I'm going to add to my super long reply. I think a lot of it comes down to conditioning. If you pack a lot of stuff all of the time, you're wife and kids are going to expect a lot of stuff all of the time. It is called "camping" not "moving" for a reason. Once I got my wife to realize that she didn't need everything she wanted to bring, my kids soon realized the same too. Once they realized they would sleep fine with a camping mattress vs an inflatable Coleman air mattress, or that freeze dried camp food is actually not that bad, or that the small camp chair vs. the large ones were just as good when that's all you have, everything became more simple.
Down sizing
- Thread starter EricG
- Start date
Honu
lost on the mainland
I had a really nice Conqueror conquest trailer
kinda miss it at times and was nice to have the room you tend to get the OH we can take that and that and two sets of chairs each etc.
only thing I did not miss was the lower mileage and the extra hassle of a trailer at times
I do miss being able to easy lock things up have the truck have a bit more room and the extra water tanks and stuff were nice and no packing throw in food some current clothes and fill up the water and go !
part of me wants one again but is funny how we seem to be going the opposite way of most
hahahaha maybe a nice basic trailer no RTT super light build enough to keep gear and dry will end up being what we go with or go more into the Australian off road style setup
I had a really nice Conqueror conquest trailer
kinda miss it at times and was nice to have the room you tend to get the OH we can take that and that and two sets of chairs each etc.
only thing I did not miss was the lower mileage and the extra hassle of a trailer at times
I do miss being able to easy lock things up have the truck have a bit more room and the extra water tanks and stuff were nice and no packing throw in food some current clothes and fill up the water and go !
part of me wants one again but is funny how we seem to be going the opposite way of most
maybe a nice basic trailer no RTT super light build enough to keep gear and dry will end up being what we go with or go more into the Australian off road style setup
I'm of the mindset that the lighter the better, however our one bear incident = RTT from now on if I want my family to go with. I'll keep the RTT on the trailer so I can go light if I want and not take the trailer if we're just doing a weekend outing near our home base.
Honu
lost on the mainland
whats the bear story ?
I swear with messy little smore faced 4 and 8 year old I would get a bear fence if I go in bear territory
the RTT as I used to joke
I guess they just stand up on their hind legs to eat instead of lying down
I did sometimes think I am sleeping on top of all our food and all our mess when in the trailer RTT ?
kinda serious about the bear fence
haaaahahahrcharrette
Adventurer
Interesting thread. Our kids are 7&11, we've been doing this for a few years. We've gone through the tenting, portable toilets, etc. - good memories, and tons of work! No matter if it's one night or 10, there's a minimum amount of gear required. It gets easier as the kids grow 4 sure! The right rig for us now is a Dodge 2500 4x4 with FWC. Each of us has a sleeping bag and one bag for all our clothes and personal gear. So, all food, cooking, camping gear is stowed in its place, then there are 4 sleeping bags, 4 personal bags, and that's IT! We've spent up to 6wks together in this rig and enjoyed it! Unfortunately we usually make other arrangements for the dog - depending on the adventure, of course.
This is us loaded with Me, wife, one 6yo, and two medium size dogs. This was a two week trip, everything packed well imo. The stuff on the rack would have fit just fine in the bed if the dogs didn't come.
The biggest issues I have when packing are Chairs and water. We go through 5 gallons of water a day. There are 4 5 gallon containers of water in that pic. We have since added another child since last year so we just recently got a grand vitara. Less cargo room but more seating room.
Cole
The biggest issues I have when packing are Chairs and water. We go through 5 gallons of water a day. There are 4 5 gallon containers of water in that pic. We have since added another child since last year so we just recently got a grand vitara. Less cargo room but more seating room.
Cole
Butch1979
Family Adventurer
We went through the "adventure trailer" phase also, towing it behind our 100 series Landcruiser and recently just moved on to a 2007 Sprinter Van. Now everything is packed and ready to go minus the personal bags and we are on the road. Van is fully decked out with cabinets and such. The negative thing is the 2 wheel drive part. Other than that, we go everywhere in it with all our gear nicely stowed!
With 4 kids it's the same as what was mentioned earlier. 1 duffle bag per person for clothes I toss extra jackets for 6 into another since it's inevitable that it will rain for 4 days. Better quality tents pack small and don't leak. For food we precook and freeze in large ziplock bags. As they thaw we eat. We do other meals but this saves a lot of headaches. Fruit and veggies we prep on site. Can't forget tarps. I'm into the silicone infused guide tarps. Lighter and more durable than the old bulky and heavy blue ones
My first is almost on her own now, grad present is a great tent, pack able stove, pots, sleeping pad etc. She can bring her own gear now
My first is almost on her own now, grad present is a great tent, pack able stove, pots, sleeping pad etc. She can bring her own gear now