Rigs Suggested for Archaelogical Overlanding Expedition to Peru

MiguelVicente

New member
Hello again Douglas, all those questions you ask are the same I have asked myself. You are giving me great tips in planning my project. I live in Venezuela, so I only have to cross Colombia, to get to Ecuador and then Peru and Bolivia. There are FUSO and Isuzu NPR here but not 4X4. I am reading your BEV project again, making some points to ask you later. And, of course, watching your pictures to keep my project coming.

For example, is it too tiring or uncomfortable to drive a cabover such as Mitsubishi FUSO for long perdios of time?

Miguel.
 
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dhackney

Expedition Leader
I live in Venezuela,

Unfortunately, we did not get the opportunity to visit Venezuela, but we understand there are beautiful areas of the country.


There are FUSO and Isuzu NPR here but not 4X4.

4x4 is highly over-rated for what you are going to do. Basically, it's unnecessary on the camper for your mission.

Most of the archeological sites are connected by market town roads, or, at worst, chicken bus roads. Those roads may be single lane shelf roads, but they don't require 4x4. All the chicken buses are 4x2.

Once you get to the village that's closest to the site, you will need to change to a burro, or, at best, a HiLux, anyway. No medium sized truck can get down the tracks that lead to the remote non-tourist sites you'll probably be documenting.

The dirty little secret of full-time overlanding is that the interesting places in the world are connected by market town roads. Some require you to go down a chicken bus road for the last leg. All the trucks and buses on those roads are 4x2.

More than a few overlanders I interviewed circumnavigated the world and never engaged their four wheel drive for themselves (a few used it to tow others out of sand, etc.).

4x4 is useful if you seek out places that require it, but those places are often just that, a place to demonstrate the need for 4x4 rather than a place you'd go to otherwise.

The vehicles you see here on ExPo are heavily skewed to the U.S. market, in which overlanding mostly means 4x4 camping. That's a very different paradigm from the global definition of overlanding.

Of the vehicles that are actually out there overlanding around the world, the vast majority are European 4x2 vans. You don't need 4x4 to go overlanding, especially where you are headed.

For your mission, as stated, I don't think you will need 4x4. By the time you would need 4x4 you would already be on a track too small for anything but the HiLux. For the remote sites you'll need to get on burros anyway.

Considering your location, I recommend you find a used Argentinian Mercedes chassis Caravan/RV around 8 meters in overall length. It will be a very durable chassis that you can get repaired using locally available parts.

When we were there, the prices were very low and used units were relatively plentiful.

If you need to, you can reconfigure the interior to support four bunk beds, dedicated work stations, etc.

That will make a great base camp vehicle.

Pair that up with a used Toyota HiLux diesel 4x4 that you can buy locally and you will have a perfect combination for your expedition.

For recovery, you may want to put a winch on the HiLux, but on the camper all you'll need is a European truck tow bar & pinion, which the Caravan/RV will probably already have.

Find a shorter version of one of these:
2008-09-01-SD870 IS-7022-800.jpg

2008-09-01-SD870 IS-7024-800.jpg

2008-09-01-SD870 IS-7026-800.jpg


For example, is it too tiring or uncomfortable to drive a cabover such as Mitsubishi FUSO for long perdios of time?

If you leave it stock, then yes, it can be punishing.

Things to do, in order of priority:
1. Air seat. If you are contemplating traveling with a spouse or significant other, don't drive a kilometer without replacing the passenger seat with an air suspension seat. You may be able to modify one from an over-the-road/18 wheel truck to fit. You can find the details of the seats we used on our build site. I don't know if those are available in your market or not.
2. Acoustic lining. This product will be available in your market. Go to a local car stereo shop and buy the adhesive acoustic mat material. Take apart the cab (remove the seats, floor liner, head liner, trim, etc.). This job will take you about an hour. It really comes apart very quickly. Apply the acoustic mat to all of the interior areas of the cab metal. You will not believe the difference. Our cab came out spooky quiet. It's much, much quieter than a U.S. market full-size van, for instance. It is a bit bizarre to be sitting on top of a diesel engine that you can barely hear run.
3. Aftermarket shocks. We used Bilsteins. If I had it to do over again, I'd modify the truck for dual shocks.
4. Custom spring packs. You can probably find this capability/product in the truck repair neighborhoods of a major market town or any medium sized city. Once the truck is built and completely loaded for travel, go to a flat truck scale and weigh each corner of the truck. Find a shop that repairs truck springs. Have them add or remove leaves in your spring packs to optimize each spring pack to each corner's weight. If you can find a shop that can make custom spring packs, have them build spring packs that consist of many thin leaves rather than a few thick leaves. That will make a dramatic difference in ride quality.



Question: Do you have a research grant or a sponsor for your expedition?
 
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DiploStrat

Expedition Leader
Don Miguel,

If you are in Venezuela, you may wish to contact the Expo member known as Tucan Viajero. He has/is just finishing a trip from Caracas to Cuzco and back.

To add to Doug's excellent comments, I will predict that cold and altitude are far more important to a Venezolano than the brand of truck you use. This argues for good, warm sleeping accommodations.

And, when in trouble, two vehicles are better than any one vehicle, or winch, or any other recovery tool.

¡Que tenga buen viaje!
 

MiguelVicente

New member
Hello eveyrone, as I am reading the thread, I am rethinking the project based on your opinions and suggestions, as more experienced than me.

I have to evaluate a trwo or three vehicle option, because two more friends are thinking of doing it, on their own fields. As Douglas stated, the problem of comfort for long staying living and working, with private areas is going to be hard to figure out, but then again, it is an expedition, not a luxury vacation.

ALso, serviceability in those countries, and my own. Japanese trucks and land cruisers are the rule, for spare parts and repairs.

And having read a lot on Douglas Hackneys BEV project and experiences, makes many things clear to me.

Keep sending suggestions, they are great leads...

Thanks to you all..
 

dhackney

Expedition Leader
cold and altitude are far more important to a Venezolano than the brand of truck you use. This argues for good, warm sleeping accommodations.

Those are very wise words from a very wise person.

Equipment that works great at sea level often won't work great over 6k feet in altitude. This is especially true for anything that mixes air with any other chemical or substance.

Examples:
  • A turbocharged motor may still work OK under power, but may also exhibit strange behavior at very high altitudes when using the exhaust brake (our Fuso smoked under exhaust braking at ~15k ft).
  • You may need to adjust the air / fuel mixture on stoves, furnaces, etc. We had issues with our furnace ignition at high altitudes.
  • Any non-turbo motor will need the air / fuel mixture adjusted, be rejetted, etc. For instance, our small motorcycles didn't run all that well at very high altitudes with the stock jetting and our diesel generator's air filter was too restrictive.

The high country can be very, very cold at night. A well insulated, hard-wall camper is a much better solution in those conditions, especially when the wind blows strongly (which it does often).

You will drive through and camp at some very high elevations.

Please note that you will not be able to test your gear at those heights until you get there.

Be prepared to adjust equipment as necessary and improvise when you need to (I ran the bikes with their chokes partially on, removed the air cleaner on the generator and adjusted the furnace igniter and air/fuel mixture).

Be sure to check all of your electronics to ensure that it can operate (safely) at the altitudes in the high Andes. You may find that some components, e.g. displays, may not be certified to work at those altitudes.

Bring spare, property sized for high altitude carburetor jets and other parts so you'll be prepared to adapt your equipment when you reach high elevations.

Note the altitude in the upper right corner of the display - > 16k ft. - you will be driving and working at these altitudes for extended periods:
2008-07-30-SD870 IS-6181-1200.jpg
 
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DiploStrat

Expedition Leader
I have to evaluate a trwo or three vehicle option, because two more friends are thinking of doing it, on their own fields. As Douglas stated, the problem of comfort for long staying living and working, with private areas is going to be hard to figure out, but then again, it is an expedition, not a luxury vacation.

There are some other variables to consider:

-- How many strong persons do you have in your party, and,

-- How often are you moving.

A typical overland party is two adults, one male and one female. And typically, you move every day or so. This puts a tremendous premium on ease. If you have been driving all day, you don't want to pitch a tent in the dark, in the rain, in the Plaza de Armas, with a crowd of kids, and then take it down the next morning.

But, if you have three vehicles, with three strong adults, and you are not going to move for a week, then a heavy tent may be all you need. You just have to consider your needs.

I started out here:

large.jpg


(Camping outside of Arequipa, Peru.)

But now I want to be here:

Tiger  001.jpg

Indoor plumbing and heat have much to recommend themselves! ¡Y a los Caraquenos les gusta el lujo!
 

MiguelVicente

New member
Hello Diplostrat, it would be in a 4 person team with 3 strong adults, and in the 6 person team one more.

Stays would be longer than 2 or 3 days but no more than a week. But I would rather use tents as less as possible.

I am thinking on expedition/adventure type, I am not the "only luxury and comfort" type. I know what we are up against, so luxury is out of the question. SO does the rest of the team thinks. Whenever possible, there will be a 2 day rest in a hotel. But that's about it.
 
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DiploStrat

Expedition Leader
I actually sold my tent this morning - my next trip will be in a camper like the one in the picture. I lived in Bolivia for three years and froze my ankles off on the altiplano. I know that the polar regions are much colder, but there is a special misery to being cold and suffering from soroche at the same time. If I ever go back to the sierra it will be in an enclosed vehicle. But I did want to remind that there are many different options. All it takes is money!

¡Vaya un grand abrazo!
 

NetDep

Adventurer
dhackney - much thanks to you for the free sharing of this information. Although I never plan to go on an extended expedition of any sort, let alone a Jurrasic Park adventure as described, I am finding TONS of valuable information here!!! I have sub'd for ideas, tactics and resources!! Again, thanks to all for such a helpful board!!
 

MiguelVicente

New member
On a budget, what equipment would you take? Especially for electrical? Adding that info to the one that Doug Hackney kindly gave me?
 

dhackney

Expedition Leader
On a budget, what equipment would you take? Especially for electrical? Adding that info to the one that Doug Hackney kindly gave me?

This system (electrical) follows this logic tree:

Is 220/110VAC required Y/N:

If you need 220/110VAC, then you'll probably need a generator.

It is very, very important to use a generator that outputs a pure sine wave.

If your sustained 220/110VAC needs are very, very small amperage loads, then you may be able to get by with an inverter (converts 12/24 VDC to AC). Again, it is critical to use one that outputs a pure sine wave.

If you are using an inverter, then you'll need enough amp hour capacity in deep-cycle batteries to handle the amperage draw. The amp-hour capacity of the batteries needs to be at least twice your anticipated total amperage draw between recharge cycles.

For all 12/24VDC loads (12/24VDC equipment + inverter), your vehicle's alternator(s) + solar panel(s) + wind generator(s) must be sufficient to recharge the batteries.

It is optimum to use only 12/24VDC equipment. Most laptops, cameras, radios, etc. can be used with a 12/24VDC charger/power source.
 
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mervifwdc

Adventurer
Just to agree with Doug on this. We have 12v chargers for our laptops and some of the cameras. This charges them with much less total amp-hour usage than using the inverter to go from 12v to 220ac, and then use the standard charger.

Merv.
 

Overland Hadley

on a journey
Just read through this thread from the beginning, and I must say that the advice that dhackney and DiploStrat have written here is fantastic. Thank you for taking the time to share with us.
 

RVPeru

New member
Worry less about your transportation and more about archaeological study permits, lest you might end up in jail.
 

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