So my job had me at a rest stop for a couple hours the other day and I came across a 6 packs of Toyota’s that came through. Couple 90s model a 89 and so on.

Since I was there I struck up a conversation with the guys and we talked old trucks and trips they were taking.

no doubt somewhere on your way you see these caravans of Toyota’s being towed and I always wondered the details of the trips.

This is what they told me.

They fly up to Vancouver. I should have asked why but this seemed to be the destination. For sure Craigslist is where they find the trucks and and then cart up to Guatemala where they go for about 5k.

They shoot for trucks of the same year and engine for the caravan. This is done so they can strip parts from one to the other to complete the journey.

What I found most impressive about this pile of trucks was the one 93 that had a perfect driver seat and headrests. I can’t find them anywhere. They would not sell them to me either.

The whole trip takes 5 days.

 

 

That's pretty gutsy. Driving to Guatemala seems like a risky venture with a caravan of trucks worth enough to make the journey worth it. I work with a lot of latino immigrants and a common story from them is how they wanted to get away from the violence and poverty. One guy was with his entire family in their car and banditos stopped them in the middle of the road. Murdered all but the one guy and left him to live so he could remember the horrors.

 

They don't often drive them to central America. Mexico has strong laws about what used cars might enter.

They drive them to Houston and Galveston, where they go onto container ships that sail to countries all over central America, not just Guatemala.

There are fairly large organizations that renovate and sell these trucks all over central and south America. Used Toyota Cartels, as it were.

I see these caravans almost daily, travelling east on I-10.

More than a few of these trucks are stolen, but an aquaintance of mine in law enforcement told me that his outfit has been instructed to stay clear of any interaction with these caravans.

They let them roll unmolested, even when safety issues are evident, because of the hassle and time lost trying to get a real VIN id off these old trucks, and verify it.
and of having to deal with the often illegal aliens who are driving them.

So,,, many stolen Toyotas are lost forever....