Aus to USA Gear Crossover

[pono]

Hi Everyone,

Just as a general feeling, the US definitely seems to have turned "Overlanding" into a expensive capitalist venture. I'm from and live in Hawaii, where all the offroad camping still seems to be wholesome. People still seem to mostly make their own gear - they don't resort to spending thousands for convenience.
I see a relative parallel in Australia, their 80 series builds seem to be mostly "home made", at least from what I saw when I was there.

My question is, what tips do the Aussies have for us Americans to make our LCs into more of a pleasant camping rig?
Are swags really that good? What kind of water storage systems do you guys use for long range travel, do you guys see some gap with our American gear that you guys use regularly in aus, etc...

Thanks!

 

[Gerry McGerry]

Just as a general feeling, the US definitely seems to have turned "Overlanding" into a expensive capitalist venture.

It's the same over here. I'm seeing more and more American trucks set up for "overlanding" (not really a term here) on the roads. Not uncommon to see built 79's and troopys going for ~$200,000 USD.

I'm from and live in Hawaii, where all the offroad camping still seems to be wholesome. People still seem to mostly make their own gear - they don't resort to spending thousands for convenience.

Definitely still a lot of guys using the basics. Any old plastic tub from a hardware store can be filled with cooking gear, medical stuff, anything. Takes 5 seconds to pull out of the car, waterproof, stackable.

Are swags really that good?

Yup, swags really are that good. I use a roll out swag, no poles or fancy mesh screens. Before my latest swag I was using a rollout my old man bought in '94, still good as new after 30+ years of regular use. If I take the dog I take a small instant up coleman tent, stretcher and throw the rollout swag on that (that's my idea of glamping). All of that gear could easily fit across the back seat with plenty of room left for chairs, clothes etc in the foot well. Plenty of room for the dog in the back. A decent tarp tied between a few trees is plenty of shelter for a swag.

What kind of water storage systems do you guys use for long range travel,

Plastic jerry cans of water do the trick, 20L goes a long way if you're careful with it. Need more water, take more cans. I'm happy to fill up water from creeks if I'm far out enough from towns. There's usually a public tap to fill up from while passing through most towns out here. I can't comment on how accessible water is while travelling through the centre of Aus.

do you guys see some gap with our American gear that you guys use regularly in aus, etc...

I rarely see MOLLE being used over here. Swags are everywhere. Lighting setups seem like a big deal in the USA, we just have big spotties or light bars, not so much in the way of pod lights being mounted all over the place. Every 12v fridge for sale in Aus has it's volume measured in cans, we really like cheap beer.

All that said, I wish I did own most of that gear, I just can't bring myself to spend that much on stuff I know I don't need.