Basecamp workflow

[AlexAtWagan]

The last weekend down in Big Sur, we had a great time with 27 rigs. It was really cool seeing how everyone set up camp, from basic set-ups to fully rigged out rigs!

Coming from a background of tent/car camping (and in a previous life backpacking), the workflow, I found, is very different than "overlanding".

What's your workflow when you set up camp when you're doing dispersed camping? I'm always looking for ways to make things more efficient.

Thanks!

 

[smritte]

Having a similar back ground (minimalist back packing), I tended to only bring small quick set up items until i learned what to bring .
My "rollout" is based on what i'm doing. Am I driving across the Mojave, stopping for the night and moving on or base camping for two days or more? If I want quick set up and tear down, small folding table, backpack stove, quick to cook food and sleep in the back of my cruiser. Longer trips I may bring my trailer and RTT. Camp set up about 30 min to set up and an hour tear down. Better food and more comfort. Base camping gets the portable bathroom/shower, solar panels and enclosed awning. 2 hours set up and about the same tear down. Outdoor luxury even with rain or snow.

 

[AlexAtWagan]

Having a similar back ground (minimalist back packing), I tended to only bring small quick set up items until i learned what to bring .
My "rollout" is based on what i'm doing. Am I driving across the Mojave, stopping for the night and moving on or base camping for two days or more? If I want quick set up and tear down, small folding table, backpack stove, quick to cook food and sleep in the back of my cruiser. Longer trips I may bring my trailer and RTT. Camp set up about 30 min to set up and an hour tear down. Better food and more comfort. Base camping gets the portable bathroom/shower, solar panels and enclosed awning. 2 hours set up and about the same tear down. Outdoor luxury even with rain or snow.

Do you camp solo or with family? I found that with just my older son, it took a while to figure out where things went. This time because of unknown weather, we camped in the Cruiser. Having to take out most of the stuff was kind of a pain. I'm glad I had a roof rack to put items, but as you can see from the picture below, we still had (too much?) stuff in the trunk.

 

[smritte]

Family of 3, now I solo. All my lite stuff (Cloths, bedding, dry food..) goes in boxes on the roof. That big folding table i see, I have the same one. Changed it out for a roll type table. Smaller water container. If you think that's crowded, try running the dusy trail over 4 days with 4 adults and gear in a Wrangler. All the old backpack gear came out. I have a small trailer I used for trips when I drove the Jeep places. If I trailered it, I didn't have room for the small trailer and I had to plan carefully.
Now with the cruiser I have more room but it still gets crowded.

 

[grubworm]

The wife and I are retired and the kids are grown, so we travel a lot. We used to tent out of the back of the truck but recently bought a modified tear drop to use as a base camp and have a camper shell on the Tundra with a slide out box for storage and a mattress on top of it for boondocking. Either way, we have little set up. The teardrop stays set up and we will usually take it and get a spot for it at a state park and then wake up, slide out the stove and fix coffee and breakfast, wash dishes and then leave to go hiking until dark and then return, eat a bite, shower and go to bed. If we boondock, we have the camper shell with bed in back (6" tri-fold memory foam mattress) and its the same thing: wake up and slide out one drawer and fix coffee and breakfast, slide the drawer back in and take off for the trails. The camper shell is nice because if we are on the road traveling, I can pull off at a rest area and sleep in back without having to move totes and jockeying gear around and if we are out and about, it is easy to park and open the back and set up the stove on the tailgate and cook a meal and in minutes, slide it back in and take off again. We carry a tent just in case, but don't ever see us ever using it again.
I get having 4 people and gear in a Wrangler...I've camped like that before and it really got to be a pain, but if its all you have, then you just make due with it and deal with the inconveniences. When I camped like that, I worked out of totes and it was very difficult keeping organized and finding stuff...not to mention the headache of dealing with wet gear if it rained and we're moving locations.

 

[Road]

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This is my basecamp trailer, with a ten-image gif and other images that show the various stages in which it can be used.

If staying for two or more nights, I usually raise the rack, pop the tent, deploy the awning, add the galley counter/kitchen, and set up my chairs and table. The whole shebang, as shown below, takes about half an hour, honestly. I wanted something quick and easy to set up and tear down, so chose elements that work well together and are fairly self-contained.



If only staying for a quick overnight, I usually don't raise the rack or deploy the awning. All I set up is the tent, and work out of the back of the van.
Takes about 5 mins to pop the tent. I leave my panels strapped on top of the RTT if under open sky:



If staying several nights and rain is forecast, or I'm out in the desert and want increased shade coverage, I attach corner extensions to the awning, like below. That doubles my square footage under cover to about 16'x24'.
Then I can keep my bike and other gear under cover and still have plenty room to cook, eat, clean, and work on projects.


To add the awning extensions to all four corners and stake them out takes15-20 mins. They attach with HD Hook & Loop and go up quick.
You can see in the image above that I often don't have a lot of stuff that goes on the ground. Most of it unfolds from the trailer in place.

One visitor to this camp said "Man, this is like the Swiss Army Knife of trailers!"

If it's going to be breezy, I'll add sidewalls to windward. Makes a huge difference in comfort and warmth, even when not fully enclosed:



If really cold and breezy, I'll enclose it more and warm up the space with a propane fire ring:



Most of my sidewalls attach with HD Hook & Loop, too, so also go up quickly. Then I usually flare and stake out the bottoms.

Because of the elements I chose and that I use it a ton, I have it down to an art as far as setting up and tearing down.
The whole setup is very versatile and adaptable to my needs. I couldn't be happier with it. It is a joy to use.

.

Roaddude - On the Road In North America - ROADDUDE

Roaddude - Traveling Photographer/Writer/Artist On the Road In North America. Gear, reviews, people, places, and culture.

roaddude.com

 

[DevilDodge]

Awesome thread. We have been solely camping with our travel trailer for the last 4 years. So we have everything and then some stowed in it.

We have just recently found out about the primitive motorized dispersed camping and now have to get back to a much smaller more mobile and user friendly setup.

This thread will help with ideas.

Right now we got the truck, the tent, some gear, daypacks, maps, food/water tables/chairs and cooking stuff ready to go.

 

[AlexAtWagan]

Wow, you guys have fancy setups!

 

[Big G]

.

This is my basecamp trailer, with a ten-image gif and other images that show the various stages in which it can be used.

If staying for two or more nights, I usually raise the rack, pop the tent, deploy the awning, add the galley counter/kitchen, and set up my chairs and table. The whole shebang, as shown below, takes about half an hour, honestly. I wanted something quick and easy to set up and tear down, so chose elements that work well together and are fairly self-contained.

View attachment 138982

If only staying for a quick overnight, I usually don't raise the rack or deploy the awning. All I set up is the tent, and work out of the back of the van.
Takes about 5 mins to pop the tent. I leave my panels strapped on top of the RTT if under open sky:

View attachment 138987

If staying several nights and rain is forecast, or I'm out in the desert and want increased shade coverage, I attach corner extensions to the awning, like below. That doubles my square footage under cover to about 16'x24'.
Then I can keep my bike and other gear under cover and still have plenty room to cook, eat, clean, and work on projects.

View attachment 138985
To add the awning extensions to all four corners and stake them out takes15-20 mins. They attach with HD Hook & Loop and go up quick.
You can see in the image above that I often don't have a lot of stuff that goes on the ground. Most of it unfolds from the trailer in place.

One visitor to this camp said "Man, this is like the Swiss Army Knife of trailers!"

If it's going to be breezy, I'll add sidewalls to windward. Makes a huge difference in comfort and warmth, even when not fully enclosed:
View attachment 138988


If really cold and breezy, I'll enclose it more and warm up the space with a propane fire ring:

View attachment 138983

Most of my sidewalls attach with HD Hook & Loop, too, so also go up quickly. Then I usually flare and stake out the bottoms.

Because of the elements I chose and that I use it a ton, I have it down to an art as far as setting up and tearing down.
The whole setup is very versatile and adaptable to my needs. I couldn't be happier with it. It is a joy to use.

Roaddude - On the Road In North America - ROADDUDE

Roaddude - Traveling Photographer/Writer/Artist On the Road In North America. Gear, reviews, people, places, and culture.

roaddude.com

Great series of pics and explanations.

 

[Road]

Wow, you guys have fancy setups!

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Can make all the difference in being safe, comfortable, and having a good place to both work and relax if you spend a lot more time on the road than not. I like having gear and wardrobe with me for all seasons and situations. Let's me stay out way longer than I would otherwise. In some of the setups shown above, I stayed up to a month in one spot.

That's basecamping! I love tweaking my setup to be efficient and a pleasure to use, as well as easy to repair and modify in the field.

Thanks for starting the thread. Great topic.

.

Roaddude - On the Road In North America - ROADDUDE

Roaddude - Traveling Photographer/Writer/Artist On the Road In North America. Gear, reviews, people, places, and culture.

roaddude.com

 

[Road]

Great series of pics and explanations.

.

Thanks, man. I love making images with my adventure rig. It's fun to go back and see all the different ways I've used it and how my setups have evolved over time. I have over 600 nights out with this trailer, tent, and awning setup.

.

 

[Big G]

.

Thanks, man. I love making images with my adventure rig. It's fun to go back and see all the different ways I've used it and how my setups have evolved over time. I have over 600 nights out with this trailer, tent, and awning setup.

.

Over 600 nights out with the trailer, WOW!!

 

[Oscardogg28]

Thank you for the welcome

 

[Oscardogg28]

Over 600 nights out with the trailer, WOW!!

Looking good

 

[Oscardogg28]

Great series of pics and explanations.

Great set up

 

[Oscardogg28]

Anyone in the Colorado Springs area with a hiker trailer or similar style?

 

[Road]

Over 600 nights out with the trailer, WOW!!

.
Yep, since late summer 2017 when I went to get the trailer. That was supposed to be a gear-gathering trip of a couple weeks and ended up being sixteen weeks long.

My last long adventure was 34 weeks long and around 17,000 miles. Pretty slow travel, really, with a lot of long basecamp stays. Mostly in the Smokies, south of I-10 in Cajun Country, Gulf of Mexico beaches, backcountry in the borderlands of West Texas for seventeen weeks, and a ton of lake camping in New England.

Getting ready now for the next long basecamping trip. That's why I think this thread is interesting. I've done a ton of extended stay and setting up/tearing down basecamps.
.

 

[Road]

Anyone in the Colorado Springs area with a hiker trailer or similar style?

.

@Oscardogg28 - looks like you just joined and may need a little help?

You'll have better luck reaching folks in Colorado by asking your question in the specific section for Colorado:

U.S. Rocky Mountain (MT ND SD NE KS CO UT WY)

Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming

www.overlandbound.com

And, here's the New Members Start Here section:

New Members Start Here!

Where the journey begins!

www.overlandbound.com

Good luck.

.

 

[grubworm]

Getting ready now for the next long basecamping trip.

where is that going to be?

 

[Road]

where is that going to be?

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Probably your property

No, I'll be coming through there though, hopefully.

I want to do more photography around Morgan City with fishing boats, get the canoe in Atchafalaya a couple three places, and have a couple other adventure pals to meet up with south of I-10 in Cajun Country. Then will head through Beaumont and along some Gulf beaches, maybe down to Atascosa if the weather's right for some birding and photography (only 50 Ocelots in the US and most are right there), then up along the border close as I can and around to the other end of Texas.

All up in the air, really, other than some definite art work I want to do in west Texas.