I have a bunch of room for gear/food/etc in the overhead basket and the two large storage totes plus the interior of the JK. I plan on adding some rotopax at some point plus some water containers.

 

Sweet rig. And nice garage.

AdamIsAdam

 

Well, I'd submit that a Raptor is built for a race like Baja. It is designed for very fast travel over rough dirt roads. Lots of horsepower, coil-overs, Fox racing shocks--all scream out fast travel over rough roads. A Jeep is not built that way. Not from the factory, anyway. And not if modded for expedition travel. To me, the epitome of expedition travel is the Camel Back trucks. And here is a spec sheet for them.

discoweb.org/martingeveke/cameldisco.htm

Note the overhead rack and no trailer. Note the tires and wheels (much smaller than mine, even). This is where I'm headed with my build. Not for rock crawling. Not Baja. But for something that's just as tough in a different way. Something that I can really do on occasion, as opposed to building an off-road truck designed for Baja races or for monster truck crawling or for rock crawling. Those are different builds that their owners enjoy creating. Good for them. Just not my real interest.

 

That's interesting reading about the Disco.

AdamIsAdam

 

Most trucks run into a lot of problems when abused off road. There are trucks that make great expo vehicles, like Tacoma, or even a Dodge Ram, but it's all up to what you like and what kind of trails and adventures you want. We like jeeps, they do make great expo vehicles. In fact the 4 door jeep rubicon is arguably the best expo vehicle available in the US. But if you like trucks better, then go for it!

 

Most overland expeditions with multiple vehicles usually include either a vehicle with a trailer or a larger truck type vehicle, and since I couldnt find anyone to take a 3 week expedition with, I had to be the one to carry all the gear and provisions. This is how we set up our base camp, A fully enclossed dinning canopy, {great for rainy days and cold mountain mornings} a collapsible kitchen unit {includes the kitchen sink}, of course the popup with room for 4 adults and two children, a generator for gharging batteries {or jumping the jeep}, 10 extra gallons of gasoline, I amost forgot the mister heater {came in handy for mountain nights even in July}. IT sounds like a lot of kit but three weeks is a long time to be on the trail and the extra trouble to carry all that gear was worth it, as we were not tired of being on the trail.{had to go back to work for the man}. Here is our camp site on the Swan River in Montana.

 

Sorry, but you pried one single reply out of context. Read the rest of what I said.

 

I guess I have a slightly different spin on expedition/overlanding. My obsession is "to go where there isn't anybody." I know this might make me sound like a whacko hermit to some, but I really enjoy taking my little family (wife, 17 YO son, dog) to secluded places in the mountains/desert/elsewhere where you run into few, if any other people. This means a couple of things.

First, I have to be completely self reliant. That means the appropriate gear, recovery equipment, tools, parts, etc. so that if I run into trouble, my chances are very good that I can handle it without help. I also carry a fully equipped expedition first aid kit, emergency rations, satellite phone, "survival stuff" and so forth. Besides equipment, there are necessary skills also- navigation, first aid, wilderness survival, etc. The attitude is to depend on only yourself, and prepare for the worst.

Second, to go where you seldom see other folks means there has to be a degree of difficulty in getting there. Easy traveling equates to crowds. The higher the degree of difficulty, the fewer people you cross paths with.

We did several multi week trips this year where we went 5-6 days without seeing another person. We had camps above tree line at 12,000 feet and at less than 5,000 feet on fairly large waterways. The common ingredient to our destinations is that they just aren't real easy to get to.

I am not a rock crawler per se, but I have had to do some pretty intense rock crawling from time to time to reach these areas. So a modest 2.5 inch lift and 35" MTs have served me well in that regard. I also rely greatly on my winch and don't hesitate to use it when things get dicey.

Please don't think of me as anti social. I am in a very socially intense business. Getting away to places like I am describing gives me balance. If I go too long with out getting a bit of solitude in beautiful country, the wilderness starts tugging at me. i told my wife last night I really wanted to go camping and her response was "Honey, it is 18 freaking degrees out right now!" True, but I know we won't run into any crowds!

A bit OT, but I am taking some advanced scuba courses that teach you to be a "self reliant diver" / solo diver. Scuba certification organizations have always taught the buddy system. NEVER dive without a buddy! Now there is growing realization in this sport that if you have the training, skills, appropriate redundant equipment and technology that you may actually be a safer diver than depending on having a buddy nearby that can bail you out if you make a mistake. It requires a whole different level of training and preparation, and a pretty serious attitude about doing it right and thinking through the worst case scenarios. I am sure you see the similarities with this and "solo" Jeeping. Both have their risks and rewards.

 

The Camel Trophy is a meticulously staged promotion for Rover.
The obstacles are staged to allow this specific vehicle - LAND ROVER DISCOVERY Tdi - to go through, and look dramatic on TV.
Throw real life unexpected obstacles at it, and it's stuck.

# Yes, I note the overhead rack. There's way too much weight on top for side slopes.
# Yes, I note that the tires are smaller and narrower than Jeeps' stock... IS that good for offroading ?!
# I also note that the unloaded ground clearance is smaller than my fully loaded Jeep...
# And, BTW, the engine of this "epitome of expedition travel" is a 4-in-line, 111,3 bhp, compared to the Jeeps' ('07-'11) 200 bhp, or the '12+ 285 bhp.

When this 'Super-duper expedition' sales promotion thing gets stuck, you'd make circles around it with your stock Jeep.
I've once exchanged vehicles with a Discovery owner, and offroaded together. The Jeep was much better. The next 4x4 he bought was a Jeep...
Copying from a Discovery to a Jeep, is going backwards.

The Camel Trophy is just like Gerbers' TV promotion series, which sky-rocked the sales of their "Survival knife". It is anything but a knife I'd trust with my life.

Please don't make the mistake of taking a well-staged TV series seriously.

 

Actually, "securing" a gun is kind of misleading. First of all, a gun may be carried at any time as long as the individual is on a "journey". A "journey" is defined by any traveling considered outside normal path of travel. In most states (probably all 50), it is illegal to CONCEAL a weapon without a permit, however it varies by state whether or not you can open carry... even though Federal law permits the right to bear arms in any case (with certain GFZ's being the exception.)


Needless to say, I carry a firearm with me every time I leave my house and have ran into absolutely ZERO problems from authorities regardless of the state. I must add that I am licensed, however.


Thanks for reading and sorry for any hijacking...


Great thread! In the process of converting my JKUR into an overlanding machine!



**EDIT**

Licensed to CONCEAL