Camping Equipment for Our Trucks

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weejub

weejub

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I did a search and did not see anything on our ONSC area, so thought I would start something here.

The goal of this post would be to compare equipment for overland camping use.
 
 
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Stan and Heather had this little stainless grill at Hurricane Creek that is great as it can be used in places that do not allow ground fires, AND it folds flat for easy storage!!

Amazon.com: Quick Grill Large: Original Folding Charcoal BBQ Grill Made from Stainless Steel: Patio, Lawn & Garden

I also really liked Jim's clear flat storage - - can slide that under a lot of stuff. Not sure of brand, but here is an example:

Amazon.com: Sterilite 19638606 Large Clip Box, Clear with Blue Aquarium Latches, 6-Pack: Home & Kitchen
 
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I am considering buying one (or even two) of these and trying to put EVERYTHING inside during trips and for storage. We would then simply load/unload out of the garage when it is time to go.

Today I have crap all over the house that I have to go through a detailed list and then find a place to put it and deal with that. This takes a LOT of time we could be using on route planning, etc. We would still go through our camp list, but this would be much faster - all in one spot with each bag having a purpose:

Amazon.com : Camp Chef Sherpa Camp Table and Organizer (Brick) : Sports & Outdoors

We absolutely love our Lifetime 4' table - would have to see if we take it or not if we had two of the above.

We have a big action packer that we use today for most of our non-personal / clothes items, but it seems inefficient.
 
I have the butane stove , I like it .
 
I can tell you that we really love that little grill. I use it at home all the time as well as it is perfect for grilling for two. I actually only use half of it at home. The same company also makes one half the size. We need the big one so we can start cooking for Izzy :)
 
This thread will definitely need a bit of @Izzyandsue Cuban Chrome.

Couple things I have that I really like:

GSI coffee mill and GSI French Press, 'cuz I can put up with a lot of sub-par stuff, but NOT in the coffee department.

Big Ass Tents: I have an REI Kingdom 8 tent with the ConnectTech Garage. It is an awesome tent with Soooo much space, but with its barn sides it does need to be well guyed during any kind of heavy weather. I had intended on a Big Agnes Flying Diamond 8, but it was back ordered so long I went with the REI. Izzy got the BA. It looks more weather stable, and much easier for solo set-up. I'll let him comment further.
 
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weejub said:
So . . .

My first question is - -who has ever used a stove like this with butane as the fuel?

Amazon.com : Camp Chef Butane 1 Burner Stove with Camping Case : Indoor Camp Stove : Sports & Outdoors

Amazon.com : 12 Butane Fuel GasOne Canisters for Portable Camping Stoves : Gas Burner : Sports & Outdoors


We are moving from our "heavy set up" which has stuff for a group of 20+, to more easily fit within our car.
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Jamie, I actually have a few of these stoves. My wife is Korean and all of their camping stoves are exactly like this. I can let you borrow one if you like to try out. They are really good in windy conditions and can get much higher temps than my Coleman stove.
 
Heather wants to start bringing a couple horses, Izzy said they can share the back room of his tent :) The 8 of us could have all fit in Izzy's tent. I admit I have a fascination with some of the outfitter's type tents but no desire to set up and break it down every night.

We have been using the same Cabela's tent for 8 years now. Worst we went through was a killer thunderstorm at Wind Rock, probably 4-5 hours worth and not a drop inside the tent and it all held together including the vestibule.

If we continue to like overlanding vs going to parks etc I am thinking we might end up with a trailer with a tent on top. Just having everything already stowed and ready to go in one place is a huge plus. For now, we'll just keep refining what we are already doing.
 
The clear tubs are just cheapos from Lowe's. I was debating building drawers or some other organization system and just figured I'd spend as little as possible to try this first. They've worked out quite nicely and they give a place for all the little crap that doesn't have a home. I tend to divide them into "dry-goods/kitchen stuff" and "all the other crap". When I get home, I was things up, but them back in the boxes and on the shelf in the garage with all the other camping stuff. It makes packing pretty quick and I'm not hunting all over the house for my miscellaneous items.
I will ultimately want something more durable, preferably dust/water proof. I don't know that clear really maters. eventually, I think I'll go with some Alu-Boxes, but they're quite proud of them, and I can't bring myself to drop the coin yet.

I also have an REI camp kitchen that I like. Packs a bit big, but its light and flat so I just put it on the bottom.
 
This is very handy and packs down to the size of a double long brief case. The 2 burner stove sits on the right, utensils hang on the rack out of the way
Coleman Pack-Away Outdoor Camp Kitchen II
Coleman Pack-Away Outdoor Camp Kitchen II - Walmart.com

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I'm a big proponent of old coleman camping equipment because of the low weight ( :lol: ) and small footprint. The stoves and lanterns are very efficient with fuel and can run on gasoline in a pinch, which means if you're out of fuel to cook food, you've got bigger problems :hillbilly: (coleman stoves can't run on diesel :( ) A properly working coleman stove isn't the fastest to boil water, but it gets hot enough that I couldn't imagine needing more heat. It singes the sides of the drawer it lives in when on full bore with a big pot on top.

Last tidbit about old coleman, if you have any issues with a stove or lantern, they're field-serviceable. I had a problem with my stove this past week where it wouldn't build pressure. Allen's buddy Dale came over and showed us how to take the pump apart with nothing more than a pair of pliers and that we could use a few drips of engine oil off the dipstick to lube up the leather. Worked like a charm and used it for the rest of the week! If one of those butane stoves breaks because it's bouncing around in the truck, (although I have no experience with them) you'd be hard-pressed to break it.

A two burner stove is perfect for two people and (I would think) a three burner would be ideal for a family of four. A cast iron skillet, a cast iron dutch oven and a small aluminum skillet all ride in the truck 100% of the time and a middle compartment in my drawer is reserved for utensils, spices and a few other small things. I don't have a camping table so I use my tailgate as a prep surface and bench to sit on, camping chairs as overflow. That sherpa table looks nice, but I don't see the benefits of that over storage drawers and a tailgate inside the truck. Seems extraneous to me. Storage drawers in the truck can be made more space efficient by running them without slides.

IMHO having a fridge for overlanding is over and above more important than having a table. If you've got means to cook food, it sucks to only be able to bring cooked food with you in the cooler. After a way to cook food, the 12v fridge should be the next purchase.
 
I did the same John but did not start building. I did not think the added weight and locked in compartment sizing was something I wanted. I agree with using utility boxes, morphing as your needs change.
 
Izzy had a ton of cool stuff, but his truck allows for more room than mine, so I didn't post it all up :) We will let him provide more feedback! We need to have a review of his navigation situation - I would love to know how he mounts a tablet inside.
 
The fridge would be nice but for us it is not a priority. Our life style (livestock) makes 2-3 day trips the norm away from the farm. Our current cooler did very well on the last trip.
 
GLTHFJ60 said:
. . . . .

A two burner stove is perfect for two people and (I would think) a three burner would be ideal for a family of four. A cast iron skillet, a cast iron dutch oven and a small aluminum skillet all ride in the truck 100% of the time and a middle compartment in my drawer is reserved for utensils, spices and a few other small things. I don't have a camping table so I use my tailgate as a prep surface and bench to sit on, camping chairs as overflow. That sherpa table looks nice, but I don't see the benefits of that over storage drawers and a tailgate inside the truck. Seems extraneous to me. Storage drawers in the truck can be made more space efficient by running them without slides.

IMHO having a fridge for overlanding is over and above more important than having a table. If you've got means to cook food, it sucks to only be able to bring cooked food with you in the cooler. After a way to cook food, the 12v fridge should be the next purchase.
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I am open to any fuel type, as long as it is consistent. That is the main issue I have with butane. A "luxury" item Heather (Wife) loves is the propane Coleman lantern. Running two different fuels is a mess. If we converted to white gas, we would want to do it across the board, too.

A friend of mine in KC rebuilt the old Coleman stoves for a hobby. He had some cool stuff.

Heather and I were also talking about burners. We rarely use more than one at a time, but we almost always have charcoal going.

We have a smaller dutch oven that we will continue to use.
 
Jamie, if I can make the monthly meeting I will bring one of the stoves for you to look at. I cant commit 100% because my son's baseball team that I coach starts their playoffs tonight. If we win tonight, we may or may not have a game on Wednesday. I just don't know because they have not announced anything yet.

And if you want to borrow it you are free to do so.
 
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