Fake Overlanding?

[CR-Venturer]

We have decided not to go to overland expo east because the rules say only small trailers are allowed. My truck and camper have gone thru a lot more crap than, for example a 2wd van and an expensive "overland" trailer. My lifted 3/4 ton Diesel and 20 foot camper are not any bigger than the 250k to 1.5million "Overland" rigs they show off there.

Would love to see your setup. Sounds very interesting!

 

[Haminacan]

But now I have to go shopping in Asheville, NC instead of an overland expo....

 

[Haminacan]

Don't have many good pics, but it is a 2017 Ram 2500 Diesel with 4.5 lift 35x12.50s and a Coleman 18fq. Single axle 20ish foot single axle with high clearance. We bought it in March and have had it to south Florida to Northern Maine and up in to the U.P. of Michigan a couple times. It is only 4000 pounds and will go wherever the 8000 pound truck drags it. But it's more class A than an Earthroamer HD.

 

[CR-Venturer]

What make and model of trailer?

 

[Haminacan]

2019 Coleman Lantern LT 18FQ.

 

[CR-Venturer]

2019 Coleman Lantern LT 18FQ.

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Dang, you've taken that thing off roading? I had the impression that most travel trailers aren't built all that solid, but I guess the Coleman must be well built. The ground clearance does seem surprisingly high though.

Hat's off to you for taking that deep into the wilds :D

 

[Haminacan]

Air it down to keep from shaking apart and it will go over as many bumps as a Honda CRV. This is kind of my point. A Honda CRV is an overland rig.(period) Mine is not?

 

[CR-Venturer]

Air it down to keep from shaking apart and it will go over as many bumps as a Honda CRV.

That's a lot of bumps, I can attest ;) I'm very interested, because my wife really wants to get a travel trailer someday that can fit our family, and I would really like it if whatever trailer we eventually get can handle being taken to wild, remote places. I noticed that the lt17fq sleeps 6, so that would work for us. Thanks for the info! :)

 

[Haminacan]

The giant Earthroamer and MAN trucks are, but not a Ram with a small camper.

 

[Haminacan]

Coleman is made by Dutchman and they are supposed to be very good. This is the first "New" camper for us. We have one spot where a wall panel has separated and a tail light fell off, but the U.P. can be very rough. Don't believe any of the camper warranty crap, They don't fix shit! I also pull it much faster than I should and it makes the wife very happy to have the tiny home wherever we go.

 

[Lanlubber In Remembrance]

2019 Coleman Lantern LT 18FQ.

View attachment 118582

I think any two wheel trailer should be allowed at expo ! If the space is 20 x 20, why cant they be parked side by side ? It's stupid !

 

[MidOH]

If they allowed RV's at expo east, there'd be hundreds of them clogging up the show. [Then they'd start asking for permanent spots. Making rules that only RV's under 3 years old are allowed. Run generators all night even though its cold. etc.etc.]

That's just not what the show is about. You can park your basecamp at a nearby campground and just take the truck in the morning.

Bummer, you could have still had fun. Last time we went, we didn't sleep AT the show. Maybe next year we should meet at a nearby camp ground as a group, and then just car pool to the show.

I could just as easily get a TT instead of a slide in camper, still. They can get to nearly all of my ''overlanding'' base camps. My love for slide in's, is for parking in an urban spot for the night. Small TT's have the best cost/fun ratio of all campers IME.

 

[Lanlubber In Remembrance]

If they allowed RV's at expo east, there'd be hundreds of them clogging up the show. [Then they'd start asking for permanent spots. Making rules that only RV's under 3 years old are allowed. Run generators all night even though its cold. etc.etc.]

That's just not what the show is about. You can park your basecamp at a nearby campground and just take the truck in the morning.

Bummer, you could have still had fun. Last time we went, we didn't sleep AT the show. Maybe next year we should meet at a nearby camp ground as a group, and then just car pool to the show.

I could just as easily get a TT instead of a slide in camper, still. They can get to nearly all of my ''overlanding'' base camps. My love for slide in's, is for parking in an urban spot for the night. Small TT's have the best cost/fun ratio of all campers IME.

There is nothing worse to me than being in large groups of people in public places like expo. I would be miserable in that carnival atmosphere.

 

[RescueRangers]

When I was younger I ran a marathon. I bought running shoes, trained for months and prepared in every way for the race. The week of the marathon I picked up my race packet, visited all of the booths at the starting point, fueled properly, hydrated and rested. Early in the race I remember being passed my an old man - he had to be in his 70’s. He was barefoot, has no shirt on and no race number. When the race ended I looked for him to see if he had finished. After being unable to find him I asked a volunteer there if they had seen him. The woman responded, “ yes, he is still running”. Confused because I don’t remember passing him a second time, I inquired where he was on the course. The woman responded with an answer that I’ll never forget, “he isn’t on the course, he is probably ten miles beyond it at this point - he runs this way everyday and goes out for forty, fifty and even a hundred miles at a time”. I learned a valuable lesson that day. At the start of the race I didn’t consider the old man a serious runner, and, at the end of the race and after hearing about the old man, I didn’t consider myself a serious runner. We all have a different perspective on overlanding. There are people here who won’t give you the time of day if you have a clean rig or a Hi-lift jack and shovel that don’t look like they’ve been used, and there are people here who won’t travel with you if it doesn’t look like you take care of your equipment. There are people here who have rigs that take them to and from work each day, and are mostly stock with the exception of baby seats in the back seat, and there are those who have fully modified and dedicated expedition vehicles. For most of us our rig is a vehicle, for others it is a home. Some people here rarely leave their local off-road trails and consider themselves hardcore, while others only use their rig for the most remote of places and don’t consider themselves experienced at all. But despite our differences, we are all brought together because we love to get into a vehicle and explore - no matter what terrain, what environment or what it is called. Later in life I had the honor of meeting the old man that passed me during the marathon. When I introduced myself there was a part of me that feared he wouldn’t take me seriously as a runner - but he did. “I may not run marathons like you, wear a number like you or even share the same perspective on running as you do, but at the end of the day we both leave the house in the morning for the purpose of getting out and putting one foot in front of the other”. My point is this - forget the title overlanding and what it does or does not include. Do what you do and respect others for doing what they do. We are all just here because of our love for putting the rig in drive and setting out.

I haven't been on for quiet a while so I am coming into this discussion late. Since I came in late the discussion has drifted so let me get it back on subject.

Before we heard about Overlanding we had down sized from a Z71 Suburban to a Jeep Liberty. We did this because we started doing road trips. After the change we got interested in the Jeep community and off roading. Then ended up breaking the Liberty, so we got an LJ as a weekend toy. Now we had a problem, the Liberty was a great road trip vehicle (21 mpg vs 14 mpg) but loved the LJ and knew we could get to more remote places with it. So, we traded in both on a JKU then added a 3 inch and 35's. The lift and tires were meant for off roading because we were still in the Jeep community. Then we learned about Overlanding.

We learned everything we could about Overlanding and found out it was the direction we really wanted, just didn't know it. We loved road trips, traveling to places we have never been to and exploring. That is what Overlanding is to us. The problem we had before was the Liberty was great for getting there but the LJ was much more enjoyable once we got there. The JKU solved that problem. What we do could be done in a stock JKU, I would say we have only used maybe 10% of the JK's capability. We really don't need the lift or the tires but they are there in case we do. And that is Overlanding. Its not about going out to find something to test your vehicles capability, its having the capability to take you where you want to explore. We continue to upgrade our Jeep but its not about increasing its capability, its about increasing its durability. If . . . I repeat . . . if we do run into something we can't get around and have to go to this one spot beyond that something, I can be more confident that we are not going to break something. Off roading is tough on vehicles. If you are on a 1,000 mile journey to places with limited cell service and next to no repair shops, do you really want to take an unnecessary chance on breaking something when it really isn't a benefit to your goal?

I keep seeing people write "the best Overland vehicle is the one you already have". Meaning? One, stop using the "I don't have an Overland Rig" excuse for not getting started, you don't need an expedition vehicle to Overland. Two, if you are just starting out, you are not likely to run into anything that would require a 4x4. Three, learn about what your Overland style is (what you want to explore, where you want to explore, where you will overnight, and how long you will go between resupplies) before you decide on buying a vehicle for Overlanding. In reality, the capacity of your vehicle (how much food, water, gear, and fuel it can carry) is far more important than its capability. But the most important factor in an Overland vehicles is its range, how long can you travel on the amount of food, water, or fuel you can carry.

Overlanding isn't off roading. It isn't camping. Its also not hiking or biking. And its not about getting away from people. Overlanding is a non-descriptive term that covers everything that requires you to explore places you have never been before. In the shortest terms, Overlanding is discovering your world in a way that satisfies you. How you do it is entirely up to you . . . and you alone.

 

[MidOH]

There is nothing worse to me than being in large groups of people in public places like expo. I would be miserable in that carnival atmosphere.

That's why we camped away from there. When we were tired of the carnival, we left.

I'm ok with cruise ships, as long as we skip the god awlful shows. So large groups of people don't bother me. Although, ships over 165,000 tons have enough room not to be crowded. And I'm still a single guy, so.......

 

[Buckaroo]

There is nothing worse to me than being in large groups of people in public places like expo. I would be miserable in that carnival atmosphere.

me too
I visited ONE show in UK, I lasted a day.
I won't be going to another unless they are giving away Pinzgauer wagons for free

 

[Buckaroo]

Now that I've returned home, I'm packing my van with rugged clothing, stout boots a selection of tools and removing most of the survival and cooking gear.
For the next 30 days my planned route takes me on paved roads.
It's still dark when I set off in the mornings and colder weather is coming in.
I've prepped the van with winter grade screen wash ( don't want that bottle freezing and splitting), filled the coolant with anti-freeze, diesel air heater checked and working.
30 days of fake overlanding... I'm going to work in Sheffield and back.

<edit> AW CRAP!, I haven't fit a snorkel.
google Sheffield floods or Sheffield snow
</edit>
PS. maybe I should put that survival gear back in too

 

[Lanlubber In Remembrance]

me too
I visited ONE show in UK, I lasted a day.
I won't be going to another unless they are giving away Pinzgauer wagons for free

I'm just too old to endure inconveniences and crowds anymore. I enjoy a local swap meet more. I like there prices better too !

 

[Billiebob]

There is nothing worse to me than being in large groups of people in public places like expo. I would be miserable in that carnival atmosphere.

Yep. BC Overland I stayed 1 night. They had guided trail rides, 40 vehicles going down a dusty trail... no way.
Kinda fun tho, the Warn Guy from CA used my Jeep for his winching seminar since it had an old M8000.
Lots of interesting overlanding vehicles too. Like the two in the background.



Still I was there less than 24 hours.... and camping alone on a beach the next night.

 

[Buckaroo]

Yep. BC Overland I stayed 1 night. They had guided trail rides, 40 vehicles going down a dusty trail... no way.
Kinda fun tho, the Warn Guy from CA used my Jeep for his winching seminar since it had an old M8000.
Lots of interesting overlanding vehicles too. Like the two in the background.

View attachment 118663

Still I was there less than 24 hours.... and camping alone on a beach the next night.

View attachment 118664

we are very like minded.
If we ever meet in person, you can camp on the opposite side of the lake to me :-)