Delica Off-road to Baja & Back

By Matt Van Emmerik

It all started in August of 2011. I had recently returned from a one year adventure vacation in Australia. I explored the country in a two wheel drive Mitsubishi van. While traveling through Australia, I didn’t find it extremely rugged, and aside from driving on the endless beaches, didn’t see the need for a 4WD.

So here I was back in British Columbia and feeling very antsy and yearning for the open road again. I started thinking about all the different places I could travel to but I kept coming back to Mexico and it’s beautiful Baja Peninsula. I had traveled to Cabo San Lucas, it’s most southern point, but that was by air. This time I decided I would travel there by road and needed to find just the right vehicle for the job.

In Australia I noticed there were quite a few Mitsubishi Delica vans. They are a four-wheel drive, four cylinder, turbo diesel vehicle with incredible ground clearance and multiple 4x4 modes. Not only that but the L400 model has a locking differential option and a sport mode, which stiffens the suspension. It didn’t take me long to decide that this was the 4WD I needed for the trip I was planning.

This van comes from Japan and is a right hand drive vehicle. There are positives and negatives to this but as you read on you’ll see the benefits far exceed the negatives. I found one locally from a fellow that imports vehicles from Japan. It was the L400 model Super Exceed with crystallite roof which means the roof is glass which makes sleeping under the stars much more exciting. I bought the van for $9,000 and immediately began making plans for my trip south for the winter.

I spent a lot of time online looking at camper conversions and didn’t really see any that I liked so I started designing my own and with the help of my eldest brother we built the perfect 4x4 Baja camper conversion. It consisted of two large drawers at the back to hold all cooking supplies and tools. Beside that was space for my solar 12V pump shower and my 25L water jug and 12V powered cooler, which acted as my refrigerator. At the front end there was a large area for food and clothes and all of this was completely concealed under my full double bed. The van was ready to roll in the beginning of December 2011 and on the 12th day I departed south.

I traveled through the US via the coastal highway which winds it’s way through the amazing Oregon coastline and down into the big wood forests of California. The van was great and gave me no grief. It cruised along easily at speeds of 110-130km/hr. Climbing power on the hills was surprisingly good even though I was traveling heavy with all my gear. After 7 days traveling through the USA I finally reached the beginning of what would be an amazing experience…Tijuana Mexico.

I had read numerous books and stories on the Baja so that the names of places would be familiar to me. I wanted to be prepared for the language barrier too so brushed up on my limited Spanish. I also made sure I purchased an unlocked iPhone 4S so that I could use a foreign SIM card in it. This turned out to be an essential tool in my travels - for communication and data as well as GPS. All essential tools when you’re not able to leave a trail of bread crumbs into remote locations.

I had two major concerns about this trip. The first was my safety in a country in purportedly filled with drug war violence (sensationalized by the media). The other major concern was being in a vehicle imported from Japan and having limited access to parts if I ran into trouble. I made sure that I had spare belts and hoses and had the vehicle fully inspected by my mechanic prior to departing. I felt quite confident that the van would do the job but it’s best to be prepared for the unknown. I also carried flat in a can for any punctures, spare brake fluid, oil and an air filter cleaning kit for my K&N filter (this came in handy in the extremely dusty Baja conditions).

The border was chaotic as was to be expected but before I knew it I was cruising down the Mex 1 Transpeninsular highway southbound. This four-lane toll highway from Tijuana to Ensenada was not busy, very clean and newly paved. This is because so many gringos (North Americans) travel this route every year to the homes they purchase in Ensenada. The Mexicans realize this so they build a nice road in which they sting them 3 times for toll along the way. The alternative is a much longer, windy, bumpy route, which virtually no one ever takes (you only save $5).

My first stop for the night was a little campsite just south of the town Ensenada called La Jolla. I was quite nervous at this point and a little flustered. I kept asking myself “Matt what the heck are you doing down here by yourself in Mexico are you crazy?” I was really challenging myself. Upon checking into the campground the lady at the desk gave me a bottle of red wine and dinner  - to say welcome and Merry Christmas (which was fast approaching). The moment I pulled into my spot and got set up I felt a sense of calm about the entire experience. In the following three months I would not have a single incident in which I felt unsafe, in fact it was quite the opposite.

Once I left Ensenada the true Mex 1 highway began to reveal itself. Each lane is actually about a foot narrower than we have in Canada and in many places there is no shoulder at all, just a white line then a drop to rock and dirt. This is the cause of MANY accidents and deaths every year on the Baja. There is no feeling more nerve racking than staring down an 18 wheeler taking up their entire lane and part of yours and having to move right onto the white line to avoid a collision. The great thing about the Delica being right hand drive is that you can look down and place your wheels confidently on the white line. As soon as the truck passes you, roll back into your lane. It makes the Delica the perfect Baja 4x4.

I spent the next three weeks traveling south and with each passing kilometer the weather got warmer - which was a good thing as northern Baja can be quite chilly in the winter months. I followed a guidebook but I also took advice from locals as to the best spots to visit. I wanted to go to places not everyone in their 30 foot motorhomes could access. I wanted to be alone and view places not many people get too, a unique experience, and I had the perfect vehicle to grant me that access.

I visited everything from the ruins of an Onyx mining town to old fishing villages with a population of 20. A lot of the terrain was insanely bad washboard road. I deflated my tires to soften the ride and cruised over them quite nicely. I also accessed some great ‘4x4 only’ roads that required good ground clearance and torque. The lowest gear on the van allowed me to easily crawl along some very rugged and steep stretches of road. The suspension was great over these rough roads. Not once did I put my neck or back out which I have done in many off road vehicles before.

After spending 3 1/2 months on the Baja exploring many remote beaches, fishing villages and ruins I made the trek back up the Baja and into the USA once again. This time I took the van up through Joshua Tree National Park and into Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon National Park all of which are accessible by any vehicle. The scenery was spectacular. The only hiccup I experienced with the van was at almost 9,000ft above sea level the oxygen sensor did not work well and the van ran rough. As soon as I returned to lower elevations it was completely fine. My trip ended in the middle of April 2012 exactly 4 months after leaving BC. I traveled a total of 15,000 kms on everything from highway to rugged trails and the van ran trouble free the entire way.

I would highly recommend traveling the Baja Peninsula and especially recommend doing it in a Mitsubishi Delica. Not only is it the perfect vehicle to travel the Baja in but also it’s an incredible icebreaker for meeting new people and never fails to put smiles on the locals. Everyone wants to know about this 4WD and where you got. Find one of these amazing vehicles and let it transport you to new places and new adventures.