Using your 4WD overnight

Most guys take a camper trailer or a small caravan out in the bush so they can stay for a couple of days.

But if you are only going overnight, what would you recommend - a tent - sleep in the back - an attachment.

I currently have a caravan, but as I head for retirement, at least I have a small tent. The Pajero is not suitable for sleeping in so just looking for ideas for overnight stays.

Jeff

I recently spent 3 weeks in Clermont sleeping in the back of my Nissan Terrano ...... Im six foot 4 and I was pretty comfy. I just moved everything into the front seats and rolled out my mattress......better than outside it was cold at night.

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Hi jefgold, Darche original swag...i have had this for 15 years, zips still good and flywire no holes, all the bedding is inside it and i just roll her out wherever i am and have the best nights sleep. Sleeping bag is inside which is rated -2 degrees for any cold nights or if its hot i just sleep on top. If im away and i sleep at a mates place i just roll her out in the living room, its so easy then there girlfriend or Mrs dont have to make up or strip a bed...i know they take up a bit more room but for an overnighter its a good idea....anyway thats my two beeps worth...Good luck.

HueyDuck........

This probably wont help you much Jeff as it's a ute. I normally tow a 7x5 trailer with a canopy which holds my quad and gear. I pull up at my campsite, roll the quad out and throw a matress in...good for a few weeks or so.

At the moment I'm converting it to a single birth sleeper with storage, fridge etc under the sleeper and a postie bike, fuel etc in the other side.

On overnighters or short stays when I don't need the bike or quad I use either a tent cot or sleep in the back of the ute.




Recently camped for a week in the back of the ute including 3 days with non stop rain, dry as a bone and warm as toast with a camp fire under the tarp.

i have been looking at those oz tents can set up in 30sec. be good to have in the kit if the weather turn bad

Interesting tent cot and tarp, thanks tuna. There are lots of ideas and more to come so thanks fellas

A friend of mine has a tarp which is a small tent that attaches to his Ute as well. I used to have a camper trailer which was good, but I would prefer just the Pajero and me. You have to have an open mind to it all so can't exclude anything.

At this stage am thinking of a tarp to attach to the car some how just for shelter for the campfire is always great, just have to hone up my cooking skills. (what's that - I did not burn the water last time!)

Jeff

I recon you cant beat those Pyramid tents for ease of putting up, 4 pegs 1 in each corner and 1 centre pole and your done.
They fold up fairly small and are pretty water proof.
Anything you connect to your vehicle you have to dismantle when you want to go to that special spot where nobody has ever detected.
I wish.
I like them .

John.

Madtuna any info on those cots?How long are they?


A Pagy with a tarp of one side,couple of poles, would be great for an overnighter,any longer a tent you can stand up in is best.

If you are sleeping in a vehicle you MUST leave a window down slightly no matter how cold.The CO2 and Benzine that can build up in a car overnight WITHOUT you sleeping in it can be harmful enough.

prospekta wrote:Madtuna any info on those cots?How long are they?


A Pagy with a tarp of one side,couple of poles, would be great for an overnighter,any longer a tent you can stand up in is best.

If you are sleeping in a vehicle you MUST leave a window down slightly no matter how cold.The CO2 and Benzine that can build up in a car overnight WITHOUT you sleeping in it can be harmful enough.

Hi mate, here's a link to the makers website: http://store.kamprite.com/catalog/Kamp-Rite-Oversize-TentCot-p-16146.html
and here's a link to a forum where owners say what they think about them : http://www.exploroz.com/Forum/Topic/46970/The_TENT_COT.aspx

Mine are the oversize, complete with rainfly.

I bought mine of Freshwater on this forum, went and bought a second one for my daughter. She's discovered boys so may not be camping with me much longer so I might have one for sale soon.

Cheers,
Steve

Youtube vid of home made camper This is the one we are currently using for overnights, weekends, and weeks away.
Not perfect, but perfectly usable, and will be in the months ahead.
Has solar penal on roof that charges a car battery to run fridge, lights, charge detector batteries ect. Small kitchen with gas stove, pots pans and eating things.
Has two beds, one folds up during the day to allow detectors and equipment to utilize the space while traveling about.

Tent cots.
First came across them a few years back on our way to Tibooburra, said
to the driver, pull over here at this stop for a coffee and I'll wake
the occupants, as I just had to know a bit more about them, it was only
5:30am, and we had just traveled about 30klm from where we were camped,
so it was time for a coffee and a fag anyway.
After making subtle sounds and talking out loud, the first of the three
occupants awoke, and before he had his boots on I had me head in his cot
checking it out. They were on there way back from the Birdsville races
and all of them told of the magnificent sleeps they'd had in them.

Well we've had our tent cots for a couple of years now, perfect in
summer and prefer them to sleeping in to the truck during the hotter
times.
Good points, roomy, fold up in less then 2 minutes, up off the ground
which is a bonus if it p!sses down during the night, unlike swags and
tents where you wake up in it.
Bite'y proof, except small ants, they can get in...never pitch over any
kind of ants nest, because if it rains you'll be there shelter, and
you'll have to share it. Possums birds and rats have been yelled at during the night, and I woke
to a wallaby who had lost his way in the dark and put his gob on the
mesh where my head lay, both of us let out a roar that night, except I found it much harder to run away being on the inside.

The down side to tent cots, condensation is a big problem in winter, the
floor is saggy and although you don't need an air mattress ( I used a
8cm thick self inflating job ) one is recommended, and they will fold up
with the cot along with your sleeping bag as well.
A good sleeping bag helps when the dew turns to ice during the winter
night, just thought I'd add that for those with cheap sleeping bags.
The protection bag they come with is the same as your $1 woolies reusable shopping bag, and worth the same.
They take up a bit of room when folded up, and cant be tossed around in the back of a Ute like a swag.

Overall, we still have ours because you just cant beet them in the summer months.
Have spent one night in mine when it hammered down and woke dry as, and
because we weren't expecting rain, I did not put the fly on. If set up
under a big tarp in summer you couldn't find a better sleep.

Think I'll keep mine, but the other half is selling hers, its the original, or smaller of the three models.

Thats Interesting. Setting up camp when you come back with a tarp to the Pajero looks good although you would have to take it down first thing, but then it is just for overnight.

Im 6.1 and 110kg and it looks better than just a small 3 person camping tent.

Jeff

Jeff i used an OZ tent for a while and it truly is a 30second unfold -- great tent RV3 but takes a bit of room http://au.oztent.com/ and they dont come cheep but it was the best tent i have ever owned

Gday Jeff


Over the years I have tried all sorts of combinations for sleeping accomodation, and in the end found that setting up the back of your vehicle was the best way to go, I have had two Pajero's and now a landcruiser pc.

My first set up in a Pajero was pretty basic and just tacked together, as I had to pull it all out and put the seats back in when I came home again, that was a hassle and made going away hard work both before you left and when you come back, the second set up was similar and the other thing I found was that because they have so much lining and plastic inside they tend to hold the heat and are uncomfortable in the warmer weather.

I started to look at the Landcruiser offroad campers, ex hire type ones with the poptop roof, great vehicle and well set up but they lacked storage space so in the end I decided on a basic pc, by the time I pulled all the back seating out there was quite a bit of room, also after adding a roofrack and storage boxes all the excess gear that I dont use much goes up top, inside has a bed, fridge, sink, cooktop, food and clothing storage areas, dvd player, and other things.

Having it set up like that means when you have had enough of a spot its a matter of just throwing your gear in, closing the doors and your off, its a bigger deal when you have to pack up tents and camper trailers etc, and the best thing is when the weather changes for the worst I just jump in and I can have a hot meal and drink if I want, watch a movie until the weather clears up etc etc, and when on the road and you are getting tired its just a matter of getting in off the road and in five minutes I am in bed.

I have just found it the easiest and most comfortable way to set up, and have been using it like that for four years now, I can carry enough water, food and detecting gear to go out for three to four weeks.

cheers

stayyerAU

Thanks Stayer - makes me think about checking out the sleeping arrangements in the Pajaro

Jeff

Almost finished!



Used it for the first time this weekend. Actually didn't even hear my 6.30am alarm and slept in mind you that possibly had something to do with getting hoplessly bogged the night before

now that is stuck in the mud..when we get our 4x4 the first thing i'm getting is a wench for little probs like that...

you going to make the wench hop out and get her shoes all muddy and dig you out?

lol that's the idea....but they cost to much money tho lol

After getting bogged down in Vic, i wondered whether these truck straps would be handy in a pinch like that.... not sure about the ratchet mechanism though...? Rated to 2.5ton and around $30 each. They make em to withstand 5 ton for testing though....
Save the wench from the hard work..... the thought of a wench digging my vehicle out does sound enticeing though..... might drive man to get bogged on purpose
I was lucky i had a rope and wasnt severly bogged.... just marooned on an island.

Crikey tuna, you did that to your work vehicle?!!!

actually we used one the same as that aswell as a $300 climbing rope coupled to a 20 mtr snatch strap to finally get me out.
Was sitting on the diff housing with a rear wheel floating in space

.

Yes you did a very good job there tuna, that front hole was about 700mm at water level and another 400mm of side wall. the rear one was slightly more shallow at 400mm.

You left out when we got you out the route back was just as bad, we had to remove 1 small tree link up 2 slings 1 ratchet strap my snatch strap and some expensive climbing rope, all up about 30m long in the end.
As i said M8 we will get it out no wrys , see you didn't have to get a farmer to tow you out in the end .

Regards
PS Ferr

i wondered whether these truck straps would be handy

wonder no more they are a 1-1 ratio dead dragging 2tonne with one wouldn't work.

Camper trailers pain in the butt packing up wet and even setting up wet. Have progressed from sleeping in a L300 to tenting back to a crewman to a tent again converted a trailer to a camper trailer and now modding( much to the wife's disgust LOL) a viscount nipper to a very capable off road van, sick of packing up freaking wet canvas spending an hr putting up the tarp setting out the kitchen making the bed etc etc etc.

yeh get a full size 4x4 and its enough room to stash away quite comfortable for indefinite periods out bush.

Hi, I had a light 2 tonne truck that I bogged just like that once. I put a skid chain on the back wheel that was lifted off the ground and tied a rope to it which I attached to a 4" thick sapling at ground level and winched it out.
Jeff get a swag and don't go out if it's going to rain. It is easiest that way and works like a charm.
Sparrowfart.

hi jeff
for about the last 25 years i have owned toyota troop carriers. 17 years for the first one and comming up to 10 years for this one. 6ft 6" long in the back and the current one i put a set of "outback drawers" in it.
http://www.4wdinteriors.com/roller_drawers.html
the draws run the full length of the truck and hold heaps.either side of the draws are spaces where i store stuff i hope i don`t have to use.radiator hoses,fan belts,tyre plugs,ropes,stuff like that and it all stays in the truck all the time.
it is so good to be able to get somewhere late at night and maybe its raining and your bed is already set up. if i`m going for longer than a few days i pull a trailer for chairs,tables, cooking gear,water bottles etc.
the thing is , anything you do is a compromise.you don`t have enough room or what you are towing is to big or you HAVE to set up a camp when you get there.
the troopy has served me well for 3 trips to WA and heaps of trips to the bush in nsw
dave

hey madtuna
do you carry a high lift jack in that set up of yours.they are really a versatile bit of gear.they can lift the front or rear of a vehicle compleatly off the ground.you can use them to push a vehicle sideways,forwards,backwoods if you need to.you can even use them as a short winch if you need to.you can open them out and the jack them closed. i have seen a troopy turned around in its own length with a high lift. you jack the vehicle up to the full 4 foot height,get to the side of the vehicle and push it off the jack.
a warning to everyone.don`t use a high lift jack to change a flat tyre. they are VERY unstable.
dave

GoldstalkerGPX wrote:I was talking to a guy the other weekend and he was telling me what his grandfather used to to to save the wench.

He said that he had a hub the would bolt onto the studs of the wheel with a slot cut in for a cable to attach.
He would then attatch the cable to a tree or solid structure and put the vehicle into reverse and the cable would slowly wind up on the hub and as you could imagine winch you out....and the wench would be happy.

Reminds me of the time my brother and I went fishing and the fisho's asked where are your ores....we said at home they didn't want to come.

Cheers

Hey Goldstalker, The Hub modified to bolt onto the wheel is not mentioned very often. It does work and has got me out of strife with my subaru's in the past. Not sure if it was an old freind of mine or Malcolm Douglas that I first learned about it.
Got a Patrol nowadays and its not as easy to do it with the big sunraysias

Another cheap but effective device is the simple 2 or 4 ton come-along winches. They cost well less than 100 bucks and with two people and a bit of care will get you out of most bogs providing you have something to fasten to. Add a snatch block and you can pull a patrol out of bother.

Gday


I have found the troopy to be the best set up for me, on longer trips where I have been up to karratha ect, I can just pull off the road whenever it suits me and crash for awhile, no need to drive tired, one of the best things I have found with my set up is that when you are detecting and it starts to rain you can just jump in close the door and your home.

There have been a few times when as soon as the rain starts myself and a couple of mates have all made a b line for the troopy, all the detectors are thrown in the front and we all pile in, kettles on and we can have a brew while we wait for the rain to stop, hot soup or something to eat.

Currently I am looking into ways of venting it so that it has better air circulation all the time, with some small fans to help out the fridge and to keep the air circulating, the only thing I have found that I need to change is the air circulation issue, usually I leave the side windows open but have been caught out sometimes when it rains and I forget that they are open, when out bush I just leave the back door open as well and have a magnetic screen that I fit to keep the flies out, if you happen to get a light shower the screen stops most of it going in anyway.

When I get around to it I will post some pics so that you can see the set up, its not perfect and a bit of a work in progress thing, making changes as I go along, there are still some things that I want to do but where do you stop?

cheers

stayyerAU

Have a look at these, Even though I have a c/van im thinking of one for the pan on my truck, because on short trips we leave the van at home.

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Roof-vent-hatch-caravan-motorhome-bus-camper-NEW-/250745847244?pt=Caravan_Parts_Accessories&hash=item3a619dfdcc

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/14-Wind-Up-Hatch-Caravans-Motorhomes-buses-/180605068475?pt=Caravan_Parts_Accessories&hash=item2a0ce6a4bb

or fridge fan.

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/SOLAR-FRIDGE-FAN-CARAVANS-RVS-/350425704695?pt=Caravan_Parts_Accessories&hash=item5196ffe8f7

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Fridge-Fan-12v-Caravans-and-RVs-/170583326791?pt=Caravan_Parts_Accessories&hash=item27b78f0047