Outfit my Dodge or get an NPR?

[jdham137]

I'm in the planning stages of a round the world expedition. I currently own a 2007.5 6.7 Dodge 2500 2wd megacab. I'd like to use the vehicle i have now and outfir it like this: http://www.xpcamper.com/. What i'm worried about is reliability and parts & service overseas. The other option I'm looking at is a more universal vehicle like a late 90s Isuzu NPR. I like the cabover design, simpler engine, and it's sold worldwide with, I assume, better parts availability. I like that I could build a simple box, put it on the bed and outfit the interior the way I want with fewer compromises in a pickup camper design. My route will be on mostly roads, no serious off roading. I'm going to drive across America, parts of Canada, Alaska, Japan, Australia, Thailand, Korea, Russia, China, Mongolia, Turkey, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, the UK, Greenland, and Iceland.

So what does the forum think? Am I worrying too much about parts and service for a dodge ram? Thanks for any advice.

John

 

[Jimmy the Heater]

I think you are overthinking parts availability. The Turtle expedition has been all around the world using Ford vehicles and they are still kicking. In truly remote areas parts for ANYTHING will be an issue so you might as well drive what you want/have.

I would be much more concerned about the lack of 4wd on remote roads.

 

[Deleted member 9101]

Buy a receiver mounted winch and take the dodge. Get a locker and some A/T tires if you plan on going to far off pavement. You can take off the bed, and mount the same camper as you would have built for the NPR.

I have taken 2WD trucks to all kinds of places, 4WD only means when you are stuck, you are really stuck.

Thats just my take on things.

 

[Regcabguy]

CST makes a 4" lift for 2wd's. I've seen one installed locally and it's stout. I believe deleting your 6.7 will be necessary for the LSD fuel out of the US. A RaceMe tuner will enable it to run with the deletes.

 

[shortbus4x4]

Your 6.7 DPF(diesel particulate filter) won't like most diesel you find out of the north American market, it will plug up. You have quite a bit of other emissions stuff on your engine which means more stuff to go wrong. Don't know if you can get away with doing a DPF/EGR delete or not, its a pretty stiff fine if caught and any state or Federal DOT/law enforcement officer could get you for it. If you didn't have the emissions stuff on your engine then I wouldn't hesitate to drive it round the world.

 

[jdham137]

Well, i guess that decides it. I deleted the DPF about 40k miles ago. I did get the feeling i was overly worrying about the parts issue. Time to start welding..... Thanks for the advice guys.

 

[shortbus4x4]

Make sure you add an auxiliary fuel filter and have some method to filter and monitor your fuel as you add it to your tank. One thing the common rail injectors do not like is dirty fuel, very fine tolerances and very high pressures inside the system. Dirty fuel will wear the injectors out prematurely. Glacier Diesel Power makes a pretty nice aux filter setup that mounts in the engine compartment and is easy to access. I would add some type of traction device to the rearend because you have a two wheel drive, my favorite "can't even tell its there" is a Detroit TruTrac. Add some good solid tow points too, not just hooks because the strap can come off easily, something that you can put a shackle on. Get some good traction tires in the back with the heaviest load rating you can get, keeps you from getting flats. If you still have the EGR system make sure you get it cleaned before you start your trip or delete it entirely. If you have an automatic trans make sure you get it serviced and the bands adjusted before you start the trip. You might want to add an aux fuel tank or bigger main tank also for longer range between fill ups, Transferflow makes both. The only spares I would take would be air/fuel/oil filters, tire, snatch strap, and rear driveline u-joints.

 

[jdham137]

That's some fantastic advice shortbus. I was already trying to figure out the fuel filtration thing. That has me more worried than just about anything else. I plan on also having a small utility trailer to carry parts, supplies etc and was thinking of building a good filtration setup on board, like a type of fuel polisher that boats use. Fill the aux tank, polish the fuel as I drive, and transfer it to the main tank when done. A larger fuel tank would be nice but they cost over a grand for just 20-30 gallon increase. Unless I can weld up one myself, I'll stick with the factory tank. I have seen aux fuel tanks that fit in the spare tire area and that seems like a feasible project for me to fab together. I'm going to delete the EGR in a couple of months. Thanks for the advice. If you think of anything else, please add it to this thread.

 

[Darwin]

I wouldn't bother with an aux. tank and "fuel polisher", it's going to be more work and hassle than it's worth. I also would skip the trailer unless you like pulling a trailer. Best bet is to keep it as stock as possible delete the emissions stuff and add a second or third fuel filter on the truck similar to what has been mentioned.

 

[shortbus4x4]

I don't know that I would pull a trailer, more of a pain than its worth. I would fit everything on the truck, if it didn't fit then I wouldn't take it. Take some Jerry cans for extra fuel capacity, I would make a secure storage place somewhere for them out of sight. Four of them would be twenty gallons which should be more than enough and not take up that much room. I would also have a clear plastic 5 gallon jug and a funnel with some type of filter system on it for remote 55 gallon drum gas stations. Pump the diesel out of the drum into the plastic jug filtering it as its pumped. Inspect fuel in jug, if it meets muster then dump it into your fuel tank, again using the funnel/filter. Fass makes a fuel filter/water separator setup that bolts to your framerail near the tank filler, of course it does hang the filters down where they are more easily damaged or diesel siphoned off.

One more thing I would add would be some skid plates, maybe one up front and one covering the trans pan. Some nice hefty slider bars would be nice for protecting rockers or using to lift truck using a hi lift. Having hi lift points on front and rear bumpers would be nice too. I wouldn't worry too much about fuel, most places you can go in a 2x4 truck have regular freight/passenger service so the fuel stations will be there.