Africa OVERLANDING Rig | Is it posible with a D/C Ford Ranger? | Walk Around update

this episode is supported by serth Logistics Indie flight TLA products Lacy and tracks for Africa overlanding by definition is vehicle dependent Adventure travel [Music] I Overland travel because I enjoy the Wild and the wild places I get to visit in southern [Music] Africa and as someone who really enjoys exploring and the spirit of travel I class myself as an Overlander overlanding in Africa comes with its challenges though and that adds to the exploration of new and T [Music] [Applause] places wherever you are in the world make the excuse to get out and enjoy the adventure that is life I'm Ryan Crocker and this is 4x4 Ventures I bought this Ford Ranger 8 years ago and it's time for an [Music] update [Music] [Applause] [Music] yeah [Music] [Music] this Ford Ranger being the t7 2 16 model 2.2 XL 4x4 double cab manual it's got an inline 4 cylinder motor and a motor and vehicle I've been very happy with so let me walk you around and show you what I've done to not only update the Ford Ranger but what I've done to make it better let's dive on in I'm busy running the 28565 r18 tire now it is a strange size tire for a Ford Ranger but it's a tire I find is narrow enough and gives me enough rubber between the mag or rim and the asphalt this allows for a lot more of a comfier ride when doing corrugation and a lot of long drive and mileage type trips it is the CST Sahara allterrain 318 tires I'm busy testing them for the CST International brand a big shout out to them for sending me their tires to test here in Africa and thus far I'm very happy I get good traction great grip and a very strong 10 layer build in the rubber compound itself the sidewalls are three ply layer built as well so a very strong and robust Tire like I say good traction a intermediate to soft rubber Compound on the tire the only thing I'm not sure on is how will they wear over time the rims are a courtesy of highq centurion a big shout out to them I'm running the rhc off-road rims with a negative offset on the tire itself just because I didn't want the tires or the rubber to sit outter of whe [Music] shrouds with the suspension what I have done as a result of getting a train canopy setup combo I've gone with the old man emu leaf springs at the back but I haven't gone with the standard 400 nor have I gone with the 600 I'm now running 800 kg constant leavs at the back of the Ford Ranger and and just to assist them a big shout out to Norman from eona lifts what he's done is he's gone and put in airbags and these airbags have really changed the way I drive a lot more comfy on road stiffer when I need them to be and I have the option of interchanging the Bellows from left or right with a ball valve in the middle so this allows for greater traction between tires when doing those off camber obstacles out on overlanding trips this is something that has really helped the Ford Ranger I can get the ride height just right where it needs to be not too high and like I said the airbags are just an assist so a big thank you to Norman Norman's also gone and done and come have a look at this I'm running the TMax 160 L compressor inside the smart tray canopy at the bottom here and what Norman's done is he's gone and integrated a split in the valves so I can literally fill the two tires at the back and I got a main line that runs all the way to the front and I can just Jack into the front and fill up the two tires in the front I think it's a brilliant unit and I've been testing it on this trip and it really works and comes in handy when using the new digital IND flate unit but all in all the airbags and this uh compressor system I think is really really easygoing when out there doing this I always find that when I'm on these trips I find that I got to do tire deflating and inflating in the middle of the the day and when it's hot like it is in Africa you just want quick efficient and you just want to get the job done and with this system set up there's no more slip especially with this IND deflate unit it just makes life so much easier let's have a chat about the smart cap tray and [Music] canopy Bo [Music] so one of the most amazing additions to the Ford Ranger thus far has been the smart cap tray and canopy the tray being beneath this Mark here and the canopy being upwards of that one of the difficulties with the tray and canopy setup number one is you got to get your buck off no one talks about this in South Africa we get our vehicles our 4x4 double cab Utes or bies we get them with a buck or back and you've got to take this off and you've got to get rid of it and that's quite a big job and a big deal but once that's done I rolled into smart cap South Africa and they did the fitment of this unit and I'll tell you what it's one of the best things I've ever done but there are some things you need to know let's open this up and I'll show [Music] you so from the exterior the minute you grab the two interlocking handles and swivel them open you know you're in a different league and you really are quality this unit is absolutely so wellmade and it's a very rigid structure and from the grip of both lock keys I tell you what for me I absolutely love it the G Wings doors open up and you get great height and what also comes really nice with these gowing doors is the Molly plates on the inner panels so you can store and stash whatever you need to on it I've got spades fishing rods a small Viking axe from Ms Custom Creations and yeah it's just it's just brilliant for extra storage space and you've got them on all panels of the smart cap train canopy come have a closer look immediately after opening the gwing door you'll notice one thing and one thing only and that is space it's 1.8 m by 1.8 m you do get an extra 700 mm over the standard load bin or buck that comes with the vehicle 700 mm extension means quite a few things and I'll chat about that a little bit later but space and from this point on you have a blank canvas which I suppose to some degree might be considered a little bit of a downside with the smart cap International tray and canopy you don't have the option from them themselves of totally kitting out the interior of it and as of yet from what I know I don't know if this is something they're going to look at doing so everything I've had to do from this point onwards has been on my own Steam and quite a costly exercise between the lip of the smart cap tray and canopy you get about an 8 to 10 cm Gap I wanted to utilize that space so what I did was I built a floor and on that floor I have little trap doors that I use for storage what's also quite nice with the smart cap train canopy is the height of the doorway you can load and I've had some really big fridges 96 L I'm now using the 90 l dermatic so when you get a system set up like this one of the priorities for anybody should be how do you keep your stuff either Frozen or at fridge level cold well you have to get a fridge but then you have to ask yourself the question how do I get this fridge in and out of the tray and canopy what I've done is I've got the uh 96 L Stu but drop- down fridge slide it's a bit clunky and if I'm honest it hasn't worn too well over the last 2 and 1/ half years is but maybe that's a little bit unfair I have put this whole system through a proper series of tests on all my overlanding trips and in all honesty I don't think it's too bad when you consider it at this stage you know with putting over 68,000 km of hard kilms it is in the condition that it's in it probably just needs a little bit of a refresh a little bit of a touchup here and there maybe even a service but it still works and the nice thing about this one is this unit is you can slide out of the fridge and it drops the fridge down to a level that makes it accessible to get into both the deep freeze or the fridge side so someone once said to me well Ryan your idea of having and trying to regain that space back underneath the floor is quite a silly idea well not really I value between loading space and packing space they're two different utilitarian types of loading and packing that any Overlander would use so I've got these little secret trap doors that essentially pop open on Nitro pistons and give me back that space that 8 to 10 cm that I initially lost that was unusable space I now have it back with a level decking on the top so for example sake this one here I have plates knives Forks uh all the cutlery you might need as a individual or couple over landing and I've got my little coffee station brilliant underneath the fridge behind me i' pretty much got all this space open for like dry grids cleaning up buckets you name it wooden cutting boards gas fire sticks all of that sort of stuff lives underneath the fridge so brilliant I'm gaining back space and what's most important about all of this is I can now load on the top of it yes yes it means I've got to take that stuff out when I get to Camp but the stuff that I'm carrying is not a mountain of stuff in fact on this trip being here at matusadona in Zimbabwe on our Zambia Zimbabwe over Landing Expedition I'm packing for two people so it hasn't really been that much of an issue to take stuff off of the top stash it around the side of the vehicle and then put it back in when we need to so for me at the moment this works however I am considering doing a complete change of the tray and canopy system and I'll tell you a little bit more about that later let's pop around to the back so at the back of the smart cap train canopy one of the big things that I really love about this unit is being able to store two tires so I've got the CST Sara at alterrain 318 tires on the back they're big tires this means with this strange tire size that I'm using I have my spares I think two at this stage and even on a long trip like we're doing right now is more than enough but what's really awesome other than being able to store two big tires on the back is this talk about space and I absolutely love this I store a ground mat and two additional ground mats on top that are hard rubber plastic my solar panel cables with extension and my two solar panels and almost talk about kitchen sink I do bring a broom this broom I use to clean my SE gear floor mat and I tell you what if you know anything about anything it's always nice to keep your ground sheet nice and clean so space this really offers space if I had anything to say that I would like done is may be a topping for this so then it can serve as a dual purpose one as a table top and then obviously just keep any dust that may get in here from not entering in but what a great little system this is and I'll tell you what if you need space then this is what you'll get okay so on the driver's side of the vehicle now as you have seen it and are looking at it now the vehicle's in use and this is how I would probably store all my stuff during the day on this side underneath the Secret Door I have my pantry I keep all my chips and all of that sort of stuff underneath here and underneath this one I keep my clothes now I only ever need my clothes either early morning or in the evening to shower up so I use this top section here to do all my um charging putting in lights and all of that sort of stuff and I'll show you the electrical system that comes from 4x4 Mega straight on Park so not only is it important to consider bringing a fridge along and the compressor on at the moment so you might hear that but another big thing when thinking of doing overlanding is your electrical system I've gone with the Vectron units for just reliability and ensure strength and quality it is a really good product and one I'm very happy with it is an expensive Buy in but once you're in just works and workless the big thank you to 4x4 Mega World straight and park for setting this whole integrated unit up what I've done is I've kept the back as a total complete self-contained unit as far as electrics go and the front from the starter battery on its own the only connection point is from the starter motor into the Orion DC victron unit to get it charge to the two lithium 108 batteries that I have at the back of the car in front runner boxes this system here is brilliant it allows me to both charge as I drive from DC to D DC and I also have the option when parked up under a tree like today I put my solar panels out and I can get charged that way I also have the 500 wat inverter from Vectron look it might be a little bit small for this but I'm quite happy with it it allows me to charge my gear in the future I would like to upgrade to maybe 1,200 W maybe 1,500 WT inverter it's just a very costly thing like I said I also have the mppt it's the 75 over 15 what this allows me to do is put a charge in from solar panels of 15 amps again maybe a little bit small because with the lithium the lifeb 4 batteries they can take any charge you throw at it so I think if I wanted to get the 100 over 30 mppt I think that would be a much better solve for charging these batteries a lot faster and getting them back up to spec really quickly half the time essentially but yeah really good system for now I'm very [Music] happy this is one of those bits of kits that to be honest really fits the saying it's better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it the Legends over at easy on reached out and realized that I didn't have a Sol for shade on those hot days or protection from the wind and the [Music] rain so I'm testing out their new man 270° awning it's a very light aluminium built unit the awning is made of light non- RP gray canvas and there are four drop- down Square bars that lift and support the awning on full extension it is easy to set up for a full 270° coverage and makes the rig a great Gathering point when set up on those hot days brilliant I use the heavyduty storm straps from wild dog outdoor just to protect the awning from any severe wind rushes that often do happen and without warning overall this is a setup that takes 3 to 8 minutes to set up depending on how hard the ground is so I've been using the C gear products for a while now and if you don't know what they are they are the sandfree ground sheets or ground mats and uh they just sent over something that's really cool they saw that I didn't have anything for when I put my ladder down so they sent me over a 1.5x 1.5 M little square see gear little ground mat for my Lea so let me show [Music] you [Music] [Applause] a so I went with lithium yes that's right the life po 4 108 amp hour and I went with two of them and this just allows me to essentially have one big 200 16 amp hour battery this is brilliant I find that this is the safe number when doing what I do anything over 18 days 28 days this is what you need I can basically get a good 3 to 4 days of this fridge or any fridge and they all roughly use the same amperage per hour I can get 3 to 4 days of battery usage from these obviously some days are a little bit different and when it's really hot the battery doesn't like to take charge both of them and and they seem to dissipate charge really quickly so these are things to take into account and that's anything over 45° C at this stage just really happy to have a reliable solution Battery Solution storage solution for battery power and I think it's a great option so if you are looking at getting a good battery solve then consider this you get 7year warranty on the batteries and you get 2,000 cycles per battery which I think is absolutely brilliant I think that works out to and I stand to be corrected I think 30 years or something like that get good usage is what I'm saying so very happy with the lithium batteries let's go over to the other side and I'll show you the electrical setup so when it comes to being able to charge your gear get power in on anything you need that needs power then the guys at 4x4 Mega World straighten Park they didn't mess around I tell you boy I told them what I need and they said yeah we going to we're going to give you more than you actually need I have a 240 Vol uh plug Point here which plugs into the inverter the 500 W inverter anything with a two pin plug or a three pin plug I can plug it into here and I can get power that way I also have a whole bunch of little ports here cigarette lighter ports I have USB Quick Charge three USB ports the only Port I'm missing is the USBC Port but I have little adapters that go into the cigarette lighters and that seems to work just fine for me I also have little light switches here to allow me to run my steady rock crawler lights that I have fitted into the canopy itself and I've got an amazing little switch here for a pump and Gyer the pump and Gyer that I'm using is the Quick Pitch 6 L per minute Gyer and the pump I'm using is a 12 L per minute pump I find that this works really nicely I've got a 42 L water tank underneath the train canopy setup and I just get really good usage but I wanted to show you this I have a really nice little bag created by wild dog 4x4 thank you so much Jo this stuff you you create is amazing and I use quite a bit of his gear I just think it's just top quality and he's made me a little PCH I have a little um pipe that's got a little Beday nozzle on the end I know and uh that works just just great I mean I get enough pressure to wash shower and it's allows me to be somewhat conservative when it comes to how much water I'm using per shower I haven't used it too much but I tell you what when you do need it especially for washing up plates dishes those sorts of things it's just super super handy what else about the train and canopy system the nice thing is it also comes with a table up at the top here I think that's brilliant I mean it just you know you flip the latch you push and you drop the table down and you pull the table out and the same thing when you put it up I'm doing it with two hands now put it up pull forward and it's got this really nice lock and that's it locked going go anyway so yeah all in all um I really like the smart cap train canopy system it's 325 kilos like I've said and um the only thing that I wish I had the option of doing was getting the interior completely Decked Out by them and maybe being a little bit more customizable in that way however the contacts that I have made and the work that has been done to the train canopy system has worked up to this point as the game goes and evolves and changes and now that I've just taken my brother-in-law on the trip this the first time I've ever traveled with two people in the car there are things that I've now started to notice and say well maybe I should change this and one of those is I'm actually thinking of trying to add some sort of little draw system in here and maybe an extra table or two that slides out underneath the drawer I think with drawers you've got more storage space but it's still allows me to load on top so packing space is increased and loading space sort of Remains the Same but really having this system I I think it's really awesome I think it's a great solve to space if space is what you need then this is an option you know you can even put things like your you know recovery tracks on these Molly plates that sit on the inside I think it's just brilliant and one of the biggest bonuses to getting a train and canopy system for myself is this I get to fit a fulllength rooftop tent on the [Music] top [Music] so to the front of the vehicle and yes I know if you follow the show then you'll realize there's been one massive massive change well actually two the first change is I've moved over from a long whipped antenna for the VHF radio system to an mtech shorty aerial I I do believe you get an even shorter one but I just liked it because I see them so often in Australia and I had such a curiosity for them I paid into this one and to be honest with you I'm not sure I'm getting the range that I was told I would get look it hasn't really failed I mean the quality is brilliant between mtech antenna and mtech antenna the the the quality of the of the of the intercom is brilliant but it's about the distance you know I think when we do overlanding I think if you get between 15 to 20 km range on flat ground I think that's brilliant that's where you need to be at the moment I'm probably getting between 6 and 9 km on flat ground range between mtech to mtech so I'm not too sure if there's an issue with this one or what the problem is but and maybe an upgrade to this at some point in the future probably the biggest change to the Ford Ranger is as of recently I had Hammer Africa reach out to me and say Ron we'd love to upgrade your vehicle and give it a new look so they've given me the hammer bumper and I'll tell you what this thing is really nice for one reason and one reason alone and that is the fog light these fog lights are esec which is a protocol that we need to have in South Africa it doesn't blind oncoming traffic or anything like that and uh thus far it's a really great unit the only thing that concerns me is these are not actual recovery points these are just for show and I'm okay with that I don't mind about a little bit of bling here and a little bit of bling there to make the vehicle look good now I think it makes the vehicle look absolutely stunning Hammer bumper really happy with it and what's really nice is it comes with actual proper recovery points mounted to the chassis underneath in red and those are something I haven't had to use yet but I tell you what when I do have to use them rest assured I know I'll get recovered no problem and yes I'm still using the steady type Express I really like the steadies they're just they've done me very well they've been completely submerged in water no problems no issues let's go to the inside of the vehicle and I'll give you a quick chat of what's happened on the inside there's been some massive improvements in there that I'm really happy to show you so what's happened to the Ford Ranger since the last time I spoke to you were quite a few additions and quite a few additions that are real game changers for myself especially with the smart cap train canopy system because I had very little to no visibility out the back window in fact zero the only things that were getting me by were my side mirrors with the little additional magnifying mirrors on the ends and tips those were the only things that could help me with blind spot but as far as actual reversing goes I had a massive blind spot I couldn't see where I was going so have a look at this one of the great additions to the Ford Ranger has now been the one Nev integrated heads up display unit it's blooming brilliant and I'm loving it and I've just recently had the upgrade to it so all the little kinks and delays that I did have in the previous version or upgraded then uh is now sorted so as I said in one of my episodes regarding the one nav unit it's nice to get a system that's completely working and working very well so I really love the 1av unit it's a game changer you've got integrated Maps integrated phone calls integrated music video you name it it's here plus the amplifier so you can change your equalizer settings to get the kind of sound quality you want and I'm loving this unit a big change to the Ford Ranger 2.2 XL model if you used to have that old heads up display unit it's kind of bad really bad now full color integration loving it absolutely loving [Music] it [Music] I'm also using and have been using for eight years now and loving it and still loving it yes it doesn't get it right all of the time especially in some of these more Wilder places that you go to roads change I do use tracks for Africa on the Garment system it's an old garment system it does the job if anything it's pretty delayed when you finger touch it or anything like that it doesn't work the best and as far as detail goes it's pretty bland and not really all that impressive but it's a solid unit it works for me I'm quite happy and if I don't use that then I just use Google Maps which then then show up on the one nav unit there's something else I wanted to show you I was chatting about a little bit earlier and that is being able to see behind the smart cap train canopy have a look at this the 1X rear view mirror is a completely digital system and the great thing with this is it can record in whatever 5 minute Loop you might want it would either overwrite it it also has crash sensitivity so bang sensitivity crash sensitivity if something bangs your car it'll start recording at the front and at the back it's got a camera integrated here comes with a microphone and it will record what you needed to record when you need to record but it's just nice for me to be able to access reverse gear and have a look at where exactly I'm going it also has guidelines so you know where you are close to the rear of the vehicle when you're intermediately close to anything or you know any obstacle obstruction in the way and when you're in the green you know you're safe you know you're good to go so it's really handy to have this unit when you have the smart cap train canopy 100% And I really like it it also does a dip so if you're going at night time you can lower the brightness really really happy with the 1X unit brilliant you know you can even do a dual split on the screen so that you can see both your front facing camera and your rear facing camera it's a bit of a trip but if you need it it does it so listen guys as you see the the vehicle now it is in use so it's pretty dirty pretty dusty and I tell you I'm not normally like this I can't handle this kind of stuff I'm pretty OCD when it comes to my vehicle but I tell you what the te seat covers that use the Cante Tech material you know what I've used these for 4 years now they are the signature Black Range I absolutely love them I love them because it prevents a lot of sweating it's waterproof stainproof easy to take off and wash and just really comfortable I went with the all black black on black and I'm really happy that I did they are absolutely filthy at the moment but that's fine because underneath I've got leather seats so I know that the leather underneath is still in good quality being protected and being looked after I even have the tackler Dash cover love it it's got little pockets everywhere it is airbag compliant I've got little vcro straps here and there if I want to put something on the top I can do that I also have the tacms the tacms are brilliant they but they are underneath the these 3D mats that I have and uh just doubling up on protecting the actual carpet of the vehicle and if any water does happen to spill or then you know everything is nice and safe and protected and just comfy so I really like the tler signature Black Range I just think they're an absolutely Priceless addition to any vehicle when I got these made I got little pockets and pouches and I can just store everything everywhere and I just know that it's looking after my leather underneath but I tell you what time to move to the top of the vehicle this one you're going to [Music] see welcome to front runner okay talk about precarious positions just climbed up here like a monkey using the ey camper ladder that thing is brilliant and comes in handy like you won't believe so being Up on the Roof I wanted to chat to you about the roof rack and system that I'm using I'm using the Slimline 2 roof rack system from front runner the new one the one with the updated roof arms that go into the roof seal of your vehicle there is sometimes drilling that might need to happen this thing is absolutely brilliant it carries a lot of weight I have the front runner Jerry cans I have 40 L this side and 40 L this side they're empty at the moment and I have the Jerry can holders which are absolutely fantastic and are up to the test to hold it we've got the ones with the new matches and I really love them I think it's just easy access to use and Brilliant I can literally open the Jerry can I can fill up no problem the roof rack itself is up to the Tusk and holding the weight if you think about it this is 80 kilos I'm about 98 kilos and I have two boxes the front runner wolf pack Pros boxes here also love them I use those for storage and they're carrying about 30 kg so that's a lot of weight up here when doing these long trips unfortunately there is no other way for me to do this I have to put the weight on the roof I just don't have the storage space that will allow me to carry the for Jerry cans especially when visiting places like Zambia you don't know if fuel is in shortage or you know that you can't get fuel you need to carry 80 l so it is a risk for me but I kind of understand by this stage after doing it for quite a while now I have an understanding of what happens to the vehicle when I overload on the top I changed my driving style so don't think you can just overload the top of your vehicle it is very dangerous 80 kg is is the margin is the threshold it is ill advised to go over the 80 kg unless you really have to have an understanding of what's going on with your vehicle from a safety point of view things like upgrading your brakes things like upgrading your suspension things like changing and adapting your driving style what's also really nice with the front runner roof rack system is the integration of all the other products some of the other integrated accessories that I'm running on the side of the roof rack and that's one of the great things with this roof rack you can also mount to the side of it on this side I have a recovery spade a flat spade and I use that all the time with these little easy ratchets front runner ratchets that allow for quick access to the Spade blim and Brilliant when you're out there in the Heat and you need to do a recovery boom pop it open you've got it I also have on this side I have the Wild dog privacy shower cubicle which I use all the time especially on those trips where there is no water and I need to have a shower I can carry this thing on the side of the front runner roof rack and it's absolutely brilliant with this layout and configuration that they'll do as per your request I can open up my Rooftop tent I have the 5 kg gas bottle holder brilliant absolutely locks in and it's rock steady and solid doesn't move shift a millimeter it's excellent I recently had two new things added to the roof rack system that I'm so excited about I've got an LED light integrated light on the left hand side and I have Front Runners little swivel light which is brilliant absolutely power at the moment I'm really happy what's going on on the roof but yeah the front runner roof rack system for integration ease of use Simplicity strength durability very happy and I've put a lot of kilometers on this one and I'm just so happy and thanks to front runner Kyle Army South Africa thanks for your support really appreciate it it was so good to see you guys the other day by this stage it's time to head to the new edition of the Ford Ranger and something I've been wanting for a very long time and so excited to show you the I camper 2x version 3 Rooftop [Music] tent [Music] so the I camper 2x version 3.0 a really nice and probably the latest edition to the Ford Ranger that I think PS a punch not only does it look good on the Ford Ranger and feels really integrated it's also very aerodynamic I think a lot of the R&D that's gone into creating the shell of the I camper 2x has really paid off because even with my previous Rooftop tent although it was a very low and flat profiled tent and you would think that it was aerodynamically suited it wasn't really and I think with this one you will definitely feel the difference also it's a much lighter tint at 55 kilos my previous tent was at 75 to 80 kilos so those are things that really work for me from a weight saving point of view look I mean the range is really heavy now with everything added water on Jerry cans you know two extra spares the rooftop tent the roof rack all of it is now very heavy so any little savings that I can make I'm very happy to it's not the fastest tent to set up if I'm quite honest but all of that goes out of the window on two parts the first part being quality it is a quality built product I mean from the stitching the water proofing the seams the integrated Zips the even the mosquito Gau is of a premium quality there's no compromises made in terms of the texture the fabric used and the quality of the stitching overall plus it's got this really nice world map on the back now whenever Ed and Chris set up their rooftop tens which are the I camper Sky Camp minis you know I've always looked at their tens and thought yo I would love one and it so happened that I was able to buy in partially to the uh I camper brand and I'm really happy to now be a part of their family because now I too have a world map on the head or clamshell of my Rooftop [Music] tent [Music] if I'm honest I think the mattress is a little bit thin but I do believe there is a solve you know you can either add a 5 cm eggshell mattress to either the top or the bottom up to you your choice which I may be doing in the future or you can get their new I camper inflatable mattress that comes with a little pump I think these are great options for those of us who buy into the brand I think the price of all rooftop T if I'm Hest is way out of touch and reach for somebody like myself bear in mind I'm a full-time YouTuber so it's hard for for me to purchase into these Brands and products and remain as neutral as I possibly can but I tell you straight and as it is this Rooftop tent thus far is very very comfortable I could do with maybe a little bit of a thicker mattress I really love the little Windows I've always been one that's never really favored these little strut bars that hold up the awnings but they make a lot of sense you know you can sit here now on a rainy night and not get wet same for your windows you can leave them open and not get wet but the amount of storage space I have in here is unbelievable and near enough unrivaled I can keep my shoes in here I can close this whole tent down I have at the moment I have a sheet I have a donkey blanket I have a duvet I have a really thick and new sleeping bag which is great because the old sleeping bag was a bit old and Tatty and I have a really thick pillow I can keep two of those thick pillows in here and close this whole bad boy up and no problems and I think that's where this comes into effect for me from a really you know using usability great usability and efficiency I don't have to carry my pillows in the car anymore I mean I use the back of the car for carrying other things camera gear extra clothes maybe I'm taking another person with me on a trip they've got space in the other side of the seat to store what they need to so this makes a whole lot of sense to me and the great thing with it and something I'm still getting used to is the Stargazer it actually has a roof in the top of the roof that a lets more light in and I haven't rolled it up and done it properly but he that's more lighten also has a mosquito G or you could open the mosquito G and you could have like extra air flow you can have extra air flow it's a it's a hole between the layer and still waterproof and I think that's just brilliant I think it's a nice addition and as far as creatur Comforts go I think it's just a smart thing you know who doesn't want to have a look at the stars before they go to bed or wake up in the morning to the sun rising and the birds singing in trees above you I just think it's brilliant and well thought out so I'm very happy with this Rooftop tent like I said it is a bit slower to set up and tear down but at the end of the day I get to store all my sleeping gear now my previous Rooftop tent I couldn't do that I couldn't do that I couldn't keep my pillows in but I could have a lot of blankets but I couldn't keep all my pillows in and this one has a floor a proper solid based floor designed to keep the cold out so on those cold nights I'm actually quite cozy in here I think it's brilliant I'm absolutely loving it I haven't tested it in all the weather condition wind or rain as yet it's still a relatively new addition to the Ford Ranger and I'll let you know how it goes don't you love it when a brand reaches out to you and says welcome to the family I think it's absolutely fantastic so happy days and at this stage zero complaints on this Rooftop tent that's for [Music] sure [Music] so we are on the mighty Lake kba and it's just simply stunning we're here at matusadona like I said to you the t7 2016 model 2.2 Ford Ranger XL double cab Ford Ranger it's taking me 8 years essentially to get to this point and it's only happened as a result of great support from Brand and product and belief in the show and what I'm trying to do and I hope that this episode has given you some insight into what you might want to do with your overlanding vehicle now I'm not trying to tell you that this is what you should buy and this is the way you should go I'm just giving you an idea of what works for me out there in the overlanding world and listen my trips are 15 to 20 days this is what I do I create content for you guys so to be able to stay out there and get the shots that I need this is what I've done to get Overland ready I've put over 140 3,000 km on the Ford Ranger and yes I have had issues she's a big girl she carries a lot of weight guys from the mighty Lake kba the 2023 Ford Range walk around and a little bit of information on the gear I use and which gear I fancy and prefer I'm Ryan Crocker and this is 4x4 Venture stay safe keep trucking and I'll see you at the next one I can't wait to see you out there and until then keep well Jaz a big thank you to my patreon Legends thank you for your support sign up to my patreon link Down Below in the next episode sad news sad sad sad news sad news I think the Rangers engine is gone I don't know what I'm going to do it's new car day so uh an update to the Ford rang I've just come in good [Music] news they are replacing and putting a new engine in with injectors Hatfield Ford fourways reaches out and keeps the upcoming Adventures alive we are here at the corner lift and it's absolutely [Music] fantastic opposite lock reached out to me and said Ryan listen we'd love for you to test out our tough dog suspension un a massive upgrade happens that truly changes the Ford Ranger with time running out I pop in to visit friends at front runner going to rearrange some stuff for you and they get me ready for the big trip and these are the best thing for the job and lonel is not sure on what he just told us when you come to front runner a place like this a shop with all the gear I tell you what it's fantastic to pick up those little things before you go on any trip we here and I highq getting the tires balanced and wheel aligned and yeah exciting times it's time for Rim repairs and a six Tire crossover rotation and there's no one better than the guys over at highq Centurion tonight we spend our first hit in the wild Ree and I finally hit the road and are very unprepared for what was going to be an unforgettable wild adventure in Wild [Music] places this is one of those Adventures for the books and we'll see you there coming soon y re reys what happened last night BR so I don't know what time it was but I woke up and I could smell something and I wasn't sure what it was and my mesh on my tenture I can see straight through and our table is just over there and I could see a leopard sitting underneath the table

Channel: 4x4ventures

Views: 27,103

Keywords: overlanding, 4x4offroad, 4x4ventures, 4x4venturessouthafrica, adventure, offroadadventures, overlanding africa, botswana, zimbabwe, zambia, overlading southern africa, overlanding rig walkaround, ford ranger review, T6 Ford Ranger overlanding, Ford, 2.2XL Ford Ranger, overlanding rig review, takla products, opposite lock, indeflate, tracks4africa, sereth logistics, econolift suspensions, 4x4megaworld strijdom park, victron electrical setup, front runner, eeziawn, csttires, hiq centurion

Id: B_ClnhNvW3M

Length: 46min 3sec (2763 seconds)

Published: Mon Jan 22 2024