What makes a good set-up for you?

[CSG]

I've gone back and forth with this over the years. While I don't do hardcore wheeling, I do like getting away from it all (meaning no campgrounds and people - just me and nature).

From the time I was a teen until my late 20's, I used a car and tent with a backpack.

My first real rig was a Dodge D-50 with a shell and carpet kit in the back. Still used the backpack so there was lots of room for me solo. It was two-wheel drive and I was only 29-30 in those days but it took me to a lot of remote and wonderful places in the West.

Then, I got married and that rig didn't work for a fussy female so I got a big truck (GMC 2500 long bed regular cab) and a 9' Lance camper. That rig was great and had all the amenities like a flush toilet and shower and heater and refer and sink, etc. But with a big old hard-sided camper we were limited to moderate gravel/dirt roads and that was about it.

Then we had kids so everything changed (considering the fussy wife) and I ended up with a small then large fifth wheel and traveling was no longer what it once was. After a two month trip to the Great Lakes in the fall of '07, I parked that SOB and haven't used it since (anyone looking for a nice Nash fiver with bunk beds?).

After that trip, I ended up buying a Pleasure Way Traverse which is a two-wheel drive Westy on a Ford E250 chassis. Pretty good but you've got to be careful where you take it although it does have 8" of clearance. Still, not really satisfied although I like the van concept and am considering a coversion to 4x4. But as the insides are not really designed for that sort of use, I don't know.

So where am I now? Thinking of a simple rig like a Land Cruiser, backpack, sleep in back, and do it old school like I once did. Also, considering a Four Wheel camper for my current 2500HD 4x4 but it won't really get me as far back as the LC will do and it's all a lot more complicated.

Sorry for the long thread, I'm rambling I know. Just wanted to think out loud and maybe get some input from others who know where I'm coming from. I like to stay in the West, go for a week or two and be on my own with little contact so I can read, do astronomy, take photos, and contemplate my naval. Minimal gear is key but sleeping in the rig (vs. a tent or RTT) is also key.

Thoughts, ideas, comments?

 

[trailsurfer]

I would buy an LC or use your truck and buy an Adventure Trailer and a roof top tent . You could go anywhere you want, have a complete kitchen, and fantastic sleeping accommodations.

And you can take the family along with you if you want.

 

[CSG]

I've looked at those trailers and considered RTTs but I'd rather sleep in the rig and take less stuff, I think. And dang, they're spendy!

I think a KampRite tent cot is $150.

 

[robert]

Why not just put a camper shell (not a full camper) on the back of your current truck and use that? It's pretty simple to set it up for minimal camping.

 

[CSG]

I've thought of that, Robert, but the truck bed has a 5th wheel hitch and mounted toolbox in it. It also is questionable how far back I can take it. It's a good truck but it's over 20' long. Still, it's something I've considered.

What I like about the LC is that it is what it is. Ready to go, town and country. A pad, a bag, a minimal set-up for a kitchen (I use a single burner buffet cooker), and a store box or two of stuff (clothes, food, etc.), some water, etc. I'm not sure how important a fridge is (we never had one backpacking) but I'd consider something like a small Engle.

 

[RMP&O]

Full sized truck with a Flip Pac. Plenty of room for you and the wife in the Flip Pac. The kids can sleep in a tent. The kids will likely enjoy that more anyways...it gets them away from mom and dad while sleeping for one. Kids over 10yrs old don't mind privacy. If you have little ones...one or two should be able to squeeze into the Flip Pac with you. And lets face it kids should grow up knowing that camping doesn't mean backing the 5th wheel up and watching TV!

If the Flip Pac thing doesn't sound good to you because it is a hybrid roof tent well there are plenty of more expensive type campers you can put on a full sized truck. A Flip Pac though is much cheaper and can serve you well on solo trips. I like it because it is a DIY set up in the back of the truck, not pre-made. I also like it because of the price compared to most campers. It is also a lightweight set up which allows you to do more technical off-roading with the camper.

A LC or similar can be made into a really nice camping set up. You can sleep in the back no worries. But space and room is always going to be a concern especially if you are going out with a family. I myself may go the way of the SUV converted into a camper/touring truck. Yet, I only have myself to worry about.

For the most room with 4wd, a SPM or similar 4wd van seems best. Light to moderate wheeling is about all you can do in one though. They are really top heavy. But for a family a 4wd van seems just about perfect.

 

[IdaSHO]

While I really like the idea of the flip-pac, and even the RTT, neither are appealing to our way of camping. Most of our camping, living in Northern Idaho, and doing the majority of our traveling and exploring during the winter and early spring, our ideal camper must provide shelter from the cold and the wet.

I cannot even begin to explain how much I would dread trying to open that flip-pac with 10+ inches of snow on it :snorkel:

Or how flipping cold I would be 10' off the ground in a RTT in a sub zero storm. :Wow1:

For us the camper must be well insulated, have a good propane heater, and be able to keep us warm and dry from the elements at night.

 

[CSG]

My wife is not a camper, she's an RVer. Things like an RTT, FlipPac, etc. are not in the cards. She won't even go in the van. Frankly, that's fine because all I'd hear is grief.

It's a shame really but for me to do this sort of thing, I have to leave her behind. I'm hopeful my boys find some things they might enjoy but they're a bit spoiled, like their mom, for comforts.

 

[CSG]

Well, as you can see, temptation got the best of me and I bought this:

Once I'm confident the rig is all it appears to be I'll do an old school overnighter close to home to see how it works out. At the least it will be a more useful rig to me in the Idaho desert than the leased Miata I've got to now turn in in March.

 

[theMec]

Everyone has their own requirements and limitations. I went w/ a short bed Dodge and a Callen Camper. I have a bench converting to bed setup in back. It's big enough for my 2 babes (wife & daughter) & I to sleep in. It lets lots of the outdoors in. It gets me anywhere my stock FJ60 did and the AC works!

 

[Desert Dan]

Looks great
I like your kicthen shelf!

 

[theMec]

Looks great
I like your kicthen shelf!

Yeah, the kitchen shelf is great! When it's rainy or sunny, I move it to the other side. That's where the awning is.

 

[MarcFJ60]

This thread is funny because the OP sounds like me. I had an S-10 Blazer when I was in my late teens/early twenties. At that age, I used camp with friends every weekend in the summer and frequently at other times. Although it was a POS, it could take me away from people to rustic camping areas even in stock form. I would typically sleep in the back. I rarely backpacked because camping like that was so enjoyable (and an iced down 12 pack is hard to put in a backpack).

Fast forward twenty years and I too have a "fussy" wife. But the son loves camping. So it's really just me and him. I recently bought a Landcruiser because it is everything that POS Blazer was - except it isn't a POS!

I tinker with the landcruiser a bit. I might get slightly bigger tires, but I don't even plan on lifting it. It is more than capable in stock form to get me to remote areas. And with a small child I know I won't be tackling anything that risks getting me stuck in the boonies.

So the Landcruiser is great for that. I would suspect that most offroad oriented 4x4s are. My 02 Explorer was fine for snow, but it had no clearance and would have trouble if it left a groomed dirt road. A big plus for the LC is the ability to sleep in the back. But a truck also provides that as well.

Now I just need to find a way back West - I miss the wide open spaces.