Driving US to Costa Rica

here in Nic, ive yet to hear someone happy with their decision to bring a truck down. the parts are different, and its not diesel, itll be a tough sell if you ever want to sell it too. also make sure to research the import tax. they are pretty hefty in Nica and CR.

 

the drive itself would be so sick tho. just be smart. so many waves from Mex down to CR

 

This is something I've always wondered aboot.

Is driving thru Mexico/Central America really that sketchy or is it all hype?

I mean, look at our American ghettos. There's a consensus that if a caucasion, middle-class person enters a bad neighborhood that they will be immediately wacked-off. But that is such nonsense. Like, of all a sudden the whole neighborhood smells "whitey" and goes to attack them. As I said, that's complete nonsense.

Actually, in alot of these places being a suburbanite makes you the safest person there, because it's assumed you are a customer and those who rule the corners don't like their customer base being hassled. See, Brain Williams never tells anyone this kind of stuff.

So, is it really hype? If you have some smarts, and aren't a "clueless American" should everything be ok? This consensus aboot the area being too dangerous supposes that practically everyone from these countries are bloodthirsty.

I don't know.......better to die on an adventure, doing something you want, than to die of a heart attack due to the job, mortgage and 2.5 kids.....and the picket fence.......

The dog's cool, though. He/she helped you, but the spouse and the kids sure didn't. Hell no. Work all day for some douche, surrounded by other douches, and then come home to yapping and screaming and fights.........

Man, just drive...........just drive. Take the risk.

 

Yeah, I'd be worried about parts too with a Nissan Titan. In June there were 68,000 Ford F150s and 29,000 Dodge Rams sold in the US. There were only 1300 Nissan Titans sold.

 

This is why I'm not scared of the ghetto up in Cocoa. I seriously went to go hook up with a girl I knew who lived there (not gross, just moved out from her parent's ) and every time I went up there, I was just offered some **** but never actually hassled at all. They tend to not mess with people unless you give them a reason to.

 

Try and get in contact with these people. They are in Asia now but have driven from the US to Peru. They plan on driving the whole globe by van.

http://www.drivenachodrive.com/

Good luck!

 

Hell yea. Good for you man.

 

Exactly. My point was you need to have a widely used DIESEL to get good service in rural Central America. Toyota and Isuzu. Diesel engines have multiple filter systems, they can run on junk fuel, they can run on oil, they can run without a computer, alternator, half filled with mud and a rope fashioned to replace the last belt you just broke. Older diesels have mechanical injection. They will still run once cranked if you take all the belts off and pull every electrical wire off them. Plus you don't have to worry about damaging one of the many very sensitive pieces of emissions equipment that exist on a new Nissan gasser. One thing wrong in an emissions system will leave you misfiring and running like crap at best, which harks back to the perils of having a computer controlling your gas powered air compressor. Third world countries don't have these parts. It's also hard to find clean gas that comes near meeting American standards.

So, you could buy 4 of every part you might need to replace on your truck before you leave. $$$$$$$$$$$. Or you could sell the Nissan, buy an older diesel that you know for sure you can get parts for down there and build it up into a long range trekker rig. And make sure it's something you can work on yourself.

Plus, you'll fit in better:

[video=youtube;TFXCWPo0E68]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFXCWPo0E68[/video]


I hope you do it and that it works out for you. Be careful trying to take dogs across international borders.

 

do they still have the huge parvo outbreaks in CR?

 

yea I wouldn't recommend driving down there.very very very very dangerous.just look at guys like greg long,nathan fletcher,etc..they live in cali,and its not too long of a drive,and they take the plane.u cant rely on any help from the locals because you are a gringo to them.its good to carry a lot of money so u can bribe cops,but carrying that amount of cash makes you a target.gps doesn't always work especially in 3rd world countries,and the last thing u want is to be lost in Honduras where the ms13 runs around with machetes.if you have people down there,cant they drive you around?the best vehicle for costa is a horse.


can anyone guess where this is?you probably wouldn't want to go regardless of the empty world class waves

 

never done it but this might be a good resource ....http://www.go-panamerican.com/road-tips.php

You can also check with the US Consulate in each country to get travel alerts ...etc. I know I was thinking about a trip to Peru (Chicama) and that is a country where you don't want to be a gringo. US Consulate there restricts there employees from driving on certain roads and at night.

Then again, you may be ok as long as you stay on the PA Hwy. Stay safe ....

 

Not sure what the situation is. I'm talking more along the lines of the paperwork clusterphvuk at all the crossings, the increased opportunity for them to extort you AND the possibility of having to leave the dogs at one of said crossings (worst situation possible).

 

in 01 my buddy and I planned to drive but he couldn't wait. we piled his vehicle with a ton of smut, that he used at border crossings to expedite the migration from country to country. after all the crap he got in mexico, he hauled azz as fast as he could.
there is an import tax on vehicle in cr. the better the vehicle the higher the tax. he was in a 72 ford econoline and after 90 days he owed 1000 bucks. Another friend shipped a nice 4x4 down, and after 90 days, he put it on blocks. best to buy there.

 

The reason yu can't find anyone who actually drove it is because anyone who drove it is no longer with us. Seriously though, does your mom know you're gonna do this? She would hit you upside the head.

 

last year when I was there I ran into a couple people down there with u.s. tags on there trucks, even an old guy in a saab made it down there. go for it. I want to so bad but family responsiblitys wont let me. but if you plan on keeping the truck there and getting c.r. tags it will cost you in taxes big time. like half the value of your truck. ouch! good luck pura vida!

 

Right because they stayed down there and aren't on this forum acting like driving through Mexico is certain death.

Plenty of people have driven through Mexico. My god, my 70 year old parents have driven to southern Mexico numerous times - like 15 winters in a row, drive down in December, sublet an apartment for three months and return to Maryland in March. From Mexico they've driven to Guatemala twice. The old American folks who live in the community they go to every winter routinely drive two days back to Texas. The highways you would be traveling on are from Brownsville, through Monterrey, and down the east side...not Baha or Sinaloa.

I'm not saying there aren't risks associated with it but if you want adventure, you have a be willing to put up with risks. I've been to Mexico numerous times and by driving on major highways during the day, have never had to put up with anything worse than a $10 bribe to a cop.

 

go to your vet and let them know your plan, they'll give your dog the proper shots, paperworks and tags. we flew our dog down and had no issues.