MIssion Overland Trailer Owners page

[Stuckincitymud]

Beautiful setup there! How are you liking it so far?

Happy and looking forward to getting out again before year's end. Making a list of projects to play with. Adding storage above the fridge and storage dividers inside.

 

[WU7X]

This was me in 2011 at Devil's Tower. My knees used to be pretty flexible. They don't work quite that well anymore. One of the many reasons Nanc and I went with the Beastie.

 

[WU7X]

Now I'm more like this:



Well, maybe not always quite this bad. But the trailer really helps us keep getting out there. There are so many wonderful, still secluded locations to visit or revisit. I feel like I am running against the clock sometimes. Get out there while you can!

 

[WU7X]

Nanc and I really had a great time this past summer. Camped in some really great places and met some wonderful people. The countryside and the beauty of the west really inspired me. Next year more fly fishing and camping in ID and western MT, and less long distance trips. Maybe even another hack in our lives.

 

[flipmachine]

WOW!!!! devils tower is really something! the rock formation is crazy!

 

[WU7X]

Thought that I'd give you some idea of the history of getting to the Beastie. We've been doing what is now called overlanding for over 40 years now. Hope to continue doing so until they take the keys away from me.

Here is one of my earlier iterations of an overlanding vehicle. A 1990 Range Rover Classic short wheel base. Nanc and I loved the size of this rig; it's incredible greenhouse-like windows that gave one the most magestic views of the countryside one was passing through. We lived in a tent with this one. The engine was thirsty and rust ate the frame up. The rear splines were also a weak spot. This photo was taken in Shoup, ID, back in the mid-80's. Note the gravity feed gas pumps. The little store in Shoup had great ice cream cones and shakes! Wonder if it is still open?



Next, a 2000 Tacoma Xcab SR5 with a medium Columbus variant RTT. An incredible overlanding rig and travel setup. This RTT is perfect for most modern vehicles and addicted us to the ease of setup and take-down effort. The pic is from a fly fishing trip with my son in northern Idaho in the early 2000's.



Another fly fishing trip with my son to northern Idaho. This time in a 1997 3rd gen 4Runner and the same Columbus RTT. Another great setup! I picked up the 4Runner after selling the Tacoma.



A trip to the Moab area with my 2011 5th gen 4Runner and a first generation Freespirit Recreation trailer and tent about three years ago.. SWMBO's first trip to red rock country with me. We put many thousands of miles on this system. I'm amazed that more people didn't get how great this little trailer/tent combination from FR really was. We gave it to my son and his wife and they continue to have fun times with it.



We really, really loved using our RTTs. But we finally realized that we were just too old to climb in and out of them. They worked great for over 15 years for us. The small FR trailer was a superb investment for us, and was relatively inexpensive. But it came with a price; we suddenly had a third axle to contend with. The Freespirit trailer is quite small and honestly was a pain to back up with. But it was so light, and so sturdy, we took it everywhere. The sleeping platform was like heaven and Nanc fell in love with the huge changing area in the tent. We could put our PETT potty in the tent. We could change clothes and wash up in it. It is/was one of the tightest tents I've ever owned. Never an issue in torential downpours or 60 mph desert windstorms. In all a near perfect replacement for the RTT.

 

[WU7X]

I began talking to Nanc about traveling to Alaska and Baja. She was unwilling to even consider it in a softwalled tent. I was also looking at trying out new fly fishing spots in eastern WA, northern Idaho, and western MT. Most of these areas now have grizzly bear populations. Nanc wanted hard walled protection from the beasts of the field. Many camp areas such as Glacier and Yellowstone typically won't let tent and soft walled campers setup in grizzly areas. So it was time to upgrade. And, again we were looking at age constraints. Comfort with a capital "C" is becoming more enjoyable for us. Our Mission Overland Beastie covers a lot of the bases for us. Propane heater and hot water,hard walls with a pop up roof, huge internal storage areas and room for out PETT portapotty, a 65 L Dometic frig/freezer, 35 gallon water storage, 10 lb propane tank, a slide out stove and sink. It is also built to take the most demanding roads for mile after mile. This list goes on and on. The only issue that I can see for us is that we have added a third axle and doubled the length of our vehicle/camping system. As I continue to age I can see some time in the future moving to back to a truck with a FWC or similar system. Primary as a safety requirement as I feel it would be easier for me to travel the back country we love in. But our first year's experience in the Beastie has been phenomenal! We did over 12,000 miles traveling last summer, 9,000+ plus of those miles were towing Beastie. Total camping bliss.

 

[WU7X]

So here we are, Beastie set up for the RMOR in Gunnison, CO, this past summer. Talk about comfort!

 

[Yipjeep]

I'm between this trailer, the off grid Expedition 2.0 and one by Colorado Teardrops. I like the hybrid design because of the ability to stand at entrance and the extra room for portapotty. You mentioned experiencing leak around window during high winds and rain. Im curious if you could lower the pop up during those heavy winds and rain and still sit comfortably inside like a teardrop. are able to sit inside and sleep with pop up down?

 

[flipmachine]

yes you can easily sit down inside with the top down and sleep if its really "bad" outside.

 

[WU7X]

Those are good questions. Mark's answers are right on.

Here is a picture of Nanc leaning up against the side wall about midway between the head and bottom of the bed. She is 5' 4" tall. The top is up. If it were down she would have to squinch down a bit to fit. I took the picture from the end of the bed. I'm 6' 1" tall. With the top up neither of us has any problem; if it were down we both could relax comfortably but I'd be slouching a bit more than she is in the pic. Just to clarify something, we've been in lots of wind and rain storms this past summer and fall. Water egress at the one window was measured in drops, not ounces or cupsful. and that was in a major side wind with heavy rain. This has been such a non-issue that we've never had to sleep with the top down, but could if we had to.

With the top down the two of us can comfortably lie on the bed, squatch down a bit and rest with our backs on the sidewalls, but I couldn't sit straight up just because of my size. With the side LED lights on and music bluetoothed through the radio speakers we are very comfortable. On one of our trips in BC, Nanc had to make a sudden pit stop. I pulled the car to the side of the road, opened the back door, but left the top down. Nanc had enough room to jump in and use the portapotty without any issues.

One other point, we've added a 1-1/2" thick piece of memory foam to the top of the existing mattress. So without it one would actually have a bit more headspace.

Did this help? If not I can try to clarify more.

 

[WU7X]

Some of the things you can do with a trailer like this are searching for Anasazi ruins in southern Utah.



or photographing river rock walls in British Columbia.

 

[mep1811]

I like the trailer. Thanks for posting.

I have several questions I hope you will answer for me.

How much room is there between the sleeping / dinette area and the rear door?

Is there enough room inside with the dinette set up to setup a Jetboil and cook in bad weather?

Thanks

 

[carbon60]

How much room is there between the sleeping / dinette area and the rear door?

Is there enough room inside with the dinette set up to setup a Jetboil and cook in bad weather?

With the top down? Would be doable but really not very comfortable.

 

[WU7X]

I like the trailer. Thanks for posting.

I have several questions I hope you will answer for me.

How much room is there between the sleeping / dinette area and the rear door?

Is there enough room inside with the dinette set up to setup a Jetboil and cook in bad weather?

Thanks

The Beastie is up in storage in Alberta for the winter so I can’t run out and give you exact measurements. But I’m guessing that one has has about 2 feet from the end of the sleeping platform to the bottom of the door. But remember that the rear of the trailer flares outward so you actually have lots of room to stand up and dress up, wash off, etc. The rear cabinets enclose some of this area, but their tops make nice surfaces to hold stuff.

with the top up it would be easy to use a Jetboil on the tabletop. The cabinet tops have useful space too. I’d never light a stove in the trailer with the top down.