Hey guys, me and some friends are planning a road trip from San Francisco to Panama. We will be 5 or 6 plus a dog, and we'll be pulling a 18ft RV trailer.
Sometimes we'll leave the trailer behind and going a bit more off-road.
We concluded that a cheap ($2000 to $5000) Suburban would do the trick.
Looking around we found a lot of options and now are unsure on how to choose which is best. Ill list a couple of questions we had regarding the truck.

What's better an old diesel one or a new gas one. In the case of a gas one, which has the highest fuel economy
Should we get a cheap one and modify it (shocks, tires and lift) or get a nicer more stock one.
How important is having the perfect set of tires?

Thank you
Hernan

 

I think that would be about 2000 miles one way, and, I'm not sure just how good the roads are, or, how available fuel is.

I'm pretty sure that an older Burb would make that trip easily, and, most of them have 30 gal tanks, but...

What I would be worried about is not knowing (totally) what condition my ride was in. Buying, just on sight and a short test drive, wouldn't give me the confidence in getting there, or, the getting back which is the most important part. You'd need to check the internet on how popular Diesel or Gasoline was on your route.

So...
Get as new a vehicle as you can afford,
Pick one with as few "frills" as possible (less to go wrong)
I think 4WD would be a good idea, and
A new set of All Season with emphasis on Mud for the Tires.
Additional Spare Tires for Vehicle and Trailer (any tread as long as they held air)

Wow, that's a very bold venture you're about to encounter, and I'd have to be covered (cash/tools/parts/protection) nine ways to Sunday, before I'd even consider it.

Good Luck !

 

Houston's advice hits just about all the points I could think of... and I would also emphasize finding what fuels are most available on your route... suburbans and Toyota's seem to be fairly prevalent vehicles from shows I have seen in Mexico and central america...
diesel's seem to be setup a bit better for dealing with varying quality of fuel... i.e external fuel filter, where as most gas engines now have the filter in the tank... you could do both on the side of the road with basic tools but I'd much rather deal with an clogged external fuel filter then an a clogged in tank filter..

 

Depending on how soon you're going and how old of a Burb you're willing to consider, you could get one with a 6.2 and install a fuel conversion kit so you can run off waste vegetable oil ... would give you some additional flexibility.

 

If I could find a really good one, I might go with 6L LS gas power, but for sure I would go with a 2500 model, everything on it is already heavy duty, brakes, transmission, rear axle, suspension. New tires would be good insurance from blow-outs (AT Michelin E plyrated). I wouldn't worry about the mileage.

consider the following:

I have a 95 Sub with 310K, which I blew the orignal engine at 180 K, but I blame on the oil I was putting in it, and my "extended periods of time" between changes for that. The heads and the intake valley were full to the top with coked oil (Texaco, mostly). My bad. New GM 5.7 crate motor with 3 yr warr @ $1800 delivered to my driveway overnight. Fuel injection system never touched except fuel filters, trans never touched (oil or filter), rear never touched. Brakes last forever, bearings too. No rips in interior, no cracks in plastic. In Texas! 5.7L engines can be fixed on side of road.

I also have an 03 Sub with 439K, which I had to replace the cam this spring (1 really bad roller lifter, 2 lifters on way out). I replaced all the gaskets, without pulling engine. Inside of engine spotless, cyl bores not scored (180 PSIG on on cyls). Valvoline 10 40 or 10 30 although still not on rigid schedule (5K to 15K miles). Still looks like new, outdoors parking only, never waxed. AC compressor and water pump lasted over 300K (compare to old 5.7 technology - 3 compressors and 2 water pumps on the 95). The LS engine is pretty impressive. But the LS engine is 3x as expensive in parts and complete compared to the 5.7, and out in the unpopulated areas, good luck finding parts or service. Complete orig exhaust system. Orig rear brake pads and rotors. Changed front pads once. Fuel inj system untouched, never flushed. Changed plugs once at 280K. Now, as for the the electronics on this truck, impressed not so much. Two sets of 2 fuel pumps, at 160K on each change ($1100 at dealer each occurance). Instrument cluster lights out here and there. Reduced engine power glitch which took forever to diagnose (two throttle harnesses, two trottle body's, and one gas pedal assembly) and make go away at 200K, and same problem is back now at 436K (new pedal assembly next, already did throttle body).

So, for conclusion - of the two, considering you are going outside the US, I would go with the more low tech 95 - standard small block chevy's got to be the easiest thing to fix and at the cheapest cost. With money you would save on an older vehicle, buy a new crate 5.7 motor for $2K and go for it.

Good luck!