Like you, I’m an old man and when I gave up rock crawling, I went to the scenic route. I just kept on doing the same thing that I’ve been doing. If you get a two-door jeep, take out the backseat if you’re tall like me take out the passenger seat there’s your home on wheels right there. I’ve slept in that jeep for weeks at a time. Love it. Four-door they got the backseat. Y’all have plenty of room then.
Not sure what this comment means, at least in the context of a RTT. You don't remove or roll up the mattress in a RTT. You just leave it there
We replaced the stock mattress with the Exped for the reasons mentioned. https://www.expedusa.com/. The Exped has two valves, air in and air out. In the morning when we get out of bed we place everything on top of the mattress like we want it to be when we close the RTT and just pull the plug on the air out valve and in about 20 minutes is completely flat. If I need it to go faster I have a reversible pump that will flatten it in less than five minute (I've never actually timed it?).
I have a Rhino Pioneer Rack with a Backbone. I'm sure there are other similar brands. I've never had any other rack on any of my jeeps before so how you described what you have to do to mount a RTT would discourage me from getting a RTT. With the Pioneer Rack you don't have to take the roof off and the Backbone transfers the weight to the Jeep - not the roll bar so you can still take off the roof off the same way you do now. Also, if all your going to use your rack for is the RTT then I don't think you need the Pioneer Platform you can just get the bars and attach the RTT and the awning to them.
What I meant was I will be using a self inflating mattress inside the RTT. These are thick and have to be rolled up after use, they will not fit inside a RTT if you are going to be packing up.Not sure what this comment means, at least in the context of a RTT. You don't remove or roll up the mattress in a RTT. You just leave it there
We replaced the stock mattress with the Exped for the reasons mentioned. https://www.expedusa.com/. The Exped has two valves, air in and air out. In the morning when we get out of bed we place everything on top of the mattress like we want it to be when we close the RTT and just pull the plug on the air out valve and in about 20 minutes is completely flat. If I need it to go faster I have a reversible pump that will flatten it in less than five minute (I've never actually timed it?).
I have a Rhino Pioneer Rack with a Backbone. I'm sure there are other similar brands. I've never had any other rack on any of my jeeps before so how you described what you have to do to mount a RTT would discourage me from getting a RTT. With the Pioneer Rack you don't have to take the roof off and the Backbone transfers the weight to the Jeep - not the roll bar so you can still take off the roof off the same way you do now. Also, if all your going to use your rack for is the RTT then I don't think you need the Pioneer Platform you can just get the bars and attach the RTT and the awning to them.
The biggest downside to a RTT is that you have to pack it up everytime you move the Jeep. We Knew that when we got it so that hasn't been a deal breaker. With the ease of use, the comfort and protection from the elements that a RTT affords it makes overlanding way more fun than we thought it would be. So the biggest downside of our RTT for us is that we can't pack enough supplies so in three or four days we start running out of food and water. I'm building a trailer so we can have additional power, hot water shower, camp kitchen and can pack enough supplies for 10-14 days. This also changes how we overland giving us a basecamp that frees the Jeep up to explore trails etc..
I'm not trying to talk anyone into or out of an iKamper. It's all we've ever had so its all I know. The quality, durability and usability are outstanding, so I do recommend them but these products are expensive. At least I can say you get what you pay for. After removing the iKamper for painting any thought that I would just switch the RTT from the trailer to the Jeep disappeared. I have been looking for a smaller lighter RTT for the jeep. There are much cheaper Chinese RTTs flooding the market. If I decide to get a second RTT I'll probably get an iKamper Mini but I'd like to hear the experiences from any owners of these Chinese RTTs.
They all use those hospital urinals haha! I'm very accustomed to those things, having spent months in at a time.
I have 4 ground tents, one of which is an easy setup 3 person ultralight backpacking tent with one pole. It packs down pretty small, the Big Agnes Copper Spur UL3HV. Then, I have pillows, two Exped super thick mattress pads, and sleeping bags. All of this takes up a giant tote from Costco. The Skycamp allows me to store all this inside, that means one super large tote of more space in the Jeep. The only reason I don't have a RTT yet is because I research and buy top quality the first time, I'm not rich.
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Last year at the Overland Expo, the newer RTT’s were all over the place. They have improved a lot. I can appreciate the speed of making/breaking camp, but I’m not in any hurry at that point.
Just so you know, the Exped is a self inflating mattress, it doesn't need to be rolled up, its self deflating and it doesn't need to be removed. On the iKamper 2.0 it doesn't even need to be deflated if you remove the bedding (pillows). I suspect that since the Exped is the same size as the iKamper mattress that comes with it the same is true for the Mini.
In terms of camping, tents are just shelters for sleeping. I keep only what is absolutely needed. Also 98% of the time I solo explore so no issues with people waiting on me.I have 4 ground tents, one of which is an easy setup 3 person ultralight backpacking tent with one pole. It packs down pretty small, the Big Agnes Copper Spur UL3HV. Then, I have pillows, two Exped super thick mattress pads, and sleeping bags. All of this takes up a giant tote from Costco. The Skycamp allows me to store all this inside, that means one super large tote of more space in the Jeep. The only reason I don't have a RTT yet is because I research and buy top quality the first time, I'm not rich.
When we overland, I'm always the last to setup and the last to packup, people are waiting on me sometimes with all the crap I have to brush off pack up and put away. Then, when I get home, I have to power wash the thing because sand/dust/dirt/mud is all inside. However, I've never required winching or gotten stuck on any obstacle that one of the Tacoma's, 4Runners, Land Cruisers, Colorado's, Ranger's, have ever been stuck on, causing us to be delayed in the trip by 3 hours as 7 other vehicles have to get winched up an obstacle that the two Jeeps walked up with no problems. So..... now that I'm thinking about it, who is really the one that we're waiting on?
The same is true for camp kitchens and solar power. I was looking for a kitchen for the trailer I'm building, at the EXPO camp kitchens that used to cost around $900 were selling for $3500 ` $5000. Solar Power was as high as $12000. Drugs I tell you, these people are on drugs!
It really depends on what problem your trying to solve. If your exploring by yourself on foot then ground camping probably the right answer for most. If your traveling off grid with a family for a week or more a RTT is a good solution. RTTs are very comfortable, they're a good alternative to an RV not necessarily ground camping.
I’m over in Fillmore now so just across the mountains from you.
