Member Introductions *NEW MEMBERS INTRODUCE YOURSELF*

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Shahn

Rank VI
Member

Off-Road Ranger I

4,418
Snohomish County, WA, USA
First Name
Shahn
Last Name
Brown
Member #

29302

Ham/GMRS Callsign
GMRS - WRQD549
Hi! I'm Candice, recently relocated in Colorado (my native state) after being in California for 20+ years. I'm a rookie at overlanding and looking to learn about possible vehicle mods for my 2019 RAV4 Limited, and/or if mods are even necessary. I look forward to participating in a community where I can meet like minded people while enjoying the outdoors, each other or our vehicles. I used to camp with my dad a lot as a kid but have not gone camping much as an adult, so I'm hoping to get that spark for the joy of camping again. I think facing mother nature builds character and confidence. If you have any recommendations in Colorado for newbies like me in vehicles like mine, please do let me know! I'm looking forward to scenic drives, camping, hiking and learning about my vehicle and driving off-road skills!
Greetings Candice and welcome to Overland Bound!
 
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Shahn

Rank VI
Member

Off-Road Ranger I

4,418
Snohomish County, WA, USA
First Name
Shahn
Last Name
Brown
Member #

29302

Ham/GMRS Callsign
GMRS - WRQD549
Hello!

My name is Reed, I'm from East Texas but in college right now at Dallas Baptist University. I drive a 2001 Jeep Wrangler T. I am pretty new to overlanding but not the outdoor lifestyle. I have loved camping and being outdoors all my life and have made great memories camping, backpacking, canoeing, climbing, etc. and now want to experience a new way to enjoy the outdoors through overlanding. I have been on a couple small trips already and loved it so I'm excited to learn and possibly hit some trails with some of y'all!
View attachment 216922
Greetings Reed and welcome to Overland Bound!
 
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Shahn

Rank VI
Member

Off-Road Ranger I

4,418
Snohomish County, WA, USA
First Name
Shahn
Last Name
Brown
Member #

29302

Ham/GMRS Callsign
GMRS - WRQD549
Location: San Diego, CA
Current Vehicle: 1993 Isuzu Trooper LS
Other Vehicle: 1990 Jeep Comanche
Overland Experience: Novice-like
Why Overlanding?: with a background in 4x4 exploring (no camping), backpacking, car-camping and such, it just seemed natural to upgrade the Trooper we'd used to haul Boy Scouts all over the Eastern Sierra and Berdoo, making it into a rig for my son, out dog and me. We're into it for the travel, for the remote fishing lakes, the backroads...
Greetings Erik and welcome to Overland Bound!
 
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Shahn

Rank VI
Member

Off-Road Ranger I

4,418
Snohomish County, WA, USA
First Name
Shahn
Last Name
Brown
Member #

29302

Ham/GMRS Callsign
GMRS - WRQD549
Hi Everyone,
My name is Charlie I retired from the Navy in 1999 as a Chief Quartermaster (QMC). I retired from the Xerox Corporation in 2019. My Ham call sign is KD9AMZ. I live in South East Wisconsin and drive a 2013 Jeep Wrangler Sport. I am a Novice Overlander. Looking forward to traveling off the beaten path.
Greetings Charlie and welcome to Overland Bound!
 
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MSD

Rank V
Member
Investor

Advocate III

1,647
Colorado, USA
First Name
Mark
Last Name
Duff
Member #

30665

Hi Everyone,
My name is Charlie I retired from the Navy in 1999 as a Chief Quartermaster (QMC). I retired from the Xerox Corporation in 2019. My Ham call sign is KD9AMZ. I live in South East Wisconsin and drive a 2013 Jeep Wrangler Sport. I am a Novice Overlander. Looking forward to traveling off the beaten path.
Welcome to the OB Family
 
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Iridium

US Rocky Mtn. Local Expert CO: Ft. Collins Area
Member

Influencer III

4,073
Fort Collins, CO, USA
First Name
Aleem
Last Name
Qureshi
Member #

23204

Hi! I'm Candice, recently relocated in Colorado (my native state) after being in California for 20+ years. I'm a rookie at overlanding and looking to learn about possible vehicle mods for my 2019 RAV4 Limited, and/or if mods are even necessary. I look forward to participating in a community where I can meet like minded people while enjoying the outdoors, each other or our vehicles. I used to camp with my dad a lot as a kid but have not gone camping much as an adult, so I'm hoping to get that spark for the joy of camping again. I think facing mother nature builds character and confidence. If you have any recommendations in Colorado for newbies like me in vehicles like mine, please do let me know! I'm looking forward to scenic drives, camping, hiking and learning about my vehicle and driving off-road skills!
Welcome to the community Candice! We're looking at possibly getting a rav4 for my wife as well. We have a fairly active community and there are so many wonderful places to camp that you should be able to reach with out modifying your vehicle at all. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions or need help with anything!
 

Ursa Major

Rank VI

Influencer I

3,920
Woodstock, Vermont, United States
First Name
Gunnar
Last Name
Nourse
Member #

26966

Hi Everyone,
My name is Charlie I retired from the Navy in 1999 as a Chief Quartermaster (QMC). I retired from the Xerox Corporation in 2019. My Ham call sign is KD9AMZ. I live in South East Wisconsin and drive a 2013 Jeep Wrangler Sport. I am a Novice Overlander. Looking forward to traveling off the beaten path.
Welcome aboard Charlie! Thank you for all your service! The forums here are loaded with tons of beginner tips and people who are more than willing to offer up advice! Can't wait to hear and see your adventures!
 
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Ursa Major

Rank VI

Influencer I

3,920
Woodstock, Vermont, United States
First Name
Gunnar
Last Name
Nourse
Member #

26966

Location: San Diego, CA
Current Vehicle: 1993 Isuzu Trooper LS
Other Vehicle: 1990 Jeep Comanche
Overland Experience: Novice-like
Why Overlanding?: with a background in 4x4 exploring (no camping), backpacking, car-camping and such, it just seemed natural to upgrade the Trooper we'd used to haul Boy Scouts all over the Eastern Sierra and Berdoo, making it into a rig for my son, out dog and me. We're into it for the travel, for the remote fishing lakes, the backroads...
Welcome aboard Erik! You'll fit right to the OB community with all the experience you have. The forums are a great way to connect with others and offer your expertise and receive even greater knowledge from the field. Can't wait to hear and see all your adventures!
 
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North53Overland

Rank III
Member

Enthusiast III

740
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
First Name
Troy
Last Name
Dashney
Member #

30097

Hey there,

Troy from Edmonton, AB, Canada, joined tonight (Nov 28, 2021).

Rig: '21 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon with Sky-One Touch
Trailer: Semi-custom off-road teardrop.

New to owning an overland rig and trailer, but first had experience with some of the lifestyle while beach camping in a 70 series on Fraser Island, Australia in 2004.

Why I joined:

It was August of 2020, the first summer of the pandemic that my wife and I were ground camping at Tunnel Mountain in Banff. Beside us was David and his DIY teardrop. After coming back from the restroom one day on our trip, my wife was at David's site looking at the teardrop. I meandered over to say hi and take a look. Like many, I had seen teardrops on the road, but never really got up close to one. David was sharing his story how he bought this DIY trailer off someone a year or so before, and spent as much time in it as possible. The ability to sleep off the ground, have shelter and a nice little kitchen setup with a roof appeared to be appealing to me. Was this something I have longed for but didn’t know about it?

I started to think about what life could be like if we had a trailer and a new tow vehicle. At the time we had three vehicles, all great, but nothing tow worthy. During this time, the new Bronco was all the rage. By the end of the weekend, I put down deposits for not one, but two new Bronco's. My first vehicle as an '88 Bronco II, so getting the new full-sized Bronco was quite appealing. Fast forward to today, we have a '21 Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon, and that story is for another time.

So now that a tow vehicle is on order, I went to my wife to say that I think my journey with the Audi, fast cars, race tracks and exotic cars was coming to a temporary end. As an Owner of a commercial interior architectural design firm, stress is always there. I knew I needed a change. And the sale of the Audi would be the means to get there. To me, the outdoors has always been a relief. At this time, I didn't really know what "overlanding" was. I knew it as adventuring by vehicle, didn't know there was a term for it. Yes, years earlier I had seen Expedition Overland on YouTube and watched a few videos, but that was it. So this was a all new to me and us.

So now that the seed was planed, I started to research trailer manufacturers. Locally there was Off Grid Trailers and Mission Overland. A few others as well, but being a designer and someone who wanted value, spending $40-60,000 cdn on the trailer didn't seem right. After more research, I found Northern Teardrop Trailer in Salmo, BC. Then I saw in person a trailer they built for a local Jeep/off-road shop on a custom chassis built by that shop. This got me thinking about doing the same.

By September 2020, my wife and I were near Salmo, BC and stopped in to see Dale at Northern Teardrop Trailer. He showed us his shop and shared his past construction experience as well as how they build their trailers. As someone who has been involved in large scale commercial construction projects, I was keen on Dale's attention to detail and how every year he makes tweaks to make the trailers better. They only build 20-22 trailers a year. As such, I knew that this thing would have a lot of quality controls in place which appealed to me. A couple of months later, with the Audi now sold, I sent in our deposit on November 18, 2020 knowing full well that we would be the last pick-up for 2021.

Over the course of 50 weeks, we worked with Dale on various details and tweaks. We also worked with Travis Kruger of Innovative Welding in Edmonton, AB on the chassis design/fabrication (he has done chassis for Off-Grid Trailer and Mission Overland). Taking queues of other trailers I liked, the chassis was designed and fabricated (see previous posts).

By April, 2020, we delivered the completed chassis to Northern Teardrop Trailer and there it would sit until it was done.

Fast forward to last month. I took a 3 day, 1800km round trip to get the trailer. Salmo, BC is about 900km SW from Edmonton. The most direct route from Edmonton, is via the Kootenay Pass which is part of the Crowsnest Highway. The Kootenay Pass is one of the highest highway-served passes in Canada that is open year-round, although it is frequently closed in bad weather for avalanche control and clearing of debris. As we were entering the winter season, there was a bit of concern of road conditions. A bit more of that to come.

The plan was:
- Day 1: Drive from Edmonton to Creston, with an overnight in Creston.
- Day 2: Drive from Creston to Northern Teardrop Trailer, get the trailer, and start to drive to Edmonton. Roads being a factor, maybe drive all the way back or find a hotel on the route.

Looking back, I have always had an adventurous spirit. It has gone dormant from time to time, but when it awakens from its sleep, it comes out bigger than ever. I'm not sure what the future holds. Do I continue to work and travel? Do I look at a new career that allows me more adventure time and the ability to disconnect a bit more? Do I find new life in my career as a designer? No idea. But what I do know is that this trailer is going to be a life changer, and just maybe it can help me encounter things I could never have imagined and help shape my life even more. As life continues, I'm sure to be on here more and more as well as reading other stories and exploring and being adventurous at every step of the journey.
 

Kozysnack

Rank VII
Member
Investor

Expedition Master I

8,095
Austin, Travis County, Texas, United States
First Name
Vance
Last Name
Ely
Member #

28800

Ham/GMRS Callsign
WRNX949 is my GMRS, haven't taken my test yet but working on the HAM
Service Branch
USAF BRAT
Hey there,

Troy from Edmonton, AB, Canada, joined tonight (Nov 28, 2021).

Rig: '21 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon with Sky-One Touch
Trailer: Semi-custom off-road teardrop.

New to owning an overland rig and trailer, but first had experience with some of the lifestyle while beach camping in a 70 series on Fraser Island, Australia in 2004.

Why I joined:

It was August of 2020, the first summer of the pandemic that my wife and I were ground camping at Tunnel Mountain in Banff. Beside us was David and his DIY teardrop. After coming back from the restroom one day on our trip, my wife was at David's site looking at the teardrop. I meandered over to say hi and take a look. Like many, I had seen teardrops on the road, but never really got up close to one. David was sharing his story how he bought this DIY trailer off someone a year or so before, and spent as much time in it as possible. The ability to sleep off the ground, have shelter and a nice little kitchen setup with a roof appeared to be appealing to me. Was this something I have longed for but didn’t know about it?

I started to think about what life could be like if we had a trailer and a new tow vehicle. At the time we had three vehicles, all great, but nothing tow worthy. During this time, the new Bronco was all the rage. By the end of the weekend, I put down deposits for not one, but two new Bronco's. My first vehicle as an '88 Bronco II, so getting the new full-sized Bronco was quite appealing. Fast forward to today, we have a '21 Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon, and that story is for another time.

So now that a tow vehicle is on order, I went to my wife to say that I think my journey with the Audi, fast cars, race tracks and exotic cars was coming to a temporary end. As an Owner of a commercial interior architectural design firm, stress is always there. I knew I needed a change. And the sale of the Audi would be the means to get there. To me, the outdoors has always been a relief. At this time, I didn't really know what "overlanding" was. I knew it as adventuring by vehicle, didn't know there was a term for it. Yes, years earlier I had seen Expedition Overland on YouTube and watched a few videos, but that was it. So this was a all new to me and us.

So now that the seed was planed, I started to research trailer manufacturers. Locally there was Off Grid Trailers and Mission Overland. A few others as well, but being a designer and someone who wanted value, spending $40-60,000 cdn on the trailer didn't seem right. After more research, I found Northern Teardrop Trailer in Salmo, BC. Then I saw in person a trailer they built for a local Jeep/off-road shop on a custom chassis built by that shop. This got me thinking about doing the same.

By September 2020, my wife and I were near Salmo, BC and stopped in to see Dale at Northern Teardrop Trailer. He showed us his shop and shared his past construction experience as well as how they build their trailers. As someone who has been involved in large scale commercial construction projects, I was keen on Dale's attention to detail and how every year he makes tweaks to make the trailers better. They only build 20-22 trailers a year. As such, I knew that this thing would have a lot of quality controls in place which appealed to me. A couple of months later, with the Audi now sold, I sent in our deposit on November 18, 2020 knowing full well that we would be the last pick-up for 2021.

Over the course of 50 weeks, we worked with Dale on various details and tweaks. We also worked with Travis Kruger of Innovative Welding in Edmonton, AB on the chassis design/fabrication (he has done chassis for Off-Grid Trailer and Mission Overland). Taking queues of other trailers I liked, the chassis was designed and fabricated (see previous posts).

By April, 2020, we delivered the completed chassis to Northern Teardrop Trailer and there it would sit until it was done.

Fast forward to last month. I took a 3 day, 1800km round trip to get the trailer. Salmo, BC is about 900km SW from Edmonton. The most direct route from Edmonton, is via the Kootenay Pass which is part of the Crowsnest Highway. The Kootenay Pass is one of the highest highway-served passes in Canada that is open year-round, although it is frequently closed in bad weather for avalanche control and clearing of debris. As we were entering the winter season, there was a bit of concern of road conditions. A bit more of that to come.

The plan was:
- Day 1: Drive from Edmonton to Creston, with an overnight in Creston.
- Day 2: Drive from Creston to Northern Teardrop Trailer, get the trailer, and start to drive to Edmonton. Roads being a factor, maybe drive all the way back or find a hotel on the route.

Looking back, I have always had an adventurous spirit. It has gone dormant from time to time, but when it awakens from its sleep, it comes out bigger than ever. I'm not sure what the future holds. Do I continue to work and travel? Do I look at a new career that allows me more adventure time and the ability to disconnect a bit more? Do I find new life in my career as a designer? No idea. But what I do know is that this trailer is going to be a life changer, and just maybe it can help me encounter things I could never have imagined and help shape my life even more. As life continues, I'm sure to be on here more and more as well as reading other stories and exploring and being adventurous at every step of the journey.
WELCOME to Overland Bound Troy
 

nomadic_t4r

Rank II

Traveler III

421
Denver, Colorado, United States
First Name
Jayson
Last Name
@nomadic_t4r
Member #

41079

Location: Colorado (mostly, I travel full time)

Rig: 2012 Toyota 4Runner Trail

Experience: Always learning!I’m on the trails,in the mountains, every day that I’m not required to be in the office. I’ve been living out of my 4Runner for a bit over a year, had a year out of an FJ Cruiser prior.

I’m happy to be member #41079 and look forward to trading stories and adventures!

My IG contact info is @nomadic_t4r
 

Attachments

freak4life

Local Expert
Member

Contributor II

1,300
Cañon City, Colorado, USA
First Name
rich
Last Name
anderssohn
Hey there,

Troy from Edmonton, AB, Canada, joined tonight (Nov 28, 2021).

Rig: '21 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon with Sky-One Touch
Trailer: Semi-custom off-road teardrop.

New to owning an overland rig and trailer, but first had experience with some of the lifestyle while beach camping in a 70 series on Fraser Island, Australia in 2004.

Why I joined:

It was August of 2020, the first summer of the pandemic that my wife and I were ground camping at Tunnel Mountain in Banff. Beside us was David and his DIY teardrop. After coming back from the restroom one day on our trip, my wife was at David's site looking at the teardrop. I meandered over to say hi and take a look. Like many, I had seen teardrops on the road, but never really got up close to one. David was sharing his story how he bought this DIY trailer off someone a year or so before, and spent as much time in it as possible. The ability to sleep off the ground, have shelter and a nice little kitchen setup with a roof appeared to be appealing to me. Was this something I have longed for but didn’t know about it?

I started to think about what life could be like if we had a trailer and a new tow vehicle. At the time we had three vehicles, all great, but nothing tow worthy. During this time, the new Bronco was all the rage. By the end of the weekend, I put down deposits for not one, but two new Bronco's. My first vehicle as an '88 Bronco II, so getting the new full-sized Bronco was quite appealing. Fast forward to today, we have a '21 Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon, and that story is for another time.

So now that a tow vehicle is on order, I went to my wife to say that I think my journey with the Audi, fast cars, race tracks and exotic cars was coming to a temporary end. As an Owner of a commercial interior architectural design firm, stress is always there. I knew I needed a change. And the sale of the Audi would be the means to get there. To me, the outdoors has always been a relief. At this time, I didn't really know what "overlanding" was. I knew it as adventuring by vehicle, didn't know there was a term for it. Yes, years earlier I had seen Expedition Overland on YouTube and watched a few videos, but that was it. So this was a all new to me and us.

So now that the seed was planed, I started to research trailer manufacturers. Locally there was Off Grid Trailers and Mission Overland. A few others as well, but being a designer and someone who wanted value, spending $40-60,000 cdn on the trailer didn't seem right. After more research, I found Northern Teardrop Trailer in Salmo, BC. Then I saw in person a trailer they built for a local Jeep/off-road shop on a custom chassis built by that shop. This got me thinking about doing the same.

By September 2020, my wife and I were near Salmo, BC and stopped in to see Dale at Northern Teardrop Trailer. He showed us his shop and shared his past construction experience as well as how they build their trailers. As someone who has been involved in large scale commercial construction projects, I was keen on Dale's attention to detail and how every year he makes tweaks to make the trailers better. They only build 20-22 trailers a year. As such, I knew that this thing would have a lot of quality controls in place which appealed to me. A couple of months later, with the Audi now sold, I sent in our deposit on November 18, 2020 knowing full well that we would be the last pick-up for 2021.

Over the course of 50 weeks, we worked with Dale on various details and tweaks. We also worked with Travis Kruger of Innovative Welding in Edmonton, AB on the chassis design/fabrication (he has done chassis for Off-Grid Trailer and Mission Overland). Taking queues of other trailers I liked, the chassis was designed and fabricated (see previous posts).

By April, 2020, we delivered the completed chassis to Northern Teardrop Trailer and there it would sit until it was done.

Fast forward to last month. I took a 3 day, 1800km round trip to get the trailer. Salmo, BC is about 900km SW from Edmonton. The most direct route from Edmonton, is via the Kootenay Pass which is part of the Crowsnest Highway. The Kootenay Pass is one of the highest highway-served passes in Canada that is open year-round, although it is frequently closed in bad weather for avalanche control and clearing of debris. As we were entering the winter season, there was a bit of concern of road conditions. A bit more of that to come.

The plan was:
- Day 1: Drive from Edmonton to Creston, with an overnight in Creston.
- Day 2: Drive from Creston to Northern Teardrop Trailer, get the trailer, and start to drive to Edmonton. Roads being a factor, maybe drive all the way back or find a hotel on the route.

Looking back, I have always had an adventurous spirit. It has gone dormant from time to time, but when it awakens from its sleep, it comes out bigger than ever. I'm not sure what the future holds. Do I continue to work and travel? Do I look at a new career that allows me more adventure time and the ability to disconnect a bit more? Do I find new life in my career as a designer? No idea. But what I do know is that this trailer is going to be a life changer, and just maybe it can help me encounter things I could never have imagined and help shape my life even more. As life continues, I'm sure to be on here more and more as well as reading other stories and exploring and being adventurous at every step of the journey.
Hello Troy, welcome to Overland Bound.
 

freak4life

Local Expert
Member

Contributor II

1,300
Cañon City, Colorado, USA
First Name
rich
Last Name
anderssohn
Location: Colorado (mostly, I travel full time)

Rig: 2012 Toyota 4Runner Trail

Experience: Always learning!I’m on the trails,in the mountains, every day that I’m not required to be in the office. I’ve been living out of my 4Runner for a bit over a year, had a year out of an FJ Cruiser prior.

I’m happy to be member #41079 and look forward to trading stories and adventures!

My IG contact info is @nomadic_t4r
Hello Jayson, welcome to Overland Bound.
 

Enthusiast III

1,808
Red Deer, Alberta, Canada
First Name
Jason
Last Name
Brown
Member #

29142

Hey there,

Troy from Edmonton, AB, Canada, joined tonight (Nov 28, 2021).

Rig: '21 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon with Sky-One Touch
Trailer: Semi-custom off-road teardrop.

New to owning an overland rig and trailer, but first had experience with some of the lifestyle while beach camping in a 70 series on Fraser Island, Australia in 2004.

Why I joined:

It was August of 2020, the first summer of the pandemic that my wife and I were ground camping at Tunnel Mountain in Banff. Beside us was David and his DIY teardrop. After coming back from the restroom one day on our trip, my wife was at David's site looking at the teardrop. I meandered over to say hi and take a look. Like many, I had seen teardrops on the road, but never really got up close to one. David was sharing his story how he bought this DIY trailer off someone a year or so before, and spent as much time in it as possible. The ability to sleep off the ground, have shelter and a nice little kitchen setup with a roof appeared to be appealing to me. Was this something I have longed for but didn’t know about it?

I started to think about what life could be like if we had a trailer and a new tow vehicle. At the time we had three vehicles, all great, but nothing tow worthy. During this time, the new Bronco was all the rage. By the end of the weekend, I put down deposits for not one, but two new Bronco's. My first vehicle as an '88 Bronco II, so getting the new full-sized Bronco was quite appealing. Fast forward to today, we have a '21 Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon, and that story is for another time.

So now that a tow vehicle is on order, I went to my wife to say that I think my journey with the Audi, fast cars, race tracks and exotic cars was coming to a temporary end. As an Owner of a commercial interior architectural design firm, stress is always there. I knew I needed a change. And the sale of the Audi would be the means to get there. To me, the outdoors has always been a relief. At this time, I didn't really know what "overlanding" was. I knew it as adventuring by vehicle, didn't know there was a term for it. Yes, years earlier I had seen Expedition Overland on YouTube and watched a few videos, but that was it. So this was a all new to me and us.

So now that the seed was planed, I started to research trailer manufacturers. Locally there was Off Grid Trailers and Mission Overland. A few others as well, but being a designer and someone who wanted value, spending $40-60,000 cdn on the trailer didn't seem right. After more research, I found Northern Teardrop Trailer in Salmo, BC. Then I saw in person a trailer they built for a local Jeep/off-road shop on a custom chassis built by that shop. This got me thinking about doing the same.

By September 2020, my wife and I were near Salmo, BC and stopped in to see Dale at Northern Teardrop Trailer. He showed us his shop and shared his past construction experience as well as how they build their trailers. As someone who has been involved in large scale commercial construction projects, I was keen on Dale's attention to detail and how every year he makes tweaks to make the trailers better. They only build 20-22 trailers a year. As such, I knew that this thing would have a lot of quality controls in place which appealed to me. A couple of months later, with the Audi now sold, I sent in our deposit on November 18, 2020 knowing full well that we would be the last pick-up for 2021.

Over the course of 50 weeks, we worked with Dale on various details and tweaks. We also worked with Travis Kruger of Innovative Welding in Edmonton, AB on the chassis design/fabrication (he has done chassis for Off-Grid Trailer and Mission Overland). Taking queues of other trailers I liked, the chassis was designed and fabricated (see previous posts).

By April, 2020, we delivered the completed chassis to Northern Teardrop Trailer and there it would sit until it was done.

Fast forward to last month. I took a 3 day, 1800km round trip to get the trailer. Salmo, BC is about 900km SW from Edmonton. The most direct route from Edmonton, is via the Kootenay Pass which is part of the Crowsnest Highway. The Kootenay Pass is one of the highest highway-served passes in Canada that is open year-round, although it is frequently closed in bad weather for avalanche control and clearing of debris. As we were entering the winter season, there was a bit of concern of road conditions. A bit more of that to come.

The plan was:
- Day 1: Drive from Edmonton to Creston, with an overnight in Creston.
- Day 2: Drive from Creston to Northern Teardrop Trailer, get the trailer, and start to drive to Edmonton. Roads being a factor, maybe drive all the way back or find a hotel on the route.

Looking back, I have always had an adventurous spirit. It has gone dormant from time to time, but when it awakens from its sleep, it comes out bigger than ever. I'm not sure what the future holds. Do I continue to work and travel? Do I look at a new career that allows me more adventure time and the ability to disconnect a bit more? Do I find new life in my career as a designer? No idea. But what I do know is that this trailer is going to be a life changer, and just maybe it can help me encounter things I could never have imagined and help shape my life even more. As life continues, I'm sure to be on here more and more as well as reading other stories and exploring and being adventurous at every step of the journey.
welcome!
 

North53Overland

Rank III
Member

Enthusiast III

740
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
First Name
Troy
Last Name
Dashney
Member #

30097

Hey there,

Troy from Edmonton, AB, Canada, joined tonight (Nov 28, 2021).

Rig: '21 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon with Sky-One Touch
Trailer: Semi-custom off-road teardrop.

New to owning an overland rig and trailer, but first had experience with some of the lifestyle while beach camping in a 70 series on Fraser Island, Australia in 2004.

Why I joined:

It was August of 2020, the first summer of the pandemic that my wife and I were ground camping at Tunnel Mountain in Banff. Beside us was David and his DIY teardrop. After coming back from the restroom one day on our trip, my wife was at David's site looking at the teardrop. I meandered over to say hi and take a look. Like many, I had seen teardrops on the road, but never really got up close to one. David was sharing his story how he bought this DIY trailer off someone a year or so before, and spent as much time in it as possible. The ability to sleep off the ground, have shelter and a nice little kitchen setup with a roof appeared to be appealing to me. Was this something I have longed for but didn’t know about it?

I started to think about what life could be like if we had a trailer and a new tow vehicle. At the time we had three vehicles, all great, but nothing tow worthy. During this time, the new Bronco was all the rage. By the end of the weekend, I put down deposits for not one, but two new Bronco's. My first vehicle as an '88 Bronco II, so getting the new full-sized Bronco was quite appealing. Fast forward to today, we have a '21 Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon, and that story is for another time.

So now that a tow vehicle is on order, I went to my wife to say that I think my journey with the Audi, fast cars, race tracks and exotic cars was coming to a temporary end. As an Owner of a commercial interior architectural design firm, stress is always there. I knew I needed a change. And the sale of the Audi would be the means to get there. To me, the outdoors has always been a relief. At this time, I didn't really know what "overlanding" was. I knew it as adventuring by vehicle, didn't know there was a term for it. Yes, years earlier I had seen Expedition Overland on YouTube and watched a few videos, but that was it. So this was a all new to me and us.

So now that the seed was planed, I started to research trailer manufacturers. Locally there was Off Grid Trailers and Mission Overland. A few others as well, but being a designer and someone who wanted value, spending $40-60,000 cdn on the trailer didn't seem right. After more research, I found Northern Teardrop Trailer in Salmo, BC. Then I saw in person a trailer they built for a local Jeep/off-road shop on a custom chassis built by that shop. This got me thinking about doing the same.

By September 2020, my wife and I were near Salmo, BC and stopped in to see Dale at Northern Teardrop Trailer. He showed us his shop and shared his past construction experience as well as how they build their trailers. As someone who has been involved in large scale commercial construction projects, I was keen on Dale's attention to detail and how every year he makes tweaks to make the trailers better. They only build 20-22 trailers a year. As such, I knew that this thing would have a lot of quality controls in place which appealed to me. A couple of months later, with the Audi now sold, I sent in our deposit on November 18, 2020 knowing full well that we would be the last pick-up for 2021.

Over the course of 50 weeks, we worked with Dale on various details and tweaks. We also worked with Travis Kruger of Innovative Welding in Edmonton, AB on the chassis design/fabrication (he has done chassis for Off-Grid Trailer and Mission Overland). Taking queues of other trailers I liked, the chassis was designed and fabricated (see previous posts).

By April, 2020, we delivered the completed chassis to Northern Teardrop Trailer and there it would sit until it was done.

Fast forward to last month. I took a 3 day, 1800km round trip to get the trailer. Salmo, BC is about 900km SW from Edmonton. The most direct route from Edmonton, is via the Kootenay Pass which is part of the Crowsnest Highway. The Kootenay Pass is one of the highest highway-served passes in Canada that is open year-round, although it is frequently closed in bad weather for avalanche control and clearing of debris. As we were entering the winter season, there was a bit of concern of road conditions. A bit more of that to come.

The plan was:
- Day 1: Drive from Edmonton to Creston, with an overnight in Creston.
- Day 2: Drive from Creston to Northern Teardrop Trailer, get the trailer, and start to drive to Edmonton. Roads being a factor, maybe drive all the way back or find a hotel on the route.

Looking back, I have always had an adventurous spirit. It has gone dormant from time to time, but when it awakens from its sleep, it comes out bigger than ever. I'm not sure what the future holds. Do I continue to work and travel? Do I look at a new career that allows me more adventure time and the ability to disconnect a bit more? Do I find new life in my career as a designer? No idea. But what I do know is that this trailer is going to be a life changer, and just maybe it can help me encounter things I could never have imagined and help shape my life even more. As life continues, I'm sure to be on here more and more as well as reading other stories and exploring and being adventurous at every step of the journey.
welcome!
Thank you Jason.
 
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Greeneggssam

Rank III

Advocate I

814
Houston, Texas, United States
First Name
Sam
Last Name
McGlone
Member #

40889

Hey All. I’m Sam from Houston. I have a 2005 LR3. I’m incredibly new to overlanding. I have always wanted to do it, but found excuses why I couldn’t. If I’ve learned anything over the last couple of years it’s that there is no time like the present, so I finally decided to go for it. Looking forward to getting to know the local group, and having some fun.

Best,

SM
 

freak4life

Local Expert
Member

Contributor II

1,300
Cañon City, Colorado, USA
First Name
rich
Last Name
anderssohn
Hey All. I’m Sam from Houston. I have a 2005 LR3. I’m incredibly new to overlanding. I have always wanted to do it, but found excuses why I couldn’t. If I’ve learned anything over the last couple of years it’s that there is no time like the present, so I finally decided to go for it. Looking forward to getting to know the local group, and having some fun.

Best,

SM
Hello Sam, welcome to Overland Bound.
 
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Kent R

Executive Director
Staff member
Mod Team
Moderator
Member

Pathfinder III

5,200
El Dorado, Ca
First Name
Kent
Last Name
Reynolds
Member #

1632

Ham/GMRS Callsign
K6KNT
Service Branch
Retired Firefighter
Hey All. I’m Sam from Houston. I have a 2005 LR3. I’m incredibly new to overlanding. I have always wanted to do it, but found excuses why I couldn’t. If I’ve learned anything over the last couple of years it’s that there is no time like the present, so I finally decided to go for it. Looking forward to getting to know the local group, and having some fun.

Best,

SM
Welcome to Overland Bound Sam
Check the forum calendar and Meet-Up page for events, and the Trip Planning page for trips being planned by members. These pages can be filtered by region.
Overland Bound Meetups
Overland Trip Planning
You are in the Southwest Region, local information can also be found in the “Overland Bound by Region”
OVERLAND BOUND COMMUNITY
Your Texas Member Representative is @Roots66, and in the DFW area you can also contact @Prerunner1982
You can use the Member Map to find other members and events in your area. You can also send a message directly from the map to other members.
RESOURCE MAP
Quick adult & youthTread Lightly online awareness course.
Online Courses - Tread Lightly
Tread Lightly! Youth Online Course
Check out Overland Expo https://www.OverlandExpo.com
If you have any questions don't hesitate to message me, hopefully I can get you going in the right direction. @Kent R or Kent@OverlandBound.com
 
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Kent R

Executive Director
Staff member
Mod Team
Moderator
Member

Pathfinder III

5,200
El Dorado, Ca
First Name
Kent
Last Name
Reynolds
Member #

1632

Ham/GMRS Callsign
K6KNT
Service Branch
Retired Firefighter
Location: Colorado (mostly, I travel full time)

Rig: 2012 Toyota 4Runner Trail

Experience: Always learning!I’m on the trails,in the mountains, every day that I’m not required to be in the office. I’ve been living out of my 4Runner for a bit over a year, had a year out of an FJ Cruiser prior.

I’m happy to be member #41079 and look forward to trading stories and adventures!

My IG contact info is @nomadic_t4r
Welcome to Overland Bound
You can use the Member Map to find other members and events in your area. You can also send a message directly from the map to other members.
RESOURCE MAP
Check the forum calendar and Meet-Up page for events, and the Trip Planning page for trips being planned by members. These pages can be filtered by region.
Overland Bound Meetups
Overland Trip Planning
Since you travel most of the time, here is a page to check out
You are in our Rocky Mountain Region, local information can also be found in the “Overland Bound by Region”
OVERLAND BOUND COMMUNITY
OB Members Colorado
Social Media:
Telegram; OB - Colorado General
RM FB; Overland Bound - Rocky Mountain
Your Rocky Mountain Regional Director is @Neal A. Tew
The closest Member Representative is @trail_runn4r Denver Area, @Iridium Fort Collins
Quick adult & youthTread Lightly online awareness course.
Online Courses - Tread Lightly
Tread Lightly! Youth Online Course
Check out Overland Expo https://www.OverlandExpo.com
If you have any questions don't hesitate to message me, hopefully I can get you going in the right direction. @Kent R or Kent@OverlandBound.com
 
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Kent R

Executive Director
Staff member
Mod Team
Moderator
Member

Pathfinder III

5,200
El Dorado, Ca
First Name
Kent
Last Name
Reynolds
Member #

1632

Ham/GMRS Callsign
K6KNT
Service Branch
Retired Firefighter
Hey there,

Troy from Edmonton, AB, Canada, joined tonight (Nov 28, 2021).

Rig: '21 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon with Sky-One Touch
Trailer: Semi-custom off-road teardrop.

New to owning an overland rig and trailer, but first had experience with some of the lifestyle while beach camping in a 70 series on Fraser Island, Australia in 2004.

Why I joined:

It was August of 2020, the first summer of the pandemic that my wife and I were ground camping at Tunnel Mountain in Banff. Beside us was David and his DIY teardrop. After coming back from the restroom one day on our trip, my wife was at David's site looking at the teardrop. I meandered over to say hi and take a look. Like many, I had seen teardrops on the road, but never really got up close to one. David was sharing his story how he bought this DIY trailer off someone a year or so before, and spent as much time in it as possible. The ability to sleep off the ground, have shelter and a nice little kitchen setup with a roof appeared to be appealing to me. Was this something I have longed for but didn’t know about it?

I started to think about what life could be like if we had a trailer and a new tow vehicle. At the time we had three vehicles, all great, but nothing tow worthy. During this time, the new Bronco was all the rage. By the end of the weekend, I put down deposits for not one, but two new Bronco's. My first vehicle as an '88 Bronco II, so getting the new full-sized Bronco was quite appealing. Fast forward to today, we have a '21 Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon, and that story is for another time.

So now that a tow vehicle is on order, I went to my wife to say that I think my journey with the Audi, fast cars, race tracks and exotic cars was coming to a temporary end. As an Owner of a commercial interior architectural design firm, stress is always there. I knew I needed a change. And the sale of the Audi would be the means to get there. To me, the outdoors has always been a relief. At this time, I didn't really know what "overlanding" was. I knew it as adventuring by vehicle, didn't know there was a term for it. Yes, years earlier I had seen Expedition Overland on YouTube and watched a few videos, but that was it. So this was a all new to me and us.

So now that the seed was planed, I started to research trailer manufacturers. Locally there was Off Grid Trailers and Mission Overland. A few others as well, but being a designer and someone who wanted value, spending $40-60,000 cdn on the trailer didn't seem right. After more research, I found Northern Teardrop Trailer in Salmo, BC. Then I saw in person a trailer they built for a local Jeep/off-road shop on a custom chassis built by that shop. This got me thinking about doing the same.

By September 2020, my wife and I were near Salmo, BC and stopped in to see Dale at Northern Teardrop Trailer. He showed us his shop and shared his past construction experience as well as how they build their trailers. As someone who has been involved in large scale commercial construction projects, I was keen on Dale's attention to detail and how every year he makes tweaks to make the trailers better. They only build 20-22 trailers a year. As such, I knew that this thing would have a lot of quality controls in place which appealed to me. A couple of months later, with the Audi now sold, I sent in our deposit on November 18, 2020 knowing full well that we would be the last pick-up for 2021.

Over the course of 50 weeks, we worked with Dale on various details and tweaks. We also worked with Travis Kruger of Innovative Welding in Edmonton, AB on the chassis design/fabrication (he has done chassis for Off-Grid Trailer and Mission Overland). Taking queues of other trailers I liked, the chassis was designed and fabricated (see previous posts).

By April, 2020, we delivered the completed chassis to Northern Teardrop Trailer and there it would sit until it was done.

Fast forward to last month. I took a 3 day, 1800km round trip to get the trailer. Salmo, BC is about 900km SW from Edmonton. The most direct route from Edmonton, is via the Kootenay Pass which is part of the Crowsnest Highway. The Kootenay Pass is one of the highest highway-served passes in Canada that is open year-round, although it is frequently closed in bad weather for avalanche control and clearing of debris. As we were entering the winter season, there was a bit of concern of road conditions. A bit more of that to come.

The plan was:
- Day 1: Drive from Edmonton to Creston, with an overnight in Creston.
- Day 2: Drive from Creston to Northern Teardrop Trailer, get the trailer, and start to drive to Edmonton. Roads being a factor, maybe drive all the way back or find a hotel on the route.

Looking back, I have always had an adventurous spirit. It has gone dormant from time to time, but when it awakens from its sleep, it comes out bigger than ever. I'm not sure what the future holds. Do I continue to work and travel? Do I look at a new career that allows me more adventure time and the ability to disconnect a bit more? Do I find new life in my career as a designer? No idea. But what I do know is that this trailer is going to be a life changer, and just maybe it can help me encounter things I could never have imagined and help shape my life even more. As life continues, I'm sure to be on here more and more as well as reading other stories and exploring and being adventurous at every step of the journey.
Welcome to Overland Bound Troy
Check the forum calendar and Meet-Up page for events, and the Trip Planning page for trips being planned by members. These pages can be filtered by region.
Overland Bound Meetups
Overland Trip Planning
You can use the Member Map to find other members and events in your area. You can also send a message directly from the map to other members.
RESOURCE MAP
Quick adult & youthTread Lightly online awareness course.
Online Courses - Tread Lightly
Tread Lightly! Youth Online Course
Check out Overland Expo https://www.OverlandExpo.com
If you have any questions don't hesitate to message me, hopefully I can get you going in the right direction. @Kent R or Kent@OverlandBound.com
 
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