Tuesday, March 27, 2018
Off Road Camping
Over the weekend the campground filled up with a group of off-road 4X4 enthusiasts. They had some pretty serious Jeeps and similar vehicles. Most towed trailers with high ground clearances. Some of those trailer rigs were tear drop campers or had tents built in. A lot of vehicles had tent rigs mounted on the roof. All it all, it a pretty amazing collection of off-road equipment.
Of course, they were staying in a campground that you could access in a Prius.
They did run some backwoods roads and even found mud to play in. The roof mounted tent rigs caused some problems as they got hung up on low hanging branches. I couldn't help but wonder how far and for how long they actually camp in the real backwoods.
Of course, for all their technology, they can't access places a humble backpacker can get into. The backpacker will have a lot less gear, but won't lack for the essentials. He also won't have to get a second mortgage on the house to purchase his stuff.
All those off-road vehicles and camping rigs look amazing. That might be half the attraction. They have a vibe that's a cross between military and Mad Max. I suppose there are worse hobbies out there. While it was neat to check out their gear, it's not something I'd want to invest my time, money and energy in.
-Sixbears
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That was the way my brother and I used to camp. If it didn't fit in a 7' dome tent (Camel if I remember correctly), it didn't need to be there. Improvise and adapt or do without. Single burner Coleman Sportster for quick meals, fire for cooking when you had the time - it was all good.
ReplyDeleteCamping is great. Even after months of it, I still love it.
DeleteI remember when I bought my first new pick-up that a few other guys I knew did the same. Some of them were worn-out/torn-up in three years. I ran mine for 28 and it hauled some horrendous illegal loads. Playing with a truck seems harder on them than working with them.
ReplyDeleteI do see a lot more damage from play than from work -even those work trucks that hauled oversized loads.
DeleteOf course, sometimes a lot of beer is involved during play.
My neighbor is a mechanic, he was telling me that he changes out several transfer gear boxes each year ( certainly not from off road use ) because they are never used and end up running dry of oil.
ReplyDeleteUnless you own land here in Florida, it s a rare occurrence to need 4wd. Yet you see lots of them on the roads. Status symbols I guess, many times with the dangling steel balls hanging from the hitch lol.
I have to laugh at those truck nutz. Not sure what they are saying there.
DeleteUnless you really need it, 4 wheel drive is a lot of extra mechanical stuff to maintain. It also drops your mpgs too.