cheaper, and so I'm thinking I might go for that one and get the rear locker installed with the saved cash. I'll also be sure to bring a good tire pump, tire repair kit, winch, and shovels.

 

I was thinking the same thing.

Hmm...camping..which means plenty of offroading.

1. 4x4
2. tire repair kit
3. spare tire

add to the list as needed.

 

what are you thinking your time frame is for going down there? me and the woman will be down in Patagonia over the Christmas weeks.

 

@jpneely , we plan to set out in early July, not sure when we will get to Patagonia yet but we definitley might be in the area come Christmas.. planning on taking it pretty slow. I'll keep you updated.

 

There's this sweet Kamaz for sale on ebay...cheap too! 2500 foot pounds of torque!


http://www.ebay.com/itm/Other-Makes...tr=true&hash=item3aa716cbbd&item=251911392189

Edit: Crap! The auction ended. Still a sweet truck.

 

Buy a diesel hi-lux when you cross the U.S. border. It will serve you better as diesel seems to be the choice through most of Central and South America.

 

1st Gen, 3.4l is a great truck, the engines are largely bulletproof, if you can find one with pretty low miles I'd snag one up. Sometimes it's easier to wait it out until you find one that is at least a little bit rigged out the way you desire it, unless you've got the cash to do stuff yourself. Mine's currently got Flowmaster 40 series muffler, K&N Cold Air Intake, Rancho Suspension Lift 2" (I'd go a bit larger in your case like something from Icon Vehicle Dynamics, or Fox, OME, Etc), I'm running 265,75,16 BFG All Terrain KO2's and that's all I've got. There's very few places my truck can't go with my set up. For your expedition I'd probably go with a Mud Terrain Tire like the BFG, or General just came out with a great new one called the Grabber X3 and those things look insane! Other than that man as long as you've got 4x4 you'll be good to go. The addition of the flow master and intake just add a bit of power which is nice in certain situations. Keep It Simple. Maybe check out going with a rack for the bed and looking into Tepui, or CVT rooftop tents. They save space in the bed for other overland gear, and they're remarkably comfortable! Also make sure you're carrying Maxtrax Recovery Sleds, those things will get you out of some trouble, and of course you need a winch!

 

In South America you'll definitely need 4x4 and a powerful (V6)engine to help u to get out of trouble. Trust me ... I come from there.

 

I second Chaosrob's recommendation of the Land Cruiser. I live in Colombia, and have traveled extensively thru SA. We had a Nissan Patrol, but now have a Hilux. The Hilux and the Tacoma look similar, but the suspension on the Hilux is completely different from the Tacoma's. If you break anything, getting parts for a US truck will take forever. You are much better off getting a truck sold in SA (like the Land Cruiser), and then selling it before you return to the states. If you plan on staying on the main roads, most are paved, and are designed to US standards. Roads in Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, and Peru are very good. Central America not so much so. I would check with various consulates and embassies about bringing a vehicle into different countries. In some areas, they require a special travel visa if you bring a car. Just a heads up.

- JAMES

 

A lot of folks are suggesting the 4Runner or the Land Cruiser. I am looking at a 2001 4Runner today (saw it yesterday, and today getting a prepurchase inspection). The vehicle looks great as far as I can tell - engine sounds great, no rust, no dents, ac and heat work great, new wheels. I have found a blog or 2 that said this vehicle is easy to get parts for in SA but am having trouble confirming this with the rest of the internet (ie Wikipedia). Does anyone know if a 3rd gen 4Runner would be a better bet than the Tacoma as far as getting parts in the event of a breakdown?

 

im not sure about the 4-runner, but this site (which you've probably already found) seems to have some good info on non car related stuff like border crossings and container sharing if you ship your vehicle to skip certain rough parts of central America.

Also Expedition portal has tons of good information. I would think the land cruiser would have more/easier access to parts down there than the 4-runner. someone else can chime in that's more experienced in SA, but are 4-runners sold down there?

http://www.drivetheamericas.com/

 

I believe the 4runner shares its platform with the Land Cruiser Prado, it's kinda like a Land Cruiser's little brother, just like the 4runner is. So if that is in fact true, yes it will be easier to get parts for the 4runner that are shared with the Prado, it being an international vehicle.

 

Here's the Tacoma of one of my guests, taking it from Panama back to the States. 205.000 miles smooth running V6. Though he almost lost it here. We took our trucks into the park (you can see mine in the back with the bed taken off). There is a spectacular road crossing the continental divide. The decent on the Caribbean side is steep, from 2400 to 600 feet in a couple of miles. Here's the problem, his is an automatic, mine a manual. While I could brake mostly on the engine, his heavily equipped truck had to brake on the brakes. When we reached the bottom, his front brakes caught fire. Fortunately we were standing at a small river and it was put out before it could do serious damage.

But as a word of warning: get a manual.

 

And 4runners were sold at least in Panama probably in more South American countries. But mostly with diesels.

 

Yeah and I believe in South America they named the 4Runner, the Hilux Surf.