Father. Uncle. Husband. Grandpa!
People have been asking me how I packed for a two week expedition to Guatemala. The long answer is plan ahead, pack and then STOP adding stuff!
Here are some other items that came in very handy!
Osprey Packs Transporter 65 Expedition Duffel
Minimize what you have to pack. I only packed two pairs of these and they lasted me the entire trip!
I will be heading out on an expedition from Guatemala to Tijuana with my long time friend Jim Newmann and two other soon to be good friends Van Johnson and Luis Reyes. The trip is estimated at around 3,000 miles.
Jim has purchased a 1985 Mercedes Geländewagen or G-Wagon. Just so happens it belonged to Luis’s uncle who lives in Guatemala City. So we are going to go get it!
I will be flying from Tucson to San Diego on Sept 26 and Jim and I will depart Tijuana, Mexico the evening of Sept 27. We plan on spending a few days in Guatemala and then heading out. This is NOT the exact route we will be taking, I just used it to calculate possible mileage and tolls. We will only be traveling during the day and staying on toll roads as much as possible.
Stupid WordPress wont let me embed the map… grrr.
We hope to return back to Tijuana around November 8th. However given the length of the journey, the age of the vehicle (and its passengers) we are not able to predict for sure when we will return. It’s going to be a great time!
I have started growing a beard for low maintenance and have all sorts of new immunizations. I am packing light! Two pairs of ExOfficio travel underwear (they better work as promised ExOfficio!) 4 pairs of KÜHL Stealth Liberators, a few shirts, two pair Merrels and other “stuff”.
I am taking some newly acquired tech gear to help along they way as well, so we should have internet access the entire trip, thanks to the Solis Skyroam.We may also have a couple of Spots with us just in case.
I will try to remember to update the blog at least each day with that days follies.
“A journey is a person in itself; no two are alike. And all plans, safeguards, policing, and coercion are fruitless. We find after years of struggle that we not take a trip; a trip takes us.”
― Travels with Charley: In Search of America
We need space in the backseat of the truck for the dogs so they can go with us on some upcoming trips. I started researching some flat platforms for the rear seat of the F250. Apparently there were some model years in which Ford had an option for a flat steel fold out platform. Our truck does not have that platform but rather some very nice underseat storage with a handy 12V DC power outlet. In researching and talking to some guys on the inner web, I located a few of these platforms for purchase.
But then I went to measure how much room the dogs would have with the flat steel platform in and without removing the rear seat. Turns out not too much! I could gain another 1.5 feet of room by rooming the rear sear. More is always better so I decided to remove the rear seat in the King Ranch and build my own dang dog platform!
Note: The middle seatbelt has a very small release hole where the normal red release button should be. Took me a while to find that. Simply insert a pin and push. Make believe your removing a seat belt for a bee. It works. Also, be careful when removing the connector for the under seat 12 volt power socket as that is a bit tricky.
The platform will be about 35.5 inches deep and 57 inches wide in the truck.
Next we need some support slats to run front to back under the platform for support. The issue here is that the floor isn’t “flat”. Ford decided that would just be too simple. SO I invented the special “Schauf Contour Tool” which is a 35.5 inch piece of cardboard to match length of platform with duct tape and bamboo skewers and a level. I am pretty sure Sears will start carrying them soon. This will also me to measure each slat to perfectly match the contour of the floor.
Next using the SCT (catch up people, its an acronym for the tool) I adjusted the skewers along the SCT to match the contour of the floor where this particular slat will make contact.
Hey don’t laugh. Worked pretty well so far!
Update: So apparently this type of tool was already invented and is called a “Contour Tool”. There are up more than a few of them available on Amazon – however they are NOT 35 inches long! Dang another patent down the drain.
At this point I transferred the contour points onto the 35.5 x 6.5 slat and connected the dots. I learned how to do that at an early age. Still can’t stay in the lines though.
Ok, so after cutting it looks like the SCT will work. I need to measure out and cut about 3 more slats. I wish the floor were the same the width of the truck but it isn’t. Thanks Ford.
Since we chose MDF for strength and weight, I had to augment it so the slats have better support. (Zoom in). I used 1×1’s on each side of each slat for extra support and so that I would have a solid surface to drill into from the top.
Also since it’s about 198° in the garage here in Arizona, even at night, I am fabricating in the kitchen. I promise I’ll clean up the mess honey. This picture shows the structurally complete platform.
OK time to see if it fits in the truck! And it does! I forgot to take a picture of the level showing a completely centered bubble.
I then positioned the Engle refrigerator so that I could maximize space for the dogs and determine where to put the tiedown points.
The boys were very excited and have plenty of room!
At some point I’ll finish up with carpet to match the interior of the truck but for now will just use their dog beds.
I have been preparing, as I have time, to get us into more Overlanding activities. This includes upgrades to the F250, planning for space in the truck for the dogs and Engle and deciding what other bits of kit we will need ( Leitner Active Cargo System, RTT, etc)
We also need to find great places to go! I had been camping years ago with my kids and our friends the Winn’s. I could not remember where we went but knew the general vicinity (east of Tucson).
I then ran across the site Campendium. It is awesome! It will show you what RV Parks, National Parks and Forests and State parks have camping near you! I was able to quickly use the site to find Riggs Flat Campground which is where we went with the Winn’s!
Anyway it is a great site and we plan on using it to plan some trips hopefully soon!
We are going to start building the F250 into an Overland vehicle. What is overlanding? Why not use the Rubicon? That would be a great post for some other day – for now – google it or head over to overlandbound.com (we are member #5770) or get Overland Journal. Awsome magazine… anyway I digress.
I enjoy researching over-landing “stuff” in general but also technology related to over-landing. Given we are hopefully going to do more overland trips in the future (whoop!) with the F250 build but also possibly a fifth wheel, we may need some safety gear for those times when the good old cell phone is out of range. If your relaxing correctly, your out of range IMO. Lets look into that then shant we?
So, as usual, it depends on the requirements. Requirements are good. They keep you focused. They make you think before you purchase. They are great talking points when defending the more expensive purchases to your wife. Nuff said.
My requirements would be, in priority order:
Here are some options:
goTenna – a mesh network for your iPhone. Interesting but wont help if you are all alone someplace. Might be helpful for localized emergencies or large crowds.
Spot – now that’s much better – works anywhere, and have used the older models. Does not “do” much else tho.
inReach Explorer+ – Now were talking… and it’s a GPS as well AND would sync with the iPhone and iPad pro (which will look nice mounted on the dash someday – yet another post). Going to add this to my Amazon gift list. Yeah I have one, leave me alone.
Know of others? Comment and let me know!
