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Message: [QUOTE="cbf9703, post: 1351560, member: 14560"] I disagree here. The roads are terrible and the majority of what you find there is small and/or underpowered. When you are in the rainy season and you're on a road with potholes that will swallow a Volkswagen and clay that is slicker than owl ****, you don't always want the heaviest vehicle there. I have a 97 12v and would bring it down in a heartbeat. I have a built Auto, but I would prefer a manual for Central and South America and to go as mechanical as possible in general knowing how tough it is to get parts even from dealerships when you can find them. Plus, 6 cylinder is cheaper to import than 8 everywhere I've been down there. This. FWIW we've personally run samurais, Toyota Tacoma and Hilux, Land Rover, Chinese ****, and Dodge Sprinter vans all over Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and Belize... not as much altitude as you're talking, but very remote where we are overall. My mom has an '03 sprinter passenger van that she took most of the seats out of and converted into a camper down there. She will take it into the mountains for a week or so at a time and it's made many trips across borders with items stored under the bed to avoid customs. LOL Other than the PIA that sprinters are for getting the right parts, it has actually done remarkably well considering how few "paved" roads it has seen in the last decade. Having lived in Central America and knowing the roads outside of the cities, the difficulty of getting parts, dealing with import / custom / the "Postal Service" when you can get something shipped in (if your package doesn't get opened and contents go missing before it gets to you) and general wear and tear on the vehicle... I would strongly suggest going with a simple platform and bring additional front end parts. I would also look into this. Get a container and ship down everything you think you want for the build, but there are a ton of trucks that have already been imported in Central and South America. There are also some pretty sweet vehicles that you can't buy in the US.... not that it helps for this thread, but the diesel Ford Ranger wildtrak is pretty cool. Yes. Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk [/QUOTE]