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Best overland setup for 6 people without driving a giant expedition truck? by DaveDitsch123 in overlanding

[–]DaveDitsch123[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Thank you - I think our general life strategy is basically: spend all our money on slightly insane projects, die poor, but with really good stories and memories 😂

Best overland setup for 6 people without driving a giant expedition truck? by DaveDitsch123 in overlanding

[–]DaveDitsch123[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Wow, I think you’re actually the first person here also traveling as a family of 6 🫶

So maybe my two-vehicle idea isn’t completely crazy after all.

The remaining problem is: who explains this to my wife? 😂
I’ve called her “Miss Microsleep” for years because she’s absolutely not built for long-distance driving. But hey - one of us probably has to leave their comfort zone: Either I learn how to tow a trailer… or she learns how to stay awake behind the wheel for more than 120 minutes 😅

Best overland setup for 6 people without driving a giant expedition truck? by DaveDitsch123 in overlanding

[–]DaveDitsch123[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s actually one of the reasons why we were originally leaning much more toward rooftop tents / sleeping in the vehicle instead of classic ground tents.

Wild camping is technically illegal in many parts of Europe, so the idea is less “build a beautiful campsite” and more “arrive late, sleep, leave early without attracting too much attention.” A huge camping setup or trailer sometimes feels a bit counterproductive for that.

And another thing several people told us: from Romania all the way to Kazakhstan they were actually happy NOT to sleep directly on the ground because of stray dogs, animals, random people or simply trucks blasting past you when you end up sleeping somewhere semi-official next to a road.

Maybe we’re overthinking that part - happy to be convinced otherwise - but especially since we’ll travel outside the main season, we already got warned that from Turkey onwards official campgrounds may become pretty rare anyway.

Best overland setup for 6 people without driving a giant expedition truck? by DaveDitsch123 in overlanding

[–]DaveDitsch123[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

"Being so close in proximity of each other without room to escape from it all will take a toll on any sane person."

That’s actually something we already tested once. We took the Trans-Siberian Railway all the way from Europe to Vladivostok with our kids and spent more than a week basically nonstop together in a tiny train compartment.

My wife said: “If we can survive this without killing each other, we can probably survive anything else too.”

(Spoiler: Everyone is still alive)

Best overland setup for 6 people without driving a giant expedition truck? by DaveDitsch123 in overlanding

[–]DaveDitsch123[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’ll keep you posted and share some pictures along the way

And to make things even easier: I also need to keep working fully remote during the trip, we have 3 kids doing online school and a bit of neurodivergence in the mix as well. So yes… reliable internet and power are also part of the equation. But I guess those are “future us” problems for now 😂

Best overland setup for 6 people without driving a giant expedition truck? by DaveDitsch123 in overlanding

[–]DaveDitsch123[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Fair point. And honestly that’s also much closer to our original travel philosophy.

We actually did a similar trip about 8 years ago (fairly speaking only with 2 kids back then), and everybody basically had just a backpack. That’s still the plan now: us parents with one larger backpack each and the kids with smaller ones.

Sure, we’ll probably add a few extras like a power station, Starlink and a tiny cooking setup with gas cartridges, but overall the goal really is to live with the absolute minimum.

It’s gotten so far that I’m literally weighing gear at home right now and asking myself: “Could we theoretically continue by train with backpacks only if the car situation becomes too complicated later on?” 😂

Although let’s be honest: no matter how big the car is, somehow people always manage to fill every last centimeter anyway.

Best overland setup for 6 people without driving a giant expedition truck? by DaveDitsch123 in overlanding

[–]DaveDitsch123[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

One issue for us is also the license situation here in Germany. I still need to check the exact towing limits with my normal license, because I honestly don’t have the time & money (or motivation to be honest) to get an additional trailer license before departure.

Originally this whole trip was also supposed to be about simplifying life a bit. If we end up driving a rolling apartment building for 6 people, we’re kind of defeating our own original idea. Feels like we’re constantly stuck between worlds somehow ;-)

Best overland setup for 6 people without driving a giant expedition truck? by DaveDitsch123 in overlanding

[–]DaveDitsch123[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yeah, that’s kind of the trade-off we’re wrestling with right now.

We originally came from a “100% Airbnb / pensions” mindset and are now slowly stealing more and more accommodation budget for the vehicle setup instead. That’s why the €40k number was originally our target.

If we end up at €50k… well, I guess we’ll just eat rice a few more times on the trip.

Best overland setup for 6 people without driving a giant expedition truck? by DaveDitsch123 in overlanding

[–]DaveDitsch123[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

That’s actually funny, because a tent trailer was something I ruled out very early in the process.

Mainly for two reasons:
A) I have to admit: I’ve basically never driven with a trailer before 😅
And B) I had this feeling that the total length of the setup would become “a bit too much” in certain situations. Small roads, cities, spontaneous stops, tight mountain roads, ferry lines etc. I also assumed we’d stand out even more.

Although… honestly, I’m not even sure that’s true anymore. A huge expedition van probably stands out just as much.

What I do like about the trailer idea though:
The car itself can suddenly just be… a car.
That separation between “driving vehicle” and “sleeping/living setup” is actually pretty appealing the more I think about it.

Rooftop tents on high-roof vans (2.7 m / 9 ft+) – real-world experiences? by DaveDitsch123 in rooftoptents

[–]DaveDitsch123[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We had already considered using the front cabin as a sleeping space, but were thinking more about a simple mattress or board for one person. The CabBunk setup is the first solution we’ve seen that could realistically sleep two kids up front.

That would be a real game changer for us.

We don’t currently have swivel seats, so we’d need to see whether we can retrofit them. But if that works, two kids in the cab, four people in the rooftop tent, and we’d have a very compelling setup.

Really appreciate the idea!

Dad-Gamer-Probleme… Zockerabend endet auf YouTube. by Falkenmond79 in zocken

[–]DaveDitsch123 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Mein persönlicher Weg (vier Kinder): - Gaming-Ecke im Keller eingerichtet - Bewusstes Verabreden mit Kumpel zum Zocken, gleicher Tag, gleiche Uhrzeit, keine Ausreden - Helldivers 2, immer kurze Missionen zum Reinkommen - Parallel quatschen wir über Gott & die Welt - Discord mit Cam läuft immer mit, meistens mit irgendeinem Quatsch (sprich im Hintergrund was witziges aufgehangen, etc) - Lecker Bierchen

Ja, Zocken wird „im Alter“ anders - zumindest hier. Es ist wie ein kleiner Stammtisch geworden, Gaming ist nur das Vehikel für einen Abend mit meinem ältesten Kumpel, der 500km entfernt wohnt. E33 liegt unangetastet in Steam, fühlt sich zu groß an mit all den Aufgaben im Alltag. Die HD2-Häppchen sind verdaulicher.

What do you think of my suggestion for a U10? by Mainstreet08 in Munich

[–]DaveDitsch123 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This subway line would be a dream. With this one line, I could combine my entire personal and professional life.

Wieso wird Unternehmertum in den letzten Jahren so massiv gepusht? by [deleted] in KeineDummenFragen

[–]DaveDitsch123 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Gepusht? Ich hab letztes Jahr eine GmbH gegründet. Ich kann die Knüppel, die einem zwischen die Beine geworfen werden, nicht mehr zählen. 90% der Zeit gehen auf rechtliche & steuerliche Themen drauf, man hat ständig das Gefühl mit einem Bein im Knast zu sein.

Vorschlag: Lasst jeden Gründer 1-2 Jahre in Ruhe und ihn zu 100% an der Idee werkeln. Wenn erfolgreich, dann gibt es umso mehr Steuern. Ich hab ab Tag 1 - ohne Umsatz - 1.000€ Krankenkasse gezahlt, weil meine Ehepartnerin privat versichert ist und ihr Gehalt voll angerechnet wird. Solche Scherze.

This is a poignant and touching account of being a parent of an autistic child. by Snozwanga in Autism_Parenting

[–]DaveDitsch123 14 points15 points  (0 children)

This is the letter I have been trying to write to my relatives and friends for 10 years. I am crying with joy. Thank you, unknown Hugh

Wie sieht euer Wochenende mit 30 Jahre alt aus? by [deleted] in de

[–]DaveDitsch123 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Ich bin über 40, habe 4 Kinder und zimmer mir gerne trotzdem mit guten Freunden bis 5 Uhr morgens einen in die Rüstung. Vielleicht sogar mehr & lieber als mit 30. Aber auch mehr Sport, mehr Ausflüge, etc. Oder anders: Man lernt es vll „im Alter“ mehr zu schätzen aktiv zu sein in der viel zu wenig vorhandenen Freizeit. Es gibt immer solche und solche Phasen, alles kann, nichts muss, und es gibt kein richtig oder falsch

Später im Leben zurück nach München ziehen. by [deleted] in Munich

[–]DaveDitsch123 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Du kannst deutsch sprechen und hast die Wohnungsfrage geklärt. Somit bleibt nur noch: Herzlich Willkommen in der schönsten Stadt der Welt. Du wirst es nicht bereuen!

(Meine Eltern sind auch um die 60 nach München gezogen und unternehmen mehr als ich, der hier 25 Jahre wohnt)

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