Hello all,
We just picked up a '14 Silver on Black. We also have a 45 and a 55 that are really too nice at this point so this newb will get all the trail miles. My wife is on a Search and Rescue team and works dogs hours a day, when she's not sofware enginerdering, so it will have a lot of work to do week to week. It won over a 300GDt conversion because of it's towing ability. We'll someday hopefully be able to sell our 3500HD with this purchase (over the G).
We have three working dogs who have to be accommodated
With the Ozarks and Big Bend being some of our favourite places in the world it looks like car camping is our future. We previously backpacked a lot in the PNW, Appalachians and now around here - as well as other parts of the world when we were younger. Kennels in the truck will make things far far easier and we expect to get out a lot more.
The main offroad usage will probably be Arkansas and Big Bend. I work in Mexico and Costa Rica often so expect longer trips, though less often, south of Texas as well.
Here is our immediate shopping list and would appreciate alternate suggestions. I think we've gone over all the usual options 927 times by now but there is always more to learn!
Eezi-awn 2.2m rack for it's 54" width due to below rtt (en route to US now, late Feb arrival apparently)
--if above is too long to wait the Rhino Pioneer is next (frontrunner ruled out due to 48" width given teh awning below?). Our main concern is mounting a larger than normal awning that is also somewhat outboard of the rack due to the rtt type?
Baloud RTT - probably the Evasion but open to suggestion. 6' and 5'4 and we are used to tiny backpacking tents. I'm only concerned about the hard shell length and sleeping comfortably at my height. It will also help serve as a SAR rehab station. We've read every review we could find and the three doors of the evasion will come in handy along with the rest of the qualities.
Bundatec Bundu Awn: http://www.bundutecusa.com/bunduawn.html This is the biggest unknown of our list. Nice looking wraparound awning. Has anyone seen one in person? The self supporting nature is helpful but it's pretty windy around here. I have been corresponding with Rory and discussing the aluminized coated material. 7-10F drop can make a big difference here in the Summer but I'm concerned about durability. South Africa is not exactly the most comfy environment so I suspect it would be well made if a somewhat unknown quantity here? This may be the most used component of the exterior equipment and probably see three days a week of unfurling and furling at each site.
TJM front. I've asked Ryan at Extreme about a special order and ETA. My wife prefers it's aesthetics and I like that it comes with the trim piece instead of having to cut. I've read what I could find on the 200 fitment but it seems somewhat less common. ARB is the obligatory second choice. Would it be worth the wait over ARB?
Rear with swing outs..I guess it will be ARB by default?
With all that said we are expecting to require suspension rate change. Are there good standard or even non-standard offerings to default towards? I saw ohlins mentioned in another thread and we like them on our bikes ...though I don't imagine we need 4 way+ for this application. Completely open to suggestion here as I've spent the least amount of research on this area.
I'm looking forward to joining the crew here and perhaps offering something back some day!
We just picked up a '14 Silver on Black. We also have a 45 and a 55 that are really too nice at this point so this newb will get all the trail miles. My wife is on a Search and Rescue team and works dogs hours a day, when she's not sofware enginerdering, so it will have a lot of work to do week to week. It won over a 300GDt conversion because of it's towing ability. We'll someday hopefully be able to sell our 3500HD with this purchase (over the G).
We have three working dogs who have to be accommodated
With the Ozarks and Big Bend being some of our favourite places in the world it looks like car camping is our future. We previously backpacked a lot in the PNW, Appalachians and now around here - as well as other parts of the world when we were younger. Kennels in the truck will make things far far easier and we expect to get out a lot more.The main offroad usage will probably be Arkansas and Big Bend. I work in Mexico and Costa Rica often so expect longer trips, though less often, south of Texas as well.
Here is our immediate shopping list and would appreciate alternate suggestions. I think we've gone over all the usual options 927 times by now but there is always more to learn!
Eezi-awn 2.2m rack for it's 54" width due to below rtt (en route to US now, late Feb arrival apparently)
--if above is too long to wait the Rhino Pioneer is next (frontrunner ruled out due to 48" width given teh awning below?). Our main concern is mounting a larger than normal awning that is also somewhat outboard of the rack due to the rtt type?
Baloud RTT - probably the Evasion but open to suggestion. 6' and 5'4 and we are used to tiny backpacking tents. I'm only concerned about the hard shell length and sleeping comfortably at my height. It will also help serve as a SAR rehab station. We've read every review we could find and the three doors of the evasion will come in handy along with the rest of the qualities.
Bundatec Bundu Awn: http://www.bundutecusa.com/bunduawn.html This is the biggest unknown of our list. Nice looking wraparound awning. Has anyone seen one in person? The self supporting nature is helpful but it's pretty windy around here. I have been corresponding with Rory and discussing the aluminized coated material. 7-10F drop can make a big difference here in the Summer but I'm concerned about durability. South Africa is not exactly the most comfy environment so I suspect it would be well made if a somewhat unknown quantity here? This may be the most used component of the exterior equipment and probably see three days a week of unfurling and furling at each site.
TJM front. I've asked Ryan at Extreme about a special order and ETA. My wife prefers it's aesthetics and I like that it comes with the trim piece instead of having to cut. I've read what I could find on the 200 fitment but it seems somewhat less common. ARB is the obligatory second choice. Would it be worth the wait over ARB?
Rear with swing outs..I guess it will be ARB by default?
With all that said we are expecting to require suspension rate change. Are there good standard or even non-standard offerings to default towards? I saw ohlins mentioned in another thread and we like them on our bikes ...though I don't imagine we need 4 way+ for this application. Completely open to suggestion here as I've spent the least amount of research on this area.
I'm looking forward to joining the crew here and perhaps offering something back some day!
