Overlanding and Minimalism

[adventure_is_necessary]

This might be a difficult topic to discuss depending on your views/definition of minimalism and whether it all fits/supports the Overlanding lifestyle. My girlfriend and I have somewhat always had a minimalistic approach to things, but never really put it into practice when it comes to the purchases, but more so assessing our needs with all of what we already have and purging the excess. We've since begun the process of changing our mindset and way of life in a sense to be more minimal with our stuff. I mainly try to stick with using what I have already, making it all work, and if I really see the need for something, I do my research to see my options for both a DIY route (if applicable) but also to see the best way to go about it so I'm not spending money on something that will end up being tossed aside for a replacement. Anyone else have a similar mindset/approach with living? How do you do this with Overlanding? How do you justify getting new gear?

 

[old_man]

The older I get the more minimalist I get....less work, less hassle, less pain.

Personally I will save and defer gratification until I can get the right part/toy. I am not in any way impressed by name brands but by quality of design and implementation. In reality, being an engineer and fabricator, I tend to prefer to design and build everything myself if possible.

 

[Steve]

Here's a previous discussion: https://overlandbound.com/forums/threads/how-minimalist-can-you-get.3031/

 

[smritte]

For me, what I bring it depends on how I feel and where I'm going. I spent a week in the Mojave camping out of the back of my Cruiser. Most of my gear that stays in there is from my time backpacking, very minimalist. The year before I did the same trip with my trailer. Nice RTT, shower, bigger stove, fridge, cast iron......ahhh luxury. As to what to buy, well...I have things I bought but don't use because it looked good in the store but didn't work out later. Essential items like sleeping bags, air mattress... I research and bought quality.

Take a step back, look at what you want to do. How much room do you have? Can you fit a nice heavy camp chair, nice air mattress, poofy sleeping bags? I can "ruff it" for about a week then, I'm done (the big comfy camp chair and sleeping bags always go). I have spent two weeks camping out with the trailer without an issue (shower and fridge makes it nice).
If I don't use something a few times, I don't bring it out. Some of my purchases were from seeing someone else have a cool piece of gear. Sometimes it hard to justify some new piece of equipment though. It has to help or I don't consider it.

I did a few trips with a "bare essential" guy. Only bare minimum. He had a few cool gadgets, He ate freeze dried food, I had steak, he got wet when it rained, I had an awning, he could cook one thing at a time, I cooked meals with side dish's.
The second day, we were combining food and cooking under my awning when it rained. I think the little bit of luxury made his trip better.
Time outdoors will tell you whats needed. I don't mind throwing a few things in the cruiser and taking off at the last second for an unplanned weekend. Sounds like you have a good start already.

Here's my luxury set up


Scott

 

[CR-Venturer]

By necessity on more than one front I have to take a very minimalist approach. My rig is very small and compact, as is my budget, so I have to think very carefully what upgrades to make so as not to exceed my vehicle's or my bank account's payload lol

I try to re-purpose existing kit rather than buy new stuff. A recent example is my "Poor Man's Trasharoo" which is an old US Army Alice pack I've had kicking around since my army days and never used - it's now attached to my spare tire. It was free, and thus saved me $50 on a Trasharoo, but it functions just the same.

 

[adventure_is_necessary]

By necessity on more than one front I have to take a very minimalist approach. My rig is very small and compact, as is my budget, so I have to think very carefully what upgrades to make so as not to exceed my vehicle's or my bank account's payload lol

I try to re-purpose existing kit rather than buy new stuff. A recent example is my "Poor Man's Trasharoo" which is an old US Army Alice pack I've had kicking around since my army days and never used - it's now attached to my spare tire. It was free, and thus saved me $50 on a Trasharoo, but it functions just the same.

I'm right there with ya on the limited budget. I like the idea of that ALICE pack trasharoo idea!

 

[Nomadik Nova]

Necessity is the mother of invention, or re-invention in this case. [emoji106]


Sent from my iPhone using OB Talk

 

[adventure_is_necessary]

For me, what I bring it depends on how I feel and where I'm going. I spent a week in the Mojave camping out of the back of my Cruiser. Most of my gear that stays in there is from my time backpacking, very minimalist. The year before I did the same trip with my trailer. Nice RTT, shower, bigger stove, fridge, cast iron......ahhh luxury. As to what to buy, well...I have things I bought but don't use because it looked good in the store but didn't work out later. Essential items like sleeping bags, air mattress... I research and bought quality.

Take a step back, look at what you want to do. How much room do you have? Can you fit a nice heavy camp chair, nice air mattress, poofy sleeping bags? I can "ruff it" for about a week then, I'm done (the big comfy camp chair and sleeping bags always go). I have spent two weeks camping out with the trailer without an issue (shower and fridge makes it nice).
If I don't use something a few times, I don't bring it out. Some of my purchases were from seeing someone else have a cool piece of gear. Sometimes it hard to justify some new piece of equipment though. It has to help or I don't consider it.

I did a few trips with a "bare essential" guy. Only bare minimum. He had a few cool gadgets, He ate freeze dried food, I had steak, he got wet when it rained, I had an awning, he could cook one thing at a time, I cooked meals with side dish's.
The second day, we were combining food and cooking under my awning when it rained. I think the little bit of luxury made his trip better.
Time outdoors will tell you whats needed. I don't mind throwing a few things in the cruiser and taking off at the last second for an unplanned weekend. Sounds like you have a good start already.

Here's my luxury set up
View attachment 63447

Scott

I think I started getting sucked into the envy of seeing the cool rigs and all of their stuff. While functionality on them might be desired, they may not be needed. I had to slow my roll because I was getting stressed with how I was going to be able to afford all of it. Recently I've just been tapering down my wants to see what is needed first and then have small goals for purchases. Aside from my desire to keep up with the general maintenance on the rig and get it up to snuff, I mainly want to kit out my kitchen and get a chuck box built.

 

[old_man]

Necessity is the mother of invention, or re-invention in this case. [emoji106]


Sent from my iPhone using OB Talk

I always say necessity is a MUTHER!

 

[jordan04gx]

My solo camping is getting ever more minimalist. Even for a couple hardcore trips we did this winter (3 feet of snow, near zero temps) I grabbed only the most basic necessities and left. The less I have hanging around my neck, the more free I feel when I am camping now days. I try not to convince myself that I will be doing all sorts of activities - that actually never happen. So I just carry my fishing rods mainly. As for gear, I've wasted as much money as the next person...so I won't brag. But these days I try to let the actual "need" develop a little bit before buying anything. So much of what I thought I needed originally, now never even gets taken, sits in the garage, or worse...the trash can.

 

[Jeff Blake]

I like the idea of staying minimalist, but I don't think staying minimalist for solo vehicle trips (what I do mostly) is a good idea or practical. Well it depends on where you draw the line. For me, I absolutely don't want to get stuck or have a breakdown and not be able to get myself out. Those two things account for probably 70% of my gear and hundreds of pounds. Tools, recovery gear, spare parts, fluids, etc. I carry 2 gal distilled water, 1 gal engine oil, 1 gal ATF, 1 quart power steering, 1 quart brake fluid, 1 quart gear oil (not enough) in milk crates. Water pump, alternator, starter motor, fuel pump, tie rod ends, o-rings, gaskets, sealants, fuses, spark plugs, wires, tensioner pulley, belt... to name a few. Sure, I could only carry the diodes or relevant internal guts of the starter motor/alternator... but do I really want to rebuild an alternator on the trail if mine goes out? No, not really

I don't really have any camping "gimmicks", yet my truck is still nearly completely full, even with the backseats removed.

 

[jordan04gx]

Good points Jeff. Most of my weight is in tools, spares, and recovery gear. Those remain in-vehicle at all times, so I don't really include them in my "camping" gear list. Last time I camped it was water-jug, tent, bag, bedroll, packstove, cold-bag, and a backpack of clothes. Not much free space in the XJ, so the less stuff - the better.

 

[brien]

We also take a minimalist approach to our gear. Since we're a family of 5 in a Jeep JKU, a lot of it was out of necessity - we just didn't have room for lots of the cool gadgets and such. Most of the gear we bought was because we realized there was something we really needed, or, in a lot of cases, it was replacing existing equipment with smaller/lighter gear - For example we went from big normal size camping chairs to pakchairs (but the cheaper knock-off brand, of course!). We approach our rig build the same way, only modifying or adding something when we've actually hit a limit.

I've been out with guys who have all the mods on their vehicle yet never take it off of forest service roads, and I've been out with guys who have every single piece of camping gear and they spend all night setting up, and trip over their equipment just trying to make a basic dinner. Sometimes having all the gear helps, many times it's a hinderance, often is a waste of money.

 

[Jeff Blake]

Good point on setup, I will absolutely avoid anything that requires setup like the plague. It's easy to think, "hey this equipment looks useful and setup doesn't look too bad", times that by 5 pieces of equipment and you're spending an hour plus setting up camp. I integrate everything into my truck whenever possible: tables, hot water/shower system, fridge, etc. But I use a hammock and backup flip-open tent for sleeping (I don't like RTTs or awnings).
I'll also separate bags by function. I have a fire box (dryer lint, tinder, matches, welding gloves, etc) that goes straight to the pit, a sleeping duffel (hammock, headlamp, underquilt, etc) that I hang from a tree. Poop kit in an ammo can: TP, trowel, hand sanitizer, wet wipes, grocery vegetable bags (to put used TP in). Sometimes equipment is duplicated across bags for convenience.

Essentially, I prioritize reducing setup times and improving convenience over being minimalist. Sometimes those go hand in hand, sometimes not

 

[Jerry Lachenbruch]

I'm right there with ya on the limited budget. I like the idea of that ALICE pack trasharoo idea!

cool idea! I should dig my old ruck out

 

[Jerry Lachenbruch]

We also take a minimalist approach to our gear. Since we're a family of 5 in a Jeep JKU, a lot of it was out of necessity - we just didn't have room for lots of the cool gadgets and such. Most of the gear we bought was because we realized there was something we really needed, or, in a lot of cases, it was replacing existing equipment with smaller/lighter gear - For example we went from big normal size camping chairs to pakchairs (but the cheaper knock-off brand, of course!). We approach our rig build the same way, only modifying or adding something when we've actually hit a limit.

I've been out with guys who have all the mods on their vehicle yet never take it off of forest service roads, and I've been out with guys who have every single piece of camping gear and they spend all night setting up, and trip over their equipment just trying to make a basic dinner. Sometimes having all the gear helps, many times it's a hinderance, often is a waste of money.

I totally agree. I like that pretty much everything I need just lives in my JKU and I can hit the trails at a moments notice.

 

[CR-Venturer]

I think minimalism/necessity isn't a fixed concept that applies the same way to everyone, but rather it depends on the circumstances and conditions one finds themselves in. The more remote/solo/unsupported you go, the more things like spare parts and fluids become a necessity. You might be carrying a lot of spares, tools and fluids and still be practicing minimalism because your circumstances make those things a bare minimum necessity.

 

[brien]

I think minimalism/necessity isn't a fixed concept that applies the same way to everyone, but rather it depends on the circumstances and conditions one finds themselves in.

Great thing to point out. Minimalism should hopefully never mean a trade off of more risk of safety or becoming dangerously stranded

 

[adventure_is_necessary]

We also take a minimalist approach to our gear. Since we're a family of 5 in a Jeep JKU, a lot of it was out of necessity - we just didn't have room for lots of the cool gadgets and such. Most of the gear we bought was because we realized there was something we really needed, or, in a lot of cases, it was replacing existing equipment with smaller/lighter gear - For example we went from big normal size camping chairs to pakchairs (but the cheaper knock-off brand, of course!). We approach our rig build the same way, only modifying or adding something when we've actually hit a limit.

I've been out with guys who have all the mods on their vehicle yet never take it off of forest service roads, and I've been out with guys who have every single piece of camping gear and they spend all night setting up, and trip over their equipment just trying to make a basic dinner. Sometimes having all the gear helps, many times it's a hinderance, often is a waste of money.

I've recently took another look at some of my gear, think about how much space some of it takes up. While it works well for just me, the dog, and maybe the girlfriend, the kiddos and second add a bit extra. I recently bought a knock-off of the Big Agnes Helinox chair and it's not bad! maybe a third to a fourth of the size packed down as my ARB chair. Just as easy to setup and take down too! Cost was much more desirable too! Looking at doing the same with everything else I already have, which isn't much when it is supposed to support 5 people and 2 dogs, but it's plenty for just me and my dog. I want to try to get everything to pack into my Plano cases as well, but let the kitchen reside in my soon-to-be-built chuck box. Hoping to keep all of that still with the same idea you have where it's compact and light.

Looks like most of everyone's "stuff" is spare parts, tools, etc. that the rig needs or might need. I never really looked at it from that perspective. Luckily all of that stuff I already have or it's easy to obtain without a lot of cost.

 

[adventure_is_necessary]

I totally agree. I like that pretty much everything I need just lives in my JKU and I can hit the trails at a moments notice.

I hope to have that ability soon. I want to have my cases somewhat pre-loaded so I can easily load up and head out in nothing flat. Load the cases and chuck box in the rig, fill up the rig and cans with fuel, fill the water tank, load and ice the cooler, and head on out.