Fake Overlanding?

[MidOH]

Naw, neither of those rigs are mine. I was just making an example that some campers do go off road quite a bit, and might be very effective overlanders.

That top camper though, is on my radar. If I continue overlanding until my truck is paid off, I'll get one. I'm setting aside about $350 a month to cover the cost of a camper or TT by then. For now, I'm in a ground tent still. If I decide to mostly abandon overlanding, I'll keep the ground tent for the remaining overlanding, and get a 23' TT for everything else. AC, a shower, and the ability to pull over and sleep anywhere, is becoming more appealing.

I actually pack light. 4 seats in the truck. (5 adult seats and one kids seat, actually, but we've never used that many) Each person gets a 30# duffel bag to bring, one pup tent bag, and one folding chair. Any more and you'll need your own ride. One cooler, one stove, one shower. If I had that camper, it would be mostly empty, with most of the upper cabinets deleted, possibly the fridge and the stove top also deleted. Unless deleting them frees up nothing useful. Then I'll keep them. But the fridge needs low mounted, not high mounted.

The trick to campers is to keep them as light and empty as possible. Paper plates, not heavy dinnerware.

_______________________

On another note, on a tangent to the adventure bike boom point: The only reason my girlfriend ever liked backpacking, is to wear all of the cool backpacking clothes and gear. Is there anything wrong with that?

Isn't that what we're seeing in overlanding now. Just people wanting to use cool rides and cool camp gear? Kinda missing the point for now, but nothing really wrong with it.

 

[Lanlubber In Remembrance]

I have been involved in the motorcycle community for a number of years, and over there they call it Adventure Riding. Basically you ride non-paved roads to cool destinations and camp off of your motorcycle. Half way between backpacking and Overlanding.

However after the series "Long Way Around" came out, staring Ewin McGregor and Charlie Borman, the ADV community exploded and BMW's sold like hot cakes. You have guys thinking they are Ewin and Charlie running around on fully outfitted BMWs and the farthest they go in them is to the local Starbucks because they found out that sleeping on the ground and wrestling a 650lb motorcycle over rocks is not easy. Makes good TV, but is hard in real life.
It became very popular to outfit your bike like you were going to have a Round the World Adventure, but never go. The guys with big money go get all the cool stuff from the big names in the game and show the stuff off to their buddies to look cool.
The evidence of this can be seen by shopping for a used BMW R1200GSA. You can find a lot of these bikes outfitted to the max, and not have a scratch on them anywhere.
To some extent I think you will see that in any community even here.

YUP, there is always those that do and those that don't in every circle.

 

[MidOH]

The deal breaker for adv riding, is:
- it's impossible to do alone.
- herding riders is worse than cats
-90% of your riding buddies have bikes in a state of disrepair as soon as anything is scheduled (my drz400 carb was stolen by raccoons)
-you'll need to plan a spot to swap tires
-100 mile range is a daisy
-overlanders worry about bears, adv riders worry about getting loved tenderly by bigfoot.
-pain
-you can't stop anywhere paved without Harleys asking you if you're ok. Because your bike looks broken, you're covered in filth, you're bleeding, and you're speaking in strange tongues.
- amazingly reliable vehicles, until they're not. Bikes have some special kinds of failures. Like the alternator on my DRZ, or it's front sprocket.

But they'll complete the TAT in a fraction of the time a truck or jeep could. Any dirt road that normally would rattle the fillings from your teeth, these simple bikes can roar down faster than a trophy truck. And where trucks or Jeeps can get boring, bikes never ever do. It's overlanding on a whole nother level.

 

[trikebubble]

I tend to run the other way from any sort of label or term thrown at the type of adventure travel we like to do. As far as campers go, ours has been many places where it probably shouldn't, has put on thousands of miles on a few multi-week self-sustained trips, has parked itself on the shores of the Arctic Ocean among other interesting spots, and I can guarantee that the novelty of sitting in a cold wet tent packed in somewhere in a (insert overland worthy rig here) while commenting that campers can't overland wears off a lot quicker than the heat in my furnace as we camp at yet another stellar spot away from the crowds.

 

[DoubleA_FL]

Just to be clear on my part, those campers weren't what I was talking about. That's still an HD truck, which can go plenty of places. What I really meant was really small Van or truck-based RVs. (class C I think???). I have an F350 and have gone back and forth about getting a camper/topper for mine and if they were cheaper I probably would have already done it, but they are not cheap! hahaha. I really like the Four Wheel Campers | Pop Up Truck Camper Leader Since 1972 a lot.

This is a bigger one then what I had in my head when I said Camper, but you get what I mean.

Naw, neither of those rigs are mine. I was just making an example that some campers do go off road quite a bit, and might be very effective overlanders.

That top camper though, is on my radar. If I continue overlanding until my truck is paid off, I'll get one. I'm setting aside about $350 a month to cover the cost of a camper or TT by then. For now, I'm in a ground tent still. If I decide to mostly abandon overlanding, I'll keep the ground tent for the remaining overlanding, and get a 23' TT for everything else. AC, a shower, and the ability to pull over and sleep anywhere, is becoming more appealing.

I actually pack light. 4 seats in the truck. (5 adult seats and one kids seat, actually, but we've never used that many) Each person gets a 30# duffel bag to bring, one pup tent bag, and one folding chair. Any more and you'll need your own ride. One cooler, one stove, one shower. If I had that camper, it would be mostly empty, with most of the upper cabinets deleted, possibly the fridge and the stove top also deleted. Unless deleting them frees up nothing useful. Then I'll keep them. But the fridge needs low mounted, not high mounted.

The trick to campers is to keep them as light and empty as possible. Paper plates, not heavy dinnerware.

_______________________

On another note, on a tangent to the adventure bike boom point: The only reason my girlfriend ever liked backpacking, is to wear all of the cool backpacking clothes and gear. Is there anything wrong with that?

Isn't that what we're seeing in overlanding now. Just people wanting to use cool rides and cool camp gear? Kinda missing the point for now, but nothing really wrong with it.

 

[DoubleA_FL]

would love a pic of your camper!
AA

I tend to run the other way from any sort of label or term thrown at the type of adventure travel we like to do. As far as campers go, ours has been many places where it probably shouldn't, has put on thousands of miles on a few multi-week self-sustained trips, has parked itself on the shores of the Arctic Ocean among other interesting spots, and I can guarantee that the novelty of sitting in a cold wet tent packed in somewhere in a (insert overland worthy rig here) while commenting that campers can't overland wears off a lot quicker than the heat in my furnace as we camp at yet another stellar spot away from the crowds. View attachment 116473

 

[Lanlubber In Remembrance]

To me, overlanding is anything you cant do in a camper. For me, overlanding does include camping and when I see even the little campers, they in no way could handle any sort of offroad situation, heck, I've been to campsites that even the tiny van RVs couldn't make it to. When I think about overlanding, it's going everywhere where they cant. Making the experience that much better and that much less crowded.

AA

I'd have to disagree somewhat. I see in video's where OB people drag all kinds of camp trailers behind their rig that are definitely the boon docks. The word Camper has to be defined in this situation.

 

[Lanlubber In Remembrance]

Just to be clear on my part, those campers weren't what I was talking about. That's still an HD truck, which can go plenty of places. What I really meant was really small Van or truck-based RVs. (class C I think???). I have an F350 and have gone back and forth about getting a camper/topper for mine and if they were cheaper I probably would have already done it, but they are not cheap! hahaha. I really like the Four Wheel Campers | Pop Up Truck Camper Leader Since 1972 a lot.

This is a bigger one then what I had in my head when I said Camper, but you get what I mean.
View attachment 116600

If your rig will get it there and bring it back, why not..

 

[trikebubble]

would love a pic of your camper!
AA

I snapped this at a beauty little rec site on the east coast of Vancouver Island in July. I spent 2 wonderful weeks just roaming around the logging roads looking for places to camp.

 

[MrCoffee]

So... I guess I'd be considered a "fake" Overlander too......

 

[Dave K]

Not neeaaaar enough insta bling on there to be a real one!

 

[MrCoffee]

Not neeaaaar enough insta bling on there to be a real one!

True my insta bling fu isn't strong.... :( I did however make it out of the driveway one day, even had to use the four-wheel drive thingy

 

[grubworm]

True my insta bling fu isn't strong.... :( I did however make it out of the driveway one day, even had to use the four-wheel drive thingy

well...youre not parking next to me at the mall...

 

[DoubleA_FL]

** I didn't see this post earlier and responded out of chronological order. BUT, I agree completely - I definitely used the word "camper" a little too loosely. I was referring to Small Class C RV type rigs. Which tend to have single-digit approach, breakover, and departure angles, no ground clearance, are not 4x4, etc...

Also, I will likely end up with one of those camp trailers. I am already trying to find a bare-bones teardrop trailer that I can get for a song and then slowly upgrade: rip off the fenders and put super tall tires on it, AC/Heater, Awning, fridge, solar, rooftop tent to stick my kids in, etc...

Sorry for any confusion with using "camper" ealier.

I'd have to disagree somewhat. I see in video's where OB people drag all kinds of camp trailers behind their rig that are definitely the boon docks. The word Camper has to be defined in this situation.

 

[DoubleA_FL]

Of course you have the exact camper I referred to, hahaha. I'm jealous, looks like an awesome rig!

Aaron

I snapped this at a beauty little rec site on the east coast of Vancouver Island in July. I spent 2 wonderful weeks just roaming around the logging roads looking for places to camp. View attachment 116603

 

[Lanlubber In Remembrance]

** I didn't see this post earlier and responded out of chronological order. BUT, I agree completely - I definitely used the word "camper" a little too loosely. I was referring to Small Class C RV type rigs. Which tend to have single-digit approach, breakover, and departure angles, no ground clearance, are not 4x4, etc...

Also, I will likely end up with one of those camp trailers. I am already trying to find a bare-bones teardrop trailer that I can get for a song and then slowly upgrade: rip off the fenders and put super tall tires on it, AC/Heater, Awning, fridge, solar, rooftop tent to stick my kids in, etc...

Sorry for any confusion with using "camper" earlier.

No confusion Aaron on my part, I just wanted to help define what I thought you were saying .
It is funny how one word can change the whole meaning for other readers. I am guilty myself. I hope you find yourself a small trailer at a price you can afford , and fix it to your liking.

 

[bgenlvtex]

It's not what you drive.

It's the journey...

This is really all that needs said, seems that much more runs in direct conflict with the core beliefs of the site that we all agreed on when we joined.

 

[Lanlubber In Remembrance]

Wow. The fact that you can off-road just fine in a van that looks like it has some minor suspension and wheel upgrades does put a different light on things. It's just that, why is this forum filled with highly upgraded Jeeps and other common off-roading type vehicles? A serious lift kit + suspension and wheel upgrades is a lot of money, why are there so many people doing this? I've seen pre-built "overland" Jeeps for $80-100k. Why on Earth would anyone spend that kind of $ on a Jeep when they could be overlanding just fine on pennies in comparison? Am I missing something?

Why you ask, Because they can ! Yes, you miss a lot. Most of the people here who have the rigs your talking about negatively, started off with lesser rigs and grew as there need to go farther and deeper into to OB world. You'll never know until you try to get there and cant for lack of equipment. Your talking down the very people you will become if you keep challemging your ride for more adventure.

 

[MidOH]

I've been stuck on extremely easy dirt roads just because rain, flood, or snow messed them up.

Van's and stock rides just can't surmount that. Even with 4wd, tons of clearance, and a rear locker, I can still sink into sedate looking wet grass with slick clay underneath.

Anyone can wheel a stock rig on bone dry hardpack. I just roll my eyes when people think lockers aren't needed over here.

 

[The other Sean]

Years and years ago I quit paying attention to what other people were doing when I realized I needed to buy a $120 pair of jeans to be cool. Life is better this way. $29 jeans cover my legs the same....