SWB montero as an expo

[brigand123]

i want to turn my 87 and 88 into overland expedition vehicles, i was young about 10 or 11 when me and my father and 8 of his buddys drove to costa rica and back, i want to take it quite a step further and go from here in virginia beach to the southern tip of south america and back. so my question is what in your opinions should i outfit my two vehicles with. i know the swb doesnt have the most storage which is why there are two of them...kinda thinking i can make it work if i use both of them as a pair spreading the weight out over the pair. but anyways what do you guys suggest i should prepare my vehicles as in what i should bring for such a long expedition.

[fangars]

I would be tempted to drag at least a small camping trailer, even if you do use both of them.

[brigand123]

that is a plan actually, i want to build my own small trailer for the 87 to pull, it (in my head at least) would carry two full size spares, and raise up with simple poles have the ability to lock up for safe storage and on the front carry 6 jerry cans of fuel and on the back and either side of the camper carry water

[dirtysouth]

I'll follow this thread to see what kind of good ideas the guys on here come up with. I have a 89 SWB and although I don't forsee going to SA anytime soon, I would like to set it up properly to utilize what room it does have, for family camping trips and maybe a road trip toward the end of the year.

[off-roader]

that is a plan actually, i want to build my own small trailer for the 87 to pull, it (in my head at least) would carry two full size spares, and raise up with simple poles have the ability to lock up for safe storage and on the front carry 6 jerry cans of fuel and on the back and either side of the camper carry water

You can also use 6x5.5 hub pattern so it also uses the same wheels as the montero.

A buddy and I were considering this about 10 years ago hoping we could do it in 2010. Welp, I'm still here.

It's tough to plan something like this but here's a short list of a few things we considered...
1) full set of tools including any specialized tools for Mitsu's.
2) spare rear & front axles for each rig going
3) replacement leafs (for 2.6L rigs)
4) snorkels installed.
5) crawler gears installed (xcase & r&p). Ours were v6's so these existed. Not sure if they exist for the 2.6 drivetrain.
6) either complete medic training for us or bring a medic along
7) full first aid kit including items specific to S.American pathogens/diseases
8) Spanish & if possible a Portuguese speaker.
9) Knowledge of local S. American 4x4 clubs friendly to our goal so we can call for local help if needed.
10) spare r&p gears
11) spare ECU's
12) spare Idle Controllers (v6 engines)
13) satellite phone
14) competent knowledge on how to repair our engines.

That's all I can recall of the top of my head but the list was a lot longer than that.

[brigand123]

well right now im active duty in the navy, so i wont be able to do this any time to soon but around 2015 so long as the world is still here hehe...but being in the navy means that i have had medical training and i recently took spanish back up, i really want to be able to have more than my two vehicles go so if your still interested when time starts to come around let me know, send me a private message if you want

[justinhw]

I think it's a great idea to have both rigs so you can help each other out with recovery. I would be mainly concerned with weight & weight distribution, along with organization of supplies; what you bring, where you put it, etc.

Have you considered how long you'll be between restocking stops? That may have an effect on how much you bring as well.

I'm interested in seeing how this thread grows!

[off-roader]

well right now im active duty in the navy, so i wont be able to do this any time to soon but around 2015 so long as the world is still here hehe...but being in the navy means that i have had medical training and i recently took spanish back up, i really want to be able to have more than my two vehicles go so if your still interested when time starts to come around let me know, send me a private message if you want

When I say medical training I mean something like a medic/paramedic, not the first aid I learned in the Navy.

Anchors away!

[brigand123]

very true, but my wife also happens to be a nurse