Hello all,

My name is jeff, and 4 associates and I are putting together an expedition from the top of Alaska to the southernmost tip of Argentina. 2 guys will be riding bicycles, I will be filming a tv show, 2 others will be conducting research, and together we will be filming 3 documentaries along the way about the needs of humanity and the environment in Latin and South America. I'm here because we need the perfect expedition vehicle.

We need ample space for 3-4 people, film equipment, expedition gear, bikes, batteries, and 2 irish wolfhounds. As many of you know, the roads through South America will require rugged 4x4 capabilities. We are looking to be as environmentally friendly as possible, so we would like to use solar for our electrical needs. In addition, with the threat of armed radicals, theives, and corrupt policia, the vehicle needs to be armored.

Any advice and assistance is most appreciated. Thank you.

 

Do your bicycles need to be armored too?
I am wondering if this exped is legitimate or some kind of joke. Is it??

 

Take a look at the 80's series Land Cruiser

 

Chinook Helicopters would work well in this situation.

 

With that many people and dogs you need a LAV25 (8WD), a Stryker or Unimog or my favorite is a Pinzgauer 712


Most of your armored vehicles are going to defeat the environmentally friendly goal of your mission. Takes a lot of fuel to more anything that is BP.

I am kind of with Apple Jack on this one....post up an invite and no location given??
post this up on http://expeditionportal.com/ you will find a lot more knowledge there but it sounds like you guys need to do another 12-18 months of planning

 

H1 Humvee Anyone??

 

http://www.autoblog.com/photos/unica...4x4-rv/629546/
This is also pretty functional! But probably not Armored, not the base model anyway.

 

"Armored" is a misleading term really. There are ways to make any vehicle "resistant" but real armor is going to weigh upwards of 7-10K lbs. and would be virtually impossible to be considered environmentally friendly. More practical would be a Unimog with and expedition box. They can be had for about 300K$ and can be totally self contained/sufficient needing only diesel fuel and water. Even this would be tight for 4 persons a dog and gear.

Hope you have a big budget.

 

Maybe an armored Prius of some sort...

 

For those wondering if this is legit or not, yes it is.
Here is their website.
http://panamericanexpedition.com/Welcome.html

 

For those who want it all.....

The ability to ford 65 inches of water, the ability to shoot 2000 rounds per minute....and to do it all while getting 50 MPG:

 

That's great! Where do you get one?

 

Ah yes, the armored prius, one I've been considering for a while. I like it.

Well, we've been considering many different vehicles, and I like the unimog idea for many reasons. Namely, one vehicle, powerful, large enough to carry a lot of equipment, and I hear they're pretty reliable. Earlier we were considering a large truck (Sorry to bring up the F-word, but we were thinking about an F-350) but even with a large shell on the back with storage compartments, we don't think there would be enough room for all the equipment we're taking.

I've heard there are many old busses down there, so possibly a short 14 passenger bus with the seats taken out. Parts availability is good, and it would be a lot less conspicuous than a big unimog. It's no mog, but would a bus (beefed up a little of course) be burly enough to handle some dirt roads down there? It's also a lot cheaper than a mog.

Or would you recommend going with multiple land cruisers instead? We are planning on camping most of the way, and at least if we had the bus, we could have a place to go if it were too sketchy to sleep by the road.

thanks you guys.

 

also Grant 526, thanks for the recommendation. I did check out unicat, and for a crew cab amerigo international setup with a basic rear compartment mainly for storage, it was about $700,000. Our goal with this whole mission is to raise awareness and build schools and orphanages, and 700,000 is more than I could justify, much less find sponsors to justify it as well.

 

Ok, we're thinking pretty affirmatively of a compromise between all of the above. We're thinking of going with 2 vehicles for safety: 2 toyota 08 tundras, crew cab, short bed(because you can't get a longer bed with the crew cab), camper shell, and just fixing them up a little to work, ie, roof rack, bumpers, lifts, winches, aquatic setup for the rainy season, and wheels. What do you guys think?

 

I think multiple Land Cruisers. They've been tested many many many times over for what you are going to do. And they were built to do pretty much that.

 

Yeah, with the two cruisers you could get diesel's. Then you could switch back between burning diesel or veggie oil. Tundras are good trucks, but I'd take the cruiser on an expedition. You can take my Camry. LOL

 

This truck has already been set up and has basically done the trip you're doing. I saw it on Craigslist for sale, sorry no link, but you might be able to get info with a search...

http://www.lancecamper.com/livingthe...radchrist.html

 

I would seriously look at a nice Toyota rig setup to pull a small military type trailer with a roof top tent on it or the vehicle.

We have a couple of members here who drove to the Arctic Circle in their Toyotas pulling the small trailers.



https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f15/...n-07-a-106635/

Members BajaTaco and Expeditions West both run a very popular magazine called Overland Journal.

You could do a write-up for them too to be put in the magazine.
The magazine is not just Toyota related either.
http://www.overlandjournal.com/

 

BAH!!!! You're really giving her the "shotgun" approach with this thread aren't ya? You posted it twice on the Expo.

Has it occured to you that any and every south/central american government might take issue with you roaming around in an armored vehicle? Or are you refering more to the "executive" armoring that some companies do to trucks for politicians and diplomats etc?

I think your best bet would be to try and look as local as possible. An old clapped out truck that looks like it came off the farm would be good.

Cheers

Dave