Rooftop tents and vehicle recoveries

The last two weekends have seen heavy use of our 2021 Jeep Gladiator Rubicon- I took it camping with our 5 1/2 year old son for his first tent-based camping trip. A good family friend joined us with his own rooftop tent setup on his homemade UTV trailer. I continue to be astounded by the ability of Sarge the Jeep to get us onto a tough 4×4 trail, climb over rocks and through snow, and then act as a home base for camping with a cooler, stove, table, chairs, tent, and fire pit (propane powered).

My point is, the Jeep is an amazing Swiss-Army knife of a vehicle. My son, EJ, was absolutely in love with exploring around the camp ground, sitting by the fire, and climbing into the iKamper Skycamp 2.0 tent into his sleeping bag at bedtime. My friend and I discussed how important it is for children these days to get outside and to experience their world away from screens and other distractions. When you look at it that way, the Jeep isn’t just a vehicle, but a form of therapy.

This weekend we ended up using the Jeep in a way that lives up to it’s trim name: Rubicon. That is to say we took the Jeep on a trail near our home in Colorado and took it over the rocks! I have been blogging recently about some planned upgrades on the Jeep, which are on the docket to be installed in June: 35″ BF Goodrich KO2 tires, a J-Venture 3.5″ suspension lift, and the requisite steering modifications (track bar, lower control arms, etc.) With that being said, Sarge continues to impress at his abilities to traverse crazy terrain in the stock format. There may a little bit of rock-on metal contact with the skid plates, but at no point did we get stuck. I can’t say the same for my friend with his beautiful Can-Am X3 Turbo R, though…

I remember our first time getting stuck in our trusty 4Runner on Switzerland Trail last year. The entire “incident” was my fault- the result of a poorly chosen line in which I tried to avoid a snow rut. Instead of avoiding the rut, I nearly put the 4Runner down the side of the mountain. Our rescuers were some other trail users, one of which who had a JK Wrangler Rubicon that appeared to have all the parts out of the AEV catalog- snorkel, wheels, bumpers, and anything else you could think of. Perhaps most important to our situation was the fact that his beautiful Jeep was equipped with a winch. Maybe even more important than the winch was that he knew how to use his recovery gear, and saved our 4Runner from certain doom.

My friend attempted to squeeze his Can-Am through a tight spot where there was a drop off and an old mine-shaft. The Can-Am ended up in a precarious position where it was saved from rolling down the mountain by a rusty old mining pipe. We ended up using some of my recovery gear: shovels, recovery rope, and shackles. A combination of winching, pulling, and sheer manpower (a group of us ended up lifting the Can-Am up and moving it!), allowed us to free the Can-Am from it’s predicament. My friend looked at me and genuinely thanked me for having the recovery gear needed to help get the Can-Am back to safety. I told him I’ve been there, and my recovery gear was the result of being in the same position!

This morning I received a text from my friend saying that he was going to be purchasing some recovery gear to put in the Can-Am. I love rooftop tents, camping gear, and lifted Jeeps as much as the next guy- but I also recognize that sometimes the best gear to have is the stuff that can save you when it’s needed most. For that reason, I have a hard map, first aid kit, and good, solid recovery gear. Challenges can be tackled best through preparation, and that’s nothing to be ashamed of!!