HELP! 2 Door Overlander - Am I foolish to think it will work?

[Apples]

Like this kind of kush?

What? No Fiji water?

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[TriggerTX]

Had a two-door D90 for years. Was able to pack all the gear needed for 2 adults and two teenagers for extended trips on board with the use of a roof rack and hitch tray. It's very doable if there's just two adults if you ask me.

 

[RBF 1401]

What? No Fiji water?

Where I live and camp you have to bring all your water with you. So cheap case of bottle plus my two 7-gal Reliance jugs lasts me just about a week. But, yes, somehow the cheap water bottles clash with the floral rug.?

 

[Beach_Bum]

Like this kind of kush?

More like the square grouper kind. Speaking of Kind, I need a nightcap.

 

[aplm7]

I was being a bit facetious but the opinion that you need to give up eating and sleeping well just to get out to the middle of nowhere is ridiculous. I backpacked all through my childhood and early adulthood. I had the same attitude toward lighter is better as you. But I'm not carrying everything on my back. It's going into the back of the truck.

- If you want to stay away from civilization for days at a time and not eat dried food, you need a cooler. You need some way to cook that food. You need to clean the dishes you use.
- You need somewhere to sleep. It needs to keep you dry and warm.
- The best way to ensure you know where you are and are going is to have a GPS unit that needs to be powered.

This stuff takes up space, and guess what, you aren't constrained to what you can carry. I can enjoy nature much better when I'm well fed, rested and know where I'm headed.

Different ways. I think we are all just trying to explore a minimal way of approaching the Bronco purchase. Seeing what we can do without. The discussion is good because it forces us to think critically about what we do and don't need for 2 doors.

A few ideas for food without needing a fridge--

Dried food like we've discussed. Mountain House, top ramen, jerkies

eggs in shell raw - these don't need to be refrigerated at all contrary to popular belief in modern society as you may know from your experience. They can last week's I believe.

UHT milk from Walmart

Fish near you in a water source has to be the easiest meat source that's not canned or dried/packaged

Hunting

Nuts- great source

Huel/Soylent type nutrition drinks

 

[srotier]

Good luck
Man this shit is fun ...

We are lucky to be deciding what we want in our new Broncos...
Life is good

Right on! Life is definitely good and I’m blessed to have this “problem”.

 

[dejones64]

Different ways. I think we are all just trying to explore a minimal way of approaching the Bronco purchase. Seeing what we can do without. The discussion is good because it forces us to think critically about what we do and don't need for 2 doors.

A few ideas for food without needing a fridge--

Dried food like we've discussed. Mountain House, top ramen, jerkies

eggs in shell raw - these don't need to be refrigerated at all contrary to popular belief in modern society as you may know from your experience. They can last week's I believe.

UHT milk from Walmart

Fish near you in a water source has to be the easiest meat source that's not canned or dried/packaged

Hunting

Nuts- great source

Huel/Soylent type nutrition drinks

That last line reminded me of Soylent Green...

But yes, do some research, be creative, resourceful...

 

[Buckin Bronco]

I’ve had a hubba hubba for...10(!) years. Cozy 2 person tent, or spacious 1 person.
we use the same tent for backpacking and “overlanding”. Change the sleeping and cooking setup depending on packing requirements.

we did a two week trip with lots of camping along the way(and our little dog too!) with this setup. (Borrowed car)

Overlanding by crashmtb, on Flickr

off grid trailers look neat. Made in Canada, too.

Have you seen the price of those trailers? $27k CND , if you want the good stuff it's all extra. It would be well over 30k.

 

[rmillermich]

Great thread and great ideas. Just did the white rim trail in Utah and outfitted my truck. Turned out great and way overpacked for the two nights. But we did have a queen size aerobed, well worth the space in an old REI tent that we somehow inherited. Must have come home with the kids or something. Epic trip. Not sure what I will do with the bronco.

 

[MoabRox]

I’ll be “overlanding” with my 2-door, and with my little, DYI trail trailer. That way I can have the awesome 2-door and some creature comforts.

 

[Montana Bronco]

Sleeping:



This company makes much more affordable lightweight RTT and some of theirs have racks ON TOP of the tent, so you don't lose that space. They've also stated in the comments that it will work on Bronco 2 door:

I highly endorse ^^^this^^^ company, Go Fast Campers. The guy who is the CEO/founder is a good friend of mine. I met him when he was a college-age ski bum, and by his early 30’s he owned a very high tech manufacturing business. Super smart guy with an entrepreneurial spirt, combined with strong ethics. The American Dream.

 

[Ramble_Offroad]

Coming from a lifetime of motorcycle camping, A 2 door will be just fine as long as you keep the mindset of a backpacker. Go to your local outdoor supply and talk to them about minimalistic set ups. You would would be surprised by how comfortable you can be with your load out if you do it right. If you are in the Tucson area, We used to live in this place https://www.summithut.com. If in Phoenix, REI as well as others can give you some great advice.

This. ?

As an avid offroad, camping & outdoor enthusiast the statement above is key.

While I don’t self identify as an overlander, I’ve been there & done that. I prefer to say that my crew goes wheeling & camps in regions most people simply can’t reach. I recently sold my GFC camper in favor of returning to simple ground tents. I have an fully armored 4D Tacoma on 35’s, fridge, dual battery, etc.
I also work in product development for a major camping & backpacking brand so camping gear “is” what I do.

My advice is simple. Don’t get caught up in the gear & overland hype. Keep it simple. We’re just talking about car camping. Weight is the enemy, to much gear ends up owning you. Side note the Bronco is likely a poor choice if your interested in a RTT.

per your 2 vs 4 that’s a choice you need to consider carefully. The 4D is the obvious choice if your primary use is camping.

I plan to order a 2D & keep my Tacoma. That way we have a third vehicle for our pre-teen kids and we will have a second 4x4 when needed. Hell yea, I will be having many wheeling & camping adventures in our 2D but I will have a backpackers style camping kit in my Bronco and a family style kit in my Tacoma.

Good luck!
PEACE

 

[penumbra]

So, I'm in the same boat as OP re: 2-door vs 4-door for car camping/overlanding. For me, the question isn't whether or not I can fit my *stuff* in the 2-door, but whether I can comfortably sleep in the 2-door. I plan on doing a seat delete, but I still don't know the exact measurements from the back of the first row to the rear door.

 

[srotier]

but whether I can comfortably sleep in the 2-door. I plan on doing a seat delete, but I still don't know the exact measurements from the back of the first row to the rear door.

I remember someone actually measuring that at one point and I want to say it was somewhere in the 47-50” range. Another way to figure on the amount of room is the doors could potentially fit in the rear without the backseats...but at an angle. Not likely room to sleep back there. Unless you are 4 feet tall or shorter.

 

[Rick Astley]

I've searched the interwebs to find pictures or other threads on the concept of a 2 Door Overlander (Not a lot of help there). I understand the space limitations, but I'm still in lust with the look of the 2 door. I currently do not do any off-road driving, although I do ride along with friends. I am planning on starting off-roading with my Bronco and learning the ropes as I go. My question, is when I've learned how to properly and safely off-road, will my new 2 Door be able to accommodate an overlanding camping lifestyle? (1-2 Adults, if my wife decides to join) Being able to primitive camp while on the trail and move along to a new trail the next day is appealing to me. I love to set a vacation time with no destination finalized, just see how things go along the way.

I can afford a Badlands 2 Door with Mid, but the 4 Door stretches the budget too much, so I would likely need to go to a 4 Door Black Diamond with Mid and do a lift later down the road. I mentioned that I don't actually do off-roading now, am I better having fun with the 2 door and trying to make it work, kick the can down the road and look at the 4 door when I've decided that the limited space is too much to deal with? Or do I just bite the bullet and go with a 4 door now and have a great looking rig that will also accommodate my future needs?

The price difference between 2-door Bronco and 4-door Bronco is less than the cost of entry for a rooftop tent (minus mounting brackets and hardware, plus the other junk you need).

If the transaction price is that tight with your budget, then may I genuinely suggest the following:

1. Buy 2-door bronco
2. Spend $300 on a nice 2-person tent and all the gear you need for car camping
3. Enjoy

Lets be honest with ourselves here for a moment, if you're rooftop camping, you aren't going anywhere with the Bronco while the tent is deployed anyway, so what's the difference between pitching a tent without having to find a perfectly level parking spot in the woods?

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