• From Wrangler to Expedition Truck
  • The best decisions arrive with hands still marked by oil, when the engine is tuned and the vehicle, clean, invites the next step. This is a chronicle of eleven years and of an idea that appeared upon waking.
    • I. The origin: Querétaro, 1991–1993
    • II. 2015: Tulum, or when the terrain asked for the vehicle
    • III. Mazatlán: 2,500 kilometres to go and fetch it
    • IV. Five years in Quintana Roo (2015–2021)
    • V. January 2021: fewer doors, more world
    • VI. Europe: from 2,000 to 30,000 kilometres
    • VII. The spark
    • VIII. The three candidates
    • IX. The fine print of the vision
    • X. Indicative comparison
    • XI. The arithmetic that emotion accompanies
    • XII. The asset, the sats and time
    • XIII. The true payload
    • XIV. Before deciding
    • XV. Closing

§From Wrangler to Expedition Truck

By Omar-VgWs

§The best decisions arrive with hands still marked by oil, when the engine is tuned and the vehicle, clean, invites the next step. This is a chronicle of eleven years and of an idea that appeared upon waking.

§I. The origin: Querétaro, 1991–1993

My mother had a Wrangler. Sometimes she let me drive it, and sometimes we went cross-country through the roads of Querétaro. I was a teenager. My knowledge then was different: I knew that a dirt road could end where the tarmac gave way, and that this was an invitation.

That’s where this was sown. The certainty that the map has inhabitable edges.

§II. 2015: Tulum, or when the terrain asked for the vehicle

In 2015 I made the investment in my first property in Tulum. The area had a characteristic that proved decisive: the tarmac ended exactly where what interested me began.

I bought the vehicle because the life project demanded it, with a clarity that fashion never gives. I was looking for a five-door Rubicon: robust, with wide tyres, spacious, in military green. I got all the characteristics I was looking for; the colour ended up being white, which turned out perfect for the jungle.

§III. Mazatlán: 2,500 kilometres to go and fetch it

I organised the purchase from Europe. I reviewed the entire country and the characteristics I was looking for appeared in just one place, more than 2,500 km from my home: Mazatlán, Sinaloa.

I paid the deposit, got the green light and took the first flight. Seated in the 4x4, with the steering wheel in my hands, I embarked on the overland journey in November 2015. Two stops: Querétaro and Chiapas. Then, Tulum.

Seen from a distance, the itinerary has a beautiful symmetry: the delivery journey passed through the state where I had learned to drive a Jeep twenty years earlier. Buying that vehicle was an initiation with an odometer.

§IV. Five years in Quintana Roo (2015–2021)

Five years served to show me Quintana Roo in its two versions: the tarmac one and the remote places where only a Jeep reaches.

I learned something valuable: the vehicle’s capacity grows faster than the driver’s judgement. The Rubicon forgives a lot; the terrain teaches generously. Authentic off-road experience is built kilometre by kilometre, in every stuck situation overcome and in every wise decision to turn back.

§V. January 2021: fewer doors, more world

In January 2021 I sold the five-door Rubicon in Tulum. One week later I invested in a new one: a three-door JL.

The three-door JL. Photograph by the author.

The change seemed like a reduction and was, in reality, a specialisation: shorter wheelbase, better breakover angle, less volume to feed, less surface to maintain and a much simpler shipping logistics.

In August that year I embarked on a journey of about 1,700 km to the centre of the country. From there I arranged the vehicle’s shipment to Europe.

§VI. Europe: from 2,000 to 30,000 kilometres

Since 2022, when the JL had covered less than 2,000 km, I have already surpassed 30,000 km.

Between 19 October and 1 November 2026 —weeks 43 and 44— I carried out the service myself: oil change, filters and inspections.

Freshly serviced. Photograph by the author.

Doing it with my own hands is, more than savings, information. A vehicle you have partially dismantled transcends the brand’s promise and becomes a system you know thoroughly.

§VII. The spark

In my personal chronicle “32 Years of Autonomy and Resilience”, which I reference in my article “A personal log: 32 years of autonomy and resilience”, I anticipated some economic difficulties that might come in the long term. And I wrote, with joy, a phrase that turned out to be prophetic:

“Freshly washed, inside and out, with the oil change, filter and inspection service just completed! 🤩 Ready to go off-road 😀… Or to swap it for several sats 🤔”

Today, upon waking, the phrase became a vision: converting the vehicle’s economic availability into a planetary expedition platform. A Mercedes-Benz Unimog. A Volvo Truck. A TGB 40 – Scania. And to travel the planet with the characters who truly accompany me in this life.

§VIII. The three candidates

Note: the following three images are for reference. They serve to illustrate the type of platform I am considering.

§1. Mercedes-Benz Unimog

It is the purest technical argument: portal axles, ground clearances that no production 4x4 reaches, tyre inflation systems and an architecture designed to work. Its natural habitat is exactly where the tarmac gives way.

Its price is also measured in weight, height and consumption. It wins the desert with ease; the city lies outside its natural habitat.

§2. Volvo Truck

Reference image. Source: The OutFit

Here the argument changes nature: it is already habitable volume and global service network. A well-converted expedition truck is a home with real autonomy: water, energy, workshop, bed, kitchen and space for my loved ones.

And there is a detail that is often celebrated: Volvo Trucks has service presence in almost any country on the planet. On a planet Earth trip, that network is worth more than a few centimetres of clearance.

§3. TGB 40 – Scania Truck

Reference image. Source: The OutFit

The most austere of the three and, perhaps for that reason, the most interesting. Swedish military origin, 6x6 drive, sober mechanics and minimal electronics: diagnostic simplicity and, depending on the country, the possibility of historic vehicle registration.

Its age plays in its favour in two areas; and presents a concrete and very European challenge: emissions.

§IX. The fine print of the vision

An idea that withstands its own objections ceases to be a whim and becomes a project. These are the ones I am working on:

• Licence. In the European Union, exceeding 3.5 t takes you to the C1 or C licence. It is worth planning the procedure, insurance and circulation restrictions from the start.
• Emissions. European low emission zones (Umweltzone, Crit’Air, ZBE) deserve prior study for a diesel of a certain age. A well-chosen expedition vehicle finds alternative routes with charm.
• Shipping. The JL fits in a standard container. A truck with a camper opens the door to RoRo or flat rack, with different costs and route availability.
• Dimensions. European towns were built before expedition trucks: 2.5 m streets, 3 t bridges, ferries charging per linear metre. Every limitation is an invitation to plan better.
• Real cost. The vehicle is the most accessible part of the project. The habitable conversion usually equals or exceeds the chassis cost, and takes months of creative work.
• Spare parts. Beyond their existence, what matters is that they reach where you are, in reasonable weeks.
• Reversibility. A Jeep finds a buyer in weeks. An expedition truck, by its niche nature, deserves a wider sales horizon.

§X. Indicative comparison

Orders of magnitude to size the decision. Verify according to version, year and configuration.

§XI. The arithmetic that emotion accompanies

Here is the most useful data in the whole article, and it is mine: 30,000 km in almost five years are around 6,000 km annually.

That use finds its ideal vehicle in the JL I already have, with room to spare.

This enriches the vision: I am evaluating a change of mission. If the plan becomes prolonged off-grid living, with two or more people on board and years on the road, the equation opens up completely. Otherwise, a truck would become an extraordinary house waiting for its moment.

The most fruitful question is: “Am I ready to live differently?”

§XII. The asset, the sats and time

Selling the vehicle converts a depreciating asset that consumes maintenance into liquidity. That liquidity can stay still or can be converted into sats.

Three principles that guide me:

1. A vehicle is mobility on wheels; bitcoin is a reserve with volatility. Each one fulfils its function within a coherent plan.
2. The horizon rules. Capital I will need in twelve months finds its natural place in stable assets, leaving volatility exposure for long horizons.
3. Custody and taxation are part of the operation, and it is worth integrating them from the start.

It is the discipline I want to cultivate, so that every decision is born from clarity and not from the emotion of the moment.

§XIII. The true payload

Of the whole vision, what matters most to me is this: going with the characters I appreciate most and who truly accompany me in this life.

A Unimog expands the space for company. A well-chosen truck creates the stage where trust is tested and confirmed. What they do is give space: a table, a roof, shade, shared time in a place where there is no signal.

Eleven years of Jeeps taught me to arrive. The next stage, if it happens, will be about being better accompanied while I arrive.

§XIV. Before deciding

1. Get the C1/C licence before buying anything. It is a small investment compared to the clarity it provides.
2. Rent an expedition truck for one or two weeks. Nothing replaces sleeping, cooking and manoeuvring in it.
3. Budget the complete conversion, along with the chassis.
4. Define the first concrete year of route: countries, climates, sea crossings.
5. Confirm that the people are coming. Logistics is designed around the crew, with the crew at the centre.

§XV. Closing

The service is done. The JL is clean, inspected and ready. Its next job can be a track, or it can be financing itself towards another adventure.

I will discover it on the way. But after thirty-five years, I have one thing clear: the vehicle changes; the one who decides where to turn the steering wheel, remains the same.

Note on Transparency and Voluntary Support
The drafting of this article does not respond to any external payment; it is a personal effort born of conviction and dedication. Behind these words lie professional writing and design tools, years of study, and over 18 years of professional experience in the freelance realm. It has been originally published on the «Nostr» protocol 🔗.

If what you have read has resonated with you and you wish for this work to continue generating substance and consciousness, you can support this project voluntarily: with a gesture of recognition, with a few sats, or via my contact page 🔗. Every contribution, however small, validates the time and intention poured into every word.