Explorer I
Hola from 450 miles south of the U.S. Border in San Luis Potosi, Mexico.
Wanted to be a resource for anyone considering overlanding down here. I'll try and remember to get back here and add some more photos later.
For what it is worth, it is me, my wife, and our 2 year old son. If you want to see our Overlanding Setup you can check out this article I wrote.
Also here is how we prepared for the crossing which in hindsight may have been a little overkill, you can read about that here if you are interested.
Border crossing:
We crossed in at the Columbia crossing (near Laredo, Texas) took us about 45 minutes. Super easy. They asked for our passports, visas, registration, and drivers license. We paid for the TIP pass $460 for six months. $400 for the TIP (which is refundable when you leave the country) and $60 for the decal which we didn't know about but no big deal. (Also they didn't ask for it, but you are required to have Mexican Insurance at a minimum) We have extra coverage that covers everything no matter what. We also paid for three visas which were around $30 each.
Border checkpoint:
After leaving the documentation area, we drove through a little security area to the inspection area. I got out of the Jeep and the lady asked me where I was coming from, where I was headed to and what was on the top of my Jeep. I told her, that we came from Texas we're heading to Monterrey and that it was a tent. She said, "Adelante" (which means move ahead) and we were on our way.
First Federale checkpoint:
Two guys in uniforms smoking cigarettes sitting down at the checkpoint. Same questions. Where are you coming from? Where are you heading? I responded, coming from Texas, heading to Monterrey. One of the guys then says, "Nice Jeep!" and gives me a thumbs up and waves me through.
No further checkpoints or issues all the way to Monterrey.
First night overlanding:
We arrived at our campsite by 3pm in a canyon near EL SALTO deep in the mountains of Nuevo Leon, Mexico. This is an area known for rock climbing, ATV roads, and offroading. We make it a point to be at our campsites by 3pm. It is never a good idea to drive here at night.
Heading to San Luis Potosi:
We left the campsite around 7:30 AM and headed 7775 feet up the mountain pass to get out of the canyon. About an hour and a half later we were on a toll road that would take us all the way into the city of San Luis Potosi where we are now.
You can read about our border crossing, and travel to the interior as well as see photos of our first night overlanding in Mexico here if you like.
General tips:
1. DRIVING: Never drive at night in Mexico. It's not the cartels you have to worry about as much as the speed bumps, potholes, and random animals that are practically everywhere.
2. FUEL: Fill up when you are at a half tank of fuel. Also fuel is stupid expensive here. About twice what you'd pay in the States. The offset is that EVERYTHING else is crazy cheap here. Also there is currently a fuel shortage in Central Mexico. So bring your extra fuel tanks. we have a Titan Fuel Tank Trail Trekker II which holds 12.5 gallons of fuel. We keep it full in case we cannot find fuel and start looking for fuel as soon as we get to just over a half tank. Yes this kind of sucks with a Jeep, but better safe than sorry.
3. TIPPING:
Tip well. The average daily wage here in Mexico is about 75 pesos. Which is $3.91 per day. Crazy right? So the locals appreciate a tip tremendously of 20-50 pesos. Which is $1 and $2.60 respectively. If you tip someone 50 pesos to watch over your vehicle while you park to to go eat, they'll watch it like a hawk.
4. COMMS:
AT&T and VERIZON work pretty well down here near the cities and even in some of the rural areas. In some places better than the states even. We simply called our carriers and asked them to make sure we had Mexico coverage. AT&T added it at no cost. We use our same plan that we have in the states. Verizon's fee was nominal for our hotspot use. About $5 a day but we haven't needed it yet. AT&T has been good.
More importantly when overlanding make sure you have some sort of SATCOM. We carry the Garmin InReach Explorer + which allows us to communicate from anywhere as long as we have a clear view of the sky.
5. SAFETY:
Everyone is worried about the "Three C's" 1. Crooked Cops, Corruption, and Cartels. Let me debunk this a little. COPS: Every cop we've met, both Federal and Local has been super kind and gone out of their way to help us or be nice. We haven't had any issues (knock on wood) as of yet.
CORRUPTION: Same thing. No issues at all regarding "mordida" aka bribes or anything of the sort. Not even a hint.
CARTELS: I think they're busy. We've seen no trace of them and they probably have better things to do than look for us.
Having said all that, again we don't drive at night, we use common sense, we stay vigilant, and park in areas where they have active attendants and tip them well. We also have a viper alarm system, and the newest Gorilla Wheel locks on the Jeep which deter theft of the tires.
Other stuff:
We did a Facebook Live yesterday where we answered 20 questions that our followers asked. If you want to check that out you can find it on our FB page here: Jeepsies Facebook
We are posting about our trip daily on Instagram too if you prefer that platform. Find us on Instagram here.
Future Plans in Mexico
We are connecting with a Jeep group here in San Luis Potosi on Friday called Nahuales 4x4. Looking forward to that.
We'll be overlanding in the mountains somewhere with other Overland Bound members the 18-20th
We'll be in Puebla City, Mexico the 22nd through the 8th of February and then we start our return trip.
QUESTIONS:
If you have any questions at all, like I said, we hope to be a resource for anyone considering. So go ahead and ask away. We'll do our best to answer them for you.
Until then, keep it dirty and wheels side down.
Eric aka Jeepsies #OB14045
Wanted to be a resource for anyone considering overlanding down here. I'll try and remember to get back here and add some more photos later.
For what it is worth, it is me, my wife, and our 2 year old son. If you want to see our Overlanding Setup you can check out this article I wrote.
Also here is how we prepared for the crossing which in hindsight may have been a little overkill, you can read about that here if you are interested.
Border crossing:
We crossed in at the Columbia crossing (near Laredo, Texas) took us about 45 minutes. Super easy. They asked for our passports, visas, registration, and drivers license. We paid for the TIP pass $460 for six months. $400 for the TIP (which is refundable when you leave the country) and $60 for the decal which we didn't know about but no big deal. (Also they didn't ask for it, but you are required to have Mexican Insurance at a minimum) We have extra coverage that covers everything no matter what. We also paid for three visas which were around $30 each.
Border checkpoint:
After leaving the documentation area, we drove through a little security area to the inspection area. I got out of the Jeep and the lady asked me where I was coming from, where I was headed to and what was on the top of my Jeep. I told her, that we came from Texas we're heading to Monterrey and that it was a tent. She said, "Adelante" (which means move ahead) and we were on our way.
First Federale checkpoint:
Two guys in uniforms smoking cigarettes sitting down at the checkpoint. Same questions. Where are you coming from? Where are you heading? I responded, coming from Texas, heading to Monterrey. One of the guys then says, "Nice Jeep!" and gives me a thumbs up and waves me through.
No further checkpoints or issues all the way to Monterrey.
First night overlanding:
We arrived at our campsite by 3pm in a canyon near EL SALTO deep in the mountains of Nuevo Leon, Mexico. This is an area known for rock climbing, ATV roads, and offroading. We make it a point to be at our campsites by 3pm. It is never a good idea to drive here at night.
Heading to San Luis Potosi:
We left the campsite around 7:30 AM and headed 7775 feet up the mountain pass to get out of the canyon. About an hour and a half later we were on a toll road that would take us all the way into the city of San Luis Potosi where we are now.
You can read about our border crossing, and travel to the interior as well as see photos of our first night overlanding in Mexico here if you like.
General tips:
1. DRIVING: Never drive at night in Mexico. It's not the cartels you have to worry about as much as the speed bumps, potholes, and random animals that are practically everywhere.
2. FUEL: Fill up when you are at a half tank of fuel. Also fuel is stupid expensive here. About twice what you'd pay in the States. The offset is that EVERYTHING else is crazy cheap here. Also there is currently a fuel shortage in Central Mexico. So bring your extra fuel tanks. we have a Titan Fuel Tank Trail Trekker II which holds 12.5 gallons of fuel. We keep it full in case we cannot find fuel and start looking for fuel as soon as we get to just over a half tank. Yes this kind of sucks with a Jeep, but better safe than sorry.
3. TIPPING:
Tip well. The average daily wage here in Mexico is about 75 pesos. Which is $3.91 per day. Crazy right? So the locals appreciate a tip tremendously of 20-50 pesos. Which is $1 and $2.60 respectively. If you tip someone 50 pesos to watch over your vehicle while you park to to go eat, they'll watch it like a hawk.
4. COMMS:
AT&T and VERIZON work pretty well down here near the cities and even in some of the rural areas. In some places better than the states even. We simply called our carriers and asked them to make sure we had Mexico coverage. AT&T added it at no cost. We use our same plan that we have in the states. Verizon's fee was nominal for our hotspot use. About $5 a day but we haven't needed it yet. AT&T has been good.
More importantly when overlanding make sure you have some sort of SATCOM. We carry the Garmin InReach Explorer + which allows us to communicate from anywhere as long as we have a clear view of the sky.
5. SAFETY:
Everyone is worried about the "Three C's" 1. Crooked Cops, Corruption, and Cartels. Let me debunk this a little. COPS: Every cop we've met, both Federal and Local has been super kind and gone out of their way to help us or be nice. We haven't had any issues (knock on wood) as of yet.
CORRUPTION: Same thing. No issues at all regarding "mordida" aka bribes or anything of the sort. Not even a hint.
CARTELS: I think they're busy. We've seen no trace of them and they probably have better things to do than look for us.
Having said all that, again we don't drive at night, we use common sense, we stay vigilant, and park in areas where they have active attendants and tip them well. We also have a viper alarm system, and the newest Gorilla Wheel locks on the Jeep which deter theft of the tires.
Other stuff:
We did a Facebook Live yesterday where we answered 20 questions that our followers asked. If you want to check that out you can find it on our FB page here: Jeepsies Facebook
We are posting about our trip daily on Instagram too if you prefer that platform. Find us on Instagram here.
Future Plans in Mexico
We are connecting with a Jeep group here in San Luis Potosi on Friday called Nahuales 4x4. Looking forward to that.
We'll be overlanding in the mountains somewhere with other Overland Bound members the 18-20th
We'll be in Puebla City, Mexico the 22nd through the 8th of February and then we start our return trip.
QUESTIONS:
If you have any questions at all, like I said, we hope to be a resource for anyone considering. So go ahead and ask away. We'll do our best to answer them for you.
Until then, keep it dirty and wheels side down.
Eric aka Jeepsies #OB14045
