ADVENTURER BRAD CHRIST
Braving the challenging terrain of exotic locations of Central and South America in his '06 Lance 1191 and custom-modified '05 Chevy Kodiak truck, Maryland resisdents Brad Christ and wife L.J. traveled thousands of miles in search of adventure.
Central + South America by Lance: An Interview with Brad Christ
BRAD'S DREAM
"Since elementary school, I've often daydreamed while looking at maps of North, Central and South America and wondered what it was like for those early adventurers who traveled on foot, by horse, and by boat during the early exploration of the American continents. I wanted to experience the feeling of exploring new places and cultures, so we set out in our truck camper for Central and South America."
CHOOSING A VEHICLE
"Although adventure-expedition-campers seem to vary in size, the general consensus seems to be that the vehicle should be no longer than 28 feet, no taller than 11.5 feet, and no wider than 8 feet.
"We considered importing a German camper since the Germans are known for building amazing heavy duty 4x4 campers for world exploration Ð however, we didn't have time to deal with importation restrictions, emission variances, and street licensing issues in the short one-month time period we had to put together our trip.
"We looked at a used Mercedes Unimog, but quickly determined these incredible vehicles were better suited to applications that did not require highway driving."
THE DECISION TO GO WITH A LANCE 1191
"Our local RV dealer and their helpful staff showed us the Lance 1191 truck camper. It seemed like the perfect size and had all the amenities we wanted, including a separate shower and toilet, a microwave oven, satellite dish, flat screen TV and DVD player. The slideout living room provided lots of additional living space.
"We checked around with experienced RVers and everyone said very good things about the design and build quality of the Lance products. When I began to calculate the weight of the winch, spare parts, tools, extra diesel and water cans, clothing, bicycles and all the assorted gear we wanted to bring, it was quickly apparent we would need a very large truck to haul the camper. There were really only two choices: the Ford F550 or the Chevrolet Kodiak. We could not find a suitable Ford F550 that was immediately available, but did locate a new 2005 Chevrolet Kodiak diesel 4x4 flatbed.
"Of course, the flatbed Kodiak and the Lance camper were not immediately compatible. But I detached the heavy flatbed and then shortened the flatbed 1.5 feet using a plasma cutter and MIG welder so the flatbed was the proper length for the Lance camper.
"I built a special cradle in the flatbed for the Lance camper to slide into. After mating the camper to the truck, all our spare time over the next few weeks was spent installing an air compressor, five-gallon volume tank, winch and heavy-duty winch bumper, theft alarm, seat covers, security console, and bicycle rack. And I made sure all the electrical connections were sealed against water and protected from vibration.
Diamond-plate utility boxes were fabricated and installed.
"In less than a month, we had created a very rugged, but comfortable home for my wife and I to live in for the 11-month trip. We had so little time to prepare that we never actually spent a night in our truck camper until the first night of the trip.
"In retrospect, the first several days on the road were amusing because we had to keep reading the owner's manual to determine how to do simple things like activate the generator, or turn on the water heater, or dump the water tanks."
THE JOURNEY
"In October 2006, we left New Jersey and headed to San Francisco by way of Atlanta.
"From California, we drove to the tip of Baja Mexico. We then took a ferry across the Sea of Cortez to the west coast of Mexico.
"We crossed the central mountains to the east coast of Mexico and then drove through the Yucatan Peninsula.
"From there, we meandered through Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama.
"In Colon, Panama we loaded the truck camper onto a ship and six days later it arrived in Lima, Peru. We then traveled into Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina.
"In June 2007, we shipped the truck camper from Buenos Aires, Argentina back to Colon, Panama.
"During the 21 days the truck camper is in transit aboard the ship, we travelled by bus to explore Uruguay, Paraguay and Ecuador.
"After visiting the Galapagos Islands, we
were reunited with the truck camper in Panama and then drive it back through Central America and Mexico – and back to home in Maryland."
THE CHALLENGES
"Three unexpected challenges we encountered include altitude sickness, shipping, and propane.
"In Peru, we spent several weeks living at 12,000 to more than 15,000 feet above sea level. During this time, our bodies suffered from altitude sickness with symptoms varying from headaches, sinus congestion, coughing, nausea and sleeplessness.
"Although we gradually improved, we never fully acclimated and disliked the physiological effects on our bodies.
"Shipping the truck from Panama to South America proved a bigger challenge than expected. When we arrived in Panama, the shipping broker we planned to use was not able to accommodate our truck on their vessel. It was a real challenge to find another vessel in the short period of time we had allotted. We would recommend to others attempting an expedition such as ours that you provide shipping brokers with photos, dimensions and the weight of your vehicle prior to arrival in Panama.
"Getting our propane tanks filled presented an ongoing challenge. Propane yards are located in every large town or city – however, depending on the country, getting a large USA propane tank filled may require a trip to the local propane hardware store to purchase some sort of adaptor. To save time, truck campers traveling to South America should consider using five-gallon propane tanks because those tanks are easily adapted to the local standard and are commonly available for exchange in nearly every tiny village."
SAFETY + SECURITY
"We follow some basic rules to enhance our safety and security.
Rule #1: Don't drive after dark.
Rule #2: Begin looking for a nightly parking location at least 1.5 hours before sunset.
Rule #3: Obtain permission to park in a secure location (gas stations, restaurants, hotels, supermarkets, shopping malls, police stations, marinas, private residence driveways, municipal parks, etc.).
Rule #4: Don't leave anything outside that is not securely locked-up and don't leave anything in the cab of the truck.
Rule #5: After dark, don't go outside the camper if the area doesn't seem secure - and only speak to strangers through the windows."
LANGUAGE + CULTURES
"Luckily for me, my wife began this trip speaking elementary Spanish. She was very diligent about studying the language during our trip and had become very good at communicating in every region we visit. I speak no Spanish and regret it. I am very dependent upon her to accomplish seemingly simple tasks like getting our propane tanks filled or getting our laundry done.
"There were some instances where my lack of Spanish caused some hilarious misunderstandings, but I always have her to set things straight.
"My advice to others travelers is learn some basic Spanish before coming to Central and South America – even if only to communicate at toll booths, gas stations, and grocery stores.
"That having been said, we have met some people who have traveled all of South America speaking only English, so it can be done – but it severely limits your interactions with the local people."
GROCERIES + WATER
"There was a grocery store of some sort in every town we visited – however, many of them were very small with limited selections.
"In very remote areas, we were surprised to find the local grocery store was located in the living room space of someone's house!
"In major cities, the grocery stores rival their USA counterparts, but travelers need to be prepared for different brand names, Spanish titles, and nutrition information in metric quantities.
"Ordering food at deli counters or even restaurants has sometimes been a surprise for us as we have asked for the wrong thing or the wrong amount.
"Sometimes the grocery stores don't carry fresh vegetables, fruit, meat or poultry because everyone in town purchases these from vendors at the street markets.
"Shopping at street markets is always an adventure. In addition to the vegetables, fruit and freshly butchered meat, you can purchase all sorts of unusual things ranging from dried llama fetuses for witchcraft – to handmade clothing to iguanas.
"One market we visited in La Paz, Bolivia spanned more than 100 blocks.
"With regard to drinking water, we used bottled water for drinking and cooking since we left the USA. It was readily available everywhere in one-gallon jugs and our truck has space to carrying up to eight of the jugs."
DUMPING
"This is an important environmental consideration faced by all over-land travelers.
"In urban areas, we secured permission to dump in sewers or septic systems of hotels and restaurants, or even into porta-johns.
"In rural areas we searched-out remote locations, often using our rig's four-wheel drive capabilities, to find dump locations situated far away from human residences, creeks, rivers or other potential local water sources.
"We treated our waste to eliminate harmful organisms and use special RV/marine biodegradable toilet paper."
PEOPLE'S REACTIONS
"It's an understatement to say that our truck camper was loved by almost everyone who saw it. This was a surprise to us.
"South Americans of all ages routinely waved to us as we passed – and all the truckers give us the thumbs-up as we drive along.
"Every time we stopped our truck camper, people come up to take photographs and seem amazed when we explained our adventure.
"I had gotten into the habit of slowing to a crawl each time someone on the street whipped-out their camera to take a quick picture as we drove by.
"In Central America, many regions where we traveled were economically depressed and many people didn't own automobiles or even bicycles. Many of their homes had dirt floors, no electricity and no running water – so the extravagant concept of a truck camper or any type of RV was actually beyond their imagination.
"They still reacted very enthusiastically to the physical appearance of our truck camper, but often couldn't bring themselves to fully believe that we slept in it or that it had a bathroom."
ON DOING IT OVER
"Considering the limited amount of time we had to prepare for this trip, we did a very good job. However, if I could go back in time to the very beginning of the trip, this is what I would tell myself:
1. Don't be so nervous about personal safety – security is achievable with good planning and decision making.
2. Walking through towns and villages is as important as visiting major attractions.
3. At restaurants, make an effort to try the local cuisine.
4. Bring folding bicycles because bicycles hung outside the camper require tremendous maintenance as they get covered in dust, mud, snow and ice – plus they attract a lot of unnecessary attention.
5. Bring pants with zip-off legs because they can be used in a variety of climate conditions.
6. Pack lots of warm blankets for cold winter nights.
7. Installing low-amperage marine fans in bedroom of camper for hot tropical nights.
8. Install two additional deep-cycle batteries for the camper to increase available power.
9. Install a transformer with sufficient amperage capability to step-down the 220-240 volt electricity in South America so it works with the 110-120 volt systems that are standard in USA truck campers.
10. Bring a second laptop.
11. Bring five thumb drives to store digital photographs and so you can compose emails in the camper and then quickly and easily transfer the data when you reach an internet cafe.
12. Get good road maps in advance because there are no readily available maps in Central or South America.
13. For accurate mapping in the middle of nowhere, purchase GPS software for South America.
14. To save space and to have English-language entertainment, load lots of music and movies onto an MP3 storage device."
THE ADVENTURE CONTINUES
We love our casa rodante (Spanish for "rolling home") and our life on the road. However, we like having a "normal life."
"We were anxious to see our families and friend – to move into a house that doesn't require oil changes – and return to our professional careers.
"The new daily experiences and challenges we faced during this trip opened our eyes to the potential of over-land adventure travel and I predict this will not be our last expedition.
"If my wife is willing, in 10 years time I am dreaming of putting together another truck camper to do a complete circumnavigation of the globe. It would be an amazing journey to traverse all the major land masses on the globe and see firsthand the sights in Africa, Europe, the former Soviet Republics, China, India, Australia, etc."
Special thanks to Gordon White of TruckCamperMagazine.com for the text of this interview.
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