What is up with all the overloaded Jeeps, lack of 2 door Jeeps, "Overlanding" movement, and odd spotter signals?

[OllieChristopher]

The Vietnam vet master sgt made us use “driver passenger” lingo to spot off trail as well as maneuvering those trucks in and out of the cramped motor pool. So I think driver passenger lingo has been around for awhile. Maybe just not around you.

That's cool. For you it was. For my short career as in the military it was never used. And in the real world as well. I started noticing it with the younger wheelers on the hard core trails.

Most all of us older dudes still are the "left/right". There are a few older folks that are new to spotting that might differ.

For myself personally it's all about communicating before hitting the trail and letting everyone know your style of spotting or driving and theirs then deciding wether you want to join the group.

More important than spotting would be to know yourself and your rigs ability on the trail. Something that angers me and I find no excuse for is tearing up the trails by stacking rocks on ledges or digging in when no traction is available. The rock stacking is a mind blower.

A couple cheap traction boards will do just as well. Heck I used my motorcycle ramp many times to get out of touchy situations before the popularity and price point came down on the lightweight traction devices.

I have noticed a big trend of off roaders not even bringing and using traction boards, going around the easy way, or using a jack and winch when available.

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[AlrightAlready]

it does offer more protection from humans. Sleeping in the jeep will be more comfortable. and id feel safer too, even if it is a somewhat of a placebo it helps sleeping lol.

So perhaps I should have elaborated that my main priority was humans with animals second. I have traveled all over the US motorcycle camping and have had interactions with humans in the middle of nowhere where all I was thinking was, " Man, would love to be in my jeep right now" I'm always capable of protecting myself but I've definitely met some off-balls that kept me on edge as I was hopping in the tent. As you said, bear spray is paramount and the main go to in case of anything sketchy.

 

[davers]

Don’t forget the beards. You‘ve got to have a big beard …..

Hey now… my beard just asked me what’s up with that comment…

 

[troubledog]

Hey now… my beard just asked me what’s up with that comment…

Don’t know. My scrawny beard ran away hiding…..

 

[mnjeeper]

I pack a 10x10 cabin tent I can stand up in, a cot so I don't have to sleep on the ground (getting old sucks), an awning for shade, some camp chairs, all of my Jeeping recovery gear, and other miscellaneous little stuff. It all unpacks into a modest base camp. I keep my recovery gear in the Jeep and leave the base camp set up all week. But fitting all of that in a 2 door is a challenge. But that's just a motivator to reduce the quantity of stuff I take with me.

I've switched over to a 4 door, mostly because the Wrangler is my all-around-everything vehicle right now. There are outside considerations to having more room that have nothing to do with off road performance. I still take the same quantity of stuff. I just have more room to stow it without blocking my rear view.

As I get older, the ability to tow a small camping trailer (popup or teardrop) will let me get away from tent camping over time. The 3,500 pound tow rating of the 4 door opens up more options than I had with the 2,000 pound capacity of the 2 door. I won't start cramming more stuff in. I'll just have a mostly empty Jeep towing a small trailer.

Big tent, air mattress or cot, decent chair is me as well right now. Used to have to use a smaller tent with the TJ. Also the 4 door I figure I "can" sleep in it. I know RTT people, so I looked at them. I think they are far too much money for what they are, and I like to be topless. I am also getting the itch to get an offroad trailer, but mostly to do light trails (not crawling, but also more than a dirt road) and be base camp, or an easy setup every night if I take it down trails, etc.. I like the idea of a bed all ready to go, and a simple galley. The closer I get to 50 every time stuck in the rain in a tent just grinds at me. Worse yet is if I bring a smaller tent I can't stand up in...I do know this will be a limitation on the trailer, but awnings with walls exist if I care. Opening the galley door and having the stove ready to go and water jug right there is a huge plus. Food in a bear canister if needed could also store there easily.

Then there are all of the posers. They're like all of the suburbanites who have 1/2 ton pickup trucks that they never use as trucks.

I watched my neighbor load a lawmower on a utility trailer behind his month old truck. He didn't want to risk scratching the lineX .

 

[grimmjeeper]

I watched my neighbor load a lawmower on a utility trailer behind his month old truck. He didn't want to risk scratching the lineX .

So the thing he put in to keep from scratching his bed while using his truck as a truck... he doesn't want to scratch?

 

[AcesandEights]

I'll admit I winced when a first gouged an inch or two out of my bedliner. It was within the first week and I wondered what the point of the liner was, but I guess it probably would have been metal gouged instead.

 

[mnjeeper]

So the thing he put in to keep from scratching his bed while using his truck as a truck... he doesn't want to scratch?

Exactly!

I'll admit I winced when a first gouged an inch or two out of my bedliner. It was within the first week and I wondered what the point of the liner was, but I guess it probably would have been metal gouged instead.

People generally don't "want" scratches...but most of my neighbors with trucks don't haul cardboard.

 

[SH556JL]

I remember my early to mid 20s living out of my car because I was extremely broke. Now it’s the trendy thing to be doing according to YouTube… I was ahead of the trend, should have video taped me peeing in bottles because it was raining and I didn’t want to get wet to walk into McDonalds.

 

[wibornz]

We camp a lot in remote places and set up a base camp to wheel from. I have had 2dr wranglers and will never ever go back. Just like I will never ever get a manual wrangler again. I have towed the camper approx 25,000 miles in just over a year. We haul the camper down the trail often. We almost never stay in a campground. I am thinking it has been in a campground twice in the last two and a half years. We bring stuff with us to extend our ability to stay out of towns and to increase our comfort for the long haul. It is one thing to go out for a night or two vs, a week or a couple weeks or months. I also believe that age plays a part. I too have motorcycled all over the US....all the lower 48 states and a lot of Canada. I used to just lay on the ground or run a tarp from the bike to the ground and then lay on the ground. I have zero desire to do that again.

We set up a base camp and then wheel and come back to basecamp. Sometimes easy trails, sometime hard trails. It just depends on where we end up. The 4dr opens up more possibilities and tows better.

I usually do all the spotting for our group. I use driver/passenger. I also use hand signals to signal what I want the driver to do. If it is the first time I spot for you, I go over what I will say and do and what each thing means. I have many people that wheel with me and if I am with the group, they will only let me spot for them. A good spotter saves your vehicle from damage and saves you from potential injury. A spotter is a dime a dozen, a good spotter is pricesless and may save you several weeks or months worth of hassles and healing.

As far a what I bring camping with us is always dependent on what we plan to do, where we plan to go and how long we plan to be gone. Then I bring stuff that I also hope I never use, like snake bite kit, First Aid kit, fire extinguisher, recovery gear and tools etc....

I always say drive what you want, buy what you want and do what you want. What is okay for one is torture for someone else. My priority is a good night sleep over just about everything else. That is why I have a great mattress in my camper.

 

[JohnT]

Just because you never encountered it doesn't mean it hasn't been done that way for a long time. I learned driver/passenger spotting back when I got started over 20 years ago. And it makes more sense than left/right. Who's left? Yours or mine? Driver/passenger is clear to both spotter and spotted. Unless you're in a RHD vehicle...

I will agree that spinning hands is dumb.

or "This way" and "that way", and "no, the other way" and so on lol

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