JetSetterJoe.com

Overland travel is probably the most accessible form of adventure travel for the average amateur adventurer. Having been born in an island, I always assumed that I would travel the world aboard a cruising sailboat. When I moved to America, I began to recognize the possibilities that overland travel could offer without the complications and risks of ocean crossings in small boats. Basically, there are three major land masses where one can drive: The Americas, Eurasia-and by extension Africa via ferry-and Australia.

Once one transports a car or truck to one of these land masses, entire lifetimes could be spent exploring highways and byways without reaching the limit of new places to discover. Smaller islands could be reached by ferry whenever possible or explored sans the vehicle if they are very small. With containerization and globalization, shipping a vehicle from one continent to another is relatively cheap and easy, probably more so than maintaining a suitable cruising boat. In fact, these days shipping a car is probably easier than shipping a bike due to new security restrictions that make it all but impossible to send motor vehicles as partial container loads. Nowadays, bikes are most often shipped via air in special pallets at a cost equivalent to or greater than that of shipping a full size container.

So why go through the trouble of shipping one’s own vehicle? Renting (or leasing) may make sense for shorter trips; however, on longer trips, rental fees may add up to more than shipping costs. Additionally, rental agencies may impose limitations on where you can take their vehicles and may keep the entire security deposit even for minor damage. Another factor to consider is that rental vehicles may not be suitably equipped and/or maintained in good enough condition for certain trips thus producing safety concerns and headaches for the traveler. Finally, there is the familiarity aspect to consider. There is just something about a trusted car or truck that-having taken its owner on countless adventures-makes it feel like part of the family.

The main issue for wannabe international overland travelers based in the United States has always been vehicle selection. Aside from a few exceptions, most of the venerable designs that have proven themselves time and time again in worldwide expeditions are unable to comply with current federal regulations and are consequently out of the reach of US residents. Vehicles such as, say a Defender or Land Cruiser 78, are nearly impossible to register in the US unless they are more than 25 years old. This is confirmed in the following email from Land Rover UK in response to an inquiry from a friend of ours about purchasing a new Defender in the US:

Dear Sir,Thank you for your enquiry regarding the purchase of a Defender for the USA / Canada.

Key phrase here is …so far no-one has ordered one as they found it impossible to import a non conforming vehicle under 25 years old… East Coast Rovers, who seem to be the authority on Defenders in the US, have come to the same conclusion and warn about vehicles that may have been put together from non-conforming parts and registered as “kit” vehicles or using other dubious devices. (See their vehicle importation page for more information.) ECR can get you a Defender with new car smell but they have to start from a chassis that was legally imported into the US. At the moment, they don’t seem to have any vehicles in stock for sale.

Even if one could find a US spec Defender, it would be unlikely to have a diesel engine on it, unless it is one of the TDI conversions that ECS use to offer. Diesel fuel is the choice of overlanders and adventurers everywhere. The main reasons for this are durability, economy, greater low-end torque, worldwide availability of fuel, and the ability to use the same fuel for heating and cooking. In the US, diesel cars and light trucks are extremely rare. This is due in part to low demand given historically low gasoline prices but also to regulations that until recently have been biased against diesel engines in all except large trucks. In 2006,

This theory was partly confirmed when Volkswagen brought a version of the Diesel Touareg back briefly in the 2006 model year after previously withdrawing the V10 diesel powered Touareg because it couldn’t meet emission standards. The reintroduction of the diesel Touareg into the American market coincided with rumors that this model would be replaced in 2007 with a new “clean” V10 diesel. The announcement that an almost stock diesel Touareg would run the famous Pike Peak’s Hill Climb and the hype about how well it placed provided further proof that Volkswagen was seriously targeting the US as a market for diesel light trucks.

Aside from the availability of a diesel engine, the Touareg is supposed to have off-road abilities to rival even those of a Land Rover and comes equipped with a full host of electronic features aimed at making it safer and more capable on and off the road. According to the buzz on the net, Volkswagen wanted to market the Touareg to young active types whose income allowed them to graduate from the Jetta and Golf but were not quite ready for a “soccer mom” SUV. This is plain to see as the Touareg stands out from the mid-size SUV crowd not only in off-road ability but towing capacity and on-road handling. Volkswagen’s off-road racing program provides further proof of the company’s intent to market to serious enthusiast, not just suburbanites wanting to look tough.

To add fuel to the “diesel fire”-another advantage of diesel is that it is a lot less volatile than gasoline-Volkswagen’s sister company, Audi, has launched a new US diesel website, as reported in Oneighturbo.com. The site not only touts the remarkable Audi R10 race car, which won both the American Le Mans series and the 24 hours of Le Mans in France, but also to market the new Audi Q7 diesel SUV.

Despite the availability of diesel power and pedigree as Dakar rally support vehicles as well as record-breaking climbers, the Touareg and Q7 do not have the legendary status of the Defender or even the humble Jeep. In fact, it remains to be seen if the Touareg has the reliability and serviceability needed for long-term expeditions without the benefit of extensive factory support. The reality is that Volkswagen has been plagued by reliability issues with several of its models, particularly in the US. VW even had to buy back some of the early Touaregs because of persistent issues that could not be resolved by technicians. As the owner of a 2006 Touareg, I haven’t had major issues but have experienced annoying little problems and had to shop around for a dealer that was willing to help me solve them.