rfoubi
Observer
Tired of seeing posts of 100K sprinters with tile backsplashes, 15 pillows for some reason, hanging fruit baskets and impossibly fit young couples #hashtagging their way to a moderate income? Or built toyotas with light bars, limb risers, snorkels, pelican cases, numerous colours of jerrycans, and titanium sporks whose owners spend way more time thinking of a cool #overland Instagram handle than actually driving offroad?
Well then have I got a treat for you…. May I present the current setup: a 12 year old Subaru outback worth around $5k and a 1980s travel trailer that I paid $500 for!
Let me get this out of the way first, since I know everyones is going to ask: The trailer weighs 1850lbs dry but with the basics (chairs, table, 2 batteries, full propane, coleman stove, awning, solar panel, dishes, bedding, etc) so maybe 1750 fully empty? Pushing 2100 lbs full. Subaru Outback is rated to tow 3300lbs. Trailer has brakes, and tows about as well as you would expect 2000lbs behind a family car would.
Anyway, without further ado and since I can sense the limited interest in this thread vanishing as fast as a tank of gas in the suby when towing this breadbox, here goes:
Earlier this summer, pandemic mode was in full force, borders were closed, and the weather was finally starting to get nice. I work at a mine in Kamloops BC and commute back and forth for 2 week shifts from my home in Rossland BC. My wife and kids (2 and 4) decided to join me in Kamloops for a shift, so we decided to spend 4-5 days exploring on the way there, work 2 weeks, and then spend a similar time exploring on the way back. So this is basically a 10 day trip with a gap in the middle.
The plan was to take as much gravel as possible and hit some places we hadn’t been yet. So we headed west from our home to Grand Forks, BC, and turned north. We were planning to check out some rec sites along the way and then eventually end up crossing out of the granby watershed and over to Edgewood BC via 115km of back road, most of which is a gravel FSR.
Day 1 we just blasted our way up the scenic granby river valley and headed west to check out some rec sites and find a place to camp. Miraculously for the start of a long weekend, we stumbled upon this gem at eight mile flats, about 15km up the Granby River on a decent gravel road.
It was a super quiet campsite and nice to finally be in the forest and chilling after a hectic day of packing and driving.
Some wildlife encounters:
The biggest cottonwood I’ve ever seen
Here’s the camper in all its glory! I have probably sunk an additional $2k into it on top of the $500 purchase price. Its got running water, 2 deep cycle batteries paired to a 100W Solar panel and a TF49 fridge, which gives around 3-4 days of cold beers, with and additional few if the sun is shining. Two bunks for the 4 of us and a stove, furnace, etc completes the package. Oh and that sweet grey water setup you can see which consists of a hose and a bucket (no toilet in the rig either btw, that’s just sink water)
Killer spot
After a night of campfires and listening to the river, we woke the next day to some good weather and decided to hit the main objective of the area: Bluejoint Lookout, which is a fire lookout accessed by a fairly rough road to over 2100m, which is one of only a handful of roads around that get to that elevation.
The suby did fine, rocky and slow driving but no real issues or even hits to the skidplates (aluminum engine, trans, and rear diff skids were a key investment in the low slung battlewagon). Until this point:
Snow! We were literally <100m from the top, midway up a steep section with no where to easily turn around. Since I am a stubborn bastard and not happy turning around on a trail until I’m either stuck or it ends, we decided to get the kids out to walk around with mom while I bashed back and forth on the soft snow enough times to power through. Lets just say it was way steeper and deeper than it looked and it took some shovelling too. I was committed though and eventually had success!
From here is was time to switch to hiking boots, and with the baby on the back and toddler in tow, we set off up the ridge.
Getting closer
Made it. Spectacular views over to big white, old glory, the valhallas, most of the west kootenays really.
This is by far the best preserved lookout I’ve ever seen, probably due to the fact that its hike in only. Let’s try and keep it this way!
Very cool compass/spotting intstrument
Back to the whip
And some views from the way down. Kids fell asleep so no stopping to take any more photos. Back to the campsite for another night.
Part two to come… featuring a blown CV joint and campsite repairs
Well then have I got a treat for you…. May I present the current setup: a 12 year old Subaru outback worth around $5k and a 1980s travel trailer that I paid $500 for!
Let me get this out of the way first, since I know everyones is going to ask: The trailer weighs 1850lbs dry but with the basics (chairs, table, 2 batteries, full propane, coleman stove, awning, solar panel, dishes, bedding, etc) so maybe 1750 fully empty? Pushing 2100 lbs full. Subaru Outback is rated to tow 3300lbs. Trailer has brakes, and tows about as well as you would expect 2000lbs behind a family car would.
Anyway, without further ado and since I can sense the limited interest in this thread vanishing as fast as a tank of gas in the suby when towing this breadbox, here goes:
Earlier this summer, pandemic mode was in full force, borders were closed, and the weather was finally starting to get nice. I work at a mine in Kamloops BC and commute back and forth for 2 week shifts from my home in Rossland BC. My wife and kids (2 and 4) decided to join me in Kamloops for a shift, so we decided to spend 4-5 days exploring on the way there, work 2 weeks, and then spend a similar time exploring on the way back. So this is basically a 10 day trip with a gap in the middle.
The plan was to take as much gravel as possible and hit some places we hadn’t been yet. So we headed west from our home to Grand Forks, BC, and turned north. We were planning to check out some rec sites along the way and then eventually end up crossing out of the granby watershed and over to Edgewood BC via 115km of back road, most of which is a gravel FSR.
Day 1 we just blasted our way up the scenic granby river valley and headed west to check out some rec sites and find a place to camp. Miraculously for the start of a long weekend, we stumbled upon this gem at eight mile flats, about 15km up the Granby River on a decent gravel road.
It was a super quiet campsite and nice to finally be in the forest and chilling after a hectic day of packing and driving.
Some wildlife encounters:
The biggest cottonwood I’ve ever seen
Here’s the camper in all its glory! I have probably sunk an additional $2k into it on top of the $500 purchase price. Its got running water, 2 deep cycle batteries paired to a 100W Solar panel and a TF49 fridge, which gives around 3-4 days of cold beers, with and additional few if the sun is shining. Two bunks for the 4 of us and a stove, furnace, etc completes the package. Oh and that sweet grey water setup you can see which consists of a hose and a bucket (no toilet in the rig either btw, that’s just sink water)
Killer spot
After a night of campfires and listening to the river, we woke the next day to some good weather and decided to hit the main objective of the area: Bluejoint Lookout, which is a fire lookout accessed by a fairly rough road to over 2100m, which is one of only a handful of roads around that get to that elevation.
The suby did fine, rocky and slow driving but no real issues or even hits to the skidplates (aluminum engine, trans, and rear diff skids were a key investment in the low slung battlewagon). Until this point:
Snow! We were literally <100m from the top, midway up a steep section with no where to easily turn around. Since I am a stubborn bastard and not happy turning around on a trail until I’m either stuck or it ends, we decided to get the kids out to walk around with mom while I bashed back and forth on the soft snow enough times to power through. Lets just say it was way steeper and deeper than it looked and it took some shovelling too. I was committed though and eventually had success!
From here is was time to switch to hiking boots, and with the baby on the back and toddler in tow, we set off up the ridge.
Getting closer
Made it. Spectacular views over to big white, old glory, the valhallas, most of the west kootenays really.
This is by far the best preserved lookout I’ve ever seen, probably due to the fact that its hike in only. Let’s try and keep it this way!
Very cool compass/spotting intstrument
Back to the whip
And some views from the way down. Kids fell asleep so no stopping to take any more photos. Back to the campsite for another night.
Part two to come… featuring a blown CV joint and campsite repairs
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