Overland Raptors

[sixshooter_45]

Have to be careful on dynamic vs. static loads when purchasing racks.

Nuthouse Industries make some really great custom racks and they'll work with you to help you with your design/ wishes.

They also make some custom trailers which are also awesome.

They're not cheap but it's quality.

I'm constantly going back and forth between building up the vehicle or opting for a trailer.

Both have their pros and cons but since the Raptor is a wide vehicle to start with and therefore I'd stick to more open trails I'm starting to lean towards the trailer.

 

[wweaver]

I really like my Leitner Deisigns rack with a 75 inch long rhino rack cargo tray on top. Very versatile. Four bolts and the top tray comes off and the cross bars slide forward to allow full use of the bed. I put the +3 HD Deavers on and supports 500/600 plus pounds of crap for hunting trips without being that noticeable.

 

[Begz]

 

[SJRaptorG2]

I did the Trans America Trail (TAT) twice, once in my H3 and once in my stock G2 raptor. The eastern part (east of OK) is not challenging at all, depending on the season and weather (don’t do it in the snow and when it rains expect deep mud and flooding), but mostly back paved roads and gravel/dirt. For the western half it’s fun and challenging, it’s worth doing OK to OR if you don’t have time for the whole coast to coast, expect less than 200 miles a day. Don’t pull a trailer because many rds are closed and even with tracks to follow you will miss turns that require tight broken u-turns. Places to sleep are difficult to find in the eastern part, it’s very difficult to boondock, I had to use campsites, hotels and WalMart ( west tracks have plenty of boondocking and campsites with beautiful views). The following set up worked best for me during the TAT, Death Valley, Moab, and other great spots (about three months and 20,000mi total). ARE reinforced linex protected cap with a RoofNest light weight easy open roof tent. Hope this helps.

 

[amREADY]

Fwiw, I've done a fair amount of light to medium offroad trailering. It just plain sucks. Gravel forestry roads or more wide open terrain is fine. But the vids if guys pushing their ruggedized trailers through crazy difficult offroading...there must be a lot of time shown unhooking, winching, turning around, rehooking etc etc. Not to mention the long slow backups.

But the benefits of setting up in one location, storage, convenience, gear hauling etc really make it nice from many other perspectives. So it really comes down to your needs and type of use you expect.

Sent from my SM-N960W using Tapatalk

 

[TheClaw]

I’m more of a backpack camper so most of my travel will be leaving the truck/campsite to explore on foot. If I want to go trailing I’d pack light and leave the back open.

I’m going for more of a low profile rack with RTT mounted.

What tailgate covers might work best with a low pro rack for light off-roading?

 

[TurboTJ]

This is what I am currently running. Selling the trailer though. Having the extra storage inside the trailer and being able to uncouple from it and explore around are huge pluses. But trying to stay self contained and more compact, if possible. Quicker setup and teardown and able to turn around more easily on tight roads make the trailer a no go.

what kind of trailer is that?

 

[91Eunos]

View attachment 132084 View attachment 132085

I did the Trans America Trail (TAT) twice, once in my H3 and once in my stock G2 raptor. The eastern part (east of OK) is not challenging at all, depending on the season and weather (don’t do it in the snow and when it rains expect deep mud and flooding), but mostly back paved roads and gravel/dirt. For the western half it’s fun and challenging, it’s worth doing OK to OR if you don’t have time for the whole coast to coast, expect less than 200 miles a day. Don’t pull a trailer because many rds are closed and even with tracks to follow you will miss turns that require tight broken u-turns. Places to sleep are difficult to find in the eastern part, it’s very difficult to boondock, I had to use campsites, hotels and WalMart ( west tracks have plenty of boondocking and campsites with beautiful views). The following set up worked best for me during the TAT, Death Valley, Moab, and other great spots (about three months and 20,000mi total). ARE reinforced linex protected cap with a RoofNest light weight easy open roof tent. Hope this helps.

ARE topper, correct? How did you add internal bracing to support the RTT?

Edit: I see ARE does an internally reinforced topper, but only 550# weight bearing...I’m 220#, wife’s ~120... RTT and mattress, etc. another 100# or so. Probably doable but not too much to spare.

I do like that look on a Raptor though. Would definitely have to do some kind of sliders or something in the bed with a topper though. Just priced out some all weather truck vault drawers with a sliding cargo tray on top...not cheap, but I’m of the “buy once, cry once” bent.

 

[SJRaptorG2]

ARE topper, correct? How did you add internal bracing to support the RTT?

Edit: I see ARE does an internally reinforced topper, but only 550# weight bearing...I’m 220#, wife’s ~120... RTT and mattress, etc. another 100# or so. Probably doable but not too much to spare.

I do like that look on a Raptor though. Would definitely have to do some kind of sliders or something in the bed with a topper though. Just priced out some all weather truck vault drawers with a sliding cargo tray on top...not cheap, but I’m of the “buy once, cry once” bent.

I really wanted a low open rack system, not only because it looks cool but it will carry my RTT lower. However with much research and asking people who actually have them (and were honest) and used them on 30 plus day treks to the desert I decided on my current set up. First the lower rack would require a shorter or different RTT, not too much of a biggy but we keep our packs with us while sleeping with things we need in the morning or an emergency (we trek alone). Also, we hike and leave the truck alone in the middle of nowhere routinely and have had to stay at hotels because boondocking is getting tough to find and paid campsites are full, the open rack system in my opinion is an invitation for theft. But my main reason is sand and mud. I have been exploring sandy gravel roads and that stuff gets in everywhere, I had to place additional weather stripping to keep sand out. An open rack system would drive my wife nuts (she’s the cook) and I would prefer not dealing with all that sand, especially after it rains and then its mud. The ARE reinforced topper weight rating is while the truck is in motion, when not moving and using it is much higher, also I used three racks rather than the two recommended. I did also add a bedslide, but I really didn’t need to use it all the time because the side ARE windows tilt up like the back and gear is accessible from the sides. I had ARE install their rail system and got the racks and front no drilling removable platform cargo tray from Rino rack.

You’re like me, do good research and buy one time. I learned that the hard way.

 

[Begz]

Back to the OP, you say you're prepping for a 3 week adventure. Do you have much experience on extended expeditions like this in previous vehicles and have things that worked well?

I've got about a month of my 4 month ownership of my 19' on the trail and camping out of it thus far. I incorporated things that worked well before. As shown in the pics above, I keep it real simple. I have a Decked drawer system in the bed, which I've modified now to fit in 3 different trucks at this point. I carry a lot of weight in the drawer system, kitchen on one side, recovery gear and tools, etc. on the right. Leer topper, pretty standard with screened windows.

When solo, or just me and the dogs, I sleep on the decked system as a sleeping platform with an exped duo mat, which is insanely comfy. I'm 6'2" and can stretch out comfortably, diagonally. Obviously, cooler, and other things go outside when I sleep. When with the Mrs., we tent camp.

Up top I have a front runner rack for dirty stuff, firewood, extended trip stuff. ARB awning off the rear, and some rear lights for setting up camp in the dark.

All these bed rack systems crack me up. Great for the mall and camping a night or two, but for extended offroad expeditions, it's just a nice bowl of dirt for all your gear in the back. Even worse if you see wet weather, which you definitely would on a 3 week cross country trip.

The rooftop tent thing is cool and not cool. Soft shell tents are like driving with a parachute on the highway. Hardshell is the only way to go imo.

For three weeks, you're going to want simplicity of set up and take down each day, so definitely take that into consideration.

Otherwise the raptor has been great. Amazing on the highway, aired down on dirt like a cadillac. Can rock crawl with Jeeps (mild stuff), and soak up the washboards and bumps to just make all those miles on dirt enjoyable.