My wife and I are planning to retire in the next few years. We want to travel from Canada down south in a truck camper (maybe live in Panama 1/3 year and travel back to Canada to live there for 1/3 year with the rest of the year will be driving there/back -visiting other countries/places along the way). If we enjoy this we will live in Panama longer and continue this maybe indefinitely.

What we are looking for is the right truck and camper to be able to safely and easily travel any nearly all the roads in Central America - that according to my research can be pretty narrow. We also want to be able to easily fit into parking spaces in Central American countries. So we feel a 7' wide camper may be the best bet but are interested in opinions. We are also curious how long our truck with camper should be so that we can park it in any 'normal' parking space (by central american standards). I'm assuming a Dodge Ram 3500 with extended cab and short bed would be fine with the camper not extending past the end of the bumper but again looking for educated opinions.

So to anyone who's driven down south in a truck camper or other even any other RV.
How long and how wide was your rig?
How difficult was it finding parking with that size rig?
Would you do things different/what would you recommend?

Many thanks

Wow, you guys are ambitious. Big is always better while full timing. However, I would consider the bad roads you will surely face. Buy a 4x4 truck for sure. The best way to buy a camper is to find the one you like first and then match the truck to the camper. Northstar makes some great options, they build solid units that are simple in design. I would stay away from slides and would tote along a portable generator like a 2000eu Honda, they will run a 9k ac. Going back to the truck I would have a winch installed and carry two spares along with some fix a flat, tools would also be a must, even if you don't know how to use them. Take your time and choose wisely, your safety may depend on your rig. I hope you guys know what your doing, good luck.

Hello Freespool. I greatly appreciate your reply, the advice and general tips are great. Though I figured I'd bump this thread since I still haven't had anyone really directly answer my questions yet.

So to anyone that's traveled down south
How long and how wide was your rig?
How difficult was it finding parking with that size rig?
Would you do things different/what would size would you recommend?

To Panama, I dunno. All around Baja? We manage with this beast. Camper and flatbed are 8' wide. Box lids add another 3" +/-. Tip to tale? Can't recall, but it's mighty long (26'-ish?).

Whatever you do, make sure you have plenty of solar and battery. We're running four batts (I added a second dual battery compartment) and four panels and a big sine wave converter. Perhaps I over did it, but It's nice to not have to worry about juice.

Pic

Parking. Well, you won't get preferred parking, but you can manage.

Unfinished (hadn't yet trimmed out the bottom from flatbed-friendly mods, hadn't added the second battery bank, etc.), but Baja called, so had to go as it was:

Pic

Oh, and these guys did it in what I'd consider not a SA worthy RV (every bit as long as our setup and about as wide). A little dated, but probably a lot of useful info: Panama Guide