Robert wrote:
Tony what would you suggest to do the trip? Not an OKA. Agree about the top heavy aspect. A US HD Pickup would have poor entry and departure angles and modern diesels cannot handle unrefined diesel
Obviously there are truck campers and then there are truck campers. My remarks are towards big truck campers and don't apply to smaller units on lighter trucks. But of course then you have to accept less luxurious facilities so they may not be ideal either.
Actually the OKA does have a couple of major advantages over the F350+Bigfoot - which it should because I designed and built it to take to South America. First, which doesn't sound like much of an advantage, is it is only 7'wide rather than a little over 8'. Saves having to drive with one side up on the footpath in all those little streets south of the border and you stand a better chance of being able to get past the vehicles you meet on narrow mountain tracks. Single tyres of course which any truck with a lighter camper will have as well. The motor in the OKA will happily run on anything you can find in the cooking oil shelf of any little shop or supermarket. Sounds stupid stating that as an advantage, but the previous owner of the Iveco we had last year got stranded by local strikes and blockades preventing fuel deliveries, and was able to 'escape' by buying 20 litres of cooking oil and driving out on that. Not possible with commonrail engines and we have been in large towns where every fuel station was out of fuel. A large fuel tank is a distinct advantage.
People have already mentioned the all-consuming search for propane, especially if the generator is propane and I can vouch for that. Finding a gas factory to fill non-standard foreign bottles is a real pain, especially in Brazil which has a unique system so I have ended up with local bottles from three countries (non of which fit in the propane locker) that I swap and then direct fill the US bottles via a custom hose and fittings. So the OKA is all diesel. Diesel HWS, diesel heating and diesel cooking as well. No generator, but plenty of solar. (the propane generator in the BigFoot won't start at elevations higher than 3500 metres so I guess propane dependence is a bit moot. Other minor points which are not deal breakers are a cassette toilet rather than a large black tank, simply because it is a lot easier to dispose of 20 litres every two or three days than 200 litres via a slinky, especially when even primitive dump points are very few and very far between. The OKA has one electrical cable that needs to be energised to get it started and I can fix just about all parts of that circuit on the side of the road. Key switch, solenoid and starter motor (and maybe the fuel cutoff valve) KISS
The OKA also has all essential plumbing and water and fuel tanks inside the heated living quarters so is relatively freezeproof.
The OKA has no mains connection so the varying voltages and frequencies and quality of the mains supply isn't a problem.
Ideal vehicles - for meandering around a country for months on the back roads (which is the preferred option for most non-American travellers) as well as blasting straight through?
Hmmmm. A quick look at photos of rigs driving around will show that there is no such thing and often choice will be on the basis of what is available rather than what is desired - but what is clear is that despite US and Canadian truck campers being as cheap as chips north of the border, they are massively under-represented in any line up anywhere in South America. Obvious reason for that may be that North American travellers aren't all that thick on the ground down south either and truck campers aren't widely known in other countries so the travellers don't buy them either even when they start their journey in N America.
The Europeans turn out some very well appointed 4WD van conversions that are fitted with bathrooms, modern kitchen, big beds and dining area seating. The wheels are right at the four corners for good stability and good departure and approach angles and they are under the 7' in width that makes driving less of a chore in many situations. Less height - than large campers- makes driving under low hanging power lines a lot less stressful and you can get into most campgrounds and shopping centres that have the typical arches and height barriers that keep me out.
For our sort of RVing lifestyle - which covers everything from overnighting in Home Depot parking lots (they have 24/7 fast wifi which Walmart doesn't) to 6 months on the desert to high mountain passes, the OKA would be our most suitable vehicle. Problems associated with shipping vehicles between countries mean that it sits where it is most useful to us and we make do with less ideal vehicles elsewhere - which of course may mean that they are more ideal in those countries than the OKA would be. Horses for courses.
So yes, the bigfoot is a comfortable way to camp and of course on the right roads, the F350 is a (relative) pleasure to drive and as stated, does suit those whose mode of exploring a foreign country is to blast straight down the best highways they can find.
The same criteria apply in Europe. There are US class As driving around, but in those you are very effectively locked out of all the towns and cities and camping places that, like in Mexico and further south, are part of the reason for being there in the first place. 65mph on a four lane tollway isn't a good way to see a country.
