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move on · 11-23-2020, 05:49 PM

Looking for thoughts on how to drag a travel trailer to Tierra del Fuego and back.

wolfe10 · 11-23-2020, 06:03 PM

Will certainly involve some bad roads and some marine transport (no road from Panama to South America.

We have driven most all of Mexico and Chile and a few hundred KM's in Central America.

Like you, we also had aspirations of driving all the way. But, with the multitude of different border requirements, and lots of miles with little of interest, we made alternate plans.

We flew to Santiago, Chile, rented a car for three weeks to drive most of the country, getting as far south as a little past Punta Arenas where the road ends. Then, back to Santiago and flew to Buenos Aries and took a cruise south around Cape Horn and up the coast of South and Central America to Los Angeles. Yes, including a stop in Ushuaia and the short drive toTierra del Fuego. About the same price we had budgeted for a drive all the way.

We did this trip two years ago.

twogypsies · 11-23-2020, 09:33 PM

I would pull the trailer; not drag it!

move on · 11-24-2020, 07:57 AM

I have driven a lot of these roads and they're really not that bad. There used to be a ferry from Panama to Colombia, Cartagena I believe, but it doesn't run anymore. You would have to ship the trailer. This can be arranged in Panama. The biggest problem I see would be border crossings. How was it going from Chile into Argentina? I was turned back at the border many years ago trying to drive to Mendoza.

I once met a guy who did this trip on a Vespa motor scooter. That was in the 1950's.

I ran into a German in Alaska. He had arranged to rent a Mercedes class B in Buenos Aires, drive it to Tierra del Fuego, then up the Panamericana to Skagway. He would then make his way to NY to drop off the van and fly back to Germany. The whole thing sounded expensive. Probably a class B would be a better solution than a travel trailer, though.

DirtRider · 11-24-2020, 08:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wolfe10

Will certainly involve some bad roads and some marine transport (no road from Panama to South America.

We have driven most all of Mexico and Chile and a few hundred KM's in Central America.

Like you, we also had aspirations of driving all the way. But, with the multitude of different border requirements, and lots of miles with little of interest, we made alternate plans.

We flew to Santiago, Chile, rented a car for three weeks to drive most of the country, getting as far south as a little past Punta Arenas where the road ends. Then, back to Santiago and flew to Buenos Aries and took a cruise south around Cape Horn and up the coast of South and Central America to Los Angeles. Yes, including a stop in Ushuaia and the short drive toTierra del Fuego. About the same price we had budgeted for a drive all the way.

We did this trip two years ago.

I really hope to replicate this trip one day. C'mon, retirement!!! Thanks for posting, that sounds incredible.