4x4 Action Group

Is it only me or did everyone sort of going through camping phases.

My dad were a born camper. We started out camping from the day I opened my eyes. The days when camp stuff like fridges, fancy tents and most of the fancy camping equipment still needed to be designed. He used cooler boxes with ice and dry ice to keep stuff cool. Had a very fancy tent made in Cape town.

When I started camping we very seldom even pitched a tent. Army sleeping bag rolled out on the ground that was it.
Later some nice dome tents as they become available. Swambo later joined me with this basic way of camping.

Then the kids came and I bought a Caravan. Huge old Sprite Musketeer. Later to be replaced by Jurgens Xplorer.
As the kids grown up the Jurgens got to cramped. For some reason I does not find Camping trailers as an attraction. Then I want to move away from towing stuff. Find it more than a hindrance in most of the sandy sections I travel from time to time.

Also have a rooftop tent for outings where you cannot tow a Caravan.
Sold the Caravan and we are down to ground tents again. The rooftop does not do it either for me at this stage.
Busy modifying Cruiser canopy with kitchen and shower fitted.

As I am getting older I am more orientated towards a more relaxed way of camping.
Something like a Abba Camper on the back of the Cruiser.

Horse for courses I guess. The Metalian works for us at the moment (not that we use it enough) because everything is contained in the trailer and it has power and water etc.

Because we only have the SWB Paj now the trailer has to take everything.

We used to own a LWB Pajero with a full length roof rack, we camped with canvas dome tents but found that they were heavy and a mission to setup and pack away. I even got a hernia after our Kgalagadi trip because of all the heavy lifting onto the roof. Lesson learned.....

So now what I enjoy most is when we did River Trip and I packed as light as possible and slept in a pop up tent. I think once we get rid of the trailer and the kids are in their own pop up tents we will go back to a LWB and setup a kitchen in the vehicle and use lightweight tents and minimalism.

So yes, camping needs do change over time and the fun part is all the experimenting while finding your own niche that works for you.

As kids , mainly in old Federation days,
and mainly in Broken Hill and Wankie ,
we used to camp in the open ,
round the fire or in Landy or on its roof,
or just under mossy-net etc
and of course in canvas tents .
In those days, those classical boxy military-type
tents were heavy canvas ...
... cumbersome and a hassle to put up
and pack so we often avoided using them.
Modern tents, domes , polyester etc changed many things but to this day I still say
‘ if you dont tent under canvas,
you not in Africa ‘ ... its just not the same.

We been camping quite regularly, several or more times a year now for last 20 years
but small kids and work constraints have limited us at times . Last year probly a record 26 weekend away , nearly all camping weekends!

Trailers are good as self contained comprehensives to store , organise and have available all your kit ... caravans Ive never had
... gen too cumbersome and/or expensive,
though I like look of Biskriek

RTT s OK unless your 4*4 is your daily work wheels (unless you got a roof winch-up) as you cant park UG , security etc
and a hassle for early game drives etc ...
you have to pack up before you go and
can/may lose your campsite etc

So yes phases of camping
... but only regularity and form of set-up !

Ons kamp ook maar op baie verskillende maniere.

Eenvoud. Wild camping.
Net patrol bakkie, in berg of veld. Vuur, coolerbox/kamp yskas, ketel, rooster. Geen tent. Weg van almal en alles

Dan bietjie meer gerief met n rtt op patrol of safari en dome tent vir kinders. Ook maar afgelee plekkies

Dan navara of patrol met jaguar boswa en ttt/kamer met kombuis en stort en alles wat vrou gelukkig maak.

As ons langer, en meer comercial gaan kamp met dc en gypsy karavaan. Platkar en plat pad karavaan. Eindlik maar vir kinders of see kamp.

En dan nog altyd n gunsteling van my. My autovilla vw hippy camper. Klim net in met hele gesin, en ry erens vir n naweek. Geen beplanning, ry net.


So kamp is nie net one size fit all occasions. Ons kamp baie, en op baie verskillende maniere. Baie kampe die tiepiese manier van kamp toe ek n kind was, en waarvoor die 4x4 offroader sal neus op trek. Maar net soveel in bos met niks soos bitter min mense voor kans sien.


Is besig om nou vir my n dedicated 4.2 safari te bou om by my kamp voertuie by te voeg. Stasiewa met kombuis, dak tente, dome tente en alles self contained om so remote as moontlik te kan gaan kamp vir n week of wat, sonder die kommer van n sleepwa. Het gelukkig n paar van die stasiewaens wat n 1.6-1.7 ton wettige payload kan vat ipv die 650kg van moderne suv’s

Yes, like my hunting and fishing, it has gone through phases. So with hunting its now about the whole experience, whether I shoot or not is irrelevant. Ditto fishing, I prefer tying flies than fishing them.

Growing up in Ireland, some form of cover was required, usually a bulky A frame canvas tent without a groundsheet and improvised poles. Often, we used it over a boom on the 18 ft row boats common on the Shannon or Loch Derg. This progressed to a nylon A Frame, then a larger family Dome. Now I prefer my hammock and a tarpaulin, providing there is something to attach it to, its up or down in under 10 minutes and and takes up the space of two raincoats when packed.

There are a couple of tricks to hammocking comfortably, like lying at a slight angle across the centre line in order to flatten the hammock so you dont have to sleep in a banana position Use a square tarp with two corners at each tied end and two sloping to the ground (one attached by pegs and guys each side) This allows you to catch the breeze but remain dry when it rains. The bonus is you still have great visibility around you and can see the stars

I love my dome tent. Spacious and mommy can stand up to get dressed ect. But lately the rooftop tent is my first choice. I know it's a bit of a inconvenience if you need to travel, but it's only 5 minutes to set up or fold up.

For us we built up a trailer with big rtt, thatnis our long trip home. Works perfectly as it carries a full kitchen, 50L drinkable water and all our other stuff, it has 12v and 220v capabilities so we setup and can use the bakkie as normal.

For 3 nights or less trips I have a 3x3m canvas dome and a fully equipped loadbay in the bakkie. Works well too.

Ideally when I grow up I'd prefer something like an Alucab khaya but for now I'm still too middle class

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