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

Did I already ask you if your username is used on other forums?

 

I'm on here and I occasionally post on expedition portal. Not really on any other forums

 

Does somebody else have it on another forum? I've thought about changing it but I'm terrible at coming up with names and I don't really care lol

 

I have a feeling I've seen it on a backpacking forum or a bushcraft forum sometime over the last decade. Thousands of names, I could be thinking I remember one and fooling myself.

I did remember primersinmyshoe from a 1911 forum I frequented like 10 years prior to seeing him here though. Lol

 

Definitely wouldn't change it.

 

That's an awesome 2nd gen. I don't have a tailgate though haha or a shell.

 

Mmmmmmm. White.

 

LOL archerAZ is ironic because on steam ive been playing as "Archer" recently. From the stupid but hilarious cartoon. O yeah kinda forgot that's what my avatar is.. duh. I think its gonna stay the same though, maybe if I piss enough people off ill change it

 

I miss my last truck. It was a red reg cab that i painted with flat clear over the red. It was unique and an awesome truck even though it was a 5 lug.

I got white because I just needed another truck and this one was CLEAN.
It met its end because of an idiot on his cell phone

 

The white has definitely grown on me though

 

That did look nice. RIP

 

You are too young and don't wear enough tacticool clothes to be a real overlander Alex

 

Hahaha you need to see me at work or out camping. Tan cargo shorts a blue mountain hardwear button up and approach shoes. Then either my climbing helmet that has a giant brim on it (google dabrim helmet brim) or a big hat. Occasionally a glock on my hip. Close enough

 

The one place that had a tailgate (even a tacoma at that) around here wanted $350 for the tailgate. I just hung up on the guy lol. I will probably end up with a tiregate or something for that kind of cash

 

I just starting car camping a few years ago after about 20 years of backpacking. I like to climb and do some fast long distance stuff as well so I like to keep my pack as light as possible. I've gotten as low as 8 pounds minus food and water. I still keep the truck packing pretty light. I sleep in my truck under the camper shell, so no tent...although sometimes I bring one in case I want to do a short backpacking trip along the way. I bring a chair and a cooler and not much else.

When it comes to food I like to do a little extra. Well...when I'm by myself I keep it pretty basic. When I'm with other people I like to share what I can do do. I cook for a living and spent a bunch of years in fine dining before I jumped ship and landed in corporate dining. I graduated just about the top of my class from The CIA so I kinda know food pretty well. There aren't many things that bring me more joy than making people happy through food. My end goal of my truck is to be able to make amazing food for friends in remote places. That part is going to get heavy. I don't see needing easy ups or a bunch of lanterns and tables though.

 

Those locking extensions are $$$, just for the raw parts. Looks good. Once I saw those prices, I did this instead-

 

This is exactly what I use for my OSK. Nicely sized and good capacity.

 

Packing for extended trips is definitely something you learn from over time. It's not too difficult to figure out what stuff actually gets used and what can be left behind. I like to read the comments from people who generally are travelling solo (or just packing for one). Packing for yourself is night and day different than packing for several people. When I do trips solo in my truck I feel like I'm not taking anything. I can get by with a couple changes of clothes and a few spare parts that I always take along with what you guys are calling the "OSK". Granted I still have my RTT and a fridge but the bed of the truck is usually almost empty when it's just me. Most of what I need is already on the truck full time with the exception of clothes.

But wow when my wife and kids are with me on trips it's a whole different story. Just the amount of food you take for 4-6 people compared to just one is crazy. My wife hates it but I'm pretty particular about how much "stuff" I allow them to bring and we keep it as minimal as possible. But there are some things that I agree to bring so my wife stays comfortable. Things like a bathroom "privy" and camp toilet so she can take care of that in privacy and reasonable comfort. In either case though packing less is best. Bring the essentials so you are prepared and it's still ok to have a few "extras" to help enjoy the experience along the way but work hard not to over-do it.

I just got back from 4 days of remote camping/travel with my wife and 2 of our kids. We used every bit of space we had in the Tacoma, and the only real "extras" were my camera and a portable DVD player for the kids.


And yes it loaded the suspension. But the OME Dakars are a bit different than a lot of other springs because they are almost flat to begin with so they invert easily and often with a load. Even fully loaded like this, I was impressed with the OME suspension again. We were covering ground at pretty good speeds offroad even through the bumps and the truck rode great the whole trip, even after adding another 75lbs of mud to the truck.

 

Kind of related to overland but what type of shoes are you guys wearing when you go? I'm looking for a boot that is great for exploring the area but also able to use in the snow/colder weather.

 

I was looking at those Merrell before I made the comment actually. I was thinking about getting them but I was curious if they would be good in colder climates.