HOT TAKE: Roof Top Tents are Lame and "Overlanding" is a Fad

[JIMBOX]

I've "CAR CAMPED/OVERLANDED all my life and have GRADUATED to the RTT/trailer in the last 12 years-

Having no kids(all gone) and loving the ease of access off-road--the trailer/RTT is pretty hard to beat-

I tried the RTT on JEEP trick for a while , but that turned out to be WASTE OF TIME--you lose too much JEEP USABILITY/ teardown/setup each day--YUCK !

W.E.

JIMBO

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[rustyshakelford]

Anyone that talks down about a 12v/110 fridge hasn’t fully experienced the joys of ice in your cooler very long. I’m happy as a pig in poo to spend $1300 on a freezer/fridge combo that allows me to never have to worry about ice again. We can bring sandwiches in Moab and there be zero chance of them being soggy, get hot, grab some ice cream. We live about 30 mins from the closest grocery so now we can bring ice cream Home still frozen.

The tents to me are more trouble than they are worth but I’m not camping. I’ll take my soft bed and hot shower over that anyday at a hotel

Brett

 

[GraniteRubiGA]

I love my bed!

 

[Geos7812]

I don’t like the idea of turning my Jeep into an RV but I have a truck and travel trailer combo. Who cares how others enjoy the outdoors. So long as it is being enjoyed we all have something in common. Fad or not, I can still see the benefits for some. ENJOY!

 

[Rumblefish]

Here is my take on this subject. Overlanding is not a new concept, but the increase in its popularity has done several things. First it puts folks that normally would not be outdoors, in an outdoor environment, and adds to the support for keeping land open for off road use. Recently there is a push to shut down access to public land for vehicle useage, and having more folks on our side is incredibly important to continue to have space to do things that we enjoy doing in our vehicles be it rock crawling, car camping, overlanding etc.

Personally, I think the overlanding scene has produced some incredible gear that although is expensive, solves some issues that existed, while walking a fine line between maximizing comfort, functionality and capability (for some vehicle types not all) From a comfort standpoint, I refuse to "rough" it, I spent 20+ years "roughing" it in the Army, and I would not ask my wife to rough it. Making it more comfortable for her gets her more interested in going out on adventures.

Overland Expo for example has exploded over the last 5 years, although I believe that some of the reason for its growing popularity is using "adventure travel" as fashion, similar to the growing "van life" movement. But the good news is that folks go to the event to learn skills (recovery, bushcraft, border crossing, etc) and meet other folks that are interested in a similar lifestyle.

 

[JIMBOX]

Well said and I totally agree--

I was involved in some of the "SIERRA CLUB" trail closure INITIAL--When I had my tire shop in Paradise, Ca and belonging to "TREAD LIGHTLY" is a real POSITIVE MOVEMENT-

Good day

JIMBO

Here is my take on this subject. Overlanding is not a new concept, but the increase in its popularity has done several things. First it puts folks that normally would not be outdoors, in an outdoor environment, and adds to the support for keeping land open for off road use. Recently there is a push to shut down access to public land for vehicle useage, and having more folks on our side is incredibly important to continue to have space to do things that we enjoy doing in our vehicles be it rock crawling, car camping, overlanding etc.

Personally, I think the overlanding scene has produced some incredible gear that although is expensive, solves some issues that existed, while walking a fine line between maximizing comfort, functionality and capability (for some vehicle types not all) From a comfort standpoint, I refuse to "rough" it, I spent 20+ years "roughing" it in the Army, and I would not ask my wife to rough it. Making it more comfortable for her gets her more interested in going out on adventures.

Overland Expo for example has exploded over the last 5 years, although I believe that some of the reason for its growing popularity is using "adventure travel" as fashion, similar to the growing "van life" movement. But the good news is that folks go to the event to learn skills (recovery, bushcraft, border crossing, etc) and meet other folks that are interested in a similar lifestyle.

 

[Sean L]

Yea really. I personally think RTT people spend way too much on gear

love it!

 

[Zenk]

 

[NFRs2000NYC]

Rock crawling by itself is already an unnecessary very high risk thing to do where you're putting your entire vehicle on the line for practically no reason at all. Majority of off-road scenarios are more suited for Overland equipped vehicles. You claim overlanders are adding weight, and reducing aerodynamics, but what's the point of even bringing that up in a Wrangler? Wranglers already weigh a ton, and the larger tires, and lifts from rock crawling equipped vehicles come out worse than Overlanders if you want to compare weight and aerodynamics. Unless you're always going highway speeds, aerodynamics don't even come into play yet.

First you say rock crawlers don't add weight ot the top for tents and such, so what? Most off-road situations you don't need to climb a near vertical cliff, so you're not worried about being top heavy, and carrying extra fuel allows you to stay out longer, but that doesn't make life easier? That alone is making life easier. Do you have no idea how useful fuel is?

All this shouldn't be confusing at all. The OP wanted to talk about how Overlanding setup is an expensive fad, while others are arguing the point that you can say the exact same, if not worse about rock crawling equipped vehicles, because if you weigh all the pro's and con's realistically, an overland vehicle would make more sense, while a rock crawling vehicle is very niche, and would be considered more of a fancy pants fad for rich folks.

Hope this explains it

I wasn't asking you for an explanation, as I do plenty of "overlanding" myself, and take at least 2 trips a year out west with my Jeep. The fact is, many trails have lots of rocky terrain that you must traverse, and A LOT of overlanding gear makes it far more difficult. Again, we are not talking about buggies specifically built to bounce around rocks on the weekends. That's something very few people do, and rarely do they do said activity with a new vehicle, usually it's a built up old rig with junkyard 1 tons, etc. I carry 8 gallons of spare fuel on my trips, and understand the need for extra fuel...SOMETIMES, but that's not the point. Plenty of rigs capable of crawling large rocks carry extra fuel with them. The issue is, you have some weird definition of an overlanding rig and a rock crawling rig. A "rock crawling" rig can be used as an overlanding rig, quite easily, and reliably. An overlanding rig can handle some crawling (a wrangler specifically) but has far more limitations than a rig that can crawl over larger rocks....even if it doesn't have to. And to reiterate my point, overlanding gear is very expensive, and generally not necessary for a nice long adventure, but reliable axles and drivetrain/suspension IS necessary, as getting strated 90 miles from a paved road can make for a very unpleasant experience.

 

[Slopeside]

Probably should have made it clear at the start, but when the subject is HOT TAKE, you should expect someone's personal opinions. It's not an attack as I fully support anyone who gets out and uses their Jeep as it was meant to be used, however that may be.

I do though feel like "overlanding" is just a buzzword these days for what people have been doing for decades with their jeeps.

My next hot take?....

 

[plex]

HOT TAKE: people have guns mounted in their Jeeps are not always killing others, and it is lame and FAD!

 

[zb39]

No dishwasher?

We had a dishwasher in our last coach. 45 ft DP, Tiffin Zephyr. We never even took the plastic off of it. Would rather have a cabinet there instead.

 

[Jondrew]

We had a dishwasher in our last coach. 45 ft DP, Tiffin Zephyr. We never even took the plastic off of it. Would rather have a cabinet there instead.

We dont have one either. But we do have a washer dryer and I was amazed how much we use that.

 

[robaw]

Although, since I have a Moab that has no purpose maybe I don’t get it

This is exactly what I was thinking when reading through this thread! I have a Moab that has not been used to crawl or overland - it hasn't even been off pavement yet. :cwl: Edit - sorry, just remembered I took it on gravel roads a couple times to test 4-Low.

Not saying that it never will, but of course I've been "criticized" for spending that much money on a DD Wrangler and not using it for what it's intended.

 

[digitalbliss]

I love my bed!

But... Where's your Jeep?

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