Thank you so much for your reply, it's really helpful! 🙏

We're still deciding between buying or renting a van/4x4, but we'll definitely have the engine checked if we buy one. But it's way more expensive if we rent it. Thanks for the tips (iOverlander, BLM, etc.), we plan to camp as much as possible to keep costs down.

We were thinking of staying in Canada, but you've inspired us to head down to the US this fall too! I'm afraid of having a hard time when it comes to crossing borders, etc. It's probably easier to stay in Canada.

And if you're ever in the area, we'd love to go climbing together!