Where Else Would You Truck Besides the USA?

@insipidtoast
I do contract work for a company that handles motorsports and marketing for Michelin/BFG. BFG supplies pit support for racers for all of the Baja races. This is the first time I've been more than 100 miles south of the border on the peninsula. This year's Baja 1000 was a point to point race (Ensenada to LaPaz) about 1220 miles, so they sent 8 trucks.
There's no real truck stops, there's Pemex fuel stops pretty regularly -basically convenience stores. Didn't see any showers or other facilities. There's plenty of taco stands though. Parking seems to be wherever you stop your truck?
The infrastructure pretty well sucks once you get 56-60 miles south of Ensenada. Up to there it's 3 or 4 lane roads, south of there pretty much 2 lane, a lot of it with NO shoulder. No grinding pavement, just repave on top, there's 8-12" of drop off. In the mountains all the trucks are pretty aware....I stopped and had other oncoming trucks stop so that we wouldn't meet in the corners! They send us with the
people that are going to our pit so we always had a lead car and chase cars, which help a lot for letting you know about oncoming traffic.
My KW threw the dreaded "Derate in 4 Hours!" message 500 miles from the border. Thankfully it fixed itself long enough to get out.
To get in you only need a passport. We stop at US customs to have our 4455 stamped (which says we're coming back with what we brought in), give your paperwork to Mexican customs and you're hopefully on your way. Once a trip they always send someone to secondary inspection which means getting the broker involved, money changing hands and a couple of hours.
Coming back is basically the same except there's usually a wait to get to Mexican customs....It was five hours from when we got in line in MX to when we left US customs. BTW California has a friggin scale about a 1/2 mile from US customs...thanks.
Our E-logs automatically changed over to Mexico rules....14 hours driving, 1/2 hour break every 5 driving hours.
5-6 of the people that went with us have places down the peninsula, like you said. They seem to like it, and it is cheap. They're around Ensenada and north, so they can be back in the US in an hour or two.

 

I probably would have said the same thing. Nowadays I dunno. I'm curious as to how trucking works in Samoa or Guam. If I was comfortable with driving in winter weather I might say Alberta.

 

Brazil? Probably amazing but I know nothing about it...

 

@Rocks

 

Well in some ways it kinda has but as a result some states are virturally free of Covid - 19 in Western Australia (WA) where I'm currently working hauling Iron Ore from the mines to the Port towing 4 trailers at an average speed of 90 km per hour total weight around 194 tonnes. you would not even know there was a covid crisis happening, until you switch on the news or try and catch a flight to another state. Over here as a result of covid you now have to get permission just to travel to another state. Yes in fact as a result of both the states of New South Wales and Victoria having break outs which they were not able to get under control people from those states are still denied entry to WA despite being vaccinated which proves that the vax does not stop the spread so why mandate it?

 

LOL...
Why would you choose that?
It may be a different landscape...
But if you knew anything about driving in Brasil and the roads in there, you would not say so... unless you were nuts...

One thing I heard one Brazilian truck driver who drives now in the US say is that it is much easier to stop for a meal or a cup of coffee in Brasil than in the USA.
Cause the places there are just off of the highway and it takes only a few mins... Here one needs to take an exit and drive around to the truck stop and find parking and walk thru the big parking lot, then wait in line, etc, etc, etc... which ends up taking one hr just for a snack or cup of coffee.
Another thing they said is that in Brasil showers and drinking water are free at truck fuel stations... when you find one that has it...

 

Sounds like Brasil... and probably many other countries in South America...

 

I've always wanted to go to Greece or Turkey. But they hate Americans so doubt I'll ever go there.

 

It would have been Australia, had they not become a totalitarian state of late.