Overland that doesn't "Overland"

[Br4hm4]

What you really need to do is rethink the 26' trailer and get something that can go were your JT can go, not the other way around. When you go camping, you are supposed to leave the house at home

lol tell my wife that. She is getting way worse than me when it comes to toys.

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[Etoimos]

lol tell my wife that. She is getting way worse than me when it comes to toys.

That's what I told my wife. She too wanted the 26'+ with everything in it. I wanted the small fancy cargo trailer with a RTT on top of it. I simply refused to buy a big trailer and said if she wanted to go camping with me and the little guy she'd have to just use the RTT on the Jeep. She quickly decided that a trailer like the OGT was the way for us to go. lol

 

[ATLalien]

Why do people spend $5k for a temporary vinyl wrap on a car or for bit ass wheels and tires? Why do people buy 500hp sports cars or a Rubicon to just drive on the street? Why pay for a 4" lift a 2500HD that negatively impacts every quality that makes it a usable pickup?

Because people will always spend money chasing trends and accessorizing vehicles is nearly as old as the automobile itself. Affordability has never been an issue for many people and I don't even want to talk about how many tire and wheel packages I sold working for various shops to people putting them on cut-rate credit cards. You can finance almost any car mod these days and people love making it look like they're doing better than they actually are.

If you stop looking at the overlanding trend through the functional lens and instead see them as appearance mods, it all makes a lot more sense - it just happens that these appearance mods have some sort of functional quality.

Some good points made here.

 

[Br4hm4]

That's what I told my wife. She too wanted the 26'+ with everything in it. I wanted the small fancy cargo trailer with a RTT on top of it. I simply refused to buy a big trailer and said if she wanted to go camping with me and the little guy she'd have to just use the RTT on the Jeep. She quickly decided that a trailer like the OGT was the way for us to go. lol

I'm continuing the fight (discussion). I see the appeal of the trailer, but I don't want a gigantic thing to eat up space in the backyard. lol

 

[Weston.cain]

I've seen many of the cool looking Overlanding setups on Gladiators and other off-road vehicles. I do a bit of camping with the family and thought that it might be a nice upgrade from the tent camping we usually do. But when I look at the cost of the set ups, I'm honestly baffled why so many spend the money.

Seems like a $1500-$4k proposition including rooftop tent and supporting rack. At the lower end of that, you can get a really nice tent set up with all the comforts of home or a solid, used, pop up camper at the high end.

I can understand how rooftop camping would be more comfortable than sleeping on the ground, and safer in Grizzly Bear country or whatever, but there are ways those issues can be mitigated enough in tents or Pop Ups.

So my question here is; what am I missing? Are "Overlanding" and roof top camping just a fad, or are there reasons that justify the high cost of entry?

I will tell you why, it's "tacticool". Looks cool driving through town on your way to your 9-5 and Johnny from work with 4 kids wishes he had one to drive around town as well. Just like those guys at the range with all their "tacitcool" gear, velcro, and poor shooting form.

On a serious note it's what people want to spend their monies on and I'm sure some people actually run their setups the they were meant to be ran. After tent camping for many years we opted for a 12ft trailer and we love it . Has everything but a shitter, but who needs that when you are in the great outdoors.

*please disregard the Ford it's been replaced with a JT.

 

[Etoimos]

I'm continuing the fight (discussion). I see the appeal of the trailer, but I don't want a gigantic thing to eat up space in the backyard. lol

My thing was I did not want to be limited to the locations the larger trailers would allow me to go. I want to get away from people (why I moved out to Peyton), not travel hours just to setup next to someone else 10 feet over in a campsite.

 

[Br4hm4]

My thing was I did not want to be limited to the locations the larger trailers would allow me to go. I want to get away from people (why I moved out to Peyton), not travel hours just to setup next to someone else 10 feet over in a campsite.

You live out in my neck of the woods too. lol

 

[ATLalien]

I will tell you why, it's "tacticool". Looks cool driving through town on your way to your 9-5 and Johnny from work with 4 kids wishes he had one to drive around town as well. Just like those guys at the range with all their "tacitcool" gear, velcro, and poor shooting form.

On a serious note it's what people want to spend their monies on and I'm sure some people actually run their setups the they were meant to be ran. After tent camping for many years we opted to 14ft trailer and we love it . Has everything but a shitter, but who needs that when you are in the great outdoor.

*please disregard the Ford it's been replaced with a JT.

Nice set up! I think I'm leaning towards a pop up.

I think you and some of the others are correct in that for most folks, it's probably as much a cosmetic mod as anything else, which is cool of course.

I would imagine many JT owners, including myself, could actually afford the set up, but the value's just not there for me. Guess I don't want to look "tacticool" bad enough! Although I did recently buy a 5.11 RUSH24 tactical backpack, when something from Wally world would've sufficed.....

 

[Etoimos]

What is tacticool for some, is standard equipment for others. It just depends on where you want to camp.

There are definite ways to do things cheaper, but some times the tacticool options are much easier and convenient to use.

 

[Weston.cain]

What is tacticool for some, is standard equipment for others. It just depends on where you want to camp.

There are definite ways to do things cheaper, but some times the tacticool options are much easier and convenient to use.

"I'm sure some people actually run their setups the they were meant to be ran."

Case and point from my original statement.

 

[#HuckleberryJeep]

I've seen many of the cool looking Overlanding setups on Gladiators and other off-road vehicles. I do a bit of camping with the family and thought that it might be a nice upgrade from the tent camping we usually do. But when I look at the cost of the set ups, I'm honestly baffled why so many spend the money.

Seems like a $1500-$4k proposition including rooftop tent and supporting rack. At the lower end of that, you can get a really nice tent set up with all the comforts of home or a solid, used, pop up camper at the high end.

I can understand how rooftop camping would be more comfortable than sleeping on the ground, and safer in Grizzly Bear country or whatever, but there are ways those issues can be mitigated enough in tents or Pop Ups.

So my question here is; what am I missing? Are "Overlanding" and roof top camping just a fad, or are there reasons that justify the high cost of entry?

We've been RVing for several years and are in the process of downsizing to a RTT setup now. For us, the appeal is camping further up into the mountains than we could with any type of RV or trailer. Smaller footprint, less to maintain/pack, etc. Getting further off the beaten path and deeper into nature. It's definitely not for everyone, and most of our friends think we're nuts, but that's the point. Getting further away and experiencing places that most can't/won't is what we're into.

As for why a RTT over a traditional tent; just quicker/easier setup & teardown, so we can keep moving. Plus being up off the ground.

 

[ATLalien]

We've been RVing for several years and are in the process of downsizing to a RTT setup now. For us, the appeal is camping further up into the mountains than we could with any type of RV or trailer. Smaller footprint, less to maintain/pack, etc. Getting further off the beaten path and deeper into nature. It's definitely not for everyone, and most of our friends think we're nuts, but that's the point. Getting further away and experiencing places that most can't/won't is what we're into.

As for why a RTT over a traditional tent; just quicker/easier setup & teardown, so we can keep moving. Plus being up off the ground.

I can understand that logic to a degree. But anywhere you could get an RTT, you could get a traditional ground tent that takes up very little space in the truck bed and requires no mods to the vehicle. Of course, you're still on the ground with those approaches and you do have the footprints of both the vehicle and the tent. Still, If one really wants to get off the beaten path, that's what backpacking is for IMO.

 

[#HuckleberryJeep]

My thing was I did not want to be limited to the locations the larger trailers would allow me to go. I want to get away from people (why I moved out to Peyton), not travel hours just to setup next to someone else 10 feet over in a campsite.

Amen to that! That’s the primary reason we’re downsizing from an RV to a RTT setup.

 

[#HuckleberryJeep]

I can understand that logic to a degree. But anywhere you could get an RTT, you could get a traditional ground tent that takes up very little space in the truck bed and requires no mods to the vehicle. Of course, you're still on the ground with those approaches and you do have the footprints of both the vehicle and the tent. Still, If one really wants to get off the beaten path, that's what backpacking is for IMO.

Backpacking was fun back in the day, but I now have a kid in a wheelchair. The only way he’ll ever see 12K’ is with a vehicle.

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