I need a little (???) help/advice. I am planning a trip with my son from Miami to Anchorage and then south all the way to Santiago, Chile and from there to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It will last about 4 to 5 months and around 20 to 25 thousand miles.

The car:
My intention is to get a 2008/2009 F-250/350 and a pop up camper that goes "inside" the bed, like this one [northstarcampers.com/TS1000-01.asp]. It wheights about 2,000 pounds. Is the double rear wheels a must or SRW will do fine? I need to considerer that the truck will go through dirt roads and most probably some muddy ones on the way. I think DRW may will improve breaking distance and better distribute the weight and thus diminishing my chances to get stucked on mud, am I correct?
The bad point on DRW that I'm considering is that the truck will be a lot wider, not a big issue in most of the US but may be on narrow dirt roads in Central and South America, not to mention a pain to find parking spots.

The motor:
I believed I would be much better serve with a <nobr style="color: darkblue; font-weight: bold; font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" id="itxt_nobr_6_0">diesel</nobr> engine as it used to be simplier and more reliable then gasoline. But now with all technology, electronics, sensors, limiters, catalyst etc. That is so much more to brake that I wonder is diesel nowadays are really that much realiable, opinions?

The fuel:
Also diesel engines used to digest "bad" fuel better then gasoline but now we have ULSD (Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel) and there is even a warning to use only this kind in the F-350. Well, ULSD have from 50 to 15 ppm of sulfur while Brazil's diesel has 2,000 ppm in rural areas and 500 ppm in metropolitan areas. I'm affraid that some sensor may even shut down the motor by detecting this "bad" fuel.
And what about the diesel-exhaust fluid (DEF)? Will the car stop if the resevoir finish? Will it work without it or some sensor will also block the emgine?

The transmission:
I would go for manual transmission, also think is more reliable, cheaper (and easier) to repair and find parts on the move. But damn it is hard to find a 08/09 low mileage diesel 4x4 crew cab manual!!! Would anyone here risk a trip like this on an automatic transmission?

Any other issues I should consider?

If anyone cares to see, here are the routes of some of the trips I made: Car trips

Thank you all

___________
Renato
1976 Ford Willlys
1977 VW (that I transformed into a 7 seat tubular buggy in 2005)
1994 Nissan Pathfinder
1998 Suziki Vitara
1999 Suzuki Samurai
2002 Mitsubishi L200
2007 Mitsubishi L200 Savana
(and some bikes and street cars...)

 

Well..

The DRW and SRW issue is something you will likely have to decide on with what you want most. Its going to have its trade ups and downs as to which you go with. When it comes to mud, no DRW does not do any better then the SRW (tested, retested, various conditions, at times I did not plan for LOL). I have owned both, and this last winter I spent more time stuck in mud and snow then I cared for with my DRW. I also had 2-wheel drive on this truck, so no help there. The big area I noticed that contributes to the DRW getting stuck faster, is that mud packs in between the duals, then builds up on the tires traction surface.

As for wieght distrobution, absolutely the DRW does better and has a more stable ride in my opinion when carrying a top heavy load. You are right about the fact that the narrower roads of other countries will be something to keep in mind. I guess if you are confident in your driving capabilities, I wouldnt worry too much, but because it is a wider wheel base you may want to recearch your route prior to going and ensure you can travel though roads.

Motors.. Anything well under 100k, is something you wont have to be worried about when it comes to repairs. You start getting into 150k on a gas model and 200k on a diesel, you may want to check records before purchase. Diesels have always remained tough, reliable and simplistic. Do not let sensors and technology worry you too much, the basic design is still applied. This goes for the gas ones too, even though there are more safety features to shut down an engine is something fails. Most electronics now days have come quite a ways as from when they first started. The engine shutting down, not starting or clunking away because of a bad sensor, are of the past. Now days the computers and electronics in gas and diesel vehicles, will compensate for a failing part, the best it can to keep you going.

As for fuel differences in other countries, you can buy addatives to take with you and put in your tank as you go if you want to avoid build up and economy issues. I will tell you though, that having been in other countries, the same goes for gasoline! The good thing, because of crude refinement in other countries, their fuel may be lacking in some of the cleaning addatives that are not always so great to have in our fuel, LOL!

As for that manual transmission, you are right.. I faced that battle myself with a low milage diesel (auto or manual) and had a nasty time finding one. Took me a couple years. If you find an auto, I am sure you will find that many will agree with me, that as long as you are under 150k, you are good to go. You can even get a larger transcooler put on an auto, and this will make a huge difference as for reliability!

Good luck!

 

Hey Midwest Dually,

Thanks so much for you reply. Never had so much doubt about which car to buy, this time I had dozens of items to consider, from the kind of trip I was expecting to what to do with the car at the end. Finally I came to a decision, and unfortunately it will no be the F-350, not even a Ford. The chosen one is a Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sport S or Sahara. And main reason was the size of the F-350.

I made this line art to compare the F-350 to my L200, that I already have some trouble to find parking spots.



And here the Wrangler "in front" of the F-350



I will loose the chance to make my first long trip with a motor home (camper) but at the end the Wrangler will be a car that I can use here in Brazil in a day to day basis.

Once again, thanks for you kindness,

Renato


PS. Just for the fun of it!!! :-)