Photo/Location Thread - Countries traveled with my camper

BE wrote:
Hi All
My wife and I traveled on the Trek of the Americas caravan trip in 2013.
I would rate it a 1 out of 5.
Extremely poorly run and way overpriced.
The tour guide is not reliable.
Please, please, please ask for RECENT references if you decide to look into this caravan trip.
We were promised the tip of Argentina but never made it past Panama.
...best regards, brad

Not surprised as the guy pops up here often to silently post his services on RV.net even though he knows soliciting is not allowed. He made it farther than he normally does.

If I am not mistaken, the Darien Gap is still not passable Clicky. So the OP either misspoke or was unaware that the Pan American Highway is still not 100% complete, even when considered the portion the OP reported.

b

Hi All
My wife and I traveled on the Trek of the Americas caravan trip in 2013.
I would rate it a 1 out of 5.
Extremely poorly run and way overpriced.
The tour guide is not reliable.
Please, please, please ask for RECENT references if you decide to look into this caravan trip.
We were promised the tip of Argentina but never made it past Panama.
...best regards, brad

Just a quick note: the Pan American Highway is 100% paved, except a short 50 or so kilometers in the Chile/Argentina area and that is being paved, with 1/2 the roadway paved in cement and the other gravel ( you ride on the cement til another car or truck comes, and if it's bigger than you, you move over to the right and let him pass.....lol Sort of the law of the jungle....

On the other hand, there are places where I do want to go where 4WD is absolutely essential. Don't absolutely NEED to go there but do WANT to.

Glad you agree Southamericatraveler.
Our last truck was 4 wheel drive and all it got me was a $750 tow bill.
Wow you can sure get a 4 by 4 stuck good. Or bad.
Thats a big reason we bought a 2 wheel drive this time.

I agree with the 2w drive ---- for many years had a 4x4, and the only time I used it was to get somone else out! Also a couple of times that I would not have gone OFF the road, if I didnt have the 4x4... Common sense and posi-traction will get you almost everywhere!!!!!!! lol

Thanks Tony.
The world is huge and my time is short but I can dream.

Met a German riding his bicycle down Baja and thought he was special.
Riding a tandem to Ushuaia is mind blowing.

Envy you!
We have trips planed for the next year anyway. So South America and the Highway will have to wait some.

Thanks again for your reply.

No sticker map, but my photos for Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia and Peru Which were in the F350 + Bigfoot are at

THIS ALBUM

and

HERE


other photos for travels in other RVs are as per link in signature.

These rigs are driving around South America and some have done from top of Alaska to bottom of S America. As you can see, some are definitely 2WD



Lots of 1WD as well and plenty of pedal powered as well.

these two are heading for Ushuaia



One of the most annoying aspects of driving in South America is spending hours grinding up a track that goes to an altitude of 5000 metres, stopping to enjoy the view and having a small sedan with a family of 6 plus luggage piled high on the roof-rack whizz past as if it is a flat interstate.

Or negotiating roads like this with the outside dually hanging in mid air at times



and pull off for coffee and have this roar past



closely followed by a semi.

Bit ego-deflating.

So to answer your question

Can my new 2 wheel drive rig do the paved parts of the Pan American?

apart from perhaps half a mile of no great importance, there is nowhere I have been (other than desert roads in central australia) that your high clearance 2WD couldn't go

Been on 100km of the PanAmericana in Peru today (which is totally boring and we are heading back into the Andes tomorrow) and apart from the quality of the drivers - as in extremely good judges of possibility of getting away with outlandish overtaking manoeuvrings, but totally crazy - the quality of the road surface was way, WAY better than too many US interstates. Smooth as glass.

Why anyone would want to blast straight down the main highways when you can detour off and enjoy these sort of roads is beyond me. Of course the dirt roads in-between these nice roads do slow you down a bit, but even the worst of the mountain tracks have dozens of TWO-wheel drive trucks, buses, cars and putputs roaring back and forth all day and a fair bit of the night.








Please note, maximum photo width=800, with a width of 640 preferred. I changed the width of the photos I could, but had to delete those I could not edit the width. You may repost the oversize photos with the acceptable width.

Wayne
Moderator

Here's my sticker map.




With this rig a Lance 915 and a troublesome Chevy.



Now my question: Can my new 2 wheel drive rig do the paved parts of the Pan American?
New rig.


Southamericatraveler your experience makes your opinion valuable.
Thanks.

Filled Up that "Sticker Map" - no more room on the side of the RV!!! lol Traveled over 1,000,000 kms from Canada to Argentina!

CANADA, USA, MEXICO, BELIZE, GUATEMALA, EL SALVADOR, HONDURAS, NICARAGUA, COSTA RICA, PANAMA, COLUMBIA, EQUADOR, PERU, CHILE, ARGENTINA, URUGUAY, PARAGUAY, BRAZIL, VENEZUELA,

Trips over the last 30 years, and never had a bad experience or major mechanical failure enroute.

Traveling with Ford 7.3 diesel pickup and LANCE 9.5 CAMPER, which is Lance's most traveled camper built. Also traveled the Amazon River over 1400 kms.