Rocklander - The New Off-Road Term For 2025

[Uncle Gump]

I kinda feel like rocklander is another term being pushed by social media influencers for clicks and likes. I also think it separates off road enthusiasts who camp into smaller factions which may not be good in the long term viability for what we all enjoy.

I've seen it heavily divide the hunting/fishing communities. Bear hunters are divided between bait hunters and hound hunters. Small game hunters are at odds with bow hunters for who has more rights to public lands when seasons overlap. Boat fisherman vs. bank/pier fisherman. Bait fisherman vs fly fisherman. ETC...

None of it is good for the sports we enjoy. There is strength in numbers... less when we're divided.

I myself am just a guy that camps out of the back of my truck. I've had many trips with a slide in camper and many more with a ground tent and a Coleman stove on the tailgate.

It wasn't until recently I refined my gear to be much more practical for quick deployment and tear down for daily moves. Unfortunately... with a couple health issues and family obligations... I've had to cancel on the two Vagabond trips now in the books. I have hopes that I can make a trip in the future with the crew.

I have a bad habit of over packing. My plan for the Colorado trip i had to cancel was to pack everything i needed to set up camp for a nite would fit in this bucket... which also doubles as my camp chair.

 

[Uncle Gump]

And... if it wouldn't fit into a single bucket...

There is a story how I ended up with two over priced yeti loadout buckets... but i won't bore you all with the details.

 

[sgtsandman]

To be fair a four man tent isn't really that big. Really a practical minimum to have somewhere to sleep, store some stuff and have room to move around.

A four man tent is big enough for four people to sleep beside each other and is very a impractical way to measure a tent.

I've always taken the approach that whatever number they quote in person capacity needs to be divided by two. So, with the exception of the backpacking tents, everything is a four person tent so that two people still have some room to move and keep their stuff in the tent. The backpacking tents have a space under the rainfly so the pack and boots still have cover. They just aren't inside the tent like they are with the others.

 

[ryan]

Rocks rocks rocks!

I kinda feel like rocklander is another term being pushed by social media influencers for clicks and likes. I also think it separates off road enthusiasts who camp into smaller factions which may not be good in the long term viability for what we all enjoy.

I've seen it heavily divide the hunting/fishing communities. Bear hunters are divided between bait hunters and hound hunters. Small game hunters are at odds with bow hunters for who has more rights to public lands when seasons overlap. Boat fisherman vs. bank/pier fisherman. Bait fisherman vs fly fisherman. ETC...

FWIW rock crawling is more of an east vs west thing. If I put a tent on my crawler I would be destroying it every time I go out. Or am I an extreme rock crawler because I ride trails where body damage is almost guaranteed? It's funny to me to parse things out so much

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Rocks rocks rocks!


FWIW rock crawling is more of an east vs west thing. If I put a tent on my crawler I would be destroying it every time I go out. Or am I an extreme rock crawler because I ride trails where body damage is almost guaranteed? It's funny to me to parse things out so much

Maybe not everybody bounces off of trees and whatnot like you do?

Seriously though, what I would call "overlanding" is usually fairy tame. Truck is heavy, CoG is suboptimal, you are in the middle of nowhere and don't really want to lay the thing over or break an axle.

"Rocklander" tries to cut that down to the bare essentials to cut weight, usually wider axles and more of a rock crawler suspension.

 

[dvdswan]

"Adventure camping" is the term my small group of friends was using.

The "overlanding" thing is kind of an enigma. It's not quite like the Jeep thing but it still feels like a race to the bottom to see who can buy the most expensive stuff and then never use it. I think my advice to anyone interested in this is, go camping, see what you need and start assembling your setup... you do not need a $300 set of pots & pans... but a $300 fridge is awful nice. Plan your big buys wisely, rooftop tents especially are a trap. I personally know four people that had them, tried to talk me into buying one, and then a few years later they have all gone to a different setup.

I think a lot of people get burned out because they spent big bucks on stuff that doesn't suit their needs. Then they spend all their time rebuilding their setup and not actually using it.

These are part of the Cosplay scene, never see a stitch of dirt. (not these vehicles in particular, they might) but they're all decked out ready for the weekend that never comes.

I feel I have to invest in these to place on them...

 

[ryan]

Maybe not everybody bounces off of trees and whatnot like you do?

The rocks too! I sheared the face off my steering box the last time out...doesn't seem like the JB weld is going to keep it from spurting out either

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

The rocks too! I sheared the face off my steering box the last time out...doesn't seem like the JB weld is going to keep it from spurting out either

I wouldn't worry too much about it, it will quit leaking eventually.

 

[Jim Oaks]

You guys crack me up.

I'm simply talking about a new off-road term I've been seeing and hearing, and some of you act like it's a bad thing that's going to divide the community. It's just a term. Your rock crawling rig can still be an off-road rig. I don't understand the mentality that it can only be one thing and can never associate with anything else.

Sometimes people come up with terms to try and describe what they built or are building. I don't think it has anything to do with getting clicks.

To me, most rock crawlers get hauled to wherever they're going to play. I feel like few could drive across the country to get there. If you built a rocklander, then to me you probably built something that you can not only rock crawl with, but travel across the country in and camp put of.

@Robertmangrum.rm you mentioned trailers and Hard 1, imagine how much fun you would have had dragging a camper across Cinnamon Pass, across California pass and then down through Corkscrew to where we stopped for the final restroom break. LOL

Speaking of campers.....

Does anyone know what a typical fiberglass and aluminum camper shell weighs for a 6-foot Ranger bed?

 

[Robertmangrum.rm]

You guys crack me up.

I'm simply talking about a new off-road term I've been seeing and hearing, and some of you act like it's a bad thing that's going to divide the community. It's just a term. Your rock crawling rig can still be an off-road rig. I don't understand the mentality that it can only be one thing and can never associate with anything else.

Sometimes people come up with terms to try and describe what they built or are building. I don't think it has anything to do with getting clicks.

To me, most rock crawlers get hauled to wherever they're going to play. I feel like few could drive across the country to get there. If you built a rocklander, then to me you probably built something that you can not only rock crawl with, but travel across the country in and camp put of.

@Robertmangrum.rm you mentioned trailers and Hard 1, imagine how much fun you would have had dragging a camper across Cinnamon Pass, across California pass and then down through Corkscrew to where we stopped for the final restroom break. LOL

Speaking of campers.....

Does anyone know what a typical fiberglass and aluminum camper shell weighs for a 6-foot Ranger bed?

Those turns alone on Corkscrew would have been super difficult. Then through in the downhill grade. Shew wee. That would have been a pucker situation for sure. Like it wasn't already hahaha

 

[Shran]

Speaking of Cinnamon Pass... my buddy just sent me this today... no idea whose rig this is but someone dragged a hotel room through there.

 

[Uncle Gump]

IMHO...

everything they do is for clicks. Why else would they even do it.

 

[Jim Oaks]

Speaking of Cinnamon Pass... my buddy just sent me this today... no idea whose rig this is but someone dragged a hotel room through there.

View attachment 134016

There's an easy road that goes up to Animas Forks from Silverton, and the trail from there to the summit of Cinnamon Pass is doable, which from the direction their facing is the way they came. There are some tight switchbacks going down from here headed east. Might be doable with a trailer if you have the right revolving style hitch, but I wouldn't want to do it. But if I was goofy enough to try such a thing, that's the path I'd take.

 

[bobbywalter]

i prefer hotel rooms

 

[Curious Hound]

You guys crack me up.

I'm simply talking about a new off-road term I've been seeing and hearing, and some of you act like it's a bad thing that's going to divide the community. It's just a term. Your rock crawling rig can still be an off-road rig. I don't understand the mentality that it can only be one thing and can never associate with anything else.

Sometimes people come up with terms to try and describe what they built or are building. I don't think it has anything to do with getting clicks.

To me, most rock crawlers get hauled to wherever they're going to play. I feel like few could drive across the country to get there. If you built a rocklander, then to me you probably built something that you can not only rock crawl with, but travel across the country in and camp put of.

@Robertmangrum.rm you mentioned trailers and Hard 1, imagine how much fun you would have had dragging a camper across Cinnamon Pass, across California pass and then down through Corkscrew to where we stopped for the final restroom break. LOL

Speaking of campers.....

Does anyone know what a typical fiberglass and aluminum camper shell weighs for a 6-foot Ranger bed?

Yes. Somebody knows.