Overland Expo/ What presentation would be helpful?

[MacHof]

My wife and I are presenting at the Overland Expo, May 16 - 18, Flagstaff, AZ.

We spent 21 months (our blog is here) in a truck camper overlanding, mainly through Mexico and South America, and the title of our presentation - Overlanding: Anyone Can Do It - describes the intent of our presentation. Really, if we can do it, anyone can. (Link to class schedule is here).

We will be presenting some common sense tips on gear and routines, which will help reduce stress. Because overlanding can be stressful, and the less stress you feel, the more fun you will have.

In order to make a better presentation, my question to the forum is:
if you have ever thought about taking an extended trip through Mexico or South America, what issues are you concerned about?
We will try to incorporate your questions into our presentation.



Cheers, Henrik

[MacHof]

Steve - glad to hear that you will be at OX14, in particular given "I'm buying"... Let's make sure we connect; we had a great time in South America and are happy to share whatever we learned.
Cheers, Henrik

[sstan]

Henrik,

I am glad to hear that you will be presenting at OX14 as I've been intrigued with your adventure since first hearing about it last year. The motivation and ability to step away from the working world were an inspiration. We've been talking about a Central South America trip also, in our Outfitter. Reducing stress would be a great segue into the planning process you must have gone through. Reducing surprise must have played a part in stress reduction.

Hopefully our paths will cross at Mormon Lake - I'm buying.

Cheers, Steve

[MacHof]

Steve - thanks for your input, good stuff! Sorry you won't be at the expo, I was looking forward to meeting you over a beer, or three.

DiploStrat - thanks as well, great input. And to your point, our intent is keep the presentation focused on "lessons we have learned on how to reduce stress", rather than a trip report. Look forward to meeting you in person.

Cheers, Henrik

[DiploStrat]

A thought:

There are a lot of presentations at Overland EXPO, what is the focus of YOUR presentation? For example, is your focus "Anyone can do it" or are you giving a presentation on your trip to South America?

If the former, then you probably don't want to spend time on South America specific issues or the details of your camper, but rather refer them to other presenters.

There will be overlap, of course, but a quick scan of the list of presentations will help you avoid train wrecks.

And I look forward to meeting you because I have really enjoyed you blog! 🙂

[sabconsulting]

Hi Henrick,

Sadly Sally and I won't make it to Expo this year.

However, here are some things I can imagine people would be interested in - many of these are questions I have considered related to travel in Africa:

Places to see / places not worth the effort.

Crossing borders with the vehicle (potential issues with firearms, liquor, might officials expect bribes, how long might customs take, passport problems, limits on money).

Insurance / paperwork (what special legal things must be considered, e.g. carnet-de-passage, permits, proof of title, any mandatory local insurance / road tax requirements).

Advice regarding money changing.

Would a larger truck camper, e.g. DRW, not 4x4 be OK with the roads?

Fears about crime (unfounded?) / avoiding crime / not making yourself a target. experiences of trust-worthiness of locals.

Availability / reliability of vehicle repair facilities and parts availability for US vehicles.

Medical issues - avoiding illness (care about drinking water etc.), tropical disease precautions. Where to get help if needed. Medical insurance?

Each of the above could probably be a whole session on its own, but I suspect people would just like to hear your practical experiences, e.g. "we were worried about XXX beforehand but found we didn't need to bother..."

Making yourself understood - languages.

Customs - do people expect to haggle, do they expect tips, will you get a lot of hassle from people begging or trying to sell you stuff?

Have fun at Expo.

Cheers,

Steve.