Who loves to camp with their ole square body?

[cleansquare]

I dont have a cool camper to pull although thw inlaws just bought a new rv. But I do have a pontoon!


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[dieseldawg142]

Originally Posted by Skunksmash

This was awesome when I was a kid. But these days, I have to ask. What' the appeal? Do you guys plan a fishing trip at the same time?

family time

[Desert1957]

I guess its not really "Camping" when you can have this inside.

[dieseldawg142]

^^sure it is, it's just more upscale camping! only had my camper a few yrs, but it's worlds above the friggin' tent, never ever going back!

[Geb58]

Where did that sweet pop up slide in come from??

[Geb58]

Originally Posted by DirtyLarry

Fishing, Camping and any outdoor adventure is what my square was built to do..

A few over the years…

Around 2003


Around 2005 or 6


2011


Utah - Hole in the Rock Trail 2012


Utah - Hole in the Rock Trail 2012


Lippencott Pass – Death Valley 2013


Death Valley 2013


Utah Canyonlands 2013

Where did that sweet pop up slide in come from??

[DirtyLarry]

Originally Posted by Geb58

Where did that sweet pop up slide in come from??

It is a Phoenix pop up camper made in Denver. The father of the people that own Phoenix Campers is the founder of the more well-known Four Wheel Camper. All Phoenix campers are built to order and each is custom so no two are alike. I wanted mine to be narrow so I didn’t camper mirrors and short so the tailgate would still shut. I’m on my third season with it and love it to death. It’s been shaken, bounced, twisted, frozen and baked and hasn’t had a single issue. It doesn’t even leak and almost all campers leak

Here is a video Truck Camper Magazine shot at the Overland Expo this past May. Its heavily edited for some reason. There wasn't as much back and forth as the video shows.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?list=UU...&v=-OeTDmGgnpY

[msblackbetty79]

Hey Dirty Larry, where would you recommend some good spots to go trailing with an old square. Im going to be moving to Missouri/ Kansas here in a few months and id like to get into this but idk where good states to go

[cory d]

camping list. dirtbikes, water, sleeping bags and beef jerky. CHECK


same story, different place

[DirtyLarry]

Originally Posted by msblackbetty79

Hey Dirty Larry, where would you recommend some good spots to go trailing with an old square. Im going to be moving to Missouri/ Kansas here in a few months and id like to get into this but idk where good states to go

It all depends how capable and reliable your truck is. There are countless great things to see in the Southwest for people driving anything from Prius pulling a tear drop to a Unimog pulling a military trailer out here. The more reliable and capable rig you got the more cool stuff you can see. Once you cross into NM, CO, UT, AZ and CA there are tons of awesome isolated mountain or desert destinations to check out go. Check out the trip reports at expedition portal.com for ideas. Pretty much any 4x4 truck can do the White Rim trail North of Moab. A reliable and durable rig are the key out there in the desert as you may not see another sole for days on end and many of those locations would be almost impossible to walk out of.

[msblackbetty79]

thats awesome i would really like to get into that some day, i love nature, and i love 4x4s so why not combine them!
thank you larry for the ideas!

[msblackbetty79]

the one picture in 2003 with your rig backed up to the lake right next to a mountain, is that in Colorado?

[Desperado454]

Originally Posted by jitteryguy

this is from a few week's ago.

The only thing I like better than this picture is the truck itself. Very cool ride

[DirtyLarry]

Originally Posted by msblackbetty79

the one picture in 2003 with your rig backed up to the lake right next to a mountain, is that in Colorado?

Yes, that is Grizzly Lake in Chaffee County, CO. It’s a pretty brutal trail were lockers are required. The worst part is the ¼ mile stretch where the trail is barely wide enough for a full-size truck with a huge drop off and is crazy steep. That road surface of that section of the trail is also loose rip rap boulders where you can barely get any traction on them. This trail is pretty much only used by the hard core rock crawler guys or folks on ATV’s (actually it isn’t any easier on an ATV) and hikers. When we went years ago we saw a group of guys of there from Predator 4x4 in Colorado Springs. They could not believe we made it up there in my mostly stock truck (outside of a lift and 36” Super Swampers at that time….I didn’t have lockers or even a winch). I have no plan to go back on that trail anytime soon unless I build up a beater to take up there.

There are lots of lakes that look just like that though. This lake below is on the other side of mountain behind Grizzly but the trail is almost opposite….so easy any 4x4 or even 2wd with decent ground clearance can make it. This one is called North Fork Reservoir. Fishing is great at both places but naturally, it is more isolated at Grizzly than North Fork.


I usually hit up North Fork in September or October as the fishing seems to be best. Not uncommon to get snow up up there even in July!

[DirtyLarry]

This is a fun one anytime of year. You can reach this lake via Tin Cup Pass 4x4 trail or a dirt road (Cottowood Pass from Buena Vista) where any car can make it. This is Mirror Lake in Chaffee County, CO from an October trip a few years ago. You can see Tin Cup Pass as it descends down into Mirror Lake on the other side.



It was a cold night so we just sat in the warm camper and drank cold beer then wrote our names in the snow



The next night we moved to a different lake about 45 minutes away. Can’t remember the name of this little lake. Fishing was great! I love fall time fishing! Fish are biting and nobody is around.


Woke up to snow again the next morning.


Stopped to air up tires on just before we hit pavement. The trail between the two lakes was a nice 4x4 where airing down made it a smoother ride.

[SilverMiner]

My recently acquired Burb finally was used as intended - to shlep the whole fam-damily plus dog and camp trailer into the upper reaches of the North Fork of the Coeur d'Alene River!

[Greenlee]

I love all your pictures Larry! Someday I want to camp in some of these places.
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[msblackbetty79]

wow larry! that sure is awesome!! i really want to go one some of these trails in a year or two, i plan on getting a 72-75 blazer so the whole top comes off i just think that would be an awesome trip for my wife and my boy! i think its well worth the drive! thank you so much for all the good info! dont be shy to tell us about your other storys im sure we all would love to read and dream about those gorgeous views!!

[msblackbetty79]

ive never had experience doing this kind of wheeling. is it just state parks where they allow off roading and 4x4 trail rigs to venture into the wild? because thats exactly what i want to do, is get lost in the wilderness with my family and not worry about seeing a soul for a few days!!

[DirtyLarry]

Originally Posted by msblackbetty79

wow larry! that sure is awesome!! i really want to go one some of these trails in a year or two, i plan on getting a 72-75 blazer so the whole top comes off i just think that would be an awesome trip for my wife and my boy! i think its well worth the drive! thank you so much for all the good info! dont be shy to tell us about your other storys im sure we all would love to read and dream about those gorgeous views!!

Originally Posted by msblackbetty79

ive never had experience doing this kind of wheeling. is it just state parks where they allow off roading and 4x4 trail rigs to venture into the wild? because thats exactly what i want to do, is get lost in the wilderness with my family and not worry about seeing a soul for a few days!!

A topless K5 would be fun to wheel around the high country if you don’t mind getting wet once and a while. You would really enjoy it. Around here we have National Forest and BLM land, 4x4 parks….not so much. Even though, I live here in CO my preference for a weeklong outing to get away from civilization is the Canyonlands of Southern Utah or the Mojave Desert of California. The worst thing to ever be invented was the ATV! My word!, any idiot can now ride the trails in the high country where they have no trail manors, common sense or respect for the land. I almost cannot stand to go to the Colorado mountains anymore in the summer because of the tourist idiots on ATVs.

A great place to read up on places to go in CO are the FunTreks guide books by Bill Moore. The best one is the ATV book (of all things). Even though the book caters to ATV’s the trails are actually old mining trails and Jeep trails. He has great books written for UT, AZ, and CA too.

Might as well share a few more. This is a cool lake too but I cannot remember the name of it. This one is in Chaffee County as well. Every time I’ve been here it is raining or snowing where you cannot see the mountain range behind. Don’t plan on getting a great night’s sleep here as the altitude is over 12,000 ft. with little air. Headache city!


Really cool trail to get here, ¼ mile jaunt up a creek with a steep wall to climb once you crawl out. Very interesting when it’s cold and snowy.


This was a neat lake too. Don’t remember the name of it but you must cross over Mount Antero on a very narrow 4x4 trail to reach it. You will NOT find any hippies in Subaru’s up here



This spot is at the lake is in the picture above


The trail over Mt. Antero is steep and narrow with plenty of pucker factor. There is no room for mistakes on these narrow shelf roads


On the left is a HUGE cliff


Like I mentioned before, Utah back country and Canyonlands are still my favorite. Nobody out there!






It was awesome camping on the edge of the world. Now this is camping…no picnic tables, no porta pottys, no trash cans. You must pack all of your trash and human waste out of this area of Canyonlands. This spot is known as Ekker Butte and is a 6 hour off-road trip into Canyonlands from the Hite marina at Lake Powell. The nearest town would be Moab another 2 hours from Hite. Very remote! You don’t want to have a breakdown or break a bone out here.

[special-K]

I've been camping in my Jimmy since I've had it,but no pictures. I usually just sleep "in" it rather than set-up a tent. I'd like to find a Four wheel camper for it,but those just don't exist beck east. I spent one night through severe weather last summer. I heard they were calling for it about an hour before it hit. I was lounging back against the folded seat drinking beer and watching the light show on the other side of the mountain,when it started blowing and raining. I closed here up and figured I'd call it a night when a friend called from Canada. It started really beating and rocking the Jimmy around so I told him I probably should get off the phone. I was wondering what I could do of a tornado hit. First of all,it was dark and I'd know it was a tornado right about the time I was airborne. There was nowhere to go any safer so I ride it out. I told my buddy I felt like I was in a tent held down by a Jimmy! Turns out we had 60 mph winds and it was this phenomenon called a derecho.
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...51495398,d.cWc
That was the first time I ever heard of such a thing. I think I wasn't in the direct path,but not too far,either. The next day things were a mess all over with trees across roads and power lines down. I rode out to the road and there was no one at all. I was glad I always go prepared for "what if" and just fished all day and carried on s I would have anyway. No infrastructure where I was.
Here's a token shot from a camping/fishing trip down on the river (Potomac),but not at my site

[Corts60]

Originally Posted by mm1077

Yep...here's my 78 getting ready to head out camping w/ our 54 Shasta earlier this summer.


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NICE! Here is my '78 with my '54 Aloha:

[special-K]

I love camping and that's one thing I love to use my old trucks for. I've been camping in my Jimmy since I've had it,but no pictures. I usually just sleep "in" it rather than set-up a tent. I'd like to find a Four wheel camper for it,but those just don't exist beck east. I spent one night through severe weather last summer. I heard they were calling for it about an hour before it hit. I was lounging back against the folded seat drinking beer and watching the light show on the other side of the mountain,when it started blowing and raining. I closed here up and figured I'd call it a night when a friend called from Canada. It started really beating and rocking the Jimmy around so I told him I probably should get off the phone. I was wondering what I could do of a tornado hit. First of all,it was dark and I'd know it was a tornado right about the time I was airborne. There was nowhere to go any safer so I ride it out. I told my buddy I felt like I was in a tent held down by a Jimmy! Turns out we had winds up to 100 mph and it was this phenomenon called a derecho.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...51495398,d.cWc

http://www.trbimg.com/img-4ff3642e/t...01/580/580x435

That was the first time I ever heard of such a thing. I think I wasn't in the direct path,but not too far,either. The next day things were a mess all over with trees across roads and power lines down. I rode out to the road and there was no one at all. I was glad I always go prepared for "what if" and just fished all day and carried on as I would have anyway. No infrastructure where I was.
Here's a token shot from a camping/fishing trip down on the river (Potomac) near where I was,but not at my site

[jitteryguy]

our trip last week to Land Between the Lake's. 5 days of nothing !

[jitteryguy]

a few weeks ago at Red River .