There is a sheer endless list of vehicles available which are suitable and used for overlanding and traveling the world. We very quickly focused and limited our search to the segment of light trucks of up to 7.5t. We wanted a certain level of comfort and living space, as we will have to spend quite some time together on the road. Above 7.5t was out of the question because we don’t have a truck driver’s license, and we were concerned with the more limited maneuverability, the growing number of weight restrictions and the sheer size of the vehicles - which all limit the number of places one can visit. Because of this, we focused on Mercedes Sprinter and Iveco Daily based overlanding models.

We picked most likely the worst time ever to buy an overlanding vehicle. It was in the middle of the Covid Pandemic, and it felt like the whole world wanted such vehicles, the prices increased and qualified workers were missing. Some suppliers didn’t even offer time for consultation, others said they are currently not making offers at all, and some had delivery times of up to 5 years (like Exploryx, which was our favorite vehicle). There is one particular experience which I feel compelled to share. I was set to purchase the Bimobil EX412. It took three months just to get an appointment, by that time the configuration was finalized and a slot in manufacturing was reserved. Finally, I had the appointment and was able to do a test drive (note: most suppliers don’t even offer test drives!). Anyway, after the test drive, I was ready to sign the purchase order. The salesperson came back into the room and said: I just got a new price list and everything has increased by 15%. I felt absolutely betrayed and was so upset that I walked out, and didn’t order our vehicle from Bimobil.

In the end, call it persistence or engagement or luck, we had the option between a Mercedes Sprinter all-wheel drive (from Woelke) and an Iveco Daily 4x4 based vehicle (from Dopfer Reisemobilbau) with delivery times of less than 2 years. So, the key question was, do we go with the Sprinter or the Daily?

We developed a list of priorities and potential travel destinations. Very quickly it became clear to us that we value autonomy and independence the most. The higher weight capacity of the Daily allows to carry significantly more water, diesel, batteries/solar panels, natural gas, spare tires etc. than the Sprinter with its maximum weight of 4.3t. The Daily also provides greater off-road capabilities and the flexibility to add more features to increase the living comfort. The downside of the Daily 4x4 is that it drives like a truck, bounces a lot, is loud, and we read a lot about trouble with reliability, issues with the transmission box and spare parts availability. Nevertheless, the greater level of independence turned out to be the clincher and we opted for the Iveco Daily 4x4.