[Rockhounds] Vehicles

[Charles Baran]

Thanks everybody.  You all seem to really have it together.  Kathy and I 
just started this rock hunting/cutting/polishing  hobby about  two years 
ago.  We haven't been able to do any camping yet because of the size 
limitations of our Suzuki(but we do get great mileage!).  I'm thinking I 
mught get a small trailer to haul the camping gear and off load it 
before I tackle the ruts.  Again, thanks.  We have learned so very much 
from you kids.  Have a great thanksgiving. Chuck and Kathy Baran...

Rick Trapp wrote:

> My wife and I and our two fifty-pound dogs use a 2001 extended cab 
> F-150 4WD manual 5-speed with a V-8 - yeah, I know, not very green. It 
> has a six-foot bed in back with a good cab-height shell. We run 
> Goodrich Radial T/A KO tires on 17" rims. These tires have a fairly 
> conventional but somewhat aggressive tread with 8-ply sidewalls which 
> is critical out here in the desert and mountains (Arizona). The tires 
> are quiet on the highway but have grip when you need it and the back 
> roads out here rip a conventional 4- or 6-ply sidewall to shreds in no 
> time.
>
> We keep all of our camping supplies, clothing, bedding, food, and 
> rockhounding tools in rubbermaid-type tubs - various sizes and 
> stackable. The rubbermaid tubs are quite watertight for anything short 
> of floating down a river. At the camp site we remove the tubs and can 
> set them outside the truck with no worries if it rains. All food is 
> kept in one or two tubs and those tubs and the cooler go in the cab at 
> night.
>
> We use the Coleman "five-day" coolers (only "three-day" coolers out 
> here for most of the year) - one or two depending on the length of the 
> trip.  We take the same equipment if it is going to be overnight - no 
> matter one night or ten.
>
> We always dry-camp (not in established campgrounds), but take lots of 
> water. Most days we have a hot shower courtesy of solar showers - it 
> really feels good to get the dust and dirt off before sleeping.
>
> For sleeping, we use a thin (5") air mattress that is designed to fit 
> around the wheel wells in the bed of the truck. We used a regular air 
> mattress for years, but the sides tend to creep up over the wheel 
> wells and you end up bunched up in the middle. The $70-80 for a 
> custom-fit air mattress is well worth it. We use cheap rectangular 
> bags zipped together; if it will be cold we take extra blankets. 
> Expensive bags are not necessary in our climate; even when it snows we 
> are comfortable in the shell.
>
> Almost always we use a 10'x10' Sportz truck tent by Napier. It has a 
> sock extending from one end that can be fastened completely around the 
> truck and shell just behind the rear wheels so that you can crawl out 
> of the shell directly into the tent. We keep our clothes and personal 
> items in the tent rather than outside and we have a sheltered place to 
> change or play cards or read if the weather is bad. The Sportz tents 
> are very nice tents; they come in a variety of sizes and you can even 
> get one that erects in the bed of a pickup and one that just covers 
> the bed of a pickup. Ours is 10'x10' and goes up in about 10 minutes. 
> BIG bonus on our tent: once it is set up, you can just loosen the 
> fittings and drive away from it for day trips.
>
> We carry a "lot" of (mostly camping) equipment because we're old and 
> like to be comfortable, but it all fits easily in the 6' bed of the 
> pickup and shell. We can pack up or break camp in about 60-90 minutes 
> which is not quite as fast as our camping buddies with their pop-up 
> camper, but we're faster on the highway and we don't have to worry as 
> much about overhanging branches and tipping over.
>
> Two things matter the most for a vehicle in rough terrain:  
> front-wheel, four-wheel, or all-wheel drive; and high clearance. In 
> about 95% of situations you can get by with one of those two things. 
> For the other 5% you need both and if you have a large vehicle you 
> need four-wheel or all-wheel drive.
>
>
>
> For the gear problem you might want to consider one of the small 
> extensions that fit onto a trailer hitch. You have to be careful when 
> crossing gullies but they're fairly cheap and could hold all of your 
> tools and then some.
>
>
>
> Charles Baran wrote:
>
>> Friends:  Just wondering what sort of vehicle you all use to go 
>> rockhounding when you go on those little trails with the big ruts.  
>> My wife, Kathy, and I use a 2002 Suzuki Grand Vitara 4x4 with the 2.5 
>> V6 and regular hwy tires .  We have been able to go  everyplace with 
>> no problem (except my fear).  The only problem is the small  
>> interior...I don't have a lot of space to put rocks.  Just 
>> wondering.  Chuck...
>
>