Hi All,
I just joined, mainly to do some interested reading, and maybe buy some used gear to try out and/or sell some of the stuff I have, that hasn't worked out for me. With regard to forums like this one, I'm generally not a constant active member, but have flurries of activity and will then go away for a few months ... but will always react to PMs.
Now, on to the questions to be answered:
1) Picture! If you have a rig, we want to see it!
2) Location (General area is fine)
Silicon Valley, California.
3) Rig (Year, Make, Model, etc.)
2021 Toyota 4Runner TRD Pro; black, currently with DYI roof rack based on Rhino base and some 8020 t-slot aluminium, iKamper Skycamp Mini on top. The 4Runner has very few modifications, for what we do not much is needed. We mostly keep things vehicle agnostic, so it can be used in various settings.
4) Overlanding Experience Background (Novice or Experienced, you're welcome here!)
Very little overlanding experience in the modern understanding of "Youtube overlanding", rather extensive experience hiking (many days, with all gear on my back), as well as motorcycle and car/van camping experience. mostly during times when "overlanding" wasn't a word yet and most of it all over Europe.
A year ago I jumped on the more gear driven overlanding train (e.g. roof top tent, drawer kitchen, complex electrical/water setups, etc.) with some wrong assumptions about myself, e.g. that I'd enjoy a roof top tent or would really want a drawer system, but time and many weekends out testing have shown that deep in my heart I'm a "keep it simple" person who likes to have gear that works in a multitude of settings and don't like complexity. Therefore I started out with too much enthusiasm and right now are in the process of "right sizing", which means going out more with my backpacking gear and slowly, over time, getting rid of the impulse buys I've made over the last year that haven't worked out.
Overall I have enjoyed the experience going out with the 4Runner, but again, coming from a much more trimmed down background, I sometimes can be snobby about ultra-complex rigs, but of course I also understand that different folks have different desires, maybe I can contribute a bit more in the keeping it light department and learn a few things about simple, but useful optimizations for the car camping setup.
)
