Before you decide on a cooler read some professional reviews. In my research I consistently found Yeti to the lowest performing cooler tested while having one of the highest prices. I personally decided to go with a Pelican, but there are several good options out there.
The other advice I can give that if you are making that long of a trip you are going to have a lot of nights camping. That means a lot of nights setting up and tearing down camp. If you are carrying around all that gear making room in the back to sleep every night may get old pretty quick unless you get pretty organized. I would work on potential setups and try them out for weekend trips and try to get it dialed before your big adventure. Ask yourself "Do I want to deal with this 20ish nights in a row?"
Good luck!
Yeah, I haven't really put that much thought into the cooler. One of my friends said it was the best out there, so I just had it down. Not choosing necessarily a Yeti, but something of the same sorts. A high quality cooler or the fridge.
And for the camping, yeah, the point is to spend the majority of the nights camping out. Setting up the camp every night would be a hassle if i were setting up tents/unorganized, etc. My idea was to make a dual purpose sleeping/storage platform (similar to rickashay's) so all gear would be organized, and I can get some pads or something to lay on for comfort. Already have a roof rack, so things on the platform that won't be effected by rain/etc, can go up top while I sleep.
Definitely going to try a few setups between now and then to see what works and what doesn't. Would suck driving 1700 miles from home and realize your set up sucks! Haha. Thank you for the input!
Bare minimum, Front and rear bumper, 33's, sliders, rear locker, d rings, hi lift, and recovery straps.
The "luxuries" would consist of skids, winch, front air locker, air compressor, and all that other junk. Get the bare necessities first. Do all maintanence first. Nothing is worse than having something fail when it was easily replaced, tighten, or fixed before. ask me how i know......
Oh and bring some extra underpants for those :toilet: moments.
Front bumper in the works, rear bumper is on the list, I'm running 285's with my current lift, and thinking about adding 1.5" BL and 35's before the trip, so I've got that covered. Stock E-locker, just rebuilt, working on D-Rings, hi-lif is at the house, and I've got most straps, just need a few more!
For the "luxuries" I'm definitely getting skids and sliders, no doubt about it. Mostly because my stock front skid got ripped of, and my gas skid is trashed, and beat up from making it clear the driveshaft. Most likely a winch, for sure air compressor so I can air down and back up as needed. And I've got an almost complete engine tune up planned for the near future, timing belt, water pump, gaskets, belts, plugs, wires, the works. Not gonna risk ANY engine problems that can be fixed with some easy maintenance before hand.
Thanks for the input!
You don't NEED any of that shit. What you need is a week or two of vacation, a 4Runner, and a copy of Charles Wells Guide To Moab. That's all you need. Everything else is negotiable.
After that, you first need to look at your spares box and recovery gear. That's been covered in about fifty different threads, so happy reading, but your list looks ok to me (don't bother with spare spark plugs. Do bother with extra belts). Once that's covered, armor is good - there's another fifty threads to read
. Then you can worry about lift and tires and a locker, that's another two hundred threads right there. You'll want an air compressor for sure, and you'll also want a tire repair kit. You absolutely don't need dual batteries, although they can be nice, so put that on the bottom of your list. You don't need a sleeping platform. I would definitely go for a fridge over an overpriced "performance" cooler. Add a couple tarps and some spare poles to your list, because it's nice to have somewhere to go to escape midday sun or a rainy night. Add a portable toilet system to your list, because most dispersed camping areas in the Moab area are starting to require them.
ARC hit your camping arrangements square on the head - unless you've got a cargo trailer or something to carry all your gear, planning on sleeping in the truck for two weeks is a mistake. If its just going to be you, consider a tentcot or hammock. Sets up in thirty seconds, breaks down in a minute. If you'll have a sleeping partner, get a double tentcot or a medium dome tent with comfy air pads or cots (or both). Think simplicity here, and try and spend multiple nights in the same spot - setup and teardown of camp every day is a pain in the butt and eats into your wheeling time.
I'll have to look into that book for sure, heard alot of good things about it. I'll look more into the spare parts list, but I think that I should be good with what I've got already, If anything else major happens we've got 2 more vehicles that can make a parts run into town if needed.
I've already done a lift, and I'll probably keep the same set up as I have now, just do some slight adjustments, maybe BL and run 35's, but who knows. And I already have the rear e-locker, like I said above, but I'm not sure if I'll go with an air locker up front or not, just depends of the funds. I think I'll be okay with just the one in the rear. I'll go with a compressor no matter what though. And I hadn't thought of a tire repair kit, very handy to have!
I'm still on the line between a fridge or a cooler, I'll look at reviews and prices and see what better suits my needs. As for the camping I personally want the sleeping platform. Keeps me organized and more storage, and since I have a bad back, (i know 20 is a little young to have back troubles) sleeping on a firm surface with a nice pad on it I can get comfy on, works better for my needs than a hammock, and I'm not big on tents, setup/teardown takes too long and I can never fold them back up right so it just makes a mess. Haha. So I think a sleeping platform will be best suited for my needs, but as ARC suggested, taking some weekend trips will be the decider of what I like best and works for me.
Thanks for the advice!
On the subject of coolers. I bought a 75qt Orca. Which is like a yeti or engle but unlike yeti is made right in Tennesee(yeti is made in the philippeans )It was $290 as opposed to close to $500 for a yeti and I can attest that it will keep your stuff cold for 5 days on regular ice. Haven't tried dry ice yet but I would guess it could go a while on that stuff. Another must have for camping is the trusty cast iron stew pot. It's heavy takes up room, but fill with meat potatoes and veggies add a little water from the creek and seasoning throw it on some hot coals and 3 beers later dinner is served.
I haven't heard of that particular brand before. I'll have to look into that for sure. And for the stew pot, that is a fantastic idea. Can't forget this one!
That's exactly what I was thinking. You can have a great time in a STOCK 3rd gen. Any tasteful mods on top of that is just going help out. Just don't let new mods make you over confident and get in over your head.
I have no doubt that I could have a great time in a stockker. Because I've done probably more wheeling in mine stock than I should have, (hence the missing front skid. LOL) I've alway been around wheeling my whole life and my dad and I use to talk all the time about this very trip to Moab. My reason of going isn't to a great time. It's to have the best damn time I can possibly have. Haha.
I know the limits of what my vehicle will and will not do, I just want it to be capable enough to do as much as I can, and have the extra mods to be able to be out in my vehicle for 2 weeks.
And again, thanks!
anda:
