Vehicle Opinions Please - Attempting overland from Ohio to Patagonia

[riomas]

Hello,

First time poster here, but I have lurked for a while.

This fall I am planning to leave for an 8-12 month trip from the US to SA. Originally I was going to go by Motorcycle, but a friend who does not ride wants to come with me. So we will take a car.

I am strongly considering a 4 Runner. My question is this:

What is the general opinion of a 2004-2008 with 100-150K miles on it? Obviously every car is different, but would would you feel comfortable, generally, going 25 thousand miles ?

Thank you for your thoughts.

Mario

 

[haven]

The Panamericana is an improved highway, paved most of the way, and frequently used by large trucks. So you could drive from Ohio to Ushuaia in any vehicle you choose. But staying on the highway would be like driving from Cincinnati to Cleveland on I-71, and saying you had "seen Ohio."

So the question is, what do you want to do and see along the way?

One suggestion would be to drive south to Central America and back for one trip. (Most countries won't allow foreigners to sell their vehicles without paying a huge import tariff. You could sell the vehicle to another foreign traveler, but that's not common.). Return home, save up money for a second trip. Then ship your vehicle from a southern USA port to South America, and take off again.

Oh, the 4Runner. Sure, it would be a fine choice, as would just about any midsize SUV. Just keep some cash in reserve for repairs while on the road.

 

[tanglefoot]

The 4th-gen 4runners seem to hold together very nicely, but they are on the thirsty side (although not as thirsty as a Land Cruiser).

It depends on the routes you want to take, but would something smaller and more fuel efficient fit the bill? I imagine there would be plenty of interior space, since you're used to packing on a motorcycle. Ever since I've had a passenger car in addition to a 4wd, I find myself taking the car almost everywhere. It's so much nicer to drive and more economical to operate.

If you do want to get off the well-traveled stretches but don't need to rock-crawl, a compact CUV like a 2nd or 3rd-Gen RAV4 might be a nice platform. The third-gen RAV4 has a handy center differential lock for the more difficult stretches.

That sounds like an incredible journey--best wishes!

 

[calicamper]

Met a few people yhat have done that trip. They all said the same thing they wish they had done it sooner and in a vehicle that got better mileage. Common trend was fuel range impacting interest in exploring off the main route. The 4runner will get about the same mileage as a sequoia or F150, so not really the vehicle I would choose. Burning that much fuel I'd just get a F150 with a bed cap at least it has better hauling ability for fuel cans if needed etc.

If you staying on the main path all the way get a Subaru, honda or Toyota crossover for better range and mileage. Subarus tend to have larger fuel tanks than the small honda or toyota.

Oh and all of them said non oem parts and badly serviced stuff here in the states caused the biggest problems with the vehicle. OEM Stock vehicle that hasnt been mucked up by poorly serviced parts etc.

 

[riomas]

Thank you for the replies.

I don't plan on doing anything too adventurous, like rock crawling. I imagine the worst type of road we will see is gravel and dirt.

We have thought a lot about a Rav4, or a CRV. I have seen many people take the trip using those vehicles too. Right now we are weighing the trade offs between spending a little more on a full size 4x4, or going with a smaller platform, like the R4, or CRV. Obviously, those could be cheaper and give us a little more opportunity for repairs / upgrades.

 

[BlindingWhiteTaco]

2wd f150 with a locker and maxtrax would work fine and be inexpensive. I would take a Forester over the Rav4.

 

[haven]

Ford is well represented with factory-authorized service in Mexico, Central America and South America. They sell the F150 in almost all countries. They also sell the Explorer SUV. In USA, a used Explorer is available for about half the price of a 4Runner, given similar miles on the odometer.

Having a way to carry an extra passenger or two is a good idea. Giving someone a ride back to their village is a great way to make new friends, get invited to dinner and be given a place to stay.

 

[riomas]

Thank you again for the suggestions. We decided to go with a Honda CRV. We purchased a 2005 manual transmission with 148K miles on it. It was a one owner car, and the previous owner took really good care of it. All of the service was done at the dealer, and it appears all of the invoices for the work are present. He took it in every 20K miles for the dealer service. I think we found a real gem.

Out the door we got it for $5100, which allows us some room to play, as well as replace some parts and get it travel ready. Even if we put in $4K to it, it will be less than a comparable age and mileage 4 runner. And for our purposes I think it will perform well.

As we get closer to the departure day (August) I plan on detailing the trip on the forum. Thanks again!

 

[BOPOH]

any updates?