What does your ideal (under 3,000 USD) expo build include?

[Beej]

@rusty_tlc this thread is about what you would do with the $3000 and a hypothetical blank canvas. Of course the voice of experience lends to a more realistic picture of priorities but I certainly don't have $3k invested in camping gear; or expo gear. Maybe one day.

What's your ideal build?

 

[Cruiserdrew]

Let's say the truck has steel front bumper with winch, double swingout rear bumper and sliders. A mild lift and good tires. Otherwise, its completely stock.

Your truck is already built. Just go on a trip to learn your priorities. A common mistake is to focus on the truck. I'd recommend you focus on the trip. If you're really asking how to prioritize spending, here's a few thoughts having done just this for 15 years.

-A good spare tire that matches your existing tires $200.

-Delorme or Benchmark mapbooks of all the states within a day's drive of your home location $75

-A basic set of tools-$150 and an afternoon of careful shopping at Harbor Freight

-Refrigerator $500-$1000-really this is the best camping bit ever.

-Get some camp chairs- $100 for 2 folding GSI chairs

-You didn't mention a skid plate. The 80's stock skid is a joke. $250+

-Kitchen gear-this can be pretty cheap or even brought from home and thus free. A skillet, some pots, a Craig's list stove. $100

-A way to carry extra gas-10-15 gallons is about right. Even cans work fine on the rear rack $100-$150

-Recovery gear-at least 3 rated shackles, 30 foot recovery strap, 10 foot tree strap $150 or so, leather gloves.

-Dual battery system. Blue Sea SI-ACR, some 2 ga cable and you're done. $150 (avoid pre-packaged systems)

-#2 Battery-deep cycle group 27 - $100

-Tray for #2 battery $100

-Wire a fuse block inside your truck with accessory circuits, fed by the #2 battery $100

-Water storage-recommend 10 gallons on board. $30 for 2 reliance blue cubes plus: Amazon.com : Aquamira Water Treatment Drops (1oz.) : Camping Water Purifiers : Sports & Outdoors

-I agree with the idea of being able to sleep inside. $Free - $250 if you build a platform. You don't need a tailgate tent.

-If you go desert camping, an awning is a splurge but very nice to have at times. $50(tarp)-$500(attached premium awning)

-Some storage-Drawers are nice and cool, but they take up room and are themselves heavy. Use plastic boxes for now $50

-Radio-Kenwood 281 or Yaesu 2900. $250 with antenna ($150 radio, $100 antenna)

-Costco pack of ratchet straps to tie things down - $50

-GPS-Use your cellphone to get started. Very low priority.

-A Hi-lift is only very occasionally useful. Low priority, get it later, or not, but if you get one, get it with the wheel lift accessory and base

Things you definitely don't need:
-Propane campfire-this is for the wankers on Expedition Portal
-Anything made by Snow Peak - it's like buying a Rolex when you need a Timex
-Roof rack at least at first, but if you get one, it gives you a place to attach the awning-see above!
-Off road lights


But if I were you, I'd get the spare tire, the fridge and the camp chairs and go somewhere interesting. Spend all the left over $$ on fuel for the beast. I'd also advise you invest time in making some friends to go offroading with. A working non-stuck truck and a buddy is about the most useful accessory you could have.

Your needs and wants will continuously evolve. That's normal. So adapt, improve, go forward. You may find on a trip you need something you don't have. Buy it when you get home and you'll have it the next time. The $3000 you spend now is not the last $$ you'll spend. Just remember you can go on a trip tomorrow for the cost of fuel. So keep things in perspective.

 

[rusty_tlc]

@rusty_tlc this thread is about what you would do with the $3000 and a hypothetical blank canvas. Of course the voice of experience lends to a more realistic picture of priorities but I certainly don't have $3k invested in camping gear; or expo gear. Maybe one day.

What's your ideal build?

I have my ideal build. The less we pack the happier we are. Consider your preparations for a trip.

 

[Bogo]

I consider the phone as the backup to my Garmin topo GPS.

 

[Beej]

I have my ideal build. The less we pack the happier we are. Consider your preparations for a trip.

I mean, if you're heading out for 1 month and you're a days hike from civilization (premise of the thread), and you're packing as little as possible, what is that? What is as little as possible? Taking a stab at that is mostly the point of the thread.

If its just a fridge and a radio, I hope you don't need a bandaid, or a flashlight, or a fuse, or encounter any bad weather, or a shower. Have some fun with it; its just an exercise.

 

[Tigerstripe40]

Buying new stuff vs buying used can make a big difference.
But considering that you've already got a front bumper, winch, dual battery system (RIGHT?!?!?), and rear bumper, that makes this a little easier.

Nemo nocturne 15 sleeping bag $375
-Splurge here. This is not a place to save money, get the best sleeping bag you can afford (that you might thing is a bit ridiculously priced). This is about the best sleeping bag I have ever used. It packs down well, very warm and very well thought out. I have broad shoulders and have a hard time fitting into 'traditional' mummy bags and these have plenty of room. I can not even begin to sing the praises of this bag. It is THAT good.

Springbar outfitter tent $419
-This is a good tent, stoutly made, and nearly indestructible. There is a 'Kodiak' brand that is made in china which is a good alternative if you want to save a few $$$.

REI Relax Airbed $119
-Inflatable air bed. These things are awesome for comfort. I suggest putting a blanket, though, between the bed and your sleeping bag. I know that REI has a bit of a bad name, but they have good in house brand products for a reasonable price.

ThermaRest RidgeRest x2 $60
-These go underneath the air bed in case the air bed goes flat, you still have ground insulation. Also these are great for sitting next to camp fires (if you forgot your chairs). Or for laying under the truck to repair something.

Action Packers x3 $105
-This is where you store your stuff.

Ratchet Straps $20
-To hold the action packers down.

Baofeng UV-5R $35
-These radios are pretty good for how much you don't spend. If you can find a Yaesu or Kenwood handie talkie used cheap, thats also a good option.

Nagoya antenna $17
-Because the rubber duckie antenna included with all radios are junk. Also, if your truck is in the bottom of a canyon and you need to hike out a bit to hit a repeater.

5/8 wave 70cm/2M mag mount antenna $26
-Connect the UV-5R to this when you're in the truck. Mag-mount because if a tree limb catches the antenna, it doesn't get ripped off and damaged.

ARB Recovery kit $400
-Again not a place to try to save a few $$$. Splurge a little here.

Coleman Dual Fuel stove $110
-Personally, I hate the newer versions of these things. They are poorly made, and very flimsy, and I have had them leak and start on fire brand new out of the box. But so long as you can find an older one that is in good repair, these are great. These can also run on gasoline.

Zeny® 5 Gal 20L Jerry Can Gasoline $29
-NATO style jerry can with the pin lock spout (these aren't legal in California, though, ahd maybe not nationwide). These are good cans. There are few places in the lower 48 states where you will really need more than 5 gallons of extra fuel.

Indel B 50qt fridge $550
-These are a really good deal on a Danfoss style fridge. Same compressor as ARB and many others, but at a low price.

Ozark Trail camp chairs $30
-I consider camp chairs to be disposable and unless you need the heavy weight capacity of an ARB or Jet Tent chair, perfectly fine.

Shovel $10
-For digging.

Husqvarna axe and hatchet $100
-Swedish made steel that comes razor sharp, nice handle, holds an edge well, and can be sharpened.
Lansky sharpening stone and Nicholson bastard file $25
-For keeping the hatchet, axe and any pocket knives razor sharp.

Jumper cables $50
-You should already have these...

Ozark Trail head lamp x2 $26
-Cheap LED head lamps for night time use at camp. Get 2 because you always loose one.

Tools appropriate to change a birfield. $100
-BF Hammer, 2-1/8" socket, breaker bar, fish scale, Craftsman set of metric sockets and ratchet, set of metric HF Tools end wrenches.

That totals $2600 leaving you $400 to do anything else with. Perhaps have a spare birfield and rear axle shafts on hand.

 

[rusty_tlc]

I mean, if you're heading out for 1 month and you're a days hike from civilization (premise of the thread), and you're packing as little as possible, what is that? What is as little as possible? Taking a stab at that is mostly the point of the thread.

If its just a fridge and a radio, I hope you don't need a bandaid, or a flashlight, or a fuse, or encounter any bad weather, or a shower. Have some fun with it; its just an exercise.

We pretty much take the same stuff for three days or three weeks, Nevada is big and empty.
First Aid kit - hard to put a number on this because it has evolved
Tool Kit - Dittos here, the 100 kit is pretty basic.
Sleeping bags - Just generic 20° poly fill, we always have a couple of wool blankets in the car if needed.
Air mattress - My wife hates cold camping so we usually take the cheapo Walmart twins ~$12 each, rather than a more expensive insulation filled option.
Tent - We use a World Famous Tent we got for less than $30
Water - 5 gallons, we use a Coleman jug $9 at Walmart, we have one of the NATO plastic jugs but the Coleman works better, anyone that has been on a trip with me has seen one sitting on the bumper with a towel and bottle of camping soap. We might take two jugs if we don't think we will have access to fresh water along the way.
MSR water filter - Less than $75 on clearance at Sportsmans Warehouse. It is one of the better models which is field serviceable.
Vintage Coleman Stove - Yard Sale $5, I think it is the first dual fuel model.
Stansport SS 7 piece Cook set - $50, More now. this is one area where I would probably upgrade is we had more time for camping.
LED Head lamps - Cheapies so we carry three. IIRC we found them at Costco for less than $20 for the three pack
Folding chairs - I find the old school aluminium web chairs at yard sales for anywhere from $1 to $2.
Folding Table - Walmarts finest, $20 each, we bring two. These are actually very nice tables (I see they have gone up in price since we got ours) https://www.walmart.com/ip/Ozark-Trail-Folding-Table/16537239
Recovery strap - I won mine in some kind of raffle.
Reliance lugable Loo - Under $20, the bags are cheaper than the other brand and the system works very well. I plan to upgrade the bucket from a 5 gallon to a 7 gallon this year. The 7 gallon is a couple of inches taller than a 5 gallon bucket which should make things more comfortable.
35MM Ammo can - $15 because the waste bags can and do fail on washboard roads, not pretty when that happens.

We have the fridge and ham radio, I also carry a HT ham radio and a couple of family service radios. CB is basically worthless IMHO, the family service radios work better for trail com if we travel with non-ham people. I have pretty nice radios you could get away with $40 Chinese HT and be just fine.

We use apple boxes to pack food and stuff, they pack really well and are free and easily replaced. We also carry a roll of contractors trash bags, they work for trash and you can waterproof an apple box if need be.


For us the point of getting away is to, well get away. Less stuff means less packing, less fussing around in camp, more time watching sunsets and hanging out.

 

[george_tlc]

bigtrip

^ my oz checklist. It has evolved and been refined over a period of 30+ years that I've owned my 4wd back there. That list covers a few days (4 day long weekend) or many weeks (7 weeks was the longest) out in the bush - it is just a matter of how much food/water/fuel etc to take.

Given it is a short wheel base vehicle, roofrack for a large food box (all the food and cooking gear) is essential. Extra fuel goes up there to, from 1 to 5 jerry cans depending on where we're heading. The main tank holds 160L of diesel. So, with 5 cans and full tank we're at 260L and that's just over 1200 miles range fully loaded (offroad/onroad makes next to no difference). There's places that 1200 miles range is marginal... 2014 trip into the desert had us at 875 miles from fueling up in a little town and getting back to that same town to refuel and that was only a small loop into the WA Great Victoria desert. 2 week trip to the Great Victoria Desert area

NOTE: It doesn't snow on the oz west coast or central, or northern or... so camping gear doesn't need to deal with extreme cold - may get a couple of degrees below freezing at night in the desert. Though it does get very remote out there...

I wouldn't fixate on a budget and what to purchase. Start simple, tent, sleeping bags, water, tool box, simple comm gear, food (dehydrated and cans) and get out there and have fun. You'll refine your own list of 'essentials' as you get experience with what is or isn't needed. That's how I started, bunch of day/weekend trips in my early 20's with a mate and we explored and got stuck and dug ourselves out (shovel is probably the best tool to purchase first). As we gained experience and confidence we traveled further and our first major trip (a few months after I bought my patrol) was 2 weeks out into the WA goldfields. We had paper maps (no gps, no laptops, cell phones etc - not yet invented...). Had a blast getting lost and learning to navigate. Learned how to repair flat tyres. etc etc.

You can camp when the weather is reasonable with a $20 tent and $20 sleeping bag and have a ton of fun. No need for some fancy rooftop tent or drawer/sleeping system with vibrating mattress

Final NOTE. I tend to camp without some of the gourmet luxuries that some folk find essential to the experience...

cheers,
george.

 

[Code Red]

Start with a good backpacking set-up for the area/season you are traveling in. That covers sleeping, eating, first-aid, navigation etc.... and doesn't cost a lot of coin.

Then add comfort items such as fridge/batteries, chairs, tables, awnings, better tent, etc... as you can afford them.

Focus your time and resources on trips over gear, and the gear will sort itself out. Try to spend 80% of your budget/time on travel (gas, food, park fees, plane tickets, etc...) and 20% (or less) on gear. If you find that going the other way, then you may be missing the point. The more you go, the more refined your gear will become.

 

[rusty_tlc]

Start with a good backpacking set-up for the area/season you are traveling in. That covers sleeping, eating, first-aid, navigation etc.... and doesn't cost a lot of coin.

Then add comfort items such as fridge/batteries, chairs, tables, awnings, better tent, etc... as you can afford them.

Focus your time and resources on trips over gear, and the gear will sort itself out. Try to spend 80% of your budget/time on travel (gas, food, park fees, plane tickets, etc...) and 20% (or less) on gear. If you find that going the other way, then you may be missing the point. The more you go, the more refined your gear will become.

I kind of disagree with this. A good backpacking kit is much more expensive than a really nice car camping kit. I can get somebody with zero camping gear into a comfortable car camping for a quarter of the cost of getting them into a decent backpacking kit. The biggest mistake people make with backpacking is trying to get into it on the cheap, it's not an activity that lends itself to low budget options. Cheap backpacking gear makes you miserable and puts you off the sport. On the other hand you can get the cheap heavy stuff and be perfectly happy car camping.

 

[Code Red]

I kind of disagree with this. A good backpacking kit is much more expensive than a really nice car camping kit. I can get somebody with zero camping gear into a comfortable car camping for a quarter of the cost of getting them into a decent backpacking kit. The biggest mistake people make with backpacking is trying to get into it on the cheap, it's not an activity that lends itself to low budget options. Cheap backpacking gear makes you miserable and puts you off the sport. On the other hand you can get the cheap heavy stuff and be perfectly happy car camping.

I think we may have different definitions of what makes a "decent" backpacking kit, but I agree that you can be happy with much cheaper (i.e. heavier) car camping gear than you would if backpacking. I do think you can find a happy medium in the suggested budget that will still leave you with a few dollars for luxuries that you wouldn't drag up the AT.

30 years as a Jeeper means I always start with the essentials in a bag I can put on my back and walk out!

 

[rusty_tlc]

I think we may have different definitions of what makes a "decent" backpacking kit, but I agree that you can be happy with much cheaper (i.e. heavier) car camping gear than you would if backpacking. I do think you can find a happy medium in the suggested budget that will still leave you with a few dollars for luxuries that you wouldn't drag up the AT.

30 years as a Jeeper means I always start with the essentials in a bag I can put on my back and walk out!

I too carry a bug out bag, but it has far less equipment than I would consider a backpacking set up. It's actually a set of three containers, A day pack with a decent amount of survival items, a fanny pack that contains fewer items, and a tin with the ten essentials. Depending on conditions I can take the whole pack, the fanny pack , or just the tin.

 

[Get outside]

Almost forgot, get a Trasharoo if you have a spare tire. They are worth so much more than the $45 price tag from Amazon. Uses obviously include trash, but also works great if your camp gets wet at night and you don't want to store all that wet gear in your truck the next morning. I loaded mine so full down in Arkansas with wet stuff that I thought for sure it would break the stitching that held the straps on. It rode like that for 100's of miles sagging and hanging from the tire carrier. You can also throw your recovery gear in there if you like to keep it on the exterior of the vehicle.

What do you mean "if you have a spare tire"?

 

[half k cruiser]

@Get outside nice color choice.

 

[RFB]

3000.00 wow thats tough
drawers 400(im building thread wil follow)
winch 650(already in)
rack 1250
rooftop tent 900
see how easy that was.

 

[Beej]

3000.00 wow thats tough
drawers 400(im building thread wil follow)
winch 650(already in)
rack 1250
rooftop tent 900
see how easy that was.

Rack and rooftop tent got you good!

 

[RFB]

@rusty_tlc this thread is about what you would do with the $3000 and a hypothetical blank canvas. Of course the voice of experience lends to a more realistic picture of priorities but I certainly don't have $3k invested in camping gear; or expo gear. Maybe one day.

What's your ideal build?

we need to kook up im out your way often and will be this weekend

 

[Travelin2gether]

Thats basically what I am currently driving/living in for 2 years as my wife and I make our way from USA to Panama and back.

Base: stock 1995 T100 4x4=$2500

Mods/Gear:
Maintenance=$150
Camper shell on Craig's list=$100
Camper modifications=$500
Plastic storage bins=$150
Jerry cans for h2o=$50
LifeSaver Jerrycan w/ filter=$200
300w solar system/house batteries/wiring=$1000
Compresor fridge=$1000
Hand winch/towstrap/shovel/saw=$100
Hand tools/duct tape=$150
Awning=$250
Folding tabel=$60
Propane Stove=$140

Total mods/gear=$3850

OK, I came in a way over, and I'm sure I spent more on odds and ends, But I could probably sale the aftermarket bumpers, winch, and sliders you assumed you would need and come in around $3000 for mods/prep/gear.

 

[lugueto]

If you're referring to the build of the vehicle itself, its best to leave camping equipment off this budget. Tents, chairs, etc can be bought separately.

1) 900$ lift kit for better load handling
2) 1000$ on a good set of tires, with the addequate load rating.
3) 300$ in recovery gear would get you a long way
4) 3-400$ in dedicated comms and gps equipment
5) You can spend the las 400$ on one of the cheaper fridge/freezers. If you look around you can find them for around that price.

 

[cruiserpilot]

Thats basically what I am currently driving/living in for 2 years as my wife and I make our way from USA to Panama and back.

Base: stock 1995 T100 4x4=$2500

Mods/Gear:
Maintenance=$150
Camper shell on Craig's list=$100
Camper modifications=$500
Plastic storage bins=$150
Jerry cans for h2o=$50
LifeSaver Jerrycan w/ filter=$200
300w solar system/house batteries/wiring=$1000
Compresor fridge=$1000
Hand winch/towstrap/shovel/saw=$100
Hand tools/duct tape=$150
Awning=$250
Folding tabel=$60
Propane Stove=$140

Total mods/gear=$3850

OK, I came in a way over, and I'm sure I spent more on odds and ends, But I could probably sale the aftermarket bumpers, winch, and sliders you assumed you would need and come in around $3000 for mods/prep/gear.

The only answer that makes sense to me in the whole thread. Well done, I envy you that trip! J