By week he’s probably the best excavator in the business. Antony IS The Civil Pig Limited. But come the weekend and holidays Ants is off in his mint-as 76 Series four door Landcruiser. He’s fitted the Landy with a modest DIY ply boot box and a Mudstuck Roof Tent, a DIY roof shower… we’ll let Ant’s explain…
I’d have to say remote camping is what I like to do best- meaning spots that require some sort of 4wd access to keep away from the masses of tourists in their jucy vans!
I don’t like driving around in a van and the cost of a caravan is too much. Using a roof top tent means I can turn my normal every day and cruiser into some sort of accommodation. Thus keeping the backseats and boot free for storage of toys usually bikes or surfboards…
So far I’ve spent over 20 nights and counting using this set up. It’s been as far north as Ahipara camping around at Pines and as far south as the McCauley Valley (Tekapo) and for sure a fair few spots in-between.
For me it’s the ability to access spots that would otherwise not be accessible in a van or caravan. Also sleeping up off the ground on a comfortable foam mattress that is always in the tent ready to go is a massive draw card. And when you’re not using it just un-bolt off the roof racks and store it away. Returning your car back to a normal daily driver.
One of the hardest lessons I learnt is that roof top tents are still tents and are cold in winter…. Also with that it is a tent and they do not like high winds. This is where sleeping inside of a van or camper van would be much more comfy.
I can’t change a lot only just deciding to use over the warmer months of the year November-May is more user friendly.
Only other thing that niggles me is when you put it away with any sort of moisture it needs to be erected in the sun to dry out again. There is one thing….if I won lotto would be the alu-cab roof top tent as they are the tits but F*#! Me expensive. For now I’ll stick to my $1000 setup.
Tent explained so what about eating and storage?
Food and clothes is an easy one. I was fortunate enough to have been given a box which fits perfectly into the back of my cruiser. It has a hard top, so that allows me to store surfboards and bags of clothes on top.
In the box there is a sliding draw is where all of the food and cooking utensils are. The pull-out draw doubles as a cooking platform. Great height for cooking rice risotto and the like. I just use a single burner Kovea cooking stove, nothing fancy. That Kovea has been in the family for at least 20 years now and still going strong. The case for it doubles as a wind-break.
Antony’s Top Tips
- Use some sort of big plastic bin for sorting stuff like cooking tools/plates/cooking oil/gas into. As this will stop it rolling around in the back of your wagon as you drive over uneven or rocky terrain. Nothing more annoying
- For me having a sharp knife, just because you camping doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be able to prepare a decent meal. Something that cuts with ease.
- Water, having enough to see you through your tip. So drinking water is number one. Once you have enough, usually storing them in 20L containers. Then you can think about the luxuries of a shower. The roof top shower changed the game as it keeps fresh water at a height you can stand under and wash yourself after a big day of activities.
- Some sort of tool kit, I have a 90 something piece kit from bahco. It has almost everything I need to fix things when it breaks or make some sort of bodge to keep it working until I make it back to civilisation.
- Cold things for drinking, ie beer. This is best kept in a chilly bin with plenty of ice. Once you run out of cold things then red grape juice is best as you can drink it warm!
