Choosing the appropriate vehicle and having the needed equipment for overland travel in Canada can be summed up quite easily I find. You want something reliable. Plain and simple, you are travelling through some remote areas and being self reliant is paramount.
Equipment
Equipment gets more high tech as the years go by so we won’t go into great detail as to what we think you should bring along. The internet is full of places for you to research and read many, many opinions on every piece of equipment that’s available. What we do want to emphasis is that you should have the means to setup camp and spend a few days if needed in case of an accident, mechanical breakdown or just waiting for the weather to improve. Whatever the reason, we suggest you have the required gear to survive on your own. This means having shelter and food. Running out of gas and having to wait a few days for someone to come along can either be an adventure or a life threatening disaster, preparation is the difference.
Vehicles
Truck or bike, it doesn’t really matter, both are prone to breakdowns. Every vehicle has its weak spot, knowing what they are and having the spares and equipment to deal with them is a very smart idea. A lot of people bicker over what the best bike or the best truck is, to me being comfortable and being reliable are two most important items one should look at when choosing what vehicle to take on an expedition.
Having suitable tires, gas mileage, performance and many other items are also important, do your research and you should find all the answers you’re looking for and probably more information than you thought might exist. The links we have provided on this site are a decent spot to start your research. Take opinions with a grain of salt as it often seems as if people get defensive about the stuff they have and have a tendency to always think it’s the best, must be some weird facet of human nature.
Whatever vehicle you choose, we recommend you spend some money and pack the spare parts that are known issues for that vehicle. For example, some bikes have known fuel pump issues, others have final drive issues, some are known to go through bearings, etc. Knowing these issues for your vehicle and having the know how, the tools and the parts available will make a bad situation manageable.