First overlanding trip... with the wife that is. Help..

So I've spent the last four months building my 2019 custom deluxe. I've designed, built, painted, welded, wired, wrenched and outfitted 100% solo. The wife informs me she's got a months worth of pto to use up and wants to go back out west (I'm from Montana but live in north carolina now) so I'm all stoked bcuz there aren't many places I haven't already been but now I need the help from the experts. How do I prepare her for not only the trip there, but the miles of overlanding? If I need mention anything else you feel I left out, please tell me. Btw, she's an avid outdoorswoman.. but hates trucks and really doesn't know what this is.

 

Test it out close to home...1 or 2 nights. Good luck! Sounds like a wonderful plan.

 

So, youre going on a road trip?

 

Pillows, lots of pillows.

 

@SCHNUGGS

 

With some camping thrown in I guess.

 

My $0.02 for actual car camping, I mean, overlanding and not road tripping:

Make sure the sleeping accommodations are comfortable and warm, and have a plan for showering and using the bathroom.

My lady really likes our RTT, but that doesn’t mean everyone needs one (despite the huge popularity of ‘overlanding’ and all of its accoutrements). If you can stay dry, warm, and comfortable in a ground tent, it’s actually better in most cases.

As for showering, I have a cheap ass solar bag shower that I only use to warm up the water (I’m lazy), and I have a sweet battery powered shower and pump that is really compact and works great pumping out of a collapsible bucket. Throw in a lightweight shower/shitter tent and you’ve got privacy and some wind protection. You can also use the tent for a toilet bucket and wag bags if you’re having to pack out your waste. Even if you don’t, it gives her a place to do her thing without having to squat over a hole out in the open.

The true game-changer is the shower, tho. Going to bed in the boonies all fresh and clean instead of sweaty and dusty goes a long way for me, but especially for her.

 

If she’s gotta use the PTO before the end of the year, you better be ready for some cold nights

 

State or county parks with facilities for doing duties.

 

A little more detail, I'm a hunting guide so this is kinda my thing but will be a first with this particular truck. Added note, we've hiked from new York to Idaho (not literally) but all over. I do like the suggestion about trying it for a few nights. And as for cold nights, I put that into my design of my RTT. I used additional duct work from a truck I found in the junkyard and rigged up a 2nd heater core and that's the auxiliary kinda like how everyone has a 2nd battery. I've spent enough nights on the ground haha. And facilities is a must, I do agree. For me, there ain't nothing wrong with my custom seat-on-a-hitch

 

This is my go to for a quick hair wash or shower. You can heat some water on the stove and get it the 'just right' temperature in the bottle and you're good to go. Not saying everyone will like it but it's simple and fast. That and a bamboo shower mat and you're set.

 

I use one of these with the Coleman hot water heater. It's better than our house shower

 

I road tripped with my wife for 9 months right after we met. The single biggest piece of advice I can give you is get a hotel room once a week. Trust me.

 

It sounds like your wife is used to roughing it. So is mine, she did lots of backpacking before we met (we’ve been married 32 years) and is an avid mountain biker with serious single track skills and speed. But she’s not crazy about the overlanding thing. For her, it’s mostly the destination and not the journey. And, she actually hated the RTT and asked to switch back to a ground tent. She’s a fine and competent driver but doesn’t like to drive long distances. Trust me, she’s educated me that it’s not much fun sitting as a passenger on miles of desert washboard, seeing an obstacle up ahead and not knowing if the driver (me) has seen it and will slow down, or is planning to send it and hang on to a steering wheel she doesn’t have. So my biggest advice isn’t about the girly stuff like showers and hotel stays, it’s just to stop often and go for a hike or just look at the view, do some things what she wants, explain what your doing, etc.

 

As others said, staying in hotels from time to time is great, even if you have a good camp shower/bathroom setup. It is nice to take a night off from making camp and cooking your own food. But don't just crash at a roadside motel and eat McDonalds, find somewhere fun and memorable -- make it part of the adventure.

Here was a high point of our summer trip this year -- the Timberline Lodge at Mt Hood. We watched the Shining on the drive up too.

Lol, what we need is a fake passenger-side steering wheel! Something to cling onto. Pretty sure my wife would also vote in favor of a (functional) passenger side brake pedal.



Seriously though, make sure your wife has some good sports bras for the off-road driving. And speaking of differences between boys and girls, consider getting some disposable travel urinals like

$18 TravelJane Disposable Urinal for All Genders, Adults, and Children (6 Pack) Designed for Emergencies, Travel, Camping, Long Car Rides and More - 28oz/800ml Capacity (TJ1R-C)

these, especially for winter camping.