Moved from Nevada to Costa Rica in a Base Bronco 2.3L 🗺️ 🚚

[RickDeckard]

Long story short: we bought a used 2022 Base 2.3L with 217 miles on it, and 10 days later we drove it to Costa Rica with our 4 dogs, cat, and some home stuff. We have moved to CR permanently and this was the big move.

I bought Black Diamond take off wheels and tires, added a bunch on IAG goodies (rear soft lift assist is worth 5 times what they are charging for it, best everyday addition for sure), tinted the windows, and a put on a RC bull bar and light pods.

We've been home just 9 days now and I'm settled in enough to take the time to write this up.

Basic route:
Boulder City, NV to Las Cruces, NM
to Corpus Christi, TX to Tampico, MX
to Heroica Veracruz
to Pelenque.
Then to Rio Dulce, Guatemala.
Then to Choluteca, Honduras.
And then a final blast the length of Nicaragua to our house in Tronadora, Costa Rica.

Total miles driven: 3399.1
Total days on the road: 9
Total Fuel cost: approx $800
Average MPG: 19.5 (speeds are 55-60 max in Central America)

Ok. Photo dump. We made in 9 days with a 2 days stop in Guatemala at an amazing airbnb that we just wanted to stay longer at.

Las Vegas to Texas:

Snow in TX - last time we will need to use the heater.

Parked in Tampico - we did mucho driving and not much stopping for sightseeing or photos...

Similar situation in Heroica Veracruz: Even after 7 or 8 hours in the car, Gracie was ready for more miles.

TACOS!

Friend outside or hotel room in Pelenque:

Testing the new lights going into the AirBnb in Rio Dulce, Guatemala:

Morning in Rio Dulce:

Wife in the immigration line (checking out of Guatemala and into Honduras), lines were short and the crossing took about 2 hours.

Nicaragua Volcanos!

Got home to Costa Rica at 10pm, next morning:

Basic dog demeanor for the entire trip:

Enjoying our new country and meeting the local rides:

Thanks for reading this far. We will have a youtube video in a couple of weeks and then will be posting on a regular basis on YT and Instagram. Follow if you're interested:
IG: https://www.instagram.com/puravidabronco/

How exciting!! Did you feel safe at all times driving through Mexico and Central America?

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[Mustmoto]

Bueno! Via con dios! I hope you enjoy your new life, and nothing happens to the car that cant be fixed locally!

Gracias! They sell the Bronco here in CR, it may take longer than in the US, but warranty and parts are good to go.

 

[tn3sport]

Long story short: we bought a used 2022 Base 2.3L with 217 miles on it, and 10 days later we drove it to Costa Rica with our 4 dogs, cat, and some home stuff. We have moved to CR permanently and this was the big move.

I bought Black Diamond take off wheels and tires, added a bunch on IAG goodies (rear soft lift assist is worth 5 times what they are charging for it, best everyday addition for sure), tinted the windows, and a put on a RC bull bar and light pods.

We've been home just 9 days now and I'm settled in enough to take the time to write this up.

Basic route:
Boulder City, NV to Las Cruces, NM
to Corpus Christi, TX to Tampico, MX
to Heroica Veracruz
to Pelenque.
Then to Rio Dulce, Guatemala.
Then to Choluteca, Honduras.
And then a final blast the length of Nicaragua to our house in Tronadora, Costa Rica.

Total miles driven: 3399.1
Total days on the road: 9
Total Fuel cost: approx $800
Average MPG: 19.5 (speeds are 55-60 max in Central America)

Ok. Photo dump. We made in 9 days with a 2 days stop in Guatemala at an amazing airbnb that we just wanted to stay longer at.

Las Vegas to Texas:

Snow in TX - last time we will need to use the heater.

Parked in Tampico - we did mucho driving and not much stopping for sightseeing or photos...

Similar situation in Heroica Veracruz: Even after 7 or 8 hours in the car, Gracie was ready for more miles.

TACOS!

Friend outside or hotel room in Pelenque:

Testing the new lights going into the AirBnb in Rio Dulce, Guatemala:

Morning in Rio Dulce:

Wife in the immigration line (checking out of Guatemala and into Honduras), lines were short and the crossing took about 2 hours.

Nicaragua Volcanos!

Got home to Costa Rica at 10pm, next morning:

Basic dog demeanor for the entire trip:

Enjoying our new country and meeting the local rides:

Thanks for reading this far. We will have a youtube video in a couple of weeks and then will be posting on a regular basis on YT and Instagram. Follow if you're interested:
IG: https://www.instagram.com/puravidabronco/

Looks like a great place. Congrats!
Isn't importing a vehicle into CR cost prohibited???

 

[Mustmoto]

How exciting!! Did you feel safe at all times driving through Mexico and Central America?

The only thieves we encountered were the transit police outside of Tampico... The rest, we felt safe and secure. In Mexico, we stuck to the Gulf side and mainly on toll roads for speed and security. Only a few spots along the edges of Tegucigalpa, Honduras felt a tad sketchy.

 

[Mustmoto]

Looks like a great place. Congrats!
Isn't importing a vehicle into CR cost prohibited???

It's not cheap...

 

[Tasty waves]

Thanks for sharing your trip… it sounded exciting. And I can’t agree more with:

rear soft lift assist is worth 5 times what they are charging for it

The more often you get in the back the more you appreciate having it.

I’ve been to CR and you picked a great place.
Enjoy!
Andy

 

[mikeeshim]

How did the headlights perform in the snow?
Rivian has been getting complaints because the snow will not melt due to the lack of heat from the LED headlight bulbs.
Regardless of that, it all seems like it was an incredible trip.

But now when I hear Gracie, I immediately think of the cat from Love Stinks, with Bridgette Wilson calling Gracie throughout a large part of the film.

 

[Crash98]

I've been thinking about doing this for quite some time! Plans on hold since I just remarried, but still a consideration. Did you buy your house or are you renting? I had picked Costa Rica as it seemed to have a good ex-pat community didn't require you to give up US citizenship. Is that true?

 

[evomind]

Very nice....

You can be as careful as can be but I hope you are armed.

 

[NJRoadkill]

Awesome adventure!
following on Instagram

 

[robo]

I've been down there a couple times in the last few years to visit friends living in the San Ramon area. Beautiful country and friendly people (for the most part).
Maybe a tad too hot/humid down on the coast. (West coast only. Went to the Caribbean side years ago and won't do that again. Haha)
The Auto import tariffs are NO joke though. Super high.
Went to a "nice" steak place and was thoroughly unimpressed, but oh the fish! SO good.
Roads were WAYYYY better when I visited recently as opposed to when I went 25 years ago. Still not much in the way of road signage, but at least now we have GPS Nav.
Just gotta get used to delays when driving somewhere on those two lane highways.
One good wreck and you better just get comfortable. Haha
Great photos, great story!!
Enjoy this next chapter!

 

[Dusty]

Wow, what an adventure! I'm envious Looking forward to following along as your story unfolds.

 

[Mustmoto]

How did the headlights perform in the snow?
Rivian has been getting complaints because the snow will not melt due to the lack of heat from the LED headlight bulbs.
Regardless of that, it all seems like it was an incredible trip.

But now when I hear Gracie, I immediately think of the cat from Love Stinks, with Bridgette Wilson calling Gracie throughout a large part of the film.

The headlight would have been an issue in the dark, there was nearly 3/4 of an inch of snow caked over them.

 

[spaceman666]

How did she handle the snow?

 

[Step]

I can’t imagine a better way to enjoy your bronco then driving around CR. I’m so jealous. When I was there, I saw so many off-road vehicles that I had never seen before.

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