Car Camping / Trip Reports / Photos / Buildouts / “Overland” / Expedition Rigs Area (homeless?)

On a whim, and next to zero cost (had all parts already), I put this awning together for a quick trip out to Anza-Borrego. It worked superbly.

 

Yup. Crazy prices. Super easy DIY. In my picture is a random $10 tarp, (3) carabiniers, my poles and guy lines are from the Kodiak tent. I love the poles. Dunno of Kodiak sells them independently or not, but I'd sure ask if your looking. Poles should not cost a lot. Less than 5 minutes to set up.

 

i use a loop of bungy cord to fasten a tarp to the truck rood rack for example. They are just snug. If a wind blows up, the bungy cord provides some give, so the tarp doesn't self destruct, and when the gust dies down, the bungy pulls the tarp back to the original position.

 

Throw a duvet cover over it at home, and it's perfect for the guest bedroom too.

 

I think you lose a point off your man card for using "duvet" in a sentence

 

Lol, I don't have one of those wife mods, so I have to compensate.

 

Cabela's also sells adjustable poles. I believe Cabela's has a better size selection, and they are steel instead of aluminum - heavier but cost less.

Kodiak does sell poles and stakes independently. Just give them a call - and be patient. It takes a few weeks for them to ship out parts.

 

When did you install the shell on your truck looks good!

 

Do you have any pics of your truck like a side profile.

 

Your setup looks great! When I had my shell, I cut up an old bed sheet for privacy curtains. I stuck on some patches of self adhering Velcro with safety pins added for good measure. The Velcro sticks nicely to the "carpet" liner of the shell. It worked great and was super easy.

 

Heres a few from my trip this past weekend.

The girlfriend said she would make some blackout curtains with velcro for me. I just have to drag her to the fabric store to make it happen. haha.

 

That's what I did with mine. They work great. I did two layers. The outside facing one is black, the inside facing one is the actual black out material. They work great for urban stealth camping no light escapes. The down side is it gets hot fast. I'd like to install a vent fan in the roof of my camper shell.

 

I haven't used it but I've seen it. It's pretty nice but the reason the price is a bit less is because its using typical drawer slides rather than sealed roller bearings for the guides. If you're putting it in the back of an open truckbed you might bet more sand and grit buildup in the slides than you will with the sealed roller bearings.

I'm using the same type of slides on my homemade fridge slide. The roller bearings are definitely nicer (hence the higher cost for those types) but it hasn't been a problem for me, although I do need to do a little maintenance now and then to clean up the slides and lubricate them.

 

I have a Fan-Tastic vent Endless Breeze Fan. I haven't used it in my Tacoma's shell yet but I had a similar setup in my old Ford Ranger and it worked great at keeping the inside of the shell cool. Its quiet and has a low amp draw and doesn't require you to cut into the roof of the shell and risk water leaks. I still have some electrical work to do in my shell to run it, and also need to build some sort of bracket for it to sit on or clip to.

Heres a pic from my old Rangers Shell. Its not mounted the best in this pic but you get the idea.




If its really hot out I set up solar reflective tarp over the cap. Not one of those silver tarps, but the ones that actually have a mirror finish to them. That tarp alone makes a world of difference.

 

The main message in your trip write-up is that duratracs are garbage for expedition rigs that want solid reliable tires.

 

Main message? Certainly not. lol And I don't blame the tires for getting holes while off road. Doesn't matter what tires you have, run over sharp shit, shit pokes holes.

 

Also from LLBean:

 

True, but some tires resist the punctures better than others. From my experience with friends who have had the Duratracs, I am just not a fan of them. IMO I think they are a good tire for winter driving and that's about the only saving grace. They'll "work" for the other stuff, but are not nearly as durable, wear much faster and have weaker sidewalls than quite a few other options.

Flame suit on. I know there's lots of Duratrac fans on here, I'm just not one of them.

 

I'm a fan of Duratracs, personally. That being said, would like to hear your thoughts on Duratracs vs. MTRs vs. ??? for a daily driven rig.