Simple and smaller might be better. Things like multiple slides could mean a breakdown in a isolated place. How handy are you with doing repairs?
OK, we will look into either a non-slide or 1 slide max. I'm a mechanical engineer by trade, but I will bring plenty of spare parts / tires for preventive maintenance. Every time we're in a big city, we'll do RV check-ups with a local shop.
danoren wrote: Hi,
What do you mean "around the world",Europe,S.America,North America,Australia,New Zealand???
In any case I love your idea.
We are planning on hitting the following places:
Alaska
Canada
U.S.
Mexico (only if violence goes down)
Central America
South America (minus Colombia & Venezuela)
Europe
Asia
Basically, we want to avoid Africa, Middle East, and minimize shipping the RV as much as possible.
We'll also travel on main highways as much as possible, basically the same route most tour buses take. Once we get to a crowded city, we'll probably leave the RV outside the city and use public transportation.
Gunship Guy wrote: Have you ever been outside the US and experienced travel in less-developed countries? It's eye-opening. Forget about readily-available repair shops and convenient gas stations. What about illnesses with 2 toddlers. Will their digestive systems be able to handle odd foods you obtain on the road.
Our tour bus was attacked by an anti-American mob while we were in Egypt. We had armed guards with us but that didn't stop the haters. A lone American family traveling abroad for an extended period might be an easy target. Not saying it can't be done successfully, but are you ready for the worst case scenario?
There are so many things to consider when planning a trip like this.
I personally have traveled to about 70 countries, and my wife about 40, all backpacking. But with our toddlers, this will be the most challenging trip yet. That's why we'll get every vaccination before we go and take plenty of medicine with us. We also plan on living on lots canned food, fully stocked every time we stop in any decent size city.
Another thing I plan on doing to the RV is to install a whole-house reverse osmosis water-filtration system, so the kids don't get sick from even taking a shower.
Regarding safety, I hate to bring a handgun as a last resort. Have you seen many RV's carrying a gun in their RV as a security measure?
I've already let our friends & family that we will twitter of our whereabouts whenever possible, and plan on using a "SPOT" GPS unit so our family can track us real-time in case we are out of communication. Hopefully we can avoid most of the troubles ahead...
Simple things like tires can become an issue... As far as engines, the most common that I can see are the Mitsubishi 4cyl turbo diesels.
Second, is definately size. I know there is one company that sets up a tour of the America's and they do have definate size requirements, due to ferries, road conditions, etc... Must be under 30', or smaller. They also recommend transporting a certain number of spare parts depending upon your make/model.
Third is the power sources. Most convert over to all diesel power for appliances, stoves, furnace, generators... In other words no propane.
This does not mean it is not possible, and honestly I admire your plan and I am jealous (although, personally I would wait until they are older so they can appreciate it more, as well as be more independent). I think the first step is stop thinking so "American", and start thinking more worldly. If you have a plan, start researching each country. In many South American countries you may not find nice rv parks, with full hookups, good water, paved roads, propane exchange centers, grocery stores, doctors, hospitals, radial tires, playgrounds, etc...
good luck and have fun
fred
Thank you for your insight, Fred. I've looked into buying an Italian RV called Rimor Catamarano for the exact same reasons, but my wife would like more living room space, so most likely we will go with either Ford V10 or GM 8.1L V8 powertrain, either of which seem like a reliable (if not fuel efficient) engine choice as long as plenty of regular preventive maintenance is performed.
Based on your recommendation, we might go with either a non-slide Class A (30-31 footer) or a long Class C (28-29 footer).
On the power source, I'm sure it won't be enough, but I do plan on covering most of the roof panel with 300kWh solar panels so supplement the power usage so at least the fridge can be on 24/7.
My parents told us the same thing about waiting until our kids can remember the trip, but we figured we wanted to just "stimulate" the kids by showing them all the things they will see on TV when they grow up. More of a fun educational trip rather than something they will remember.
Gunship Guy wrote: Have you ever been outside the US and experienced travel in less-developed countries? It's eye-opening. Forget about readily-available repair shops and convenient gas stations. What about illnesses with 2 toddlers. Will their digestive systems be able to handle odd foods you obtain on the road.
Our tour bus was attacked by an anti-American mob while we were in Egypt. We had armed guards with us but that didn't stop the haters. A lone American family traveling abroad for an extended period might be an easy target. Not saying it can't be done successfully, but are you ready for the worst case scenario?
There are so many things to consider when planning a trip like this.
I personally have traveled to about 70 countries, and my wife about 40, all backpacking. But with our toddlers, this will be the most challenging trip yet. That's why we'll get every vaccination before we go and take plenty of medicine with us. We also plan on living on lots canned food, fully stocked every time we stop in any decent size city.
Another thing I plan on doing to the RV is to install a whole-house reverse osmosis water-filtration system, so the kids don't get sick from even taking a shower.
Regarding safety, I hate to bring a handgun as a last resort. Have you seen many RV's carrying a gun in their RV as a security measure?
I've already let our friends & family that we will twitter of our whereabouts whenever possible, and plan on using a "SPOT" GPS unit so our family can track us real-time in case we are out of communication. Hopefully we can avoid most of the troubles ahead...
Your previous travels give you a lot of valuable experience. Glad to hear you're not going into this blind and have a knowledge base from which to work.
Many rv'ers carry guns in the US. Check country-specific laws should you do that overseas.
I've seen more of the world than my own country. As much as I've enjoyed the experiences I still feel like there's no other place I'd rather be than right here in the US.
Good luck if you press ahead with this trip. It would be interesting to follow your journey if you create a blog.
Check out GlobalXVehicles & Unicat... While these vehicles are all extremely pricy (500K and up), look at how they are equipped, check the spec's. These vehicles are designed for world expeditions. Lot's of information here and some of it pretty fascinating.
One other thought... At 2yrs old, Barney is stimulating, the Louvre is just a big building that they get to sleep through :-)
I have been looking, but a while back I came across a blog/site about a guy who built his own world traveling RV. Started with a Mitsubishi cab & chassis 4 door, then added a big truck camper, which he modified for world touring (diesel appliances, etc...), plus built special secure storage compartments. Overall it was a pretty cool project.
As with the other requests - Be sure to keep us posted on your progress.
fred
05' Layton Lite 170LT Cascade edition
06' Chevy Silverado K1500
We-No-Nah Rendevous, a Ljutic, a Remington, a Hard Rock Pro, a Polaris 450 & Raleigh the Hunter
You might want to transfer your inquiries to the Expedition Portal forums. that forum is totally populated by people with interests in bad road RVs and travelling to out-of-the-way places.
There are very few US legal vehicles that are serviceable worldwide. You might also check out Stephen Stewart's treatise on "which van?" on the Silkroute Motorcaravan Club site. He goes into the many vehicle-based decisions that must be made in order to have a good experience travelling overland.
He feels that a Mercedes based diesel vehicle is the best chassis choice. 4wd is nice but not absolutely necessary. The only current US choice fitting these criteria is a diesel Sprinter (only 2wd in the US). Definitely too small for your family.
I ended up with a 2005 Unimog U500 with a Unicat camper, which meets all the criteria.
If you are willing to have a non US registerable vehicle your choices widen immensely. For example, a Mercedes 1828 4WD Atego with single rear tires and a quality European built expedition camper body would be an excellent choice, depending on budget.
Again, I strongly recommend visiting the Expedition Portal site and reading Stephen's article on the Silkroute Motorcaravan site. And I'll personal message you right now.
Charlie
* This post was
edited 06/24/09 03:09pm by m37charlie *
tonyandkaren gave us the bumfuzzle.com site to look at. I've read it for the last few years. These folks are a couple with no kids and travel in a 1958 VW van! I don't think this is a good source, although they do tell you about the difficulties of traveling in South America.
Traveling in Mexico is pretty easy, but Central America and South America are tough. I wouldn't take toddlers into that world. If so, be as small as you think you can live in and have a vehicle that can be worked on in virtually anyplace!
drtee
Wm. W. Thompson, PhD
Professor of Marketing
UT-Pan American
Edinburg, TX
You have a ton of research to do! For one thing, the "violence" in Mexico is pretty much restricted to the border areas among people engaged in the drug trade. Get a hundred KM's below the border and be in bed by midnight and you will see no "violence".
As far as handguns, they are not permitted in some of the countries you mentioned (Canada & Mexico for instance).
Once you get south of Mexico you will find no RV parks or sewage dumps. You will have to "make do".
We met a couple who traveled in a Unimogfor five years in South America. They had a rollover when a road collapsed under them and many other problems even in this tough vehicle. Do a lot more research.
Forget about the Class A if you are serious about anything other than Canada, the US and maybe Mexico. If you insist on a Class A then stick to something smaller with NO slides. You have no idea what you are getting into if you seriously think you can drive a plastic bulgemobile through some of the places you listed. Maybe a 4WD with a truck camper would work but I don't think you really have a clue about what you are proposing to do.
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