What are your plans with the Grenadier?

[IGL]

I was talking to a guy in a caravan park recently who used to have a roof top tent.
On a very cold morning he climbed out and found the rungs on his ladder were covered in ice.
He slipped, fractured his hip and broke his collarbone and arm.
18 months to recover.
No more roof top tents for him and he had been using the one on that vehicle for 20 years.
Never a problem before.
I suppose getting older takes it's toll.

Hey, I saw by chance a nice tent on ground alternative from Thule which will be released in spring 2024. Not sure if it's useful with a Gren, but nice to look at.
Also interesting that Thula now shows the Gren in their advert.
New foldable tent from Thule MUST SEE!!! - Outset hitch tent - YouTube
New Thule Outset Hitch Tent - Camping Adventure - YouTube

 

[emax]

@globalgregors

I think the key to that vision @emax is not the tent but the solitude, which might be the harder problem to solve in your neck of the woods. If one is going further afield, sleeping inside the vehicle - which makes perfect sense in your mild climate - can become stiflingly uncomfortable. The bit of breeze that can be caught once your off the ground a bit is appreciated. ...

Thank you for your assessment. I agree with many points.

You're right with the "solitude" aspect. But for an answer to the question "RTT yes or no?" I have to consider different perspectives.

The Grenadier is to a degree our daily driver. So I can not and do not want to beef up the Grenadier with all the bells and whistles of an expedition vehicle. Secondly, and I think some others here have similar experiences, traveling with a (in this case my) wife is not just nature and van life, but also a posh dinner in a nice restaurant from time to time - for example. And beach life as well, but also cultural location visits.

And the male idea of being "well dressed and ready" often means the entire day. But in female context this means only "for the morning, for the afternoon, for the evening." And there lies the problem: For me, as a male being, a tent and a coffee next morning is sufficient and perfectly ok. For a woman (not for all, but for the majority I dare say) this is completely different. And to my experience, it takes a bathroom and a compartment for them to keep their accessories and the dress neatly stored for the next day.

And that's not a criticism, on the contrary, that's why we love women. I'm really proud of her when we leave for a posh evening. But it poses some compromises to be made if we go for holidays together.

So for a period longer than just a few days, an RTT does not exactly provide the ecosystem to make a woman feel comfortable.

For example, I like my olive green safari pants because they are so comfortable and durable and resist fire sparks. And I like them from morning to evening, and the next day as well. I think, for most men the same dress from morning to evening is sufficient for camping, and for motorbike drivers, due to limited resources, you can even count that in days if not weeks - depending on where you go. But for women this is very different, they prefer something different for some parts of a day.

When we (my wife and me) were young, we went on long tours together on a motorcycle. And because the budget was always limited in that time, camping was the accommodation of choice. Included a campfire, red wine, ravioli and sandwiches, and swimming instead of a hot shower - and we were happy.

But today even my standards are higher. But having been a long-distance motorcyclist for fifty years, I still retain the “I need to get out” attitude and need the fire, the red wine, the ravioli and the sandwiches from time to time.

Now that was a long story behind why we tend to stay in B&Bs and hotels, and - and now comes the important difference - my wife likes to spend a night outdoor only from time to time, while I would like to spend a night in a hotel only from time to time .

Let's say once a week - for both of us, but just the other way around.

What’s your typical camping experience?

My first camping was in the age of seven in the Italian Alps. My most recent camping was some years ago in the age of 59, with my diesel motorbike in the Swiss Alps. With fire, wine and sandwiches. In between I had a lot of camping holidays, always on the motorbike, in Germany, France, Corsica and other locations. And often, I even slept at the beach without setting up my tent, just under the sky. Wonderful.

Do you have a favourite spot? What would work best there?

I (we) love the Alps, but as well the Mediterranean and the the sea side in general.

For longer travels, the motorbike will now be replaced by the Grenadier, and sleeping will be more comfortable, but less free and adventurous. And that's why I would at least like to keep the option to sleep in the car, wherever I am.

 

[globalgregors]

@globalgregors

Thank you for your assessment. I agree with many points.

You're right with the "solitude" aspect. But for an answer to the question "RTT yes or no?" I have to consider different perspectives.

The Grenadier is to a degree our daily driver. So I can not and do not want to beef up the Grenadier with all the bells and whistles of an expedition vehicle. Secondly, and I think some others here have similar experiences, traveling with a (in this case my) wife is not just nature and van life, but also a posh dinner in a nice restaurant from time to time - for example. And beach life as well, but also cultural location visits.

And the male idea of being "well dressed and ready" often means the entire day. But in female context this means only "for the morning, for the afternoon, for the evening." And there lies the problem: For me, as a male being, a tent and a coffee next morning is sufficient and perfectly ok. For a woman (not for all, but for the majority I dare say) this is completely different. And to my experience, it takes a bathroom and a compartment for them to keep their accessories and the dress neatly stored for the next day.

And that's not a criticism, on the contrary, that's why we love women. I'm really proud of her when we leave for a posh evening. But it poses some compromises to be made if we go for holidays together.

So for a period longer than just a few days, an RTT does not exactly provide the ecosystem to make a woman feel comfortable.

For example, I like my olive green safari pants because they are so comfortable and durable and resist fire sparks. And I like them from morning to evening, and the next day as well. I think, for most men the same dress from morning to evening is sufficient for camping, and for motorbike drivers, due to limited resources, you can even count that in days if not weeks - depending on where you go. But for women this is very different, they prefer something different for some parts of a day.

When we (my wife and me) were young, we went on long tours together on a motorcycle. And because the budget was always limited in that time, camping was the accommodation of choice. Included a campfire, red wine, ravioli and sandwiches, and swimming instead of a hot shower - and we were happy.

But today even my standards are higher. But having been a long-distance motorcyclist for fifty years, I still retain the “I need to get out” attitude and need the fire, the red wine, the ravioli and the sandwiches from time to time.

Now that was a long story behind why we tend to stay in B&Bs and hotels, and - and now comes the important difference - my wife likes to spend a night outdoor only from time to time, while I would like to spend a night in a hotel only from time to time .

Let's say once a week - for both of us, but just the other way around.



My first camping was in the age of seven in the Italian Alps. My most recent camping was some years ago in the age of 59, with my diesel motorbike in the Swiss Alps. With fire, wine and sandwiches. In between I had a lot of camping holidays, always on the motorbike, in Germany, France, Corsica and other locations. And often, I even slept at the beach without setting up my tent, just under the sky. Wonderful.

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I (we) love the Alps, but as well the Mediterranean and the the sea side in general.

For longer travels, the motorbike will now be replaced by the Grenadier, and sleeping will be more comfortable, but less free and adventurous. And that's why I would at least like to keep the option to sleep in the car, wherever I am.

Thanks for sharing your experience, I’m ceaselessly curious about the contrasting versions of outdoor life.

Understood, and concur with all of that. I think a few luxuries, particularly for one’s wife, are key to a successful trip.

In fact this is precisely the issue for us: we intend to commission the Gren with a drive across Australia before shipping it to the US for North/South America. For the latter trip intention is to carry only our ‘emergency’ camping kit (Hilleberg etc) as per for our circumnavigation, for the reasons you list here. For Australia other kit may be sensible.

Regardless Gunther Holtorf/Otto set a pretty solid precedent, it (sleeping in the back) is clearly a good fallback!

 

[Znarfgh]

My Grenadier will serve several roles - daily driver, off roader, touring and tow vehicle.

My current daily driver/tow vehicle/tourer is a Jeep Grand Cherokee whilst off roading duties fall to the Land Rover Discovery 2. Both these vehicles will soon be retired and sold off. The Disco was not the best tow vehicle and this became clear after buying the Grand Cherokee. But the JGC is a great tow vehicle but lacks ground clearance and I was not game to take it to some of the places that my lifted Disco would go. That's where the IG comes in - it has the power to tow and is also good off road. The suspension is easily modified if it does not quite meet my needs but so far so good. I do think that a mild lift and bigger tyres may be on the cards once my warranty has expired.

A Simpson Desert crossing and trip to the Kimberely's are being planned but first, all the mods need to be finalised.

 

[emax]

Just FYI, that's what it looks like on the forums "dark" theme. I (and all the others with that theme, I guess) would very much appreciate if you use a neutral color.

 

[IG Pop]

Just FYI, that's what it looks like on the forums "dark" theme. I (and all the others with that theme, I guess) would very much appreciate if you use a neutral color.


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[emax]

I had to look twice.