I'm very happy with my setup, but there are a few things I intend to add-on in the future.
WeBoost
Also very much on the "nice to have" list is a WeBoost unit. It's a cell signal booster that works for all carriers. Not only would it be helpful for my Verizon phone; it would boost the signal for the Jeep's AT&T WiFi. One of the best reasons to get out in the wilderness is to get away from people and technology, but with just a short-range CB for communication right now, this could come in handy.
FSR High Country 63 Premium
For a long time, I was all over the idea of a hardshell tent. The reason was that my softshell TuffStuff4x4 Ranger was such a huge pain to pack and unpack, and a mixture of appropriate sizing and very fast setup/teardown has become extremely important to me. Stuffing all the tent material under the tight-fitting cover, zipping it without catching the fabric, attaching the metal "bows" that keep the windows open, constantly moving from one side of the truck to the other, etc.; it was all getting really old. Plus, with a kid and a dog, I'd rather just not camp than setup that awful awning every time we go. The High Country 63 is still a softshell, but it sheds 95% of my concern for softshell and hardshell tents.
The cover is really easy to remove, the tent material is naturally contained within the tent's structure, it's a very easy setup process, and the available awning easily hangs under the platform, between the vehicle and the ladder. No more messing with propping windows open, either. Lastly, I'm leaning toward the 63 rather than the 55. The 55 measures 60" on the exterior, which is perfect for the truck. But, the 63 measures 68" on the exterior, and while that's longer than the truck's bed and tailgate end-to-end, the ultimate goal would be to put this on a trailer, so I'd hate not to deal with some extra overhang and go with a smaller tent in the interim.
The only missing piece here is that it would be great if it were a hardshell, gas-strut system. So, I may try to make that myself. The idea would be to build a slim extruded aluminum frame above the tent but under the shell, fasten the softshell to the frame, then add some gas struts that essentially make the soft shell a "semi-hardshell." The only pain of a softshell like this one is just unclipping and storing it, so if all I had to do was unstrap and push up, there goes the only concern I had.
With fewer steps, window propping, various straps to pull, etc., I think this tent will be even easier to use than something like an iKamper 2.0, which was my original dream tent, purely because of its ease of use.
Smittybilt Scout Trailer
We have a kid now, so now it's my wife and I, plus a dog and baby. Eventually, we might have another kid, too. So, the usual 2-3 person soft tent on the bed rack is no longer suitable. I have an annex for that, but absolutely hate setting it up. Plus, there's just so much to pack. With the Scout trailer, I would keep everything I needed stored in there and could keep a larger tent on it than I have room for on my half-height bed rack. The most important thing for me here is pairing this with a RTT that has enough room for the gang and (ideally) has an easy-to-setup annex that I could always add-on if we find we need some more room. Right now I'm going the route of an annex with a dog bed and pack-and-play in it. So much crap to tote around.
コメント