Why No Camper Forum?

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DavidinPhx

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David
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Stefan
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There are a lot of folks with truck campers and it’s quite frustrating to try to see other's builds and ideas here, especially coming from other forums where there are multiple forums/sub-forums for specific types. It sure seems like a campers forum with some specific sub-forums would be welcomed here. I know a lot of folks here have campers of some sort. My specific suggestion is the following sub-forums under a “Overland Campers” umbrella:
— Hard side truck campers
— Slide -in Poptop truck campers (eg, FWCs, Northstars, Supertramps, etc.)
— Topper Poptops (Ovrlnds, FWC Project Ms, Tunes, Lone Peaks, GFCs, etc)
— Offroad Trailers campers

I found specific camper forums on several sites really helpful in researching, deciding, planning and building my poptop Ovrlnd 4 years ago. The presence of these forums elsewhere means I don’t come here maybe as much as I should. It’s certainly a growth segment of the community. Not having the (sub)forums probably also means eventually multiple threads for individual brands getting scattered around as as happened at Expedition Portal, which tends to isolate the information and limit broader based information sharing.

Thanks!
 

grubworm

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louisiana
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grub
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worm
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Any tips for beginners?
99% of it you learn as you go and it a personal experience, so everyone will have different and varying opinions...
I think one of the biggest things for a beginner would be to not try and make everything as comfortable as it is at home. maybe not you personally, but I have seen it a lot and even guilty of it a bit myself. a lot of times people try to basically take their house with them so they can experience nature WHILE maintaining all the comforts of "home". I think the whole vibe of "overlanding" is more about experiencing nature and seeing the beauty of remote areas, so that should take center stage. now granted, the wife and I did start off with ground mats and sleeping bags in a leaky tent and over time we have moved to a memory foam mattress and better pillows...but generally we do keep it very simple and focus a lot more on location and scenery. out of all the trips we've done, the best ones were when we had good sleep. I can eat cold sandwiches all day and even skimp on showering a little bit, but I will put time and money into a good sleep set up. if you don't get to sleep well and you are tired and drained, then the trip does go downhill pretty quick.

I see you just joined, so WELCOME and look forward to hearing about your future adventures!
 
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AlienOverland

Rank 0

Contributor II

68
Eugene, Lane County, Oregon, United States
First Name
Rick
Last Name
Roberts
Any tips for beginners?
99% of it you learn as go and it a personal experience, so everyone will have different and varying opinions...
I think one of the biggest things for a beginner would be to not try and make everything as comfortable as it is at home. maybe not you personally, but I have seen it a lot and even guilty of it a bit myself. a lot of times people try to basically take their house with them so they can experience nature WHILE maintaining all the comforts of "home". I think the whole vibe of "overlanding" is more about experiencing nature and seeing the beauty of remote areas, so that should take center stage. now granted, the wife and I did start off with ground mats and sleeping bags in a leaky tent and over time we have moved to a memory foam mattress and better pillows...but generally we do keep it very simple and focus a lot more on location and scenery. out of all the trips we've done, the best ones were when we had good sleep. I can eat cold sandwiches all day and even skimp on showering a little bit, but I will put time and money into a good sleep set up. if you don't get to sleep well and you are tired and drained, then the trip does go downhill pretty quick.

I see you just joined, so WELCOME and look forward to hearing about your future adventures!
Thank you so much! I live in the PNW so adventures definitely are around me! :)
 
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MOAK

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Off-Road Ranger I

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Wherever we park it will be home !!
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Thank you so much! I live in the PNW so adventures definitely are around me! :)
I’m going to agree with Mr Worm. When I was single, a very long time ago, I was able to sleep just about anywhere upon anything. Nearly 30 years ago my wife and I started out with a cheap Coleman tent, cheap little rubber/foam sleeping mats and a couple of sleeping bags from our local Army surplus store. It rained a lot that first time out. We got wet, really wet, soaked to the bone and didn’t get any sleep for 10 nights, until we headed home and stopped at a motel . We didn’t let that stop us, next time out we brought a really good tarp. Hmm, ever hear the song, Blue Tarp Blues? We still go wet. It took us several more cheap tents to figure it out as we can sometimes be very slow learners. . On our first trip to MOAB we had wind, sandstorm and heavy downpours. Our tent collapsed, we were dirty, soaking wet, cold and about 4 hours from the nearest paved road. We sucked it up and toughed it out for the next 2 nights. When we got home, we went directly to an outfitter, bought our first good tent, good sleeping bags, cots and roll up mattresses. Anyone asking for advice needs to hear- tent, sleeping foundation, sleeping bags, in that order should be your primary concern. Good luck & have fun!
 
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AlienOverland

Rank 0

Contributor II

68
Eugene, Lane County, Oregon, United States
First Name
Rick
Last Name
Roberts
Thank you so much! I live in the PNW so adventures definitely are around me! :)
I’m going to agree with Mr Worm. When I was single, a very long time ago, I was able to sleep just about anywhere upon anything. Nearly 30 years ago my wife and I started out with a cheap Coleman tent, cheap little rubber/foam sleeping mats and a couple of sleeping bags from our local Army surplus store. It rained a lot that first time out. We got wet, really wet, soaked to the bone and didn’t get any sleep for 10 nights, until we headed home and stopped at a motel . We didn’t let that stop us, next time out we brought a really good tarp. Hmm, ever hear the song, Blue Tarp Blues? We still go wet. It took us several more cheap tents to figure it out as we can sometimes be very slow learners. . On our first trip to MOAB we had wind, sandstorm and heavy downpours. Our tent collapsed, we were dirty, soaking wet, cold and about 4 hours from the nearest paved road. We sucked it up and toughed it out for the next 2 nights. When we got home, we went directly to an outfitter, bought our first good tent, good sleeping bags, cots and roll up mattresses. Anyone asking for advice needs to hear- tent, sleeping foundation, sleeping bags, in that order should be your primary concern. Good luck & have fun!
Thank you so much for advice! I’m looking to get an air mattress that would fit in my truck bed and have a tarp or something over me to prevent rain or something protective from the elements. :)