Casper's "I did a bad thing" micro off road camper build

OUTLANDERS RIVER CAMP 2019!


Well we finally did it! We took the camper out and went some where. Those of you that know me understand what kind of a year this has been for us. I have had to find and start a new job so time off has been non existent, Christie's father has had a major stroke and needs around the clock nursing so we made trips to NC to care for him until we had him moved up here but the health issues just kept componding. It has not been a pleasant year to say the least.
Christie has been fussing at me because we haven't gone anywhere but it seemed everytime we tried to do anything the doctors called and i was leary of being ome where contact would be limitted.
I finally said screw it we are leaving and taking the camper for a weekend I don't care what we do or where we go but we are going. With the weather being forcasted to be in the 90's I decided on one of our favorite spots. No adventure here not even a little. This isn't some magnificent travel log entry but we escaped for a weekend nd that was all we needed. I decided on Outlanders river Camp to get us a spot with electric so we could sleep with the AC (I told you no adventure here) we had to have shore power to run the AC as it won't run off of the batteries with the solar. We were in the mountains and the scenery is beautiful regardless. I got us a spot that was for tent camping with electric. This proved to be a boone as all the full hook up spots were packed and where we were there was only a few folks there so very quiet. I actually used one of my only good ideas for the year up and at the last minute also threw in an extension cord and fan. This proved a grand decision with the heat as we sat under the pop up all day Saturday to escape the sun and the fan was invaluable keeping air moving and us semi cool. We don't sit in the tiny camper during the day, well really about the only thing we do in it is sleep. It is perfect for us and our desired style of camping.

Photo dump:





We even had the awning lights out



Good eats:




Gorgeous moon rise:





A last relaxing morning before pack up:





Like I said no adventure here this was mostly just an escape. I am hoping this fall after grape harvest is over and the brewery is up and running we can get out and maybe have a real adventure.

 

That window Ac unit is sick. It’s got to freeze in that trailer..

 

Chris,
Glad to that you were able to get away and relax a bit. The truck and the trailer look real nice.

 

Yeah you only need low cool it can get chilly but when it's in the 90's that's a good thing

 

Thanks Dan believe me it was a much needed escape. I still believe the camper is still more fun to play with than the truck. I lets you get a little creative figuring out how to make things work to fit your needs

 

Very cool, looks like you have it all dialed in.

 

It's pretty functional now. There's always room to improve but we are fairly self sufficient with the solar, duall batteries, and fridge etc. Now I need to learn how to find some dispersed camping sites and then grow a set of balls big enough to get out and adventure more. The camper is fun though and I have managed to keep it pretty light considering all the mods I've done to it.

 

You cant be afraid to break things. When you break it you learn what you really need.

 

Thanks it's a lot of fun. I have no regrets in our choice of campers. It may not have all the amennities other folks look for but it suits us. I just couldn't ground tent camp anymore and this provides a way to get outside and enjoy it

 

You are absolutely correct. I admitt I am a little timid in that respect especially if we are going by ourselves somewhere. When we went with James and Beth to the top of the mountain we learned several things we were short on. When we riped one of the front stabalizers off the camper I figured out quickly I needed some more ground clearance and we needed beefier front stabalizers that and the uneven ground also made the need for bigger stabalizers evident. It's more enjoyable for us to go with others I think the fellowship just kinda adds to it but we need to get out on our own some also. I will say it makes me feel safer when we are with others

 

Never go alone offroad

 

maps, maps, maps. paper maps, maps on your phone, and maps on your new GPS. When we go somewhere new, we look on the gazeteer and google maps and Gaia maps. We start with finding a campground near where we want to explore. This gives us at least one night (or more if need be) of a known camp spot. For example, this last trip we had selected an area of Jefferson National forest for the attractions of waterfalls and Butt Mountain (solely due to the name). Near (near is a relative term on Nat forest roads) to these on the map was Walnut Flats campground (option #1). We managed to get there early enough in the day to decide not to stay there and moved on up the road. Up the road was a Horse camp (option #2) but we weren't happy with it either so we kept rolling. Farther up the road we found a couple of dispersed sites one of which was pretty OK (option #3) and we parked the trailer. Since it was still early in the day we decided to roll out and explore just to see if we could find better.

If I'm driving Beth has the Gazeteer in her lap and keeps tabs of our location in that and on her Gaia map on her phone. She marks everything from campsites, gates, tank traps, interesting features etc. That's how we found our Crow Camp (really the crows were saving us a great site and took flight as we approached a near perfect campsite), just driving down a middle of no where forest road. It was about a 30 minute drive from where we dropped the trailer so we just looped back around, hitched up and went back to the Crow Camp easily found now on the maps.

The caveat to this is sometimes you find great sites, sometimes you wind up in a horrible campground, sometimes you're on a wide spot just off the road. We absolutely love driving forest roads looking for new (to us) sites.

You've got a capable truck and trailer, get on out there and explore. Don't be afraid to drop the trailer somewhere to explore more in depth to find a spot.

If we waited to go with other people every time, we'd never get out camping. JUst use common sense and if a road looks like more than you want to try, don't try it. Mark it on your map for later though.

 

I need to sit down and spend some QT with the gazetteer and more in depth with the gps I guess. You’re right if we wait for perfect situations well never get it done. I’ll spend some time researching and perhaps after harvest is done we will be able to squeeze out a 3 day weekend

 

Great advice. Sounds like you have a great road partner like I do. Also make sure you have plenty of recovery gear, at least some walkies, and someone back home knows the general area you're exploring and return time.

 

I do have a perfect partner, she's very capable of anything that needs to be done and cooks one hell of a pie!

Recovery gear is the usual, winch and gear, hi lift, maxtrax, shovel axe , straps, air compressor etc. Were break the "let someone know" rule as were don't have anyone really local that could find us and half the time we're dont know where we'll end up. But we're both capable and calm in situations. Gotten stuck gotten unstuck, cut trees, winch trees, dig holes filled holes. Whatever it takes

 

nice!!

 

Looking really good, Chris! I haven’t been on here in awhile but you’ve made a lot of changes!

 

A few yes I enjoy the tinkering

 

By her a truck, then you have a back-up

Lol

 

Simple, Free, and Effective:

So the few times we have gone where the AC can be used we found it isn't entirely pleasent for Christie sleeping on that side because it seems to blow right on her. Remember the camper is tiny even when it's hot you never really need the AC turned down low. We found one of the little AC vent deflectors we used to have under a dresser or something and decided to repurpose it.

A little velcro and WALA works like a charm and deflects the air output to the ceiling where it circulates around the camper better and doesn't blow directly on Chritie'