Ideas for camping with the Ranger...

[-Nathan-]

I just ordered a sportz truck tent III, got it for 130$, Ill post pics sometime when i set it up to spray the seams.

 

[gcfishguy]

The tents are a great design..but......they're still tents.

I see three drawbacks to them:

1 - You have to set them up and tear them down and pack them up.
2 - Once set up, all your gear either sits outside or you put it back in the tent with you.
3 - They will leak. (Say what you will, a tent will leak, eventually, and if it rains enough)

Anyway, I have a few tents already, and I'm looking to get away from the set-up, tear-down, put away wet, etc etc...

But yeah...the tents are cool.

Don't get me wrong...for the people that want to do the tent thing, those are kick-ass.

 

[Boghog1]

http://hennessyhammock.com/

http://www.junglehammock.com/

easy to set up easy to take down all sorts of information can be found http://www.hammockforums.net/

 

[TheOne]

i dunno about u but im using a canopy...im not to fond of the whole canopy thing but it will work very well for me. im gunna throw a light bar across the front of it for wheeling and when i go out camping im just gunna throw a foamy in the back and sleep on that near the fire

should be fun! but thats what id use. just get a nice canopy, paint it (i rock guarded mine) and install! and if u get the right one like me it has screens on the sides so u can open them and get some air in without the mosquitoes.

 

[Original_Ranger84]

http://hennessyhammock.com/

http://www.junglehammock.com/

easy to set up easy to take down all sorts of information can be found http://www.hammockforums.net/

YES! THese things are awesome, all you need is 2 trees and your good to go, or one tree and your truck... and they aren't like normal hammocks where you can roll over and get tangled... I got 2 of em.

The tents are a great design..but......they're still tents.

I see three drawbacks to them:

1 - You have to set them up and tear them down and pack them up.
2 - Once set up, all your gear either sits outside or you put it back in the tent with you.
3 - They will leak. (Say what you will, a tent will leak, eventually, and if it rains enough)

Anyway, I have a few tents already, and I'm looking to get away from the set-up, tear-down, put away wet, etc etc...

But yeah...the tents are cool.

Don't get me wrong...for the people that want to do the tent thing, those are kick-ass.

What kinda tents do you get? I have had my tent to hell and back and it neither leaks, or gets water in if it rains alot. Trust me I lived in Juneau, AK where its raining about 95% of the time that it isn't snowing... Get the seemless tarp bottom tent, and one with a seperate rainfly that you can re waterproof as well as waterproofing the regular tent. As for storage, get a tent with a vestebul and throw your stuff in there...

Yes tents are cool.

 

[gcfishguy]

What kinda tents do you get?

The cheap kind. Okay, okay....yes, likely if I paid more for a tent, I'd get more of a tent..but last one was a Coleman (good for camping gear, but not tops in tents) and it leaked like a basket. (Even after pre-swelling the seams, etc etc etc)

But, I take responsibility for not wanting to spend a lot of coin on a tent...

One thing that burns me is that unless you shell out a lot for a top-end tent, the rain fly only covers the top half, and the bottom half gets pounded by rain.

Anyway, we'll leave the tent thing for another thread ;-) Some people like 'em, some don't. I used to but am leaning towards simpler and quicker solutions. Climb in the back, pull up the tailgate and pull down the capper door, and you're done.

There have been some awesome links posted....thanks all!!! Got some cool ideas. And I think I found a cap in great shape for $140....that and a bit of wood, and I'm in business.

 

[Original_Ranger84]

The cheap kind. Okay, okay....yes, likely if I paid more for a tent, I'd get more of a tent..but last one was a Coleman (good for camping gear, but not tops in tents) and it leaked like a basket. (Even after pre-swelling the seams, etc etc etc)

But, I take responsibility for not wanting to spend a lot of coin on a tent...

One thing that burns me is that unless you shell out a lot for a top-end tent, the rain fly only covers the top half, and the bottom half gets pounded by rain.

Anyway, we'll leave the tent thing for another thread ;-) Some people like 'em, some don't. I used to but am leaning towards simpler and quicker solutions. Climb in the back, pull up the tailgate and pull down the capper door, and you're done.

There have been some awesome links posted....thanks all!!! Got some cool ideas. And I think I found a cap in great shape for $140....that and a bit of wood, and I'm in business.

Yeah I got a cheap colman tent that has worked wonders and has even survived Boy Scouts.... I ain't shelling out that much for a tent unless I start going more often and to places I have to hike.

Its got 2 downsides, one as you pointed out the bottom of the tent gets soaked from lack of rainfly (I fixed this with some of that water resistant fabric solution), and two its heavy as heck! the fiber poles weight a metric ton compared to the hollow aluminum pole nice tents have.

Yeah I love tents but the back of a truck is definately really nice compared to a tent if you have a topper and an air matress...

 

[Boghog1]

if you read the directions on almost all tents they require seam sealing. I either use my hammock in the summer months or a tarp in the fall and early spring. and lastly a snow cave in the winter

 

[goodie85]

YES! THese things are awesome, all you need is 2 trees and your good to go, or one tree and your truck... and they aren't like normal hammocks where you can roll over and get tangled... I got 2 of em.



What kinda tents do you get? I have had my tent to hell and back and it neither leaks, or gets water in if it rains alot. Trust me I lived in Juneau, AK where its raining about 95% of the time that it isn't snowing... Get the seemless tarp bottom tent, and one with a seperate rainfly that you can re waterproof as well as waterproofing the regular tent. As for storage, get a tent with a vestebul and throw your stuff in there...

Yes tents are cool.

fully agreed i went up to alaska last summer to seldotna and homer to catch the salmon run and do some halibut fishing (my uncles live up there) but anyways the whole week me and my buddy slept in a tent and we had no problems

 

[crbnunit]

I have a cap on mine. It keeps my stuff dry, keeps the honest people away from my stuff and makes a fair "emergency" shelter. Honestly though, there is so much crap in the back of my truck with the CO2 bottle, spare parts, spare tire, tools, HiLift, snatch straps... It would take me longer to unload than it is worth. Add to that it is so filthy back there from dust and mudd.

Take a tent. It is easier, more comfortable than my short bed and a part of my regular trail gear anyway.

 

[Original_Ranger84]

fully agreed i went up to alaska last summer to seldotna and homer to catch the salmon run and do some halibut fishing (my uncles live up there) but anyways the whole week me and my buddy slept in a tent and we had no problems

You were in Homer? Holy cows, Thats where I live. Fishings GOOD here in the summer, I usually take my truck out the beach of Anchor point and fish the mouth of the river, Although I normally just go home its fun to pitch a tent and camp.

 

[eric17mx]

http://www.livinlite.com/

these are super light weight campers, including slide-ins. they are all tent campers and aluminum construction. no rust ever and no wood to rot ever. we got a small pull behind last fall and love all 580 lbs of it!! honestly, you won't find them much cheaper used as the construction process really has them holding their value.
all the fiberglass ones we found were too close to the limits of our ranger and these seemed perfect for us. good luck to you, and happy camping!!

Those are very nice trailers, how much do those 16ft trailers usually run? Do you own one of these? They are super light just perfect for the ol ranger.

 

[jamie4ltr]

camping!

I have towed my 16 ft (2500 lbs GVWR) camping trailer through gravel roads in the mountains doing 80 km/hr in 4th gear with my 4.0 ltr Ranger on 35 '' mud terrains with sh!t 3.73 gears! Never tried highway speeds and 2 big hills I had to grab first gear! If I could figure out how to post a picture I'd show you!

 

[eric17mx]

Yea those 3.73 are not good for that, i have 4.10 and the sohc it should pull it alot better. Im looking for around a 16ft, those aluminum ones are nice but probably 10k+

 

[strvger]

Those are very nice trailers, how much do those 16ft trailers usually run? Do you own one of these? They are super light just perfect for the ol ranger.

as it is just the wife, dog, and myself, we got the real small one. sleeps 2, has the sink and counter top for the stove, the rear deck for stuff, and the awning. like i said, about 580# before adding bedding, clothes, etc. pulls like it isn't even there behind my old 2.8. well worth the money no matter what size you get due to the construction of these campers.