It's definitely going to be fun designing and having an RV built exactly the way we want it!

Our original plan was to take Igor to South America, provided we were happy with him so far. But we've decided that Igor isn't the right vehicle. He'll do fine for us this coming winter in Central America, but South America presents a new set of problems.

The first problem is shipping him from Panama to either Venezuela or Colombia. 

There are lots of stories out there about people who have had problems with items being stolen, and restrictions such as lithium batteries when shipping. These situations can be dealt with, but they're a headache nonetheless. And then of course there's the cost of shipping.

But the real issue is that we don't think Igor is suitable for non stop living. The space is just too cramped. We deal with it because that's just the way it is, but really, we're only happy living in him for a month at a time... then we need a break.

So, we will drive Igor this winter to Panama, and back to Mexico. From there, we'll decide what to do with him.

But that means we need to buy a vehicle for South America. Chile is the easiest place for a foreigner to buy and register a vehicle, and there are several shops there that build custom motorhomes and do van conversions.

So the big question is... what type of vehicle? Here are some examples of the options we're looking at...

Ford Transit AWD.

The big question is... do we really need four wheel drive? 

We had a four wheel drive vehicle in Australia for two and a half months, and of course we just finished a month with Vladdy in Kyrgyzstan... also four wheel drive. And there's no question, four wheel drive is nice to have!

But do we NEED it? No, absolutely not. One important thing I read during this research job so far is that you want to build your vehicle for the 95% of travel you'll actually do... not the 5% of travel you imagine that you might do.

So what's important to us? Well, at 6'0" (183 cms) tall, ceiling height is important. I want to be able to stand up without worrying about banging my head. And the same applies to bed space... I want to be able to stretch out without being limited.

And so it all comes down to space. It's difficult with a conversion van style vehicle.

With a van conversion, you're constrained by:

The curved walls.

The narrowing toward the roof.

The wheel wells intruding into the living space.

The fixed body width.

Even though the cargo volume is fairly large, every cabinet and piece of furniture has to work around those restrictions.

Cab and chassis with motorhome box on the back.

This one is done on a Hyundai chassis.

We're leaning in this direction. You can buy a brand new cab and chassis and then have a motorhome style box set on the back. This vastly increases your amount of living space. This van was done by one of the builders I'm looking at, and he says he can make us one just like it. We just need to decide what brand and type of chassis to buy.

With a custom camper box, you get:

Perfectly vertical walls.

A full rectangular floor.

Flat ceiling.

Better insulation.

No wheel wells inside the living area.

The ability to make the box as wide as regulations allow.

The result is that a camper box that's not much longer than a conversion van, but has dramatically more living space inside.

We're looking at this Ford chassis with dual rear wheels.

Of course with any RV, it's always give and take. Yes, we get more size, but a smaller rig would more maneuverable. Four wheel drive would be nice, but also more expensive to begin with. Of course you recoup much of that expense when you sell it. There's always a tradeoff with any benefit when comparing different types of RVs.

Also very important to us is to have it built for long term self sustaining travels... large battery capacity, lots of solar panels, large fresh water tank. So the cab and chassis type of vehicle has more space to have more of these options.

There is another type of vehicle that can be done this way as well...

But this is more of a truck chassis.

It would end up looking something like this.

And, some of these vehicles aren't easily or readily available. Some require special order, and some will end up not being available in Chile at all. I'm already in communication with some of the dealers, but I knew that I had to get an early start on this despite not needing to have the vehicle ready for us until October 2027!

It's definitely going to be fun designing and having an RV built exactly the way we want it!

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