1st Gen. Lunch Table - General Discussion

Yeah, TW Bert dude has a slick trailer too. I agree on that plan. Maybe limits camping choices a tiny bit but nothing ever stops you from packing a tent and sleeping on the ground.

 

Skip reloading Windows and give this a try
https://linuxmint.com/

It's close enough that there's not a huge leaning curve and it runs a lot faster on older machines.

Look into bone conducting headphones. I've had some Aftershockz Aeropex for awhile and they're pretty good.

 

Get a GoPro and call it done unless you’re looking to create a concealed camera. That would be an interesting project.

 

Get your mind out of the gutter.

 

@alb1k Your trailer idea sounds like a proper, smart way to do it from the start. I agree with that the RTT on the truck might not be the way to go, but one on a military trailer with a pintle hitch would be killer. Maybe proper steel bars instead of the bars in your picture though. The good thing about a military trailer setup is it's not dependent on your vehicle so if you move on from the truck you're not at square one again.

I guess one thing to consider with a trailer is, how often you'll be going on day expeditions and returning to the same spot. I have a habit of wheeling until I'm tired and just camping wherever in different spots every night. In those types of circumstances, a trailer might be a hindrance since you have to tow it along on the trail. But if you're returning to the same campsite every night that makes it all the easier.

One thing that kills me about RTT on a truck is there's breakdown time involved. I've watched a few of the newer Tundys deal with them, and while it it's not THAT much, it's not something that I'd want to have to do every time I wake up. Also when the RTT is setup the truck's more or less immobile -- you have to break it down if you need to meet a buddy at the road or see something interesting near camp outside of walking distance.

Sleeping in the cap, sure I have to unload a few items from the bed, but if I really need to I can get out of my bed and into the cab and drive away in less than a minute. Same idea with a ground tent. In fact, if I didn't have my cap setup to sleep in currently, I'd probably use a ground tent. Not that it's going to be common to wake up from sleep and have to leave your camp ASAP, but since wildfires are endemic here it's a consideration. Heck, I was evacuated while camping in Big Bear because of that gender reveal fire two years back.

I started to build my truck for camping years before I started building it for wheeling so I'm set in a lot of ways, but the idea of a military trailer with a RTT is something I would like to pursue eventually.

 

Nice foot

 

@alb1k LOL!, drinking wine, looking at truck mod parts.

Yesterday I tried yet again to unsubscribe from their email list… but the discounts are big… have you looked at a Gazelle hub tent? If you do, and want me to see what discounts I have in my inbox, let me know.

Almost everyone I know that *actually* wheels, has traded their RTT for this fast to put up, fast to take down ground tent. Waterproof floor extends up the sides; it’s done great in an absolute downpour that cleared most others from the campground. What it’s not, is compact or lightweight. But it weighs far less than an RTT, fits in a corner of your garage (I think you have one because I saw a fireplace and a big dog). And it doesn’t have fabric that flaps all night in wind.

Edit: A lightweight trailer like Spartan built would be cool. I want it open on all sides like his for weight reduction— except not as tall… and for the top to open into a base for a gazelle hub tent.

 

For some reason I thought these tents were floor less which turned me off.
How big is yours, your tent…… or how many people can comfortably sleep in it?
Do you feel it’s pretty well insulated from the wind/cold?

 

We have the 4 person which, with gear and a bit of buffer between bags for walking around, is really comfortable for 3 adults. Or two adults and 2-3 big dogs. I’ve seen the 3 person and, imo it’s good for 2 people + 1-2 big dogs— but that one’s not tall enough for me to stand, whereas the 4 person is.

The floor isn’t impervious… I’ve set it up numerous times in numerous conditions… including over little rocks, and finally have a pinprick hole in the floor… which duct tape repaired. But the floor is thick and waterproof, extends up about 3-4” on all sides, and is attached all around by heavy Velcro— the idea being that you could remove if for a thorough cleaning. Or probably I could buy a replacement floor, but I’ve got a lot more wear before I’d need to consider that.

We’ve never removed the floor; we vacuum it regularly, and occasionally I wipe down the inside. We’ve twice got the outside muddy (water splashing upward during heavy rain)… one of those, we camped a second night— dry and comfortable inside— everything dried out by leaving time so we wiped off excess mud and packed it up. The other time the downpour continued as we broke camp, so we packed it wet, drove home, set it up in the backyard and hosed it down inside and out, then let it air dry. Good to go.

 

@alb1k I'm with you on the RTT. It works for some but I don't have a problem sleeping on the ground. I couldn't drive around with one every day and don't want to store one either. A small and capable trailer would be better, but I'm a cheap bastard with a -$100 ground tent that goes up or down in 5 minutes flat.

And shameless plug, I had been looking for metric sized spring clamps to replace the many worm gear clamps on my GTI cooling hoses. They were harder to find than imagined, but this company called Belmetric has a sweet supply. They have other good stuff too but I only needed hose clamps. They all showed up in 4 days, neatly packaged and labeled. I am not a paid actor, I just liked how they sent stuff.
https://belmetric.com/

Look at those quality zip locks and labels!

 

You say the floor attaches to the sides with velcro, does it have like a flap over the velcro so water can’t just go between the cro and turn the floor into a bucket?
I’m looking for a better cold weather tent(it still gets cold in AZ!) that I can use my diesel in, so I was hoping for something with better wind resistance or a more insulated walls?

 

This meets your needs, I think. As I recall, the Velcro is an unbroken line on the top outside edge of the floor, and the bottom edge of the wall fabric overlaps, so water from outside cannot get inside.

It’s not insulated but the 4 person is large enough you could set a sold base and run a Buddy Heater. It *would* be ideal if there was an optional fabric insert to attach a false ceiling half the height of the tent to better keep in body heat. That’s where a smaller tent does better— for trips where I’ll sleep solo, I carry a Half Dome tent. Roomy enough for me to be comfortable with gear store inside, and better retains my body heat… but I don’t use a Buddy Heater.

 

For Sedona though, you will either want a buddy heater or to heat rocks in the fire if you have some thing to use as a base in the tent on which to put them. My son and I were so cold the first year, we were miserable and didn’t sleep well. And yes, we took the Gazelle. The times I’ve gone since, I set up the half dome inside of the gazelle. I’m not kidding, Sedona is freaking freezing at night sometimes.

 

Hahahaha that’s hilarious!!!!
But yeah that makes total sense about a bigger tent being harder to keep warm due to all the extra space.
Sedona was pretty damn cold in October, im hoping for a milder weather in April, but now you’ve got me worried! I’ll be bringing the diesel heater regardless. The big game changer for us the second night, was putting a big tarp over the entire tent, and that helped trap all that heat in sooo much better. Luckily my son loves to snuggle so he keeps one side of me warm!

 

https://www.tundras.com/threads/what-camping-setup-do-you-have.72845/page-15#post-2691114
So here’s a pic of the Gazelle. If you look at that horizontal seam a few inches up from the ground, that’s probably where the waterproof flooring attaches to the wall fabric, inside. The wall fabric extends down, so rain on the exterior meets the ground. As long as you choose set-up location wisely— which you have to do anyway, for a ground tent or a vehicle with RTT— this tent is the best wet weather tent I know about. In windo, you must secure the corners and the hubs on each side, then it’s quiet and secure.

 

That Gazelle Tent looks really nice @Sunnier !

 

@alb1k
Max coupler, is what this is, it can rotate on 3 axisisssssss. I plan on throwing timbrens on it at some point, still haven’t decided what rating to get and with or w/o e brakes. But it’s a heavy duty small trailer that I got for free.99. I don’t think I’ll do a rtt but I will still probably do a rack or raisable system for a awning and then my annex to go with it if I choose.
I’m torn on where to put water tanks, it’s almost 7’ long so I was thinking about putting them at the front of the box, and then a shorter drawer system the height of the rails. Or getting work truck type boxes on the sides above the wheels and then still do drawers and maybe have a sleeping platform/area on top of the drawers.

 

That Max coupler is slick. I knew there was something like that out there but never knew exactly what it was. Are you going to have a water tank exposed for solar warming? And also a drinking water tank?

 

Since it looks like a couple of you are researching, I’ll see if I can find a discount code, as they are Much pricier than when I bought ours. After getting myself off the list, I subscribed again last fall to score news on release dates for another friend because they were always out of stock. Here’s hoping I can access a recent code without signing up again.

 

You are the best - thank you for looking!

 

My experience (even though you didn’t ask ) is that solar warming tanks don’t really heat water enough to make a difference when it’s cold outside. I carry a cheap portable gas water heater in a ridiculously expensive unbreakable case, and @Cruzer just bought an even cheaper submersible water heater that needs less expensive storage… but he’s rewiring his whole truck to power it. Check his thread for details on a recent page.

 

Yeah I’m excited to get the trailer all flexed out haha.
No I’d rather not have the tanks exposed just because the sun kills everything here, fast. I plan of doing a water heater setup…….. like most of the Insta-landers have. So I was planning on doing 2 tanks but have them teed together and then use a RV pump to push it all. Same thing with the tanks they are like RV grade with 4 different ports on them

$185 RecPro RV Fresh Water Tank 21 Gallon for Drinking and Potable Water | 39.25" x 8" x 16" | Fresh or Gray Water Plastic Storage | Made in America

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B079TCRW82?smid=A1V7TJOE3FVDYM

$104 Class A Customs | T-2500-SP | One (1) Spouted 25 Gallon RV Fresh and Gray Water Holding Tank RV Concession

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07KYT5B7W?smid=ANNYFJC2Y5PU4

 

I am still alive. Passed the class.

 

Yes! With honors?

 

Congratulations!

 

Two classes? Wow, I thought it would be several weeks. Congrats!

 

I ended up having the worst score on the driving test

There were 5 driving manuvers we had to do. Two of them you got 1 redo if you messed up. I ended up screwing up the easy ones that didn't get a redo and passing the harder ones. So other people got to fix their mistakes and I didn't. Thought that was b.s. We had to do a slow U turn under 20' in diameter and I dropped a foot. I also clipped a cone in the slalom which sucked because I nailed that yesterday.

It was a ton of fun though and I learned a lot. Well worth the $250. Apparently most of the dealers around here will deduct $250 from the price of your bike if you show them your certificate.