American Family overlanding through South America

roboter

Observer
I am starting to gather information for our own south American adventure. did you find the pop up camper hindered your ability to stealth camp? or did people not really notice? we currently are deciding on a vehicle and camper configuration.

No, not at all. The biggest factor is the rig carrying your camper. A large set of testicles helps as well...

Go as light-weight as you can. I went a few km's off the beaten path just before dusk and never had a problem. I bought a used starcraft camper for 2,700 bucks off CL and it paid for itself 20 times over. It has a fridge, stove, storage, and a nice soft bed. I bush camped next to a french couple with a bed camper that had expanding sides and stood nearly 20 feet tall. They stuck out like a sore thumb and I was embarressed for them. Also, get rid of all the decals that are on most campers of today. I think they are totally useless and are made to attract majority of the herd. Make it look as much of a cargo vehicle as possible. I had a German tell me that I will run into issues with the high winds that are common in southern Argentina and Chile.... but I never encountered a problem worth noting.

Good luck!
 

roboter

Observer
Update in Europe

I just returned from a round trip from Bremen to Montevideo that lasted a week. 4.5 days of travel and 2.5 days in Montevideo. I had a smashing time in Montevideo celebrating the truck being stuffed and sealed.

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The truck will arrive in three weeks! We are stoked to have it here. Now we are prepping to embark through the Nord Cap this summer going through Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. Because we'll have better access to the internet we'll have more pictures and details covering this next leg. If all is well, we might end up in France and Spain and beyond next year to stay warm from the wet winter here in Northern Europe.
 

SChandler

Adventurer
Good to hear that your adventure is going to continue.

I have a question about shipping your truck: Did you have to unmount the camper and push it into the container separate from the truck, or were you able to leave it mounted? It looks like you shipped the truck in a Hi-Cube container, but it seems like with 37" tires, that the truck and camper would be too tall to go in the container together. Did you have to do any other prep to the truck to get it in the container?
 

roboter

Observer
Good to hear that your adventure is going to continue.

I have a question about shipping your truck: Did you have to unmount the camper and push it into the container separate from the truck, or were you able to leave it mounted? It looks like you shipped the truck in a Hi-Cube container, but it seems like with 37" tires, that the truck and camper would be too tall to go in the container together. Did you have to do any other prep to the truck to get it in the container?


It fit like a glove, except that the air con unit had to be removed and put in the camper. its been dead weight anyways. Im gonna toss it since we will in the Nord Cap this summer.

My truck is just 2 inches too long to fit in a 20' sea can, which is about 1/3 cheaper. Tire swing out makes it so. Oh, and we weigh in at 4,193 kilos wet.
 

roboter

Observer
We are slowly but surely planting out feet back down to European soil. The sight and smell of stone and steel excites me. Europe. It's rich in everything it does. And it has offered me a very rich and stable quality of life. My daughter has changed and blossomed so much since we've been back. Lotta has a network of friends in the neighborhood already and just today at three years old she said "Papa, Ich gehen to my girls". I was speechless. Man they grow up fast.
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FYI-Lotta is buckled up, she just squeezed out of the shoulder straps to get in the picture.
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Or truck is here finally after a 6 week voyage from Montevideo to Bremerhaven Germany. Was a piece of cake rolling out of the port in Germany. No ridiculous 4 copies of each document I own and paying off customs like I did in SA. Thank god I live in a civilized society. As mush as I loved driving through South America and seeing the wonderful terrain, I am happy to be home.
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We have kept the truck parked most of the time except for some runs to IKEA and the hardware store. So when we're not driving we're getting around only by bike. I average 30kms per day and I am willing to bet that I live until the ripe age of 90 if I keep it up. I feel like I'm 21 again. Plus I save hundreds in Diesel. Diesel costs about 9.00USD per gallon here after you factor in the exchange rate. So to fill up I pay around 400.00USD and I get without the camper on the back 22mpg and thats a range of about 550 miles. Funny thing is, you don't really notice the crazy prices. I'm not extremely shocked when I fill up. So I am guessing that when the US see's those prices it won't really stop people from driving. IMHO.
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We have an AuPair moving in with us in a few days, so she will be joining us throughout Europe as we trek through the Nord Cap this fall and spring. It will be nice to have a second set of hands in the house to watch after Lotta. She's an American girl who hasn't traveled much... so we are certain she will experience a lot with us this year.

More later....
 

Camel2R

New member
We are slowly but surely planting out feet back down to European soil. The sight and smell of stone and steel excites me. Europe. It's rich in everything it does. And it has offered me a very rich and stable quality of life. My daughter has changed and blossomed so much since we've been back. Lotta has a network of friends in the neighborhood already and just today at three years old she said "Papa, Ich gehen to my girls". I was speechless. Man they grow up fast.
IMG_0083.jpg


FYI-Lotta is buckled up, she just squeezed out of the shoulder straps to get in the picture.
IMG_0419.jpg


IMG_0416.jpg

IMG_0086.jpg


Or truck is here finally after a 6 week voyage from Montevideo to Bremerhaven Germany. Was a piece of cake rolling out of the port in Germany. No ridiculous 4 copies of each document I own and paying off customs like I did in SA. Thank god I live in a civilized society. As mush as I loved driving through South America and seeing the wonderful terrain, I am happy to be home.
IMG_0401.jpg

BRERAM.jpg

BRERAM2.jpg



We have kept the truck parked most of the time except for some runs to IKEA and the hardware store. So when we're not driving we're getting around only by bike. I average 30kms per day and I am willing to bet that I live until the ripe age of 90 if I keep it up. I feel like I'm 21 again. Plus I save hundreds in Diesel. Diesel costs about 9.00USD per gallon here after you factor in the exchange rate. So to fill up I pay around 400.00USD and I get without the camper on the back 22mpg and thats a range of about 550 miles. Funny thing is, you don't really notice the crazy prices. I'm not extremely shocked when I fill up. So I am guessing that when the US see's those prices it won't really stop people from driving. IMHO.
IMG_0338.jpg

IMG_0264.jpg

IMG_0290.jpg

IMG_0295.jpg

IMG_0305.jpg

IMG_0335.jpg


We have an AuPair moving in with us in a few days, so she will be joining us throughout Europe as we trek through the Nord Cap this fall and spring. It will be nice to have a second set of hands in the house to watch after Lotta. She's an American girl who hasn't traveled much... so we are certain she will experience a lot with us this year.

More later....


Hey J,

I'm happy you guys made it through SA without any major issues....and are back in Germany!! Lotta is growing up fast, seems like she's doubled in size since Malibu, CA. Katja and I will be in Germany for X-mas and New years to get our Europe fix...can't wait. I'm assuming you guys are back up North...would be nice to see you again. If you get a chance, send me a PM.

Truck still looks awesome!

Tschüß, Steve, Katja & Willie
 

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