I say Go for it!
I don't want to get anyone riled up here, but I will tell you about my Baja trip last winter.
We had a great trip. Would go back in a heartbeat. We drove from the Yukon down to Cabo and back home over a 8 month period. Took our 4Runner of course, and would not hesitate to do so again. We found the locals to be very friendly, helpful and welcoming. I only speak restaurant spanish but I do not expect locals to know english, I can get by. They appreciate this.
Tips: Forget about TJ. Cross Potrero, Cali. to Tecate Mex. Easy small border crossing. Tecate is small enough to be easy to negotiate, 5 min and you are through it. Then it is a lovely drive south to Ensenada which is not bad as citys go. We didn't hang around the boarder on the way south but coming north we spent some time near Ensenada and enjoyed it.
We bought insurance for 6 months from an office in Calexico. Right on the main St. Was easy to get to and they were easy to deal with. Others do it online.
The biggest negative to the whole Baja trip was the narrow roads. It takes some time getting used to them. They get progressively better as you head south. We never travelled at night, always arrived in daylight. Drive slowly and watch for Topes (speedbumps) in odd places. We found other drivers to be predictable. Maybe not following any rules but predictable. We averaged 50Km/hour for all of Baja. It takes time to get places.
We did not free camp anywhere. Campgrounds are plentiful and cheap.
Gas is easy, stations clean and pretty new. Just pay in round numbers, say 400 pesos. It's easier than dealing with change if you say 'fill er up'. Saves a bit of stress but we had no problems with anyone. Never short changed. Tip the attendant. I used premium which all stations had, still cheap. I carried a spare fuel filter but didn't need it.
We liked the middle section the best. Loreto was our favorite town, spent Christmas here. The bottom loop around Cabo is busy and developed. Not a favorite.
You will be far from the only Northerner there. There are gobs of Canadians down there, mostly in their own rigs. We were told the American traffic had slowed in the past several years but we still met lots. Us Canadians never stopped going down. Most people said Baja is still safe, they were more wary of the mainland but that is second hand info. We stayed on Baja.
Wish I could go back this year.
PM me if you want any specific info.
Have a great trip.
