Avalanche Camping

dblosch · Nov 5, 2012

I posted this on another forum, so if you're on ExPo too, give me a shout! This is posted in the "Southeast Region" over there.

These pictures are a few days late, but my fiance and I spent last weekend at Cooper Creek Campground in GA. I picked up fly fishing earlier this year, and since a lot of the seasonal creeks close for fishing at the end of October, I figured it was go now or wait till next year to try some small water. We live only a few blocks from the Chattahoochee River, So I mainly fish the 'Hooch. Didn't catch anything but leaves, but we still had a good time.

Got some fishing in on Friday and Saturday morning, but once Mary and the puppy got to camp Saturday afternoon, the fly rod basically lived here. It was my first time using my new wading boots, too. I just wet-waded all summer. Waders and good boots change everything!

We've got a pretty sweet kitchen setup with the camp chef oven, but I really like dutch oven cooking too. We took the opportunity to get some practice in. blackberry cobbler, some Grands cinnamon rolls, and a sausage and egg scramble Sunday morning for burritos.

Spot and George had a good time sniffing around. George is only 4 months old, so he's got to be on a leash or he'll run off. Spot learned long ago that he gets the best treats from his dad- so he's got no reason to leave!

The Av performed flawlessly, yet again. I stopped on the way up there and bought a new Die Hard Platinum deep cycle battery at Sears, to better run our 12volt fridge in the truck. The SteelSlide proved it's worth, too. It seemed whatever piece of gear I needed was always shoved way in the back of the bed.

:wave:

Dan

Vic Anthony · Nov 5, 2012

I live a couple blocks from the Chattahoochee River also, but on the Alabama Georgia line.
Neat looking tent also.

Vic

Didit · Nov 5, 2012

Awesome setup there, would be nicely complimented by a AV tent on the back, lol. Is that something you came up with for the AV? Really neat.

Didit

dblosch · Nov 5, 2012

Thanks guys!

Vic, I'm new to the South East. Came from California, and we love it here.

Didit, I sort of forgot to explain the tent... It's called a "roof top tent." They started out in Africa and Australia for protection from the critters. They're gaining popularity here is the US now, too, in the offroad community. Ours is an entry level one we got used from Craigslist. I like them because all of our bedding stays inside the tent, even folded up. That saves quite a bit of storage room in the bed of the truck for other things, like that bulky camp oven. Also, many times I'll head out after work on Friday, and get to camp in the dark. These tents set up pretty darn quickly. Many of them have a secondary room that attaches to the bottom, which can be a great changing room/dog bed area. Like an Av, ours has a few little custom pieces to make it our own, too.

:wave:

Dan

movieman · Nov 5, 2012

That is too cool

I LOVE that tent. I tried an Av tent and I ended up returning it. It was some cumbersome & complicated to set up. Although I truly believe that most of the problems were because the box contained the wrong poles (i.e. the instructions showed 2 red poles & 2 green poles and I had 4 red poles).

But your tent is the ultimate. Just curious, it seems like quite a bit of an overhang where the ladder is. Is there any issues with the weight on that side of the tent (like making sure you immediately step over onto the side that's on top of the truck when you climb up the ladder)?

And lastly, that is definitely some fancy and tasty looking cooking going on!

midlifecrisis · Nov 5, 2012

How in the world is that tent supported on the roof, since it cantilevers out so far?

avz66 · Nov 6, 2012

love the tent

dblosch · Nov 6, 2012

Thanks guys!

Orange, I contemplated an AvTent for a while, but in practice I just don't see it working for me. When I go out in the back country I take a lot of gear with me: Co2 tank, full complement of wrenches/sockets, kitchen stuff, etc. The bed is packed pretty tight. Having to move all that stuff to sleep in the bed just doesn't work any more. The whole tent weights about 110 lbs, which sounds like a lot, but the Av handles it well. The floor is a composite, pretty strong stuff. I don't worry about the structure at all. There are companies that sell much larger ones, up to TWICE as wide as mine!! You could sleep a whole family of four or five in those big ones.

Crisis, I had a Yakima track system installed on the Av's naked roof. The tracks are 54" long. Many times the pro shops will install the tracks with about half of the bolts used, since the vast majority of users are just installing bike/snowboard racks or a rocket box... I made sure I found a shop (Rack N Road, in Campbell, CA) that knew what I was planning. They used ALL ten mounting bolts on each side, and mounted the tracks as wide as possible, for extra strength. On top of the tracks I use Yakima control towers and crossbars, just like I have on the bed covers. Eventually I'll add a third cross bar to the tracks for a rock solid mount, but I haven't had any problems yet.

66, Thanks!!

I'm not the first Av to use an RTT, HenryJ had one he towed on a trailer until he upgraded: http://chevyavalanchefanclub.com/cafcna/index.php/topic,132099.msg1960464.html#msg1960464

AirJunky · Dec 5, 2012

I can't even imagine stumbling out of that tent after a few beers & having to pee. :E:

I love the idea, and it looks cool. But for us camping with the Av usually involves packing a pair of paddleboards on my custom roof rack. If I'm solo, then I use an EZ-Up over the back of the truck, inflatable mattress in the back. If my wife is along, we're still on the ground in what I call my wife's "Tajamatent".... it's about 20' around, 2 stories, queen size bed, 2 of us crammed into a space for 10. If I have to pee in the middle of the night, I stumble out of the tent or truck & do it without falling from 7' high.

MEDICO · Dec 5, 2012

Love Dutch oven cooking... From pot roasts, to apple cobbler... One word YUMMY

dblosch · Dec 6, 2012

AirJunky said:
I can't even imagine stumbling out of that tent after a few beers & having to pee.

The tent did take a little getting used to, that's for sure. If you're the type of camper that's in and out of the tent every 5 minutes, it would really be a drag! But for me, always having the bed made up, and never having a rock or a root under my back makes up for it. I've also made up a little canvas enclosure that hangs over the bed covers so I can safely heat the tent!

Ultimately our tent will go on a trailer that houses a 45 gallon water tank, sink, gas range and oven. My dad built the trailer probably 20 years ago for elk hunting trips. Now it will be for serious glamping trips! Plus, with the tent off the truck, It's easier to leave camp set up and drive around.

MEDICO said:
Love Dutch oven cooking... From pot roasts, to apple cobbler... One word YUMMY

I love dutch oven cooking, too! It's almost always better than cooked at home, and working with briquettes sort of forces you to relax and enjoy the trip!

BnGBleeder · Dec 7, 2012

What does this look like closed up? Do you climb up through the floor?

dblosch · Dec 7, 2012

BnGBleeder said:
What does this look like closed up? Do you climb up through the floor?

BnG- Here's a picture of the the tent closed up.

I plan on using some of the space under the tent for storage for some of these http://www.maxtrax.com.au/

There are several different variations on these tents, but ours has an enclosure over the ladder. The floor of the tent ends at the ladder. You can see ours here. http://www.ironman4x4.com/html/rooftop_tent.html

:wave:

Dan

HenryJ · Dec 7, 2012

Not sure how I missed this thread?

dblosch said:

LOVE the RTT on the Avalanche!

We really liked ours.

It is still "in the family", since we sold it to my sister.

The growing family moved us into larger digs:

Keep posting those camping photos!

dblosch · Dec 7, 2012

HenryJ said:
Not sure how I missed this thread? LOVE the RTT on the Avalanche! We really liked ours.

Hey HenryJ!! I was wondering when you were going to chime in here. The pop-up looks great! I hope you're getting out to use it more than we have been. Keep up the good work!

:wave:

Dan

HenryJ · Dec 7, 2012

Took long enough, huh?

You can check out our adventures listed toward the bottom here: BLT Offroad

You are really set up nice! What have you done for lighting in your RTT?

I see your bars stick out the passenger side a little. Think about adding a strip of the fiberglass grating material to form a shelf outside that window. Then you could add the cover like I had on mine for the heater.

That made early spring camping very comfortable.

Your kitchen and cooking arrangement looks very polished. The dark cover on the RTT is a super match for your rig. Kudos.

Add a Campinglab awning to your wish list. I love mine. If you don't have a fridge yet, that is another must have. I added a power port to the back of mine.

I just picked up a 43qt Edgestar freezer / fridge again. The last one went with our old trailer. BOY did I miss it. Now I have one again! Those are just awesome. They will go to -6 for a fast freeze too. That might be handy for fishing?

dblosch · Dec 10, 2012

Thanks HenryJ-

I've seen your site- Lots of good info there! I've had your 2nd tank on my wish list for a long time now. But with a possible return to California coming up, it looks like I'll just have to keep wishing.

Lighting in the RTT is a Goal Zero Light-a-life, for now. We have three of them, one inside, one clipped near the ladder to light the kitchen, and one extra/spare. I plan on adding two spare bulbs to the case, too. Last time I checked IKEA doesn't carry quite the same LEDS you used anymore. They have some similar ones, so eventually, i'll go that direction.

The heater enclosure I'm working on drapes down to the bed covers... But it's almost a direct ripoff of yours! Our tent has toggles along the bottom edge of the window awning, so I skipped the snaps. The only thing I added the tent itself was some Velcro inside the sides of the awning. I was still working out the correct length in this picture. I have been thinking of adding some weight to the bottom edge to keep the enclosure taught... Thoughts? I may look into a shelf anyway, good idea!

Thanks for the compliment on the kitchen. I wish I could take credit for it's construction... but I contracted that project out! It was partly a custom job to compliment the oven, but I guess now that single self is a standard option. Ken is the owner/creator/builder here... http://blueskykitchen.com/ All the shelves fit inside the box, and there is room for a Coleman stove and kitchen essentials. With the oven it makes for a bulky kitchen. but with a coleman stove, it's really a great setup. I keep a full compliment for four in it all the time, along with pots/pan, bakeware. Really, it holds my whole kitchen! Fresh muffins with morning coffee is great in the hills, and garlic bread with your spaghetti? Mmmmmmmm...

One day I'd like to get an awning. I'm secretly holding out to see if i can find a great deal on a used snugtop first... >:D

We've got the fridge covered, too! I got the green light on that when she heard "No more soggy food, Ice cream if you want it..." We ended up getting the ARB 50, just because we were at 4WP at the moment, and they had one. We love it!

Our Av's have other stuff in common, too!

I've got a shovel and axe mounted in the bed...

And a GPS powered by my mirror...

She's got poly swaybar bushings and Bilstein 5100's... and I've already got the tie rod sleeves just waiting for an alignment.

She's also got a rear bumper, with PIAA backup lights, and plumbed for air. The bumper makes lowering the spare nearly impossible, so that needs work. I may use that little cover to house a quick connect fitting for a water tank in the spare's location. I'd rather have the fuel, but CA says no.

The backseat is down almost all the time. The boys have a bed on the driver's side. I used the 60/40 split "mid-deck" plans for the bed. I wish i could find my copy again, because I think it's almost time to do a full mid-deck. (one dog on each side, and the fridge hard-mounted in the middle. You can see the "Av Toolboard" in this picture, too. What you can't see is the X-jack tucked in behind the driver's seat. Works great, since there aren't any hi-lift points on an Av...

Ulitmately, I'll put a shell on it, and move the spare to a swing out carrier, probably a Tiregate. I'm still holding out hope for your dual tank mod. I've got a steel slide, and our gear takes up 90%+ of the space in the bed (packing like Tetris). I'll leave the bed covers in place with the Snugtop, and put our "soft goods" on the top level.

One of these days, I need to start a build thread.

:wave:

Dan

HenryJ · Dec 10, 2012

Ahh, I recognize the storage rack that fits in the window stow. Nice. I think we have much in common. You shovel mount looks similar to mine:

The heater enclosure looks fantastic! the velcro is a nice touch. Cleaner. I used a collapsible sun shade in the bottom of our heating enclosure to keep it open. Something like this , only no picture on mine.- Auto Expressions Jumbo Magic Automotive Sunshade. It only takes one, or half of the set. Tossed it all under the mattress for storage.

Tell me more about the 12V power for your GPS , up by the mirror. Mine is down by the dash.

I think most of your work is cleaner than mine

I like it.

Ever thought about a laptop mount? Drop me a PM, if you have been considering one.

My research shows the evaporative emissions system can handle a capacity of 100 gallons. It will easily work with half that amount after the second tank install. It all ties together and should meet emissions requirements even though it has not undergone certifications. You could argue that it meets all the criteria. Too bad it is not for this vehicle. The 2500 had a 7 gallon tank in the filler neck. That system might be an option too? That would be OEM and might meet CA codes?

dblosch · Dec 10, 2012

HenryJ said:
Ahh, I recognize the storage rack that fits in the window stow.

Yep, that's me!

HenryJ said:
Something like this , only no picture on mine.-

What, you didn't want to wake up on the beach every morning? >:D

HenryJ said:
Tell me more about the 12V power for your GPS , up by the mirror. Mine is down by the dash.

BlueDevil came up with the mirror power source, I got the idea from him. The issue after that is the suction cup mount. Mine holds for an average of about 6 months before it lets go. I even tried glueing it to the windshield, but the rubber suction cup didn't play nice with the glue.

http://chevyavalanchefanclub.com/cafcna/index.php/topic,125772.msg1893874.html#msg1893874

HenryJ said:
My research shows the evaporative emissions system can handle a capacity of 100 gallons.

That is good to know. The problem in CA is the "visual check." Seeing 2 fuel caps behind one door would be an instant fail. Even for a system that works as well/better than stock! :E:

...If I could just leave the truck registered in Georgia...

I don't think my stuff is any cleaner than yours. Yours is one of the main builds I've looked to for inspiration. There is something to be said for being the trailblazer, you know!

HenryJ · Dec 10, 2012

dblosch said:
...The problem in CA is the "visual check." Seeing 2 fuel caps behind one door would be an instant fail...

Gotcha. Too bad we can't tell them that it is a "Special BLT Offroad edition"

I would imagine they have heard plenty of stories