ron.dittmer wrote:
Being in Central American countries from Mexico to Panama via cruise ship shore excursions and similar, I would think twice about driving from the USA to Panama. I would be concerned for our safety. Americans in a motor home with USA plates, will stick out like a ripe piece of fruit on the vine. There is a steady stream of illegal migrants walking north on major roads. Most people are good, but there are some really bad apples too. People in hard times can get desperate.
It's not much different as buying a brand new Corvette convertible, put the top down, have $100 bills sticking out from my hat, crank up the stereo, and drive through the worst of neighborhoods in Chicago in the summertime. It's the perfect way to commit suicide without voiding my life insurance.
Also, like others here mentioned, repairs will surface often, resources for replacement parts will be few, and reputable service centers less yet. Pending the type of repair and location, you could find yourself stranded for months.
As much as I would love to RV all the way to the southern tip of South America, I will never take our motor home south of the border.
Call me paranoid.
I agree somewhat with Ron above - in that "If you're not paranoid, then you're not paying attention."
That being said, I have read some articles on how over-landers travel in 2nd/3rd-world countries and remote places all over the world. They are usually doing it with no children, or with one or two children at most. They usually have a small rig that is popular and somewhat common - or manufactured in - the part of the world where they plan on traveling ... for both ease of parts availability and knowledge by the locals on how to get parts quickly and repair the chassis using those parts. Usually their rigs are diesel - as that appears to be the most common fuel used for vehicles in other than the U.S.. I get the impression that "gasoline" is more of a U.S. type of fuel.
BTW ... have you considered, instead, a long tour of the U.S. with your family in a U.S. built Class C motorhome? We have toured the U.S. on both a 9000 mile trip and a 10,000 mile trip. We concentrated on the back roads and out-of-the-way obscure places and things to see. We camped in our Class C in campgrounds of all types and also boondocked in remote places on these trips.
There is a lot to see in the U.S. if you get off the beaten path, for example:
- How about drycamping in a field next to, and enjoying the music of a Blue Grass festival in the Eastern U.S. hill country?
- How about drycamping at a farm way out in the countryside?
- How about drycamping in the boondocks along the Salmon river in Idaho?
- How about stopping to see dinosaur prints out in the middle of nowhere and being the only people there?
- How about canoeing in the morning on a pristine and sparkling lake in Maine to photograph moose grazing along the shore?
- How about boondock camping way out there in Death Valley and eating popcorn around the evening fire?
- How about shopping for handmade goods on family farms in the Amish countryside?
- How about drycamping on an island in the Great Salt Lake and watching the buffalo graze?
- How about shopping, eating, and overnight camping your way along the world's longest garage sale (100+ plus miles long)?
- How about standing on the shore and looking out at the water where Blackbeard's ship sank just off shore?
- How about visiting with biologists as they release Condors into the wild and then camping out there in the boondocks?
Don't sell the good old U.S. short. In my opinion - do it first before you visit other countries.
