Sponsor My Van

I have been a fan of the Sportsmobile line of 4×4 vehicles for many years. They are completely self-contained, go-anyway conversion vans built to suit your needs. For around 75-100k U.S. dollars, you can order yours today and have it be ready in 12 weeks.

What about those of you with more money to burn? Let’s say you have $200k you are looking to drop on the ultimate off-road vehicle, you should be looking at the Xpedition Vehicle series by EarthRoamer. For between $100k and $200k, EarthRoamer will give you the ultimate in go-anywhere prowess in either a Ford F-550 4×4 or the smaller but legendary Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Unlimited.

Click to view gallery.

Click to view gallery.

With complete galleys, stand-up showers, optional solar array as well as mobile satellite television, this is very likely the best thing on 4 wheels in this size. Check out their Website for more information and be prepared to weep in shame of that Sportsmobile on your driveway.

I have a 14 month old daughter who sleeps every night in a fleece jumpsuit and fitted sleeping bag. I always wished that they made them for adults so I wouldn’t be constricted like a mummy when we are camping and sleeping in a traditional sleeping bag.

Well, if you have a couple hundred dollars you can throw down for a 3-Season Selk’ Bag, you can be your very own Keith Haring stick figure.

This cool little sleepwear packs down to around 4 lbs and ins a space less than a sleeping bag. It can resist temperatures 20 degrees below freezing. I don’t know about you but I will be saving my pennies to get myself a piece of this radiant baby.

One of the sacrifices you have to make when traveling with the T@B is not using a regular toilet. In order to save room and cost, the restroom accommodation consists of a small porta-potti. Would you miss the comfort of a lusciously padded toilet when natures calls in the wild? Not if you have the off-road commode.

There you thought you owned every hitch accessory under the sun. Throw out that red-eyed skull and the 3 blade propeller and slide in this commode for the road. It seems utterly ridiculous but I get the feeling that I’m not the only one who’s reaching for his wallet right now….

Having the T@B and the van is great for camping anywhere as long as we have at least a 120-volt electrical source. We can run our TV, DVD player, microwave and ceramic heater to make it almost as comfortable as home. But we don’t always have the luxury of being at the campsite with these amenities. Sometimes we are having to deal with being off the grid and running only 12-volt appliances.

The T@B is equipped with a single 12-volt deep cycle battery. The interior lights and the refridgerator run off of the battery where in turn is charged when the trailer is plugged in. There are 8 120-volt outlets in and out of the trailer and they only work when we have an external electrical source. That also goes with the air conditioner which requires a minimum of 3000-watts of power to start it up.

One of the thoughts for camping off the grid while retaining most of the creature comfort is carrying a portable generator. An additional propane tank would also come in handy to use for cooking and running the more efficient LP furnace. A hitch mounted cargo carrier is the ideal method of carrying these items since you do not want them inside the vehicle. But since the hitch is occupied by the trailer, I am planning on getting a dual hitch receiver to solve this dilemma.

This adapter allows you to tow your trailer up to 4000 lbs yet still use a hitch cargo carrier with up to 500  lbs of cargo. That is plenty of capacity of a small generator, a couple gallons of gas and a spare propane tank. All the things you don’t want you and your family to inhale while driving to your next camping destination.