GAS or DIESEL - What's BETTER to DRIVE AROUND THE WORLD OVERLAND?

[@TheRoadChoseMe]

Thanks for watching! Next video (coming on Thursday) I'll cover all the other topics related to fuel - how much range do you need, what about filtration and quality and what happens when you run out in remote locations around the world.

[@vernonbennettiii3646]

The Isuzu Galloper was a 4 cylinder diesel.

[@betaich]

I know Overlanders who travel with Euro 5 diesels throughout Africa and Southamerica and are just now stuck in Canada. They never had problems with Diesel quality, even in Bolivia and that was the worst Diesel they encountered.

[@philiphannum4211]

I had no idea. I had assumed that diesel was the only way to power a vehicle in the remotest parts of the world. EYES OPENED!!! This is so good to hear and was so informative that I really appreciate the information. Well done and thank you for the update.

[@TheRoadChoseMe]

You're welcome, I'm happy to hear it was helpful!

[@cameronwood1994]

@Atlantic Pacific Europe is even lower sulphur than North America. We're maximum 10ppm whereas the US is maximum 15ppm. Also, ours is much higher cetane as well, so European diesels have to remapped to work properly on US diesel.

[@cameronwood1994]

@Atlantic Pacific It's been 10ppm max. since 2008 when EURO V was introduced. EURO IV back in 2005 specified a max. 50ppm sulphur. The US has been 15ppm max. nationally since 2010.

[@welovenature360]

Very well explained and I totally agree. Living in South Africa all my life, and over the last 10 years I have owned various diesel 4x4s and had trouble with all of them (meaning trouble which I was not able to repair easily or cheaply). The last 6 years I have been driving a gas / petrol v6 Toyota Prado, and will never go back to diesel. It’s a common discussion around the camp fire, and I respect everyone’s opinions and experience, but for my experience petrol is the only engine I feel confident driving around Africa and southern African countries. 473000kms on the clock and still solid and reliable and cheap to maintain.

[@naturephotography8837]

Were all those diesels new models (since 2010)? Were they japanese brands?

[@94520shatto]

Forty years I've lusted for a diesel. Until today, 7/2/2020. We had gas and diesel Land Rovers in Ethiopia, and the diesel went twice as far on the same tank as the gas and the diesel had way more power down low. Then, they were so alike that they shared the same engine block, then, in the 1960s Series II Land Rovers. My problem is failing to put together that times have changed for vehicles as well as nations. And me. So, thank you for updating my programming. Now I'm even happier with my 2012 Rubicon.

[@TheRoadChoseMe]

Thanks Michael - the world certainly is different. I've wanted a diesel 4x4 for a long, long time, but it has sunk in over the last few years that I either need to get one from the 80s or 90s if I want to drive around the world, or if I get a new one I'll be stuck exploring North America or Australia. Such is the reality right now!

[@mindFaceContinuum]

Good to know.. Thanks! This runs totally counter to all I had heard before-long before-but your commentary on the new diesel changes has it all making sense. I was waiting on diesel Jeeps in the US, but when they got here they were only 3.0 liters, and required auto-trans. Each day I become even more glad that I opted for the gasoline man-trans instead!

[@GustafN]

People travel to the most remote and interesting places on gas powered motorcycles. I'm going down Latin America on a motorcycle and the only preparation in regards to fuel I've done is to install a pre-filter in the filler-neck with water a separator. Great video as always!

[@daveybernard1056]

Post video and during and after trip impressions! Even cell phone video will be awesome.

[@GustafN]

@@daveybernard1056 I have a few videos so far! Will make more as i can continue after the pandemic, the bike is in storage in Costa Rica for now sadly :( kzbin.info/aero/PLjMKn7wVoQGNOb5cNqeYpD4rvjRqMCirz

[@jo1e-de-v1vre]

@@GustafN I'm thinking of doing the same thing. I want to do it in a 250cc. Do you think that would work out alright?

[@GustafN]

@@jo1e-de-v1vre something like a Honda 250 would be perfect, wish I’d fit comfortably on one!

[@jo1e-de-v1vre]

@@GustafN Luckily I'm smol. I'm assuming Japanese brands have a good after market presence in central and south america. Do you know if this is true? If so I might look into Suzuki or Yamaha bikes.

[@SamCarleton]

I simply LOVE your videos! I drove a 2001 Diesel VW Bug for about 16 years, put over 320K miles on it, loved it. Last month when I purchased my Jeep I wanted Diesel one but had a feeling the v6 gas engine was the right way to go, you just confirmed it, thank you!

[@TheRoadChoseMe]

That is awesome!

[@BaderJambi]

I had a different impression before watching this video, yes, I thought diesel is the way to go. Very informative video, always excellent contents, thank you!

[@TheRoadChoseMe]

Glad you liked it!

[@Oilbleak5453]

Ok, I was beginning to think I was crazy remembering a blog post of your's talking about getting a diesel conversion. Thanks for talking about that so I don't need to schedule a psych eval.

[@thebnicho]

He did an OM606 conversion, it broke when out testing and he sold it off. :(

[@MADBONE0]

I guess all those emissions and computers from 2007 onwards has changed the landscape *limp mode activated * Buys 0ld diesel ❤️

[@nahom6038]

Totally unexpected perspective, helped a lot thanks.

[@TheRoadChoseMe]

Glad it helped!

[@bumsonarock]

Everything I've seen, including your videos, has made me go all in on my 2003 manual v6 Tacoma for the pan American. Easy to work on, inconspicuous, capable, and no car payment 🤠

[@TheRoadChoseMe]

Absolutely perfect!

[@V_For_Vigilante]

Ur car still sucks tho because its unsafe

[@bernarrcoletta7419]

I’m certainly one of those people who thought diesel would be better for international travel, but taking what you said, and seeing how much DEF my neighbor uses on his pickup, you make 100% sense.

[@florianbammes7534]

Thanks Dan! I thought the same as most people here. But now......i love my 4L straight six in my XJ quite more than i already did. Huge thanks for all of your content man!!!!!!

[@TheRoadChoseMe]

You're very welcome!

[@nutdonut1739]

Two years ago I tried to find such information before picking right vehicle, but it was not simple. I think people (mostly from EU, like me) consider Diesel engines better for overlanding because they know nothing about sulfurs standards (it is not common knowledge), that modern CR pumps that are very delicate to fuel quality (this is why Toyota LC J120 and J150 with D-4D Diesel engines are not popular in Africa, but J70s with 4.2 Diesel last forever) or t.ex. how African countries look like nowadays. I collected all important information what convinced me my choice was good. It was easier because I personally disliked Diesels. This is why I chose a petrol 4WD for me and my wife for ours overland trips. It was not easy here in Europe (t.ex. petrol LC150 is not offered in my country anymore, Jeep Wrangler JL is not offered with V6 Pentastar; 2L Turbo and 2.2 Diesel only), but not impossible. My friends look at me like I am crazy but all are amazed how good fuel consumption my petrol 4L V6 Toyota 4WD has (last check: avg 12,5 l/100 km - 900 km of city/highway/back roads/rural roads). All you said here is very truth. Those who do not believe can google articles about modern fuel Diesel pumps problems in Africa. It is usually 10-20 tkm and they have to be replaced by new. So the real choice for overlanders traveling the World is: old simple Diesel engine or nearly ANY petrol. Cheers from PL.

[@travsformation1]

Very useful feedback! Is your engine the 1GR-FE (4L, V6)? Are you happy with it? Hope many miles have you put on it? I'm currently looking into a LC J79 with that engine and any feedback is much appreciated. Thanks!

[@brucebeath9548]

Great advice. I have see too many high end computerized diesel vehicles in limp mode in Africa. The new Land Rover Discovery is notorious for going into limp mode even with a broken tail light bulb never mind dirty diesel.

[@user-nu8vz5bz7w]

It depends where you are going to. For the regions you mentioned, petrol is a good choice. When you are in the dephts of Siberia, where there is only trucks and traktors, you often can find some old men sitting in the middle of the forrest next to some rusty diesel barrels - but petrol you will not find within some hundred square miles. Or if you're in Iran. There you can have diesel, but it is not for sale to tourists. You need to ask some lorry drivers to buy some for you. There (and in the neighbor countries) CNG is the perfect choice of fuel. I was there with my petrol car. Petrol had unbelievable less octane. Sometimes 70 or less. My 30yrs old engine could handle this, but motor management (with knock sensor) worked behind it's limits. A modern engine could have been killed. Because of this my car is fitted with a petrol/gas(LPG) combination. In total I have a range of 1.200-1.500km, depending on route profile. All over Europe, Asia, North and more and more South America you can fill up with LPG. And since I installed Venturi technique, there are no (electromagnetic) nozzles of any kind. No matter, how bad the LPG quality is, the engine always runs in healthy conditions. From now more than 25yrs of car traveling I prefer this combination of fuels. For the last 100.000km (some 60.000mls) I spend less than 4.000 USD on fuel. The average is ok, I guess. Sometimes it's great, when you fill up LPG for 0.15USD/Liter or Petrol for 0.25USD. Three yrs ago I had a tour with only 16.000km and spend less than 300USD on fuel. I prefer spending money on food, not on fuel ;)

[@TheRoadChoseMe]

Thanks for all the real-world info, that's extremely helpful!

[@Alan.livingston]

Funnily enough I’ve known people who have had trouble getting petrol in outback Australia. Diesel really is king there.

[@doncarlodivargas5497]

I have no plans to see the world, but this was both really interesting and surprising information, probably valuable input for people considering this

[@rustywolf6813]

Funny, I don't do overlanding, but building a weekender out of my 89 Jeep YJ. I thought about putting a diesel in it, but declined. I like the easy to maintain and fix Weber Carb, but what I did do, was add Propane, so now it's Dual Fuel!! Can run a forklift tank or a BBQ tank in a pinch. For FL and Hurricanes (no power), Propane is still around, even without power. Good vid and channel, subscribed!

[@bmpwe]

I just bought a '20 Wrangler a few months before the diesel came out. I was regretting this decision but feel a lot better now. Thanks Dan, I appreciate your videos.

[@TheRoadChoseMe]

Good choice!

[@brunomarado890]

You are right. Modern Diesels require low sulphur content (less than 15 ppm) and in affrica mos of the Diesel is high sulphur content (rangim from 50 in Mozambique up to 2000 in Egypt).

[@robertvoss9111]

Something else to consider, in a lot of countries, especially in Europe where a lot of overlanders are from, you pay way more vehicle tax on a diesel car than on a gas car. In the case of a big defender 4 times as much, so over many years this is really gonna add up a lot.

[@Unknown12454]

Toyota 4Runner 5VZFE 1997 V6 GAS for the win, one of the most reliable gas engine Toyota ever build. Thanks for the nice facts.

[@vernonbennettiii3646]

Excellent video -- one of the best I have recently seen on KZbin. I currently own a modern diesel 4x4 +modified 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland with lots of off-road after-market enhancements), and have had a modern diesel sedan and many gas 4x4s. I drove a new 2000 Isuzu Galloper 4x4 thoughout Costa Rica back in 2000. I like my modern diesel very much, but my next newer 4x4 will almost definitely have a gasoline engine. Thank you, again, for the excellent analysis of this topic.

[@TheRoadChoseMe]

I'd love to get an EcoDiesel Grand Cherokee or Wrangler... but I know I'd never leave North America with it!

[@scottt4081]

My wife and I drive all over the place in the states. There are a lot of small town gas stations where diesel is not available. There are many times when we would have been jammed up if we needed diesel.

[@michaelmaeser1258]

Great video! Thanks man! Watching this video and listening to what you have to say can literally safe you thousands of Euros. I can agree to what you say: friends with whom I shipped from Europe to South America got stuck after a couple of thousand kilometers in the north of Argentina. They were traveling with a newish Diesel van, and their engine stopped working due to the lower diesel quality. Cost them a lot of money and effort to get all sorted.

[@brownmoyondizvo1258]

Right now gas and diesel are hard to find in Zim -- but, you can always buy diesel from a passing trucker.

[@lechen5540]

Very helpful videos for international overland driving. Thanks.

[@siddharthaganguli5299]

That was a nice logical analysis, you changed our perception.

[@edwardbiasi37]

Hello my friend. I recommend that you look into a plug'n play performance chips. I have a 2014 f150 supercrew with the 5.0 v8. I put in a Thorton performance chip and now I get 18.5 mpg combined driving and 24 mpg freeway. Totally worth it!

[@bualdoot83]

I’ve always wanted a diesel for better fuel mileage and better torque. But, modern gas engines are really comparable in the power aspects, and not terrible on fuel mileage. Diesel is the most refined fuel, so I would actually expect it to be less common, if not for price. Diesel used to be way cheaper than gas, but in America for the last few years that hasn’t been the case. You made a lot of excellent points that I had not really thought about when looking at motor selection or fuel type. I had wanted the newer turbo gas jeeps, but now I’m thinking it would be a bad idea if I wanted to do a trip like you did.

[@archygrey9093]

Diesel used to be cheaper here in Australia, but now its like 10c more per litre than unleaded

[@AH6man]

Traveling through the Middle East taught me that gas was king there. More people sold gas in remote areas vs diesel and gas was more accessible.

[@keithandrews7075]

Thank you very much, this was a mind opening for me thanks again

[@simplerefinedliving9285]

Rock on bruva. Really hard to argue against this guy. Sound, sound advise contained once again. Never really given this much thought as I've been one of those people where 'Well its just gotta be a diesel'. Gunner have to go away and digest this one me thinks....

[@yorkchris10]

I had a Toyota BJ60 with mechanical injection. I would have been more worried about getting low sulphur fuel. Some mechanical distributors use engine oil for lubrication, but others require sulphur in the diesel. Royal Enfield made a diesel motorcycle at one time. Good to keep a check on world change for consumables.

[@robertjustin1291]

Damn it!!! I just super charged my ride.... excellent video my friend. I like how detail oriented you are.

[@paulg7294]

Very informative and, having just recently completed an overland journey in 2019 from London to Japan I couldn't agree more. We drove a 2013, 4 WD diesel Nissan Navara and had several issues on route as a result of poor quality diesel. We did learn very quickly to avoid filling stations with no customers but in remote areas such as Mongolia, Turkmenistan etc there are few filling options. I'd advise taking spare jerry cans of fuel so when you do come across a decent filling station fill spares with enough fuel to get you at least 300 km. Also in Iran its almost impossible to buy diesel in a private vehicle as stations are prohibited from selling it to anyone but truckers and commercial vehicles who have to produce some kind of official diesel fuel card. We constantly had to charm truck drivers to allow us to fill up using their cards. Most were very helpful and let us do this even though I think it was illegal for them to do this. The good thing in Iran at the time was it only cost about US$4 to fill the (80 litre) truck! Towards the end of the journey we had problems with the diesel particulate filter and spent many hundreds of kilometres driving with about 50% power. I guess this was the accumulated effect of poor quality diesel over 50,000km. We are now planning on the next leg of our round the world journey and intend to sell the truck and go gas/petrol.

[@TheRoadChoseMe]

Thanks for the real-world input and WOW, that's an EPIC trip. I look forward to following in your footsteps! Do you have somewhere I can see your route in detail? Cheers,

[@paulg7294]

@@TheRoadChoseMe Sure, you can see our route, pics etc at www.travellingvagabonds.com. Willing to answer questions. All the best.

[@TheRoadChoseMe]

That is really, really awesome! Thanks very much

[@archygrey9093]

In Australia I am often given a diesel hire car to travel to remote towns for work, A few times places like Halls Creek or Fitzroy Crossing have temporarily run out of fuel, and they always run out of diesel, probably because 90% of the vehicles on the hwy are diesel. Also when fuelling up I am often stuck in line behind 10 freakin caravanners fuelling up too for the diesel pump whilst the petrol pump bays are literally empty. Diesel is almost 10c more expensive than petrol where I am too now

[@jplunkett3647]

first and foremost thank you for sharing YOUR experiences / knowledge = for our collective benefits its most valued and appreciated keep your new videos being published ... life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness

[@jackodinsen604]

Thanks so much for making this video! I have been on the fence for a while now, but you just convinced me to go gas. I didn't want all the complexity of the new diesels, nor the cost. And working on one of the new diesels in the field is an absolute nightmare!

[@DA_Van4Fun]

Thanks for useful videos. We are preparing for long adventures and we invested in Delica. We bought gas Delica. The reason is availability of spare parts. The engine is V6 - 6G72 and it is available in almost all countries of the world. For US and Canada, Mitsubishi produced Pajero and Montero Sport, some of engines installed in Dodges models. I think availability of spare parts should be also main factor for choosing overland vehicle.

[@TheRoadChoseMe]

Good choice!

[@edwardpeters4700]

You make an excellent point regarding modern diesels. The emissions systems make them an absolute no go anywhere ultra low sulfur diesel is unavailable (unless of course you're willing to do an emissions delete which is completely illegal in many countries).

[@tommytomas-fr3sh]

this is so true if you drive around Kalimantan, it is easier to find petrol than diesel...

[@LWRC]

Your videos are a gold mine of information and I'm sure it would save many folks major headaches if they didn't make the right choice!

[@cerbomach7058]

I think the point is in the price... 80 or 90% of the time diesel will be a lot cheaper than gas, joined to a better fuel economy it really makes the difference. But is good to know that in Africa you can equally find diesel or gas, I was about to ask you about this topic.

[@next-horizon-overland]

Absolutely true mate. Modern Diesel engines are not suitable anymore to drive around the world (after Euro 3 Norm). Lots of people scrapped their beautiful Euro 6 Vans in South America or Central Asia because of the different diesel quality. The diesel Troopy (Land Cruiser HZJ 78 or 79) works still perfect, but is not anymore available in Europe (only second hand). Therefore people buy the gas version. Actually a pity because the diesel version has quite a huge range (with our Troopy we can drive around 1700 to 1800 km in long distance mode before we have to tank again, 220 liters). And yes, diesel is mostly cheaper than gas. We are happy with our diesel ... For a trip only in the Americas I certainly would choose a gas vehicle. No doubt.

[@MatthewLowryUSA]

1000 mile fuel tank range is awesome. Is that with additional gas tanks?

[@thebnicho]

@@MatthewLowryUSA The 220 litres mentioned is standard for that model. Most Australian specification, Land Cruiser and Prado have dual tanks from the factory. That's because we have such vast distances to travel and it can be 500km/300miles between service stations.

[@nasseral-momen1463]

Hi. Which model is the troopy ypu have ? Because I was on the fence of whether to buy a troopy or a Mercedes sprinter but no longer. Troopy it is. But from what he mentioned the 4.5 v8 diesel clearly had trouble in South Africa and I am wondering which one do you drive ? Thanks

[@ianfarr-wharton1000]

@@thebnicho 2001 Prado most shitest car I ever had, My 2015 Mitsubishi triton dual cab 300,000 on the clock and still going hard.

[@next-horizon-overland]

@@MatthewLowryUSA That is standard for this model (2 separate tanks, each 90 liters plus 2 sherry cans each 20 liters). You can also get a bigger 2nd tank. But I think 220 liters diesel is good enough

[@desertfox486]

Shocking but makes total sense. Those little motorbikes are buzzing around in every country on earth. Gas/petrol rules!

[@merhaba8]

Once again thanks for your excellent commentary and yes I do agree with most of what you say. To back you up Mitsubishi stopped selling diesel Canters in North America, actually they will soon be not selling any Canters there, and Earthcruiser are now making their North American overland truck on gas trucks, but on the other side of the coin a couple from UK, Tuckstruck, have spent the last six years driving through Africa and the America’s in a Euro5 Iveco Daily without modification and very little problem. Good filters are critical.

[@Fe_lix]

I also prefer gas to diesel, including for big 4wd. (And I own a gas Land Cruiser in the most diesel country in the world.) But I can tell you Gas LandCruiser are still extremely rare in Europe. For the LandCruiser officially sold by Toyota : The LandCruiser SW 200 was only sold with the 4.5 V8 diesel and is no more sold since a few years because it does not pass emissions. The LandCruiser Prado 150 is only sold in diesel. For the 70 series, for the time it was officially imported by Toyota (from 1984 to 2001) they only sold it in Diesel except for a very few units for rally races. Since 2001 private importers have hacked the 1HZ diesel to get it to pass emissions, the only reason they stopped since 2 years is because they couldn't hack it enough to pass emission anymore. And it is the only reason they started imported the gas 70 series Cruiser with the 1GR. If they could they would still import the 1HZ. Here in Europe I never heard someone saying you need diesel to travel in Africa (because you will no find gas) but here everyone wants diesel for economy and torque, particularly in big vehicle (but until recently even small vehicle were more sold in diesel than gas...) and so this is the only option you find. People think you are crazy if you buy a big gas vehicle even for day to day use so if you say you want to travel 20000km everyone think diesel. The real thing that changed is that big gas engine (like the 4L V6 1GR in LandCruiser) have made a lot of progress in fuel consumption and I agree that the difference with diesel in not that more worth on an economic point. But obviously back in the day F serie and 1FZ were gaz guzzler compared to a Diesel, particularly under load. Owning a F powered Cruiser it's a joy to drive but a pain to have a decent range in sand (like more than 300km which is ridiculous). The few gas Land Cruiser we have in Europe are collectible pieces that are worth a lot more than their diesel equivalent in use market. As for the issue your friends had it's really weird because the 4.5L V8 (1VD) is sold in LandCruiser SW 200 and 70 series in some African countries (and not only SA). But maybe the African spec don't get all the emission crap.

[@svein-haraldribland8559]

Fé lix Yes, there are a lot of V8 diesels around the world. Maybe for America it is different.

[@tuco8723]

Excellent explanation!!! Thanks a lot for it!

[@questioner1596]

As a Canadian, finding a diesel vehicle, new or used, can be a challenge and quite expensive. Up to 2015, some of the only diesels in cars were in VWs, some Chevy Cruzes and luxury cars. VW has since stopped since their emissions cheat was discovered. Heavy duty pickups and vans are also available, but generally add $4000 - $10000 to the price. No Toyotas (except Hinos) have been sold in Canada with diesels since the 1980s. Also, some provinces have higher prices per litre for diesel than gasoline. So, for overlanding, if Canadians want a diesel vehicle they must often look outside what was sold in Canada. This makes registration more of a hassle.

[@dougg8280]

Excellent video. I appreciate you points at why you went gas. Just brought a gas JLUR, and diesel was in the budget and I plan to stay in the US. Temps and distance per tank was the advantages for the diesel for me. The downside was, first model year, weight, maintenance. A second tdd ank can be installed for cheaper than the diesel. Added cost of diesel per gallon more than blows past the mpg advantage. Factor in maintenance and the diesel is more expensive upfront and per mile.

[@TheRoadChoseMe]

Nice! I'm very interested to watch the reliability and long-term mileage of the diesels

[@johndiaz7240]

Such a precise and helpful advice thank you . Many now are building new Dodge heavy duty trucks for overlanding with diesel motors not taking into consideration the low sulfur requirement fuel .

[@TheRoadChoseMe]

Right on

[@jaytamayo9883]

Very well explained mate!

[@carlosestrada9420]

Great video! I asked for it days ago and It´s great. You solve all my cuestions! Thanks!

[@TheRoadChoseMe]

Happy to help - let me know if you have more topics you want me to cover!

[@carlosestrada9420]

@@TheRoadChoseMe Thank you very much for your help! I'm planning to do a trip next summer, from Mexico to maybe Panama for a start, so right now we are designing our tour. I'll let you know if some other topic come along. Mean while We´ll be watching all your videos. Again thank you!

[@kotimoto]

Diesel is generally cheaper, which is probably a major motivating factor.

[@aslkdfjhg]

Not always, sometimes diesel is more expensive because they're simply bought less, so there's less availability. Petrol is king in the middle East and Africa

[@eugeneenslow8563]

In the u.s., diesel fuel and diesel vehicles are more expensive. So much so I think it would take a LOT of miles to start getting any financial benefits. And even oil changes are exorbitant compared to petrol oil changes.

[@kotimoto]

@@aslkdfjhg in most developing countries Diesel is subsidized, since it's the main fuel used for transportation. I agree in the US gas is cheaper.

[@kotimoto]

@@hughsmitham722 why is diesel priced so high compared to Gas, when engine cost is same, the 2.0 engine was developed by Fiat some time ago.

[@shawnd567]

Diesel is much more expensive in USA.

[@nikolasonderer3387]

I only just discovered your Channel recently. You just convinced me to go ahead with my old 2¼ Petrol Land Rover. Or even with the mighty V8 in my Defender 😊

[@johnsmith-dm2tq]

Not only did I learn I don't need a diesel but I was looking at a diesel fuso that has a newer motor. I do plan to stay in the u.s. with it tho.but if I made bigger plans it could be my weak link.

[@Davran2742]

I'm thinking that my Mercedes 240d might be my best choice of overlanding vehicle :)

[@TheRoadChoseMe]

Good choice!

[@Davran2742]

@@TheRoadChoseMe -- euro model with manual trans, manual hvac, manual windows, etc; basically a cab :)

[@blondeguy08]

Great car but not enough ground clearance.

[@Davran2742]

@@blondeguy08 - My '89 ford f250 6.9 diesel 5-speed would have been excellent, but I foolishly sold it.

[@Vanisl4runner1]

@@blondeguy08What you mean is “not enough ground clearance for you”. Everyone’s adventure is different. You could drive that van up the dempster highway to Inuvik without any trouble.

[@ultreiaoverland]

Great information, thank you for sharing your experience. Nice touch having a spider falling on your front right fender at minute 7 🕷👍

[@TheRoadChoseMe]

Glad it was helpful! - ha, didn't see that!

[@federicoacker5672]

Congratulations mate, very good videos, not biased, on the contrary based on experience, common sense and in an objective point of view that is: the gold here is The Trip itself, not the equipment or the vehicle, those are just tools that you need to tackle it. Thanks for sharing!

[@TheRoadChoseMe]

Well said!

[@MiniLuv-1984]

You've made me question my presumption that I need to get a diesel. Here in AU, the purchase price difference between a petrol and a diesel is substantial, along with higher regular maintenance costs, the cost per kilometre of the diesel can easily exceed the fuel economy savings it offers. By my reckoning, the break even point is 100,000 km where a diesel starts to earn its keep. These estimates are very specific to my circumstances, but the point remains, like you said, think it through, do the sums, be realistic about your plans. Time to create a spreadsheet and do the calculations... Again thank you - your advice and perspective are invaluable.

[@TheRoadChoseMe]

You're very welcome, I'm happy to hear it was helpful!

[@ptcutman]

Hey Dan, good video. Would love more info on fuel quality. When I traveled across Africa 20 years ago I had 2 inline filters and still suffered from junk in the fuel, particularly in rural areas. Keep up the good work!

[@TheRoadChoseMe]

Did you see this one - kzbin.info/www/bejne/sIXWg5umZ9CUd6s

[@unimog404]

In my 1965 Unimog 404 i went from a 82hp 6 cylinder 2.2 Liter petrol to a 80hp 5 cylinder 3 liter Diesel engine! Much more reliable start with 1 push on the button. Way better fuel consumption. I did 1 Liter LPG on 2KM driving

[@InnerVisions2020]

Nice video mate, as you know here in Australia we have an obsession with diesel but I can’t for the life of me bring myself to buy one as the performance of most diesel 4wds is lacklustre. Like you I went petrol and for a 5.6L V8, the engine is quite economical on the open roads.

[@genieb]

Nigeria sometimes have petrol shortages and that means huge lines at the petrol stations, not sure whether diesel was easier to get. Not sure about other places though.

[@fromwhereweare]

Great advice! Modern Diesels are unfortunately not suitable for overlanding anymore. And I believe there’s really 2 things to differentiate: One is bad fuel with water and particles that cloggs injectors and causes corrosion. Second is the different sulfur levels in diesel fuels which has nothing to do with good or bad - it’s just how it was designed and standardized in countries. And a modern Euro5/6 Diesel that requires low sulfur levels is just not able to run with higher sulfur fuel as the additional sooty fumes (amplified by higher altitudes) will quickly clogg the DPF and damage the engine with the exhaust recirculation. So one thibg you can do to the very popular Sprinter vans you mentioned is to have the Diesel Particle Filter removed and the Exhaust Recirculation Valve shut. That way, they‘re back to ~Euro 3 and able to run on high sulfur fuel. The problem with bad fuel (water & particles) of course remains but can be somewhat mitigated with prefilters. We haven‘t had any problems so far. But we‘ve only been to Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina and Chile - all countries with generally high fuel quality. Bolivia will soon put our modified Diesel to the test :)

[@lukasst1411]

Hey, did you make any bad experiences after that? I am planning a world tour and want to use a diesel as well.

[@fromwhereweare]

@@lukasst1411 Hey Lukas, the border between Chile and Bolivia are still closed, so we couldn't gather first hand experience on that. I've seen a couple other overlanders, including 10+ tonne trucks struggle with engine failures there - others are more lucky. I guess it really depends on the gas station you're filling up. We're now shipping to North America so our next chance to sample bad fuel will likely be somewhere in Mongolia, Altai etc. We've been to some very high altitudes though (5.000m+) and that was no issue with some modifications.

[@lukasst1411]

@@fromwhereweare yeah, I think a diesel is manageable with some preparation. Your Route looks very interesting. I have planned to start from Germany and visit first Africa, Asia and then ship over to North America to visit south and north. Where did you book the shipping?

[@fromwhereweare]

@@lukasst1411 Seabridge is a good place to book in Germany. You could consider using two different vehicles for the trip. Sth like an older Landcruiser for Africa and Silkroad and something more comfortable for the Americas (if you want).

[@lukasst1411]

@@fromwhereweare ok, Thank you so much for your tipps.

[@gbuzz1245]

Best overland channel on KZbin! I have been trying to decide on an overland vehicle. I currently have a 98 Toyota Prado V6 but from what you are saying the Jeep Wrangler has better fuel economy

[@TheRoadChoseMe]

If you already have the Prado, staying with it will cost less money so you can get on adventures sooner.

[@gbuzz1245]

@@TheRoadChoseMe I was thinking that but the problem is it has a low payload.

[@TheOutFit]

I found this very interesting and was sure I needed to diesel swap my jk 3.6. Thanks for taking the time.

[@TheRoadChoseMe]

Glad it was helpful! I wasted a LOT of time and money trying to diesel swap my 3.8 JK. Please, please learn from my mistake. It is absolutely NOT worth it.

[@peterbruckmann1]

Wow, this was definitely a surprise! I feel like I did a ton of research and have recently bought a '95 80 series land cruiser with the 1HD-FT diesel (24 valve but still all mechanical). Plan is to ship from Canada to Europe and then spend a year through mostly north/east/Southern Africa. Your note about trucks staying on the main roads and the scooters being everywhere made me slap my forehead. That makes so much sense! Maybe I need to get long range tanks to fill up where I can and where it seems like the quality is better?????

[@TheRoadChoseMe]

With that engine you should be fine, but make certain you install a VERY fine filter in the diesel line, and a water separator. If your range is over about 600 miles you should be fine.

[@markwinter7511]

Thats a damn fine combo you got there Peter hang onto it is my advice. Upgrade your filtration as Dan says and you will be the envy of many.

[@FJUH]

I think a bonus for diesel, and a reason it is chosen for remote driving, is that it is less combustible than Petrol. Nice to hear a dissenting voice on diesel though, it’s almost sacrilegious to say anything positive about petrol engines in Australia!

[@TheRoadChoseMe]

Yeah, it's obviously different in a developed country like Australia, or the USA, but when you go international, you don't want a newer diesel engine!

[@aamerchoudhary5827]

Great points Dan and very well explained. Thank you !

[@TheRoadChoseMe]

Very welcome

[@paulmentzer7658]

When I was in the National Guard in the 1980s, my unit had both diesel and gasoline 2 1/2 ton M35 trucks. The gas jobs were over 40 years old and had problems with them running given their age. The Diesels were newer but had a larger engine. The Gas jobs had better traction off road thrn the diesels. Now the Diesels I drove were converted Gas jobs, converted in the 1960s thus only 20 years old when I drove them. To get the same low speed traction I had with the gas Truck the Diesel engine had to be a third larger then the gasoline M35s. Thus, when I drove the gas job the lighter weight could be felt as I drove it as well as the better low speed off road in mud traction. And God Forbid, my unit had dual fuel trucks, trucks that could use both Gasoline and Diesel. These basically were Diesel engine that could run on gasoline mixed with lubrication oil. My unit had received them after the Gasoline M35s and before the Diesel only M35s. Given a choice the unit retained the Gas M35s over these multi Fuel M35s, the engines were that unreliable. The compromises needed to make the engine capable of using gasoline made the engine fail quicker then the older Gasoline engines and later Diesel only engines. What that experience taught me was, off road (NOT on dirt roads, but true off road) the gas engines gives you the low end power you need to get through mud, while the diesels can not, every thing else being the same. That last phase is important, to many times I see a Gas vehicle being compared to a different vehicle that is Diesel. In such cases the vehicle more designed for off road use wins, no matter which type of engine it has. Just a comment on my experience with diesel and gasoline off road vehicles. Everything else the same, gasoline is the better choice but that is rarely the case and thus in most cases Diesel will come out on top.

[@steven.n.friends]

Best advice ，you are a nice guy. Gas engines make us go further around the world.

[@Mish3ab999]

Fantastic content. I haven’t seen this information anywhere else.

[@williamhussey1611]

I'm building a first gen 4runner rig, and and im happy I chose the 2uz, 4.7 v8 toyota engine. Over the 1uz as the 1uz needs premium. And good thing I chose gas lol

[@adelarsen9776]

I like this channel because there's no bullshit. Most people just attempt to replace experience with kit. Most people just Copy and Paste and buy all the trinkets and accessories that everyone else does. They spend 250k dollars building mega-cruisers and they never go overlanding. Most "over landers" are accessory whores.

[@TheRoadChoseMe]

Cheers!

[@marceloantoniorodriguezgra5414]

You're totally right!!! Gasoline engines are easier to run, and fix that diesels. By the way, in hight altitude environments like the Andes around Bolivia, Chile, Peru , Argentina and the Himalayas, gasoline engines actually work a lot better and are more reliable!

[@XaviCasals]

I’m learning so much that I started thinking that ‘The road DIDN’T choose me’ and I should keep programing in my laptop, in my ordinary life

[@TheRoadChoseMe]

I knew nothing when I started! You can learn as you go, don't think you have to be an expert on your first trip!

[@Dizzyish]

That’s quality info! Thanks.

[@aslkdfjhg]

Another thing I'd like to add, look up how much a petrol fuel pump costs, and how much a diesel pump costs, also look at injectors. Petrol motors are far cheaper for maintaince if looked after. I love diesels, but yes they do cost a bomb when things go wrong.

[@philiplange428]

Diesel range advantage is critical for outback Australia. In some places you just cannot carry enough Petrol to get the range required and all other camping gear within GVM of vehicle. Hard enough with a diesel.

[@TheRoadChoseMe]

I drove all of Australia (Simpson on the Madigan), Cape York, Fraser, Canning Stock Route, Gibb, etc. etc. in a petrol Jeep Gladiator. I did have to carry a lot of fuel (250L for the canning), but I got it done with an aux tank and some jerries.

[@MrJunkFruit]

Agreed! Drove a Diesel Land Rover through Asia and North America. Gasoline (but also workshops working on gasoline cars) often was easier to find. Buying a new one, we would never go for a new Diesel as all this Adblue, DPF, and other stuff really doesn't make it a strong, easy maintainable and reliable engine anymore. So we ended up buying a new Land Cruiser with a gasoline engine with the same thoughts you were sharing! Great video!

[@TheRoadChoseMe]

Thanks for the info!

[@wolfgangwust5883]

Agree on your opinion on new commonrail diesel engines. No go. While being easier to repair, modern gas engines too are packed with scary blackboxes, controllers and sensors, and I hate the engine control flashing up, because camshaft sensor #3 went down the toilet in the middle of Nowherestan. That said, I stick with the non-turbo, non-dpf, high emission, precombustion chamber diesel engine of my last 28 y.o. G-Wagon tractor.

[@couga861900]

I loved the content of this video. I’m very happy that I have a well maintained 200 tdi engine in my Land Rover Defender 130. I’m planning a trip through the Pan-American Highway. I’m looking for ways aroma Costa Rico and Panama.

[@TheRoadChoseMe]

You'll have to ship around, most people wind up shipping from Mexico to Colombia (Cartegena)

[@eugeneenslow8563]

Seems like it's been very recently that diesel was preferred for international travel. I have seen at least one other video this year that new clean diesel engines won't tolerate high sulfur fuel.

[@derekboehninganderson5209]

Looking at modern diesel trucks the engines are heavier too. So even though they tow more and gave more torque they have less payload and room for stuff and people on your rig.

[@mozaic_channel]

The Defender diesels pre 2006 seem a good bet. Although I’d happily try an old 2.25/2.5 gas Defender. Even for a gas motor though, an additional fuel water separator may be a good idea? Never cruised the World, so a bit of an assumption. I have a Toyota FZJ80 now with the 4.5 petrol, but I stick to N.A (I d like to do the Pan-American though). I had a beat up 78 Mercedes 300Td (first car during college): the whole car was falling apart around the engine, but the motor just ticked and lumped.

[@TheRoadChoseMe]

The 300tdi is a fantastic engine to take around the world.

[@TopanKJ]

This is so interesting ! Thanks a lot for the refined different options!

[@TheRoadChoseMe]

Glad you liked it!

[@deepheight]

Absolutely spot on Dan. I had 2 Defenders in Kenya, a 2008 and a 2011 TDi Puma engine. The first one, the ECU suddenly burst into flames - scary and cost an arm and a leg to fix. The second went into limp mode every half mile due to a fuel injection issue (bad diesel). Certainly diesel in Kenya is known to be watered down. Bottom line, petrol, with the least frills, wins every time.

[@TheRoadChoseMe]

Wow, sorry to hear that!

[@maneel]

That makes sense!! Tnks for sharing your experiences!!

[@TheRoadChoseMe]

Glad it was helpful!

[@mossandthesea]

I had a Mercedes 240D. It was amazing and would burn anything. Loved it.

[@TheRoadChoseMe]

Those things are EVERYWHERE in West Africa. Easily the most common vehicle on the road!

[@mr.howell7243]

The Road Chose Me when I bought him, the reason why I did was because of a National Geographic program 30 years ago. A Berber had one, carrying his family, a goat and their belongings. If a Berber used it like a truck, that it must be durable.

[@andyramone05]

In Mexico Diesel fuel is frecuently even more expensive than premium gas, and it has the reputation of being poor in quality. There are stations where indicates that has low sulphur concentrations but they are not so common.

[@Rebel.Matt555]

Excellent video! I have my sights on the new Jeep Gladiator and there is a Diesel option. I was torn between the two but I think I'll stick with the gas. I think the mileage and torque is impressive but what really concerns me are all the sensors, canisters, DEF fills, etc..that will come along with it. Seems like a lot of failure points. If I was only staying in Colorado I'd consider it more, but I have my sights on Europe and the Sahara. Thanks again!

[@TheRoadChoseMe]

Glad it was helpful!

[@MichaelNatrin]

Great info, thanks so much.

[@TheRoadChoseMe]

Glad it was helpful!

[@cameronwood1994]

I will say one thing regarding premium fuel. Sadly, here in the UK and most of Europe, our vehicles are designed to run on 95 octane premium unleaded, and have done since the early 1990's - certainly European manufacturers. In fact, it is not uncommon for many vehicles here to have a requirement of 98 octane super unleaded, mainly because, in the case of vehicles from the 1980's a hangover of vehicles requiring 4-star leaded fuel or, more recently, small capacity turbocharged petrol engines with lots of power to meet emissions requirements (e.g. Ford Eco Boost 1.0 engine with 140 bhp). Diesels here pretty much since Euro 5 came out in September 2009 have Diesel Particulate Filters (DPF), requiring special low/mid-ash (low/mid-SAPS) oils meeting ACEA C-category oils, seldom available outside Europe. This is also now the case for Gas/Petrol engines here meeting Euro 6D, as they now require Gasoline Particulate Filters (GPF). What does this mean? It means that you need enough oil of the correct specification, not just viscosity, to cover all of your service requirements during the trip. These specifications are often proprietary and require you to use manufacturer-approved oils to meet emissions and wear requirements, in conjunction with ACEA C1-C5 category oils (which category you require varies according to manufacturer requirements, ACEA categories do not supersede each other). Secondly, you will likely have almighty issues with emission control systems on your vehicle, as discussed in the video. Some vehicles do better than others in this regard, but the wrong oil can cause issues just as rapidly as the wrong fuel with DPF's/GPF's. When I did my Africa trip, I was lucky since my Land Rover was designed to run on 90 octane fuel and can be tuned to run as low as 85 octane fuel by rotating the distributor - this was the "high compression" engine, still only 8:1. The Discovery 3 we had on the trip, fortunately was a pre-2007 model V6 diesel, and so was only Euro 3 compliant, which meant that removal of emission controls systems didn't throw a check engine light. Euro 4 models from 2007-2009 required the ECU reprogramming to ignore emission systems. If we had the later Euro 5 engine, we'd have been stuffed! My advice is this. If you choose petrol, which is probably the sensible thing to do with the amount of motorcycles on the road and Japanese imports which are nearly exclusively petrol, make sure that it is designed to run on 91 octane regular fuel. Sadly, this rules out most European manufacturers although Land Rover's Ingenium engine can run on 91 octane fuel, GPF notwithstanding. The Japanese are much better at providing engines to run on this lower octane fuel. Secondly, if you run a diesel, make sure it does not have a DPF, nor a requirement to run on low/mid-ash (low/mid-SAPS) oils. Sadly, when a specification is listed as just, say STJLR.03.5005, it doesn't really add up to much - you will have to research whether it's a low/mid-ash oil or not. Fortunately for everyone, Africa, by-and-large, has in the last year or so moved to low sulphur diesel (max. 500 ppm), as evidenced by the UN's Global Sulphur Levels map. However, since American diesels require ultra-low sulphur diesel (max. 15 ppm) and European diesels sulphur-free diesel (max. 10 ppm), it's still a long way to go until modern engines can run on African fuel, but at least pre-Euro 5 engines will be fine!

[@TheRoadChoseMe]

My Jeep runs happily on 85 octane, which is still very common across the USA.

[@cameronwood1994]

@@TheRoadChoseMe You use a different octane system to the rest of the world. Your octane is Motor Octane Number (MON) + Research Octane Number (RON), and halved. Pretty much the rest of the world just uses RON. USA 85 octane would be roughly be 91 RON, which is still lower than European-spec fuel which is min. 95 RON.

[@TheRoadChoseMe]

Interesting, I had no idea!

[@jimmcwhirter3798]

S2S Overland fwiw, my wife and I just returned after ridding two newer BMW motorcycles, both rated for high octane fuel, from the USA to Patagonia, over 20,000 miles. In the USA we always filled up with the specified high octane fuel, but once south of Mexico (where we were always able to buy high octane) we filled up with what we could get, out of a pump or jug. And though we did notice the engines running less than optimum a few times, overall those engines just adapted (thanks to the adaptive control system that controls the overall ignition system), and they ran. From sea level to 5000 meters, with gas of questionable quality, and certainly not meeting specified octane requirements, they adapted, and ran. FWIW.

[@cameronwood1994]

@@jimmcwhirter3798 Mine is old fashioned, I have to retard the ignition timing manually!

[@dinkaman2160pukka]

U r a LEGEND!

[@FearlessOnFourWheels]

♿We have a 2010 Toyota Hilux Diesel and was very happy with the performance and reliability in Southern and East Africa. ♿ Great video keep them coming Thank you.♿

[@77loquito77]

I believe the Hilux is the non-emissions controlled version of the Tacoma. That's why it does so good in that part of the world.

[@nutdonut1739]

@@77loquito77 Hilux and Tacoma are two very different pickup trucks. The main difference is frame, in Hilux it has boxed, Tacoma has open-C. Tacoma is considered a "cheaper" bro for Hilux, but Toyota proves that cheaper does not always mean worse :)

[@HoneyBadgerFarm]

Be careful with these new modern turbo gasoline engines..if you go gas go NA

[@Vanisl4runner1]

I was literally coming on here to see if anyone was talking about engines from the last 5 years.

[@ElevationEveryWeekend]

Awesome content and topic Dan! Keep them coming!

[@TheRoadChoseMe]

More to come!