Overlanding and Camping Poll

[Socket-Jockey]

I sorta depends on the circumstances.
If the dogs are with me, the ground tent is easier to manage.
If I'm solo, the RTT is easier.

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[NotSo Bright White]

I like the Harker Outdoors EDC as it sets up quickly as the mattress is always inflated. Just unroll the bag and pillows and good to go. I also like that you can stand on the tailgate to get dressed. The step ladder at o’dark thirty is not always fun depending on alcohol content but so far, no issues.

 

[drexotic]

I have always used a ground tent until just recently when I picked up my first RTT. I did pull an old Bantam trailer behind the TJ for years to hold my camp which I liked because I could drop it and set up camp, then go wheeling, but as the TJ became more or a rock crawler it wouldn't tow very well. I did drag that trailer over numerous trails, including the Rubicon with mixed results

Good thing you had an articulating hitch!

 

[CKayaks]

A mix...

If it is just me, Kamprite cot tent or my small one person backpack tent. I like the cot tent as I am at the age where getting up off the ground has its challenges. Easy to setup and break down. Lots of ventilation if all four sides are opened up and just the screen doors are used.

If the wife is along, we upscale. She has back and health issues, so ground camping not the best option.

If the planned route is rough, we bring the 'cabin'. A six person REI Basecamp tent with two cots and beefy air mattresses. Three person Sierra Designs backpacking tent as a backup.

If the route is on the milder range or if we can basecamp, we bring our teardrop trailer. This is our preferred method for most long trips. We tend to go to the desert for 6-10 days, base camp at a couple spots in there, and then do day trips. This trailer is easy to tow and very comfy, especially if the weather goes bad.

I have drug this around the backroads of Death Valley, Mojave Road, Black Rock Desert and High Canyon, among other places. Width is about the same as a Jeep, but our overall length is obviously greater. Routes with backing up are an issue or if there are tight maneuvers that have turns in them. This rig has ~30" of clearance, independent suspension, and a 360 degree hitch. I traded in my modified Xterra Offroad last year for the Gladiator. The X had no issues other than trying to do 85mph on the interstates out here in the West. No trips with the trailer this year so far, but I suspect the using it will be the same other than now the overall length is a touch longer.

Last weekend that Yakima setup came off. Now have a solar panel installed. Tilts and rotates. Finishing up putting the two ARB awnings on this week.

 

[Mad Mat]

Tell us about your experience, preferences and aspirations for overlanding or camping,
as if I could stop you.

both my brother in-law and I hammock camp when over landing.

 

[drexotic]

My wife told me "it'd be a cold day in hell before she'd ever climb into a roof top tent on my lifted Gladiator!"
Soo . . . If I'm alone I have a great ground tent, if it's just me and the 80lb Olde English Bulldogge, I have a great pop-up ice fishing tent, but with the wife, we go DELUXE with our Sasquatch Trailer!

 

[WambliSka]

My favorite “I’m’outtahere” setup. 10 mins From decision to “out-the-door”. Oh I did just buy an air mattress fitted to the bed. Good investment whether I actually set up the tent or just gaze at the stars.

 

[ChrisNLA]

My favorite “I’m’outtahere” setup. 10 mins From decision to “out-the-door”. Oh I did just buy an air mattress fitted to the bed. Good investment whether I actually set up the tent or just gaze at the stars.

I have considered trying out a tent like this / adding one to the collection. On the one hand I think it's a bit ridiculous and then I'm sort of stuck in one spot and have to tear down camp to go anywhere - on the other hand I think it's a really nice middle of the road option for staying off the ground due to various conditions, and not having bulky roof top tents, etc.

I'm not sure what model you have, but I did like the one I saw where a floor was optional, so you could just put the tent up while your crap is till in the bed.

 

[WambliSka]

I have considered trying out a tent like this / adding one to the collection. On the one hand I think it's a bit ridiculous and then I'm sort of stuck in one spot and have to tear down camp to go anywhere - on the other hand I think it's a really nice middle of the road option for staying off the ground due to various conditions, and not having bulky roof top tents, etc.

I'm not sure what model you have, but I did like the one I saw where a floor was optional, so you could just put the tent up while your crap is till in the bed.

I’m not stuck in one spot, ever. I just collapse the tent on top of the crap on the bed and I have a heavy duty cargo net that I just throw over everything. I’m mobile in like 5 minutes.

I then move to the next stop and raise the tent again. Not much different than a RTT except much better gas mileage and I don’t have to take my mini house to the mall or Costco.

 

[ChrisNLA]

I’m not stuck in one spot, ever. I just collapse the tent on top of the crap on the bed and I have a heavy duty cargo net that I just throw over everything. I’m mobile in like 5 minutes.

I then move to the next stop and raise the tent again. Not much different than a RTT except much better gas mileage and I don’t have to take my mini house to the mall or Costco.

Which brand bed tent is yours?

 

[Bandit’s Lair]

I’m not stuck in one spot, ever. I just collapse the tent on top of the crap on the bed and I have a heavy duty cargo net that I just throw over everything. I’m mobile in like 5 minutes.

I then move to the next stop and raise the tent again. Not much different than a RTT except much better gas mileage and I don’t have to take my mini house to the mall or Costco.

This is what I don’t like about RTT. I don’t need the dang thing on top of my Jeep all the time and it looks like a pain in the tookus to remove every time I get back from a trip. I’d rather reach in the back and grab a bedroll and a cot that’s all folded up and put it on a rack in the garage.

 

[ChrisNLA]

This is what I don’t like about RTT. I don’t need the dang thing on top of my Jeep all the time and it looks like a pain in the tookus to remove every time I get back from a trip. I’d rather reach in the back and grab a bedroll and a cot that’s all folded up and put it on a rack in the garage.

If I still had my RTT and rack now, I'd probably keep it for the trips I want it for - only because I have a tractor with a loader and forks now that I could use to take it on and off in a few minutes. Given the way my rack bolted in - it was just four 3/8" bolts to remove it.

But yea, otherwise it got old quick having it stuck on the truck.

 

[Bandit’s Lair]

I don’t think my lil tractor is going to be able to reach the top of the Jeep once I get it to where I want it.

 

[DickensCPA]

I don't know how I'd classify myself. I like to go off road and I like to camp a lot, but I rarely do both at the same time. Usually if I go off roading my wife is with me and she is NOT a camper so we usually rent a cabin or like this last trip we took, we rented a Yurt. Which I'll have to say was cool.

Most of my camping is one of 3 things:
1) Park in a parking lot and put on my backpack and hike until I camp. Wake up and repeat.
2) A hunting trip where I drive as far as they allow and pack down the ebike to find a base camp.
3) I fish BASS tournaments and will camp very close to if not on the boat ramp I'm launching from.

1 & 2 are pretty obvious that I use a ground tent but 3 is tricky. In a way I could use a RTT but you take a tourney from Fri-Sun and I like to leave my tent up so when I finish a day I can cook, relax and go to bed. I would have to take the RTT down every time I launched or took out of the water because I need my truck to pull the boat. Plus I have to clear trres and limbs to get to the launch.

I'm not a trailer guy. I hate towing anything. My Dad used to say when I was little, "An extra set of axles is an extra set of problems." Now with a boat I just don't have a choice but to tow it, but I can't tow my boat and a camping trailer.

Back in May my best friend and I took a trip to wheel and we were camping as well. He was in his FJ Cruiser pulling a trailer with a swivel/off road hitch and I was in my JKU. More of a wheeling trip than camping, we were only camping because it was too far to drive home in a day. I actually have a JeepSleep mattress for the back of a JKU and slept like that on that trip - which BTW fits the JT bed like a glove.

We thought we'd pull in, set up a quick camp and then wheel all day and come back to camp to relax. We had to drive thru one of the trails to get to where we were allowed to camp and it was pretty technical. His trailer turned over. Luckily I was following him and winched it back upright.

 

[Sweetums]

I like the Harker Outdoors EDC as it sets up quickly as the mattress is always inflated. Just unroll the bag and pillows and good to go. I also like that you can stand on the tailgate to get dressed. The step ladder at o’dark thirty is not always fun depending on alcohol content but so far, no issues.

Harker makes a neat product, I just wish they built it in a slide-in variant.

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