One of the reasons we purchased the Alpha Roof Top Tent from Tuff Stuff Overland was for the ease of use for getting out of town on a Friday and to hit some trails, national forests, state parks, or campsites on a whim without having to do much preparation. That plan came to fruition twice this fall already, and with great success.
So far, we’ve visited the Huntsville State Park in Texas twice. Both times, we were able to get out of Houston on a Friday afternoon and get setup completely with dinner made. The first trip was delayed due to traffic and our need to purchase fire wood, so our dinner was later than we wanted, but on our second trip, we were setup and fed by 6 pm.
Both times, we used our normal Overlanding setup. We use our camping trips as practice for our larger/longer trips, so we still bring 5 gallon containers of water and our solar generators and use them. I use the solar panel to recharge the batteries, and so far, we’ve been very happy with the performance of our gear.
On our second trip, we added bikes and kayaks. This really made the weekend far more exciting, and honestly, much better for us physically. I am working hard to stay fit right now as I attend Warrant Officer Candidate School over the next five months, so losing days of exercise is counter-productive. Taking the kayaks and the bikes allowed us to not only enjoy the park in ways we never did before, it was also physically demanding (especially the biking up and down the hills on trails!). The kayaks, made by Tucktec, are very stable and well-made. They fold down to a very small package and fit into our Overlanding setup without issues.
All in all, our packing list is pretty much set with a few small exceptions.
- Joolca hot water heater will replace the Waterport that is currently on our roof rack.
- Once the Waterport is replaced, I am going to put a box of some type on the back for extra storage of sleeping bags, blankets, and pillows.
We are very comfortable with our setup, and we get more and more efficient every time we go out for a weekend. We started using air mattresses in our RTT, and it’s made sleeping a little more comfortable. The built-in memory foam mattress in the RTT is nice, but it’s a lot different from our bed at home, which is softer. The air mattresses give us a closer approximation to what we’re used to. I’m looking into an additional foam topper, but I haven’t decided on anything yet.
Overlanding doesn’t have to mean finding a spot out in the middle of nowhere on a dirt road. Our interpretation is that we have the freedom and flexibility to sleep anywhere, anytime. Campground, roadside, national forest, state park, etc. That’s the beauty of this hobby.
