Hindsight = 20/20...what did you wish you had left behind? What did you need?

[Ruined Adventures]

Absolutely...at times I wish I did. The only reason I wouldn't is because I'm not comfortable putting the Mrs. on two wheels yet. NEXT trip maybe

Moto-travelers definitely have an upside because they can park/ride in places that we can't...often right in front of their hostel room's door or in a small courtyard, sometimes you can even get away with parking inside the hotel room!

The flip side is that you're constantly exposed to the elements and by the end of the day you're a sweaty dirty mess. Be sure to read Jupiter's Travels to get an idea of what it's like during inclement weather and foreign places. In my humble opinion, that's full immersion while seeing the world. When you get scared, there's no way to roll up the window and keep driving thru mobs of border helpers.

As a lazy way to subscribe to this really worthy thread, here's a simple question for those currently or previously on the road:

Could you have downsized your vehicle to a motorcycle and still been happy?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Wiley]

As a lazy way to subscribe to this really worthy thread, here's a simple question for those currently or previously on the road:

Could you have downsized your vehicle to a motorcycle and still been happy?

Thanks in advance!

That was my original plan, but the elements and lack of surfboards changed my mind. Now I have decided to skip Central and do South Am in the van, try and sell it, fly back and buy a motorcycle to do Central on 2 wheels, so yes.

 

[defrag4]

how did i miss this thread?



2-Burner Camp stove w/ REFILLABLE PROPANE BOTTLE (those green canisters are impossible to find in CA/SA)
stockpile of CIPRO
Digital Voltmeter (Always tracking down random issues with this thing)
GOOD Cooking Knives
Jumper cables/Battery boost box
Giant external harddrive full of movies/TV shows (you aint gonna be partying with the locals every night!)
Thermal Underwears/Down jackets
Exofficio style shirts
ENDLESS BREEZE 12V fan
gallon of 100% DEET bug spray
legit sleeping bags (20F or better)
JB WELD
Exterior Lighting/Good portable lighting
ZIPTIES

Things I wish I brought-

20L or so more of good water storage (currently only have 20L of good storage, the rest is in bottles strewn about the truck and my lady drinks like a camel)
AWNING - sucks when it rains and you have to hole up in the truck

 

[1leglance]

I have said it before and I will say it again....this is one of the best threads on Expo.
Real time, real life feedback from people who are actually doing what we all wish we could....beats a driveway build anyday.

Thanks to all of you who have given us your thoughts and please update this thread as time goes on.

Interesting comment on the water storage, and I have a question.
Who you prefer a built in tank or removeable storage?
If want a tank how would you fill it as you travel?
If you prefer water cans/portable storage do you stow it all together or in various areas?

On the awning....better to have bug netting or solid walls to put up or ok without anything like that?

 

[Wiley]

I have said it before and I will say it again....this is one of the best threads on Expo.
Real time, real life feedback from people who are actually doing what we all wish we could....beats a driveway build anyday.

Thanks to all of you who have given us your thoughts and please update this thread as time goes on.

Interesting comment on the water storage, and I have a question.
Who you prefer a built in tank or removeable storage?
If want a tank how would you fill it as you travel?
If you prefer water cans/portable storage do you stow it all together or in various areas?

On the awning....better to have bug netting or solid walls to put up or ok without anything like that?

The netting is a huge plus, no one wants to deal with bugs when their out, that said both netting or walls are goinf to take up additional space in your vehicle. The arb netting when packed up isn't huge, but it's not small either. probably the size of an average 4 person tent

I drink water 95% of the time I have 3 20L containers for water, way more than I need but I had them so brought them. They are stored together but really it's just due to my layout, you only need daily access to one you can bury the others. The only downside I see of a tank (never having used one) would be the difficulty cleaning it if needed.

You can fill tanks or containers at water stations when availAble, though I don't see many. I find for mex and central I usually get the big jugs from Walmart, you can usually return those so your not going through so much plastic, which is a huge problem here and throughout the world, but I feel there must be an easier way and would love to know how people in south am are doing it

I second stocking up on movies. My roommate offered up a bunch before I left but I said no, I want to be out seeing things not watching movies. Well we all need a little downtime now and then, needless to say I stocked up when I went home for a week. When I got sick I watched all 3 of the Indiana jones movies In a row happy to have them at that time. (no a 4th does not exist, you are wrong).

 

[Ruined Adventures]

Who of you prefer a built in tank or removeable storage?
If want a tank how would you fill it as you travel?
If you prefer water cans/portable storage do you stow it all together or in various areas?

On the awning....better to have bug netting or solid walls to put up or ok without anything like that?

I prefer a removable water tank. We use the Scepter 20L military water can.


Refill it using the 20 liter water cooler jugs. You can find these at almost every corner store down south.



On the rare occasions that we need more than 5 gallons, we can always buy an extra jug of water and return it for the deposit price, which is usually less than a dollar. The only downside to the 5 gallon water cooler jugs is they are difficult to secure inside the vehicle. In El Salvador you can find them in smaller 2.5 gallon versions, which are nice because they have handles built in that makes it easy to strap them down.

Like Wiley says, it avoids wasting plastic. The huge opening on the Scepter cans make it easy to clean out if it starts to get funky. The multiple spouts of different sizes are great for pouring different volumes. We added a push-button spigot on the bottom for easy pouring without undoing the ratchet strap that keeps it secured inside the vehicle.

If you bring more than one, I suggest placing them on opposite sides of the vehicle to balance the weight. You could bring two of the 2.5 gallon Scepter cans to distribute weight and not have more water than you'd typically need. Luckily my wife weighs about 75 lbs less than me so we're fine with all 5 gallons behind her seat.

A tank for drinking/cooking water doesn't seem very feasible down here. In most of Mexico you can find stores with filling stations for purified water so I suppose you could run a long hose to your tank, but these stores are very rare in Central America. The locals get their purified water in the above 5 gallon reusable jugs, so you're better off planning on using these to refill your water supply. Most places in Costa Rica it's safe to drink from the tap, so you would be fine here with whatever you do. I never really liked the idea of permanent tanks because they're slightly more complicated and if you spring a leak than your one water source is compromised. With two water cans, at least you can minimize the loss.

Not sure about the awning walls, but I would be willing to bet money that you would rarely use the solid walls in muggy Central America. I could see it being nice on a heavy downpour, but there'd be no airflow. The mosquito netting makes perfect sense...jeez, I really wish I bought an awning before I left the states. They're about double the price down here.

 

[defrag4]

I agree with Brenton, it would be very nice to have more available water storage but thats alot of extra weight, risk of leakage, and refilling it would be a pain as it is rare to find a hose-tap for drinkable water anywhere. Your still stuck buying 5-gals at a time.

Brads van from drivenachodrive.com has a nice water system with built-in filtration, but hes still filling it 5-gal at a time usually.

 

[motoz]

I've just replaced one of our water cans with a lifesaver unit. It has the ability to filter up to 20,000lt during its lifetime.

One product that has two purposes.

http://www.lifesaversystems.com/lifesaver-products/lifesaver-jerrycan

 

[1leglance]

Funny I have that same Scepter tan can and keep thinking of a more complicated solution....duh..keep it simple sounds like the best plan.
I would like to add an RV sink type pump faucet to the Scepter so I can leave it in place and get the water out easily.

Keep posting to this thread for the sake of the rest of us

 

[motoz]

Funny I have that same Scepter tan can and keep thinking of a more complicated solution....duh..keep it simple sounds like the best plan.
I would like to add an RV sink type pump faucet to the Scepter so I can leave it in place and get the water out easily.

Keep posting to this thread for the sake of the rest of us

I have this type setup. Simple and effective.

 

[Bip Bip]

I just unloaded the folding bicycle and the surfboard. Turns out they didn't get enough use. BTW for those looking to SELL stuff, it seems that Mancora Peru is just a buy-sell market....

For WATER we use the 5gal water fountain refill. Find it useful and we have never had water shortages. It is always easy to find water to buy along the way. We also have a 9 liter solar shower that doubles as shower AND dishes reservoir and we only fill at spigots along the way as we are not concerned about water quality here. We do, however, have a hand pump to get water OUT of the water fountain bottle and THAT makes all the difference.


We picked up the small one on the left at a hardware store for $1,50 while the larger one is available in Chedraui stores in Mx.

I have an ARB awning with the mosquito tent. We have used it many times and believe it is in the 'obligatory' column. I had always been content with the mosquito walls...but now we are in Peru and climbing elevations I am starting to wonder about the value of having solid walls for some wind/cold protection. I just visited with another overlander who has solid walls with zip-out floor and zip-out windows and they had the place set up like Aladin's tent with some indoor living. Looked like a good set up. Their tent folded to a size equivalent to our bulky mosquito tent....

 

[southpier]

Q: how much wind will the awning take? and the sides cover 3, or the vehicle side, too?

thanks

 

[Ruined Adventures]

I have an ARB awning with the mosquito tent. We have used it many times and believe it is in the 'obligatory' column. I had always been content with the mosquito walls...but now we are in Peru and climbing elevations I am starting to wonder about the value of having solid walls for some wind/cold protection. I just visited with another overlander who has solid walls with zip-out floor and zip-out windows and they had the place set up like Aladin's tent with some indoor living. Looked like a good set up. Their tent folded to a size equivalent to our bulky mosquito tent....

That is refreshing to hear...we are about to track down an ARB awning in Panama City and we were originally on the fence about the investment. Not sure if we can find the solid walls, but since we're ready to ship south in the next couple weeks, that sounds like a great way for us to add comfortable living space with minimal weight.

 

[Sara Ant]

I love this thread! Thanks to everyone for sharing this info!!
After 10 months of purchasing gear, with 4 months still til departure and us already reconsidering some of our purchases, I've decided to just stop!
In order to make it to the Expo in May we'll be traveling from RI to AZ and then to FL to get the truck registered and THEN we'll "start"... maybe go straight up to Niagara from there, who knows!?
But I think with all the time we'll be traveling thru the States, it's best to stop right now and gear up as we go.
Thanks again everyone!

 

[bftank]

great thread, glad i found it. definitely subscribed!