Are most Overlanding rigs overweight?

[jc1986]

The thread and article will always be relevant. I read the article when I was building my truck and tried to take all of that into account. Somethings I was successful with, others I was not.

I doubt many people here are using their gladiators as truly dedicated expedition vehicles, so there is probably some leeway on weight and everything else. A lot of people are lifting their Jeeps for aesthetics more than capability. I lifted mine because I could not get heavier coils to support the camper at the time. If I did it again, I would hold off until I could get heavier coils And skip the lift.

While I do have a lot of crap loaded in mine, most of It was selected for weight and some things do not get packed for every trip. A lot of trips we have only one jerry can. Usually I do not carry traction boards. There are times I do not carry a kinetic rope. It is all about managing the load for each trip.

I appreciate the insight and by no means was I trying to say you didn’t need any of the items. A Jeep is a Jeep and we all are going to make them individually to match what we want them to be. I’m just glad people are using them and getting out there.

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[KurtP]

If you’re worries about weight, dont go by reviews or advertised numbers. Weigh the truck.

 

[Trippin01]

You should weigh it. We keep most of our camping gear in bins in the garage (as do many others, I'd assume).

A few years ago I took our bins down and weighed them. We have probably 10 bins of crap; crampons, hiking sleeping bags, hiking tents, ground tents, regular sleeping bags, stove(s), bladders, spare plates and napkins and utensils... Pretty much everything and more. The only thing I did not weigh was our camp chairs.

Threw the bins on a bathroom scale and tallied them up. Just a hair over 400#. And we don't take all of that; maybe half that. We've changed our setup some, so I need to re-weigh it. And pare it down some more.

I'm down to two big bins and two small ones, a camp chef kitchen, 5lb propane tank. 100# RTT and 60# rack. And the cooler.

Someday I'll be able to convince my wife she doesn't need 3 bags of clothes for a weekend...

You are correct, I should weigh it. I carry a foot locker of camping gear, good for 1-2 people, I know it weighs less than 30 lbs. But I have 5 x 37" tires at about 60 lbs ea, rack for the RTT, at 40 lbs, RTT at 90 LBS (loaded with bedding), But you are correct on all that other stuff that adds up quick, like upgraded bumper, Sliders, winch, recovery gear, 12v freezer fridge, etc. and then there is what I'm sure is 100 lbs of tools. But I feel confident with the Max Tow that I'm well under the safe limit, but yes, I will weigh in the near future. All this stuff is present when I pull the 4k lb trailer as well, some times with 2 Coleman mini bikes in the back as well. Hmmm.

 

[ACAD_Cowboy]

Weight... ughhhh...

Everyone likes the look of a swag'd out beast of a rig with everything from everyone to do ANYTHING!!!!

And once you side step the acquisition costs you start looking at what does all this stuff weigh / how am I gonna get this on and off the rack?

By way of a quick aside, I had thought at one point that an RTT was The Shit, perfect solution to all camping problems. Then I had a child and then another and added a second dog and let's be honest, no one wants to carry a 70 pound 5 year old up a ladder while sleeping or help an OAF corgi up and down a ladder in the rain so they can do what needs doing. FML.

I have been over and over and over the gear list for taking the family out in the world and the problem is always what do you NEED versus what do you WANT and while I want to bring the chainsaw, the big ax, the little ax and the splitting maul... how much of it do I really need? Same goes for my arsenal of rigging and recovery gear. The amount of "just in case" gear was overwhelming the available space and soaking up weight. If I bring the dogs they soak up even more space. Ultimately I suppose a tow behind might be the best solution as it were. Not a camper trailer so much as a rolling war chest of all the crap that I can leave at a spot to go pioneer. But weight still plays a part in how much goes there.

So are most builds over the door tag, yup. Is this a violation, yes. The peculiars of getting called out on it are hard to say, I've never been asked at any time what my weight is and there are plenty of horror stories of overloaded vehicles and insurance companies etc but we aren't CMV's so we aren't getting scaled.

Do you want to be within weight? Of course you do. Can you mitigate your over weight by adding additional carrying and braking capacity, yupper and you should! The underlying issue here is unlike in Australia where you can apply for a modification to GVWR, we have no technical means to legally increase the GVWR to account for modifications without going down some dark paths and declaring it "home built" etc.

 

[Trippin01]

I agree for the most part on the RTT. But the RTT is for me, I drag a light weight off road, 18’ trailer when I take the family. My 13 yo still loves the RTT, even when she has the choice of sleeping in the trailer.

 

[ACAD_Cowboy]

My little monkeys are still on the young side. Were it just me it might be an RTT but that aside, my "plan" has the heavy gear as low as possible in the rig and the light and fluffy camp gear up on the roof. I see the guys with mud tire up on the roof and it hurts to see.

Ultimatly my advice is limit how much you are over weight and make accommodations to control it. And put the idea of serious duty offroading the overland camp machine aside, for most people you can build a KoH kinda rig that is also the camp rig and the DD. Or at least I can't (or want to).

 

[PyrPatriot]

I'm now confused. I drove over land for 1200+ miles on a trip. I had myself, wife, and 2yo daughter. I took a Pelican case with 2 rifles and a shotgun, a few hundred rounds of ammo (small caliber, not talking 50bmg here). Add a laptop/bag, some spare clothes, plastic toddler toys, couple empty coolers.

With the basic stuff I keep in my rig (https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/...-seat-storage-pic-request.45048/post-727562); straps and fire extinguisher behind the seat; bottle jack, jack stands, and bed mat in the bed, I'm usually at 5600lbs gross weight with the family in tow. Again this is with the 35' mud terrains, steel bumper, winch, and rock sliders.

Packed up I was at 6300lbs. Now, the 35" tires I am running are much heavier than the stock tires that come with the Sport S (like 30lbs per tire heavier), so I'm still "under" the GVWR of 6250lbs due to the different tire weight on the scales.

Maybe I should just try another scale. I'm planning a bed rack and RTT, I'm sure I had

 

[dfwxjer]

Coming from the Lexus/Land Cruiser world I have to say that most "Overlanding" rigs were... bloated.

Not calling anyone out in this thread, but the Lexus/toyota crowd seemed to be keen on having every angle covered for every scenario they could dream up. Most of it seemed like a measuring contest to see who had the most theoretically capable rig that took the best pics for IG. The vast majority of them were daily drivers that got abysmal fuel economy schlepping their RTT on the highway every day while only using it maybe once or twice a year.

Personally I'd be more worried about the vehicle electronics and such when traveling to such remote territory. So much so that I'd go back to a more robust vehicle like the Lexus GX series long before I'd worry about exceeding the gvwr of the Gladiator. Imagine the ESS system crapping out when you're solo in the middle of nowhere. All the extra fuel, RTTs, rear mounted winches, on-board water setups, and shovels in the world won't matter if the Jeep won't start.

I routinely venture out to BLM land in New Mexico and Colorado with a simple The North Face tent and sleeping bag, 5 gallons of water, a cooler for food/ice/beer, a rifle with ammo, a small propane stove with a few spare tanks, and my front mounted winch. Once the trip is over I unload all of it in to storage containers I keep in my garage and my gladiator is essentially back to stock. I don't need to flex with a $3k rooftop tent on my daily commute. It screams "I try too hard"

 

[ACAD_Cowboy]

@dfwxjer that is truth right there.

Having the tool for the job in the moment you need it is important but how many trips have you been on where everyone has a chainsaw but no one brought an ax? I'm a fan of pooling gear; I have a chain saw, you bring the ax. This way the whole convoy is geared up with the correct amount of overlap and depth.

I see a lot of try hards in my area who all wanna look like they can knock the bottom out of the bucket with a rig that can eat the darien gap alive... commuting to their job in uniondale. Shovel handle is sun bleached and mossy, winch solenoid pack dripping corrosion and the 37 MT's look like track slicks. But! The stinger bar has about a mile of manilla hemp rope wrapped arou d and damn it looks fresh. Sigh.

 

[Trippin01]

I definitely don't feel like mine is "Overloaded" and knowing that the tongue weight of my trailer is 500-600 lbs and I haul two mini bikes in the bed as well as chainsaw, 2 5 gallon Jerry cans of fuel, tools and such, slow speed Overlanding has not been stressful in the least. The best part of the JT is its low center of gravity, especially compared to the "Top-loaded" short wheelbase, narrow vehicles of all makes. I can't fit everywhere the little vehicles do, but it sure is stable. Having the spare low, and the bed for the heavy items is definitely preferred to roof stacking when I get on the steep and tipsy stuff. I have had no issues on the 12 BOH trails I have been on, and numerous overlanding trips with my JT. I plan on Overlanding in Canyonlands Utah later on this month. If I can weigh my JT easily, I will. If I can't weigh it, no big deal, I will continue to drive it until the wheels fall off. Besides tools (and I'm sure I take way to many) I apply the ultra light backpacking theory to my Overlanding practices. Less is more. I like an easy set up, and an easy take down.

 

[Minty JL]

I love the overlander guys in the here in MD, VA, DC area..............riding around with all of their shit on their trucks everyday of the year.

1) Truck/bed mounted tents.....stupid waste of space and weight
2) Bumpers - plenty of manufactures with aluminum options
3) Winch - Swap the cable line to synthetic rope

If its just you and the wifey, you don't need the rear seat........that's drops 99 lbs (per another members comment). Do an honest gauge of the actual amount of extra water and fuel you need.

 

[Minty JL]

@dfwxjer that is truth right there.

Having the tool for the job in the moment you need it is important but how many trips have you been on where everyone has a chainsaw but no one brought an ax? I'm a fan of pooling gear; I have a chain saw, you bring the ax. This way the whole convoy is geared up with the correct amount of overlap and depth.

I see a lot of try hards in my area who all wanna look like they can knock the bottom out of the bucket with a rig that can eat the darien gap alive... commuting to their job in uniondale. Shovel handle is sun bleached and mossy, winch solenoid pack dripping corrosion and the 37 MT's look like track slicks. But! The stinger bar has about a mile of manilla hemp rope wrapped arou d and damn it looks fresh. Sigh.

Absolutely nailed it...............just like everyone needs a high lift jack, recovery boards and so on. And you save gas/fuel if you carry less shit

 

[Mtpisgah]

I love the overlander guys in the here in MD, VA, DC area..............riding around with all of their shit on their trucks everyday of the year.

1) Truck/bed mounted tents.....stupid waste of space and weight
2) Bumpers - plenty of manufactures with aluminum options
3) Winch - Swap the cable line to synthetic rope

If its just you and the wifey, you don't need the rear seat........that's drops 99 lbs (per another members comment). Do an honest gauge of the actual amount of extra water and fuel you need.

Yep. My wife always points out trucks and comments on the 'sh!t dripping off of the rack'. The only think on the outside of my camper is the propane tank which is easy to remove, but the mount would still be there and it is not easy to remove. Shovels, jack (not a hi lift), traction boards, etc go in the camper and and mostly there only when on a trip.

 

[ACAD_Cowboy]

Well with 4" of lift and 35's... I need a hi-lift versus the factory scissor but I keep it inside so it works when I need it.

But when you start tracking the weight of all the things that don't keep you alive, it can be real scary on some rigs. I'd rather carry more food and water and have to stack rocks than have all the toys and be bargaining with the dogs for kibble.

 

[Trippin01]

Yup! Take what you need, or what you will probably need. But high lift jacks are nothing more than a decoration. Useless as having a JT as a daily driver., another waste of a good off road vehicle. I treat mine like a SxS, its for leaving it all behind, not driving thru it on a daily basis. No one takes pictures of their jeeps on a crowded city street, if they do, know one cares. Hit the trails, and get your kids out there like I’ve read in the previous posts on this thread. Thats what its all about.

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