We have written this small article (in Nicaragua in mid-October 2007) after some good friends from Australia asked us for advice on buying a vehicle for Central America. Jan and De had previously travelled the USA and Canada in a truck with a Bigfoot camper (like ours), and we met at the beginning of our trip in California (twice). Now they are considering to buy a B-Class vehicle (van conversion).
We hope the thoughts in this article might be useful to others...

Vehicle Choice

is a really tough question! If you don't want to travel by public transport, and after watching the way some buses overtake before blind corners or crests we wouldn't want to, then you face the choice of buying a vehicle. We are happy overall with our combination of a 4x4 truck with a camper on the bed, although it also has serious restrictions, particularly with its height.
Height should probably be the first thing to consider! The majority of parking lots, like at hotels or balnearios (public pool compounds, which are a good camping option during weekdays) have some sort of arched gateways, often constructed from concrete. These arches seem to be the fashion everywhere throughout Latin America. Also, in many villages and towns there are all sorts of obstructions jutting out into the roads, and most of them are low. Particularly in Guatemala with its narrow roads we were constantly watching for roof edges, concrete ledges, balconies, low signs on steel brackets, and utility lines. Trust us: you don't want to black out an entire suburb by ripping their powerline with your roof air-conditioner. Finally, you can't fit a tall vehicle into a container if you want to ship from Central to South America; you need to ship RoRo (Roll on Roll off) or on an open platform, both of which are more expensive.
Vehicle brand and model are not unimportant, either! We are happy to have picked an older FORD F250 pick-up truck, without excessive computer technology. Of all US brands Ford is probably the one most widely distributed in Central America (at time of writing we don't know much about SA), followed by Chevrolet, and a distant third is Dodge. In our class Chevy doesn't offer a manual gearbox in combination with a Diesel engine, which put it out of contention for us. But all this doesn't mean that parts are readily available, since the leading brand by a long shot is TOYOTA, followed by Nissan (clear market leader in Mexico, where hardly any small Diesel vehicles are sold/on the road), and all other japanese car makers; actually you see a lot of Mitsubishi L200 pick-ups, almost as many as newer Nissans. Among vans the situation is even more weighted to non-US-brands: Toyota with the HiAce is again the leader, followed by Nissan, the odd french (Citroen) and italian (Fiat) van, and in every country we have encountered a good number of Mercedes Sprinter vans, mostly as small tour buses. Volkswagen vans are getting rarer the further south in Central America we're heading. If you see any US-van, than it's a pre-90s-Diesel-van, again most likely from Ford.
The next thing to consider is clearance! Many camper van conversions in the US seem to be built for smooth highways and appearance. We had carefully considered a ROADTREK van because, for its size, they seem to fit a lot of usable space into them. BUT: to achieve this and keep the vehicle low they actually cut the middle section of the floor out and lower it, and then they add fibreglass side skirtings, behind which they install some elemental technical fixtures, like waste drains, camper batteries, etc. We met several people in Mexico who had real trouble with ROADTREKs going over topes (the typical speed bumps in Mexico; these are getting less further south, but Mexico is a bloody big country, and then potholes are getting bigger the further south you go) newer models are supposed to be even lower than pre-mid-90s! A 4x4 truck offers a lot more clearance, and even many short C-Classes (part integrated camper) often have better clearance then some van conversions. We also doubt that ROADTREKs would fit through many of the arched gates mentioned before, since they still offer standing height inside.
If you want to go for a van conversion, then the best option would probably be a Dodge/Mercedes SPRINTER (even though they won't pass through arches either), because they are less thirsty (spec. the Diesel - owners always confirm figures around 25-28 mpg) and a lot easier to get serviced. But in the USA it's almost impossible (or totally impossible?) to find a manual gearbox in a Sprinter; in Canada the situation might be slightly different.
Now, if you take the above points into account, are determined to buy in the US, and a Sprinter (since rather new to the US) is too expensive, then probably a small(-ish) van from Ford (or maybe Chevy) would be your best choice. Sportsmobile build excellent and rugged van conversions, even the odd one on 4x4 chassis. If you want to alternate between camping and hotels then a van with pop-top roof is must, because most others wouldn't fit many arches. If you aren't fixed to the idea of buying in the US, then consider buying a Sprinter camper in Europe; RoRo shipping from Bremerhaven, Germany to Halifax, Canada is well under US$1000! I would think that in Europe you can find a good choice of vehicles with manual transmission, Diesel engine, and a well built conversion, often better and cheaper by leagues than the US american stuff.
Of course, if you go for the size of the Sprinter, then you might almost consider buying a really small C-Class (up to 24 feet). 'Born Free', 'Xplorer', 'Lazy Daze' and 'Minnie Winnie' have a good reputation among these. A good place to look is PPL in Houston/Texas, a consignment dealer with the reputation of being truly cheap. If you find something in their inventory don't hesitate to contact them asap; they actually reply to email enquiries, offer help with registration, and their stock is moving FAST! Another option is, of course, ebay; some RVs there are selling really cheap, and many dealers are using ebay to off-load excess stock!
Another, totally different approach is to buy a medium size 4x4, preferably a Toyota (like a 4Runner or Landcruiser) or Mitsubishi (Pajero), and fit it either with a simple sleeping/storage area in the back, or a roof tent on the top. There are really good roof tents available in Italy, and shipping into the US shouldn't cost an arm and a leg. Then you're in the position to go almost anywhere, have a vehicle which is easy to repair in Latin America, and overnight you have the choice of pulling into a hotel with parking or sleep under the stars. Draw-back: you'll also have to cook outdoors... Again: in Europe you'll probably find conversions with kitchen, outside shower, table, etc.
Or, to close the circle, you'll buy a truck camper similar to ours. Some short and light versions of Northern Lite and Bigfoot (several 8.something models) can be fitted onto smaller trucks, like Toyota HiLux, the US-american Toyota T100 and Tacoma models, or a Ford Ranger (= Mazda) - rather popular vehicles in Latin America. Another truck camper maker worthwhile looking into might be Six-Pac. You might have to install extra leaves in the springs, but that's no big issue. If you buy a camper with pop-top roof (Outfitter seems to be the best, followed by NorthStar), then you'll even fit under most arches, and into extra-high shipping containers. If you consider going all the way to South America: there is a market for this sort of camper in Chile and Argentina, although the customs clearance can be a little bit of a headache (best left to the buyer). We already have one interested party for our truck and camper - in Buenos Aires/Argentina!
 
• for RV & camper search try RV Trader Online - use their advanced search.
 
From own experience we recommend:
• take some spare parts for the camper on the trip! Particularly small plastic fittings which always break, a few connectors for the water pipes, probably spare mirrors (or glass for them), if your rig has a roof ventilation for the fridge take a spare cover, and a few spare clearance lights (or at least covers) in both, red and orange. We also had our stick-on levels stolen, probably by some curious kids...
• try to get a wiring diagram of your camper before you leave! Bigfoot has proven to be totally useless in this respect (all our emails were ignored).
• if things on your camper break don't expect to find a RV dealer or service center - there are NONE! But you might try a marina with boat repair shop; many parts are the same or similar in yachts.
• in case you really need some parts, it's a good idea to have set-up a contact with a US dealership in advance, so they'll know what to do if you send an urgent order. DHL seems to be a very reliable option for shipping into Latin America with outlets in every capital city (and many other locations).
• we find it very useful to have a so-called tote-tank for black waste with us. With the US tendency to install fixed black waste systems (as opposed to cassette toilets, which only NorthStar seems to use in their truck campers) it's often the only way to empty this responsibly (fill the tote-tank and wheel it to a near-by toilet or septic to empty). Also: do what all Mexicans and other Latin Americans do: don't flush the paper down the toilet, dispose of it separately and daily - this makes the tote-tank option a lot less messy.
Gray water we don't mind to empty at the side of the road (if no waterways or vegetable fields are near-by). The more often you do it the less smelly the job is...
• don't leave without a functioning solar system, strong enough to run your rig for longer periods. Access to power can be very limited (and limiting the choice of places to stay if you don't have your own power supply). If you have the room take a small HONDA generator as back-up for rainy days (we believe the ONAN propane generators are too noisy, heavy, unreliable, are often installed too low for any rough road, and propane supplies can be very patchy, too!). And don't rely on your microwave to prepare food (we actually sold ours to gain space).
• if you plan to keep your rig for some time it might be worthwhile replacing some light fittings with low energy lights. Our Bigfoot camper has only lights with conventional bulbs (mostly 12 Watt) installed. Some could be easily replaced with fluorescent or modern LED fittings (which still are difficult to find in the US - consider ordering from Asia or Europe). Through a posting on rv.net we have found a supplier of LED bulbs which fit our standard lights - not cheap, but a worthwhile option! They easily triple the time we can camp on battery power.
• camper battery: the conventional liquid cell batteries, installed in your camper, don't like rough roads and bumping around. We have learned this too late, so if you're planning a longer trip (now or in the near future) replace your batteries with the more expensive GEL type or, even better, AGM [Absorbed Glass Mat] batteries - you could get three to five times (AGM) the life expectancy out of them.
• try to take as many small appliances as possible which can be charged/run off the 12V power outlet in your vehicle (= your car battery whilst driving); things like cell phone charger, gps, camera charger, battery charger for NiCad batteries, even a camping light (we have one from SwissGear/Walmart and use it very frequently). RadioShack sells, for around $16, a universal converter (in ½Volt steps 12-27V / 60 Watts) which runs straight of 12 Volt (instead of using an inverter, which pulls much higher Amperage) - very useful to run a laptop of your cigarette lighter in the car.
• the best thing we have added to our camper is a small solar fan in our alcove. We bought this from Westmarine for a little over $100; it is supposed to move 3000 cu ft of air in 24 hours. It's now running 24/7 for over 12 months and is whisper quiet. Ever since we have installed it we keep our Fantastic Fan opened (which is fitted with a MaxAir cover) to guarantee the air flow, and our camper has never heated up to much above the outside temperature, even after days in full sun (unlike before - there goes the myth of Bigfoot's good insulation).
 
A very interesting and informative article about vehicle choice, written by a member of Silk Club, can be found here.


A new interesting concept of a low camper based on an ordinary truck: XP Camper; at this stage no prices or more detailed images...
 
When you read this article from Turtle Expedition you get a feel that the US companies really don't get it (yet), and that standards for overland vehicles are set in Europe!

last edited January, 12, 2008 - we will add a few more links in future!