Halibrand

Your list so far is great, but try to carry an extra air filter. I have the stock-style AFE-drop in and it got plugged so bad it bogged my motor down to the point of stalling. I thought my ECM was going bad! Mexico is VERY dusty!

This is me cleaning my air filter on the beach at San Quintin, Baja Mx. I cleaned it before I left my house, and LIGHTLY oiled it. All that mess on the sand is from the filter! It was still spic-n-span inside the intake tube though!





Also carry hose clamps and zip-ties: case in point- buddy was on a dirt trail in Baja and he decided to go a different direction at a fork in the road. He backed up hitting a 12" pole buried in the dirt, it ripped out his rear brake line. With some quick thinking, they yanked a screw from the fender liner, shoved it in the brake line, cinched it with a ziptie, and managed to get it home without much fuss.



Jerry Cans for fuel, brake fluid, and maybe some fix-a-flat or that ARB kit would be a good move too.

johnh

also, leave your guns at home

Raspy

One other thing I forgot to mention is to not drive fast in Mexico. There is a big road sign on Hwy 1 that says "this road is for economic development, not high speed driving". Many Mexicans drive older vehicles and are not in a hurry. Many roads are in poor shape or will vary from year to year with big potholes.

Enjoy the sights and go with the flow. The last thing you need is to have a wreck, endanger a Mexican, or damage your vehicle by going off the road or into a huge pothole.

Dirt bikes seem to be perfectly legal in town, licensed or not. I rode my XR for hundreds of miles on all sorts of roads and on the highway. But one night me and a buddy were riding through town with no helmets and no headlights and we got stopped by a cop. He was totally cool and said we should either get helmets or headlights before we continued. Then he left us and drove off. So we rode off too. No problemo.

Beer is cheap and easily available in Mexico. So is ice. A case is a "caha" with 20 bottles. When you go into a tienda to get some they'll want to know if you want it cold. Tell them "frio, por favor". The cardboard boxes are reuseable and are famous for containing cockroaches. So it's best to not store the boxes in your rig. At some resorts the beer trucks will line up in the morning to deliver. You can stroll up to the driver and load up all you want. I brought a lot of beer home with me on the boat, but I also found the biggest roach I've ever seen just tooling around below decks. What a heart stopper!

Danderson

I might add offroad tire plug kit also. An unmounted spare tire stores better and "llanteras" are everywhere. Halibrand,that shot of the beach@San Quintin reminds me of quite a few runs out to "La Punta" to surf the right out there. I had a Landcruiser at the time w/manual steering which made crawling over the volcanic rocks fun. Nothing that a bottle of premixed Tequila Orendain and a campfire wouldn't cure. It's really beautiful and peaceful out there. Nice pic.

ElShawn

Halibrand:
Your buddy sure has some quick thinking on his side! Very well done.
I think I may go with an unmounted spare, if I need it changed, it gives me the chance to interact with the locals and like you say llanteras are everywhere.
Johnh: I don't own a gun so not taking it will be super easy!
Raspy: No problem with driving slow, beside being on holidays, I'll be riding my 450 cc Honda which I chopped and hardtailed. So high speed isn't really an option! And thanks for all the cervesa advice but noone on the trip drinks!

So I don't have a gun and I don't drink......but I still have a Dodge Diesel! Can I still hang out?

Just for fun, heres a pic of the bikie I'll be riding:

Baja

I go down to Baja all the time and have been for years, so I can only speak of that area. Love it there. I have never had a hassle, ever. Remember, you are guest in their country, be friendly, humble, respectful, and considerate, that will go a long way. Smile. All the posts above have good things to say, good advice. For insurance, I use Baja Bound. BE SURE to ask that your insurance covers roads other than Mex 1 while in Baja. Some companies only cover blacktop roads and there is only one of them there, Mex 1, so it can be very limited. I like to bring soccer ***** and frisbees for the kids. They all love it and it is really sad to see what they play with, especially in the more poor pueblos. I like to carry a 80 cf scuba tank. I find it useful for filling tires after a airdown, impact tools and general cleaning of parts when necessary. The only item I would add to the tools in the other posts is lacquer thinner for cleaning. Look for local fisherman, you can get fish, clams and other goodies for almost free. A small BBQ is nice, I use it a lot. Bring TWO shovels, that makes it so your friends can help dig instead of drinking beer and laugh at you. Good luck, have fun, it will be great.

wiskeyVI

LOVE your bike!!!!

ElShawn

Hello all!
We made it back from Mexico safe, sound and still liking each other!
I'd like to thank everyone who suggested things I should take.
I'd also like to tell those who suggested things that while I used the advice, I didn't use anything I took with me! I had absolutely no problems with the truck at all.

Here's a quick run down:
Total miles was 7222.4
I don't have the mileage mostly because there's a lot of math involved in converting liters to gallons and not all the receipts have the total of fuel so there's peso to dollars conversion too.
I spent just under $1000 US on fuel.
Not too bad considering the distance I think.
That total does not include what I spent filling the bike. which on most days of riding I filled three times! Of course it was only $5 to fill.
The cheapest fuel was at the Flying J in Cheyenne at $2.11 US a gallon
The Most expensive was in Ft. Macleod -about two hours from home at $2.99 US a gallon. Ha! Welcome home!

I picked up a set of Nitto Terra Grapplers in Amarillo and I couldn't be happier. Well mannered on the highway and good in the soup as well. Was running through foot deep snow on top of mud the other day at work no problem.

We had absolutely no problem whatsoever in Mexico. The people we met were fantastic. Truly wonderful. There wasn't a single time I felt unsafe.

Driving in Mexico is a crazy, crazy thing. My girlfriend drove my truck through the most insane traffic I have ever seen. She handled that truck like it was a compact car! It was a real treat to watch her wheeling around cabs, pedestrians, pot holes and everything else in Guadalahara, Mexico's second largest city. I was watching because I was behind her on my motorcycle. It made more sense for me to follow her as I could split lanes and weave through traffic and keep up to her easily. Which, while not recommended and really unsafe is super fun!

Here's a couple of Pics.


We stopped here and bought some oranges from a farmer. I only wanted three but he insisted that they were the best oranges in the region. I ended up buying a five pound bag for 10 pesos!


Everyone loves Dodge trucks! We stopped in possibly the dustiest town I have ever seen for some lunch-roast chicken is everywhere and amazing!- when this guy decided to camp out in the shade.

Mexico is amazing and beautiful and full of wonderous things. If you have the chance, go. If you don't have the chance, make it happen. Just make sure you get away from the beach resorts and really see the people who live there. it's well worth it.

snoyes

Glad to hear your trip went well!!!

DarkDesertCTD

Have fun, be careful, good luck.

I live 2 hours from the Mexico border and have been to Rosarito Beach twice with friends who used to live down there and even though that relaxed me a little I still didnt have much fun for fear of watching my back all the time. Personally, I would never drive my truck in mexico and definitely wouldnt take a motorcycle there. But then again, Id probably never go back.

One thing though, in the line to cross the border when leaving they sell churros and by God they taste awesome!! The guy wanted $8.00 for a small bag of them and " All I had " was $3.00. I bought like 6 bags (shared with my car mates) and at the end gave him $5.00 for a tip. He told me I was his best customer in a long time.

DarkDesertCTD

Just saw the last post. Glad youre home safe and had a good and safe time!

tonycamacho

Here is a little advice from someone who lives in Puerto Vallarta and has lived in Mexico since 1987. Avoid the border towns, get through them as quickly and safely as possible. Use the toll roads when available and don’t drive at night. Use the large Pemex gas stations to rest stop, or camp if you can’t find an RV park or hotel. You will encounter many inspection stops by the military or feds so clean out any bullet case or empty shell cases which might be in your truck or car. Don’t use a military ammo box as a tool box either. In Mexico one empty shell case could cost you a long jail trip and the lost of your truck or stuff. Avoid the drugs and insure you have prescriptions for the drugs you have in your vehicle. If you are caught at night on the road and someone tries to stop you on the road keep driving to the next town or large Pemex. Don't believe all the scare stories about Mexico. If you take the same precautions you would take in L.A. California you'll be fine.

xraydodge

I my self would take guns and money but the guns are a no no and if you get caught you will go to jail. Let me tell you a mexican jail sucks..Ive been there. I would plot your course and destinations with a GPS and scheduled times and have someone you can check in with. That way if you disappear or do not meet a check point someone will have a place to start looking for you. Mexico is a fun place to go if you do not forget one thing, everybody is trying to scam the tourist. Do not trust anyone down there. Cops wont help you and if you get hurt or sick you better make a b-line for the United States because if you end up in a Mexican Hospital they will take every penny you have before they let you leave. Treat the trip like gambling. Don't take anymore than you plan on losing because you could lose it all! Have fun. Be Safe.

Danderson

We nicknamed "Churros","Border Donuts" when I could eat them without indigestion in the late 60's & 70's! We'd get out of the water from surfing all day,hit the fish taco stands or carnitas stands,pig out and head to the border filled to the brim w/cheap food and beer. In the back of my truck's camper shell was the one gallon empty milk jug for mandatory bathroom runs. Fond memories of living twenty miles from another world. Glad you had a good time. That was quite a journey.

Apache1

I live on the border.

I wouldn't go into Mexico under ANY circumstances.