| Overview |
| We are not really that worried about getting lots of beauty sleep, though being uncomfortable is not an option if avoidable. Staying relaxed and comfy is important to keeping a calm mind and to allow you to take a slow pace to see the world. The following kit is designed to help us enjoy the sleeping and relaxing in and around the vehicle. |
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| Tent |
| There are a lot of options for camping; ground tents, roof tents, popup tents and even pop tops allowing you to sleep inside the vehicle. First we eliminated Popup Tents, such as Magnolia, as we needed space on the roof rack for equipment and spare tyre. Space was also the reason we decided not to sleep inside the vehicle, well that and the fact a Land Rover has more draft than a tent! Don’t underestimate the brilliance, compactness and variation of ground tents. They are the cheapest option and some are as quick as a roof tent to put up, especially Oz-Tent. However there are limitations of where you can pitch a ground tent, such as rock based areas, along with added risks from Lions, Elephants and Ants. |
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| We have opted to go for an Eezi-Awn 1.4 metre roof top tent, which so far provides an excellent nights sleep. Supplied and fitted brilliantly by Phil and Heather from APB Trading near Worcester. The T-Top model we have got installed includes an extension over the ladder and a full 4 sided awning to make an enclosed living space. The extension over the ladder and door means that you can leave the door open for air and getting in and out whilst raining without getting rain in the living space of the tent. |
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| There are a handful of makes and models of roof tents so here are the decision making areas that made us choose the tent we did. The Eezi-Awn has a cover that gets strapped down, rather than zipped, allowing more to be stored inside when closed. The extension piece that extends over the ladder does not need any additional bars or supports to be added and stored elsewhere as they slide out from the base of the tent. The door of the tent zips vertically to the base of the door, allowing the entire door to be rolled away, giving complete access, without having to always lean and pull on the canvas. It also has a strong PVC based flysheet instead of a lighter ground tent style flysheet, which is very tough and doesn’t flap in the breeze, adding to that all important peaceful nights sleep. |
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| Roof top tents are expensive, but they do live up to all the hype; Easy to setup, put away in the morning, nice and warm, comfy and child like. Its basically like an adults bunk bed, you never grow too old to think it is fun to climb a ladder to get to your bed. |
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| Sleeping Bags |
| One problem with camping is getting cold during the night. For this reason we have plumbed for a couple of 3 season sleeping bags to take with us (Marmot Wave III), for those occasions when it gets really cold. During use in the UK it has kept us nice and toasty, from October in Ireland and February in Wales. |
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| Bedding |
| Although it is nice to be all snug and warm in a sleeping bag they do make you feel a little claustrophobic, so we will generally sleep with a pillow and a duvet. This then allows us to use a sheet, adding the duvet to regulate the crazy temperatures. |
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| Table |
| To make our camping area a little more homely we have sourced a solid metal table from APB Trading. This table is robust and made from nothing but aluminium and bolts. We have also bought the accompanying mount that secures to the base of the roof rack and the table just slides in. The table is big enough for two to eat at with space for preparing food and drinks to be placed. |
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| Chairs |
| We were going to take some simple, modern folding canvas chairs that we already had, until we bumped into Boab at Billing at had a relax in the Oz-Tent fold up chairs. They are a little bit bigger than normal camping chairs, but they are stupidly comfy and still upright enough to use at a table. |
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| Windbreak |
| Even if the weather is nice and sunny and generally hot, wind can easily cool you down and make you chilly. Not only is it to protect us from wind chill it is also part of our kit to be able to prevent sand being carried with that wind and smack us in the face when all we want to do is eat a nice ham roll, rather than a sandwich. We’re taking a Vango 4 pole windbreak from World Of Tents. Not ultra fast to put up, but it is high, light weight and folds up small. However because of the height it does need to be used with the guy ropes, but the height and width is priceless on windy nights. |
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| Awning |
| As much as the heat does not worry us too much, we are not really sun seekers and the type to soak up all the sun we can. We also don’t like to stand out in the rain and get soaked. Having an awning on the side of the Roof Rack means we don’t need to worry about either occurrence bothering us, so we can get some much needed protection from the elements wherever we are. |
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| There are a few options to go for, from those with a solid metal bracket (Hannibal), to those with extendable rails and up-right poles. Both variations have there plus points with ease and when you can use them. Unfortunately the Hannibal awning is expensive and doesn’t fit a FrontRunner roof rack. We did consider getting our own fabricated, but have opted for the ARB awning, supplied by Devon 4x4. |
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| This awning makes use of 4 circular poles which twist to lock into position and can be used without the supplied guy ropes. The benefit of those with poles means you can adjust the height of either side to allow water to run off easily and act as a wind block against the elements. The awning easy easy to get in and out, packs away neatly and is very easy to fit, using a number of bolts to attach it. |
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| Roof Rack |
| As much space as there is for storage inside a 110 Land Rover an expedition vehicle needs to have a roof rack for those things that need to be stored outside. The main factors for the type of roof rack you fit is dependant on what you actually want to store on top, could be tyres, water, fuel cans, tent or even bikes and a canoe. |
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| The modern expedition style roof racks are designed with fairly large bars to take the load of the equipment placed on top. They are also designed to have a groove through the centre of each bar to take a bolt, which makes securing all the toys to the rack very easy and adjustable. This doesn’t mean that you have to go with this option, any style of roof rack would suffice, even just a number of roof bars. The one limitation is if fitting a roof tent, you will need to have a minimum of one end without side rails |
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| Out of all the choices out there we decided to keep to the South Africa connection and purchased a FrontRunner Expedition rack provided and fitted by Frogs Island. So far we are very happy with the build quality and the ease of fitting and using the roof rack. Where some roof racks bolt together from single pieces, the FrontRunner is welded and then powder coated as a single structure, each bar is more than capable to take my weight so that is strong enough for me. |