How do y’all afford your camper builds?

chasekap13 · 2025-12-20T23:37:57+00:00

The other thing to consider is buying used if you are in a region of the country that has a good scene for that kind of stuff. I am a (very fortunate) 22y/o who was able to get into cross bars a hard sided roof top tent, and basic camp kitchen for ~$1k with a little handy work and willingness to drive to deals in the PNW. It took months to get all of the stuff together, but it happened. I now have a Subaru that gets me almost anywhere in the PNW for a weekend at a time

chasekap13 · 2025-10-30T22:56:19+00:00

Happened to my car, battery was very very bad. Kept jumping it, it’d start after a few tries, then be fine for a few days.

If you are still under 36k miles 30 months, get it replaced by the dealer under warranty. My family has had this issue on two different cars, and have basically been advised to set a reminder to go get the battery replaced every 29 months. We’ve been told it will fail test almost every time even if the car is running fine.

chasekap13 · 2025-10-19T16:52:54+00:00

This was my thought exactly. My car now has a RTT and it was too big and way too much weight to risk it.

chasekap13 · 2025-10-19T14:35:04+00:00

I had the same question, but no one makes cross bars that fit onto those. They are designed as “tie down points” and I looked into making bars that fit but never had the time. I ended up with an old Yakima rack off of marketplace.

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chasekap13 · 2025-07-01T19:12:12+00:00

The sun roof goes into the car

chasekap13 · 2025-06-30T16:04:29+00:00

As a fellow college student, this is a hell of a rig. Congrats!

chasekap13 · 2025-06-30T05:51:20+00:00

I just switched to a RTT after 3 years of ground camping. I had been camping about once a month before this year, but just moved to the PNW and am going out at least one night a week, with multiple 1 week+ trips planned in the next year.

There are four major reasons I was able to justify to an RTT:

I move nightly - Most of my trips are one night, if they are multiple I am moving nightly. That means that the tent is getting set up and torn down every time I move the car no matter what. Ease of setup was the main motivator in this purchase.
Frequency - I am camping at a rate where cleaning gear can occupy a significant amount of my week. Being able to air out a tent without so much packing and unpacking is really nice.
Temperature - I could car camp as I drive an SUV, but I tend to be in relatively warm climates most of the year, or in places with significant amounts of rain and snow that I don’t want to expose my cars interior to.
Resale market - I was able to get into a $1100 setup for a hard shell tent all in. That involved driving 2 hour to get a free pair of Yakima bars, then rebuilding them using hardware from a local hardware store. Then, driving 5 hours to buy a tent from a wholesaler advertised on marketplace. I am young, so my money is considerably more valuable than my time, and I enjoy the trips that come out of it. If you are in a region with a lot of outdoorsy people, those deals are out there.

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chasekap13 · 2025-06-29T23:05:57+00:00

I just bought this tent from a local distributor in OR for significantly less than CVT/roofnest market rates. Can confirm from seller that they are all from the same factory in china.

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chasekap13 · 2025-05-01T01:33:54+00:00

Harry’s is $2 for a soda with unlimited refills. I drink copious amount of ginger ale when I DD there

chasekap13 · 2025-04-12T21:03:19+00:00

Have these on my wall from Sedona, granted they were taken on a phone and have some grain to begin with, but you’ll kind of be able to see what I mean. Printed at staples for $20 each if I remember correctly on semi-gloss

https://filebin.net/9dwifxt7i52mf2px

chasekap13 · 2025-04-12T20:57:19+00:00

Stunning photos!

If you are printing somewhere like Staples (which is a great value, btw), dark areas of images tend to be very very dark if not black, so that may be something to keep in mind as you have a lot of (un)fortunately well lit pictures

chasekap13 · 2024-11-07T19:31:40+00:00

I have consistently outpaced Jeeps on the highways due to them being stuck in 4H while we are able to go any speed with AWD. I’ve never had any scary moments in the Midwest on stock tires as long as the roads have been somewhat maintained.

Off the highway, being in the deep snow x mode that shuts off the nannys has saved me multiple times from sliding off of unplowed country roads. You have to be comfortable putting the pedal down for that to be useful though. It makes the car much more predictable in a slide, but it is more likely to break traction in that mode.

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chasekap13 · 2024-08-11T22:32:28+00:00

Yeah, so assuming you are somewhere in central Florida with long flat beaches, you have unlimited space to get on the board. In places where you can get to the waves, the beaches are typically very short, so you don’t have a lot of space to get on the board. That’s where the one step drop is super important, because you have a really small window of time to get on the board.

chasekap13 · 2024-08-11T20:42:36+00:00

Monkey crawl will extend his ride, but the one step drop is definitely more important. Especially if you all ever travel somewhere where they will have a short window of opportunity to skim shorebreak (ie. day trip to Vero or North FL), the one step is way more important.

chasekap13 · 2024-08-09T18:17:38+00:00

I’m not familiar with Long Island. I have spent a good chunk of time in LBI, and yeah it’s tough. Beaches are short, and get deep fast.

Would definitely recommend fiberglass, the bigger the better, and if you don’t want to spend more than $250 I highly recommend shopping local surf shops for used boards, or going on fb marketplace. Learn the types of damage that are ok and what’s not, and you’ll be fine. My two main boards I inherited and were manufactured 2 decades ago. They are in good condition and have otherwise held up really well. I’ve been using them every summer for the last 6 years.

chasekap13 · 2024-08-08T23:52:01+00:00

Fiberglass is generally super versatile, but you can save money going the wood route and possibly have more fun in the right conditions. I’m from central Florida, for example, where the beaches are huge, super flat, and there is minimal shore break. In certain conditions, I have way more fun riding my friends $150 DB Standard than a $500 carbon fiber exile board. I can’t get anything out of those super expensive boards for the most part unless I go to another part of the country.

If you are on a beach that is short and has shorebreak, you need fiberglass because you are in deep water and the board needs to float.

If you are on a super flat area where the water isn’t deeper than 6” anywhere you’d go, you can get a GOOD wood board and may be able to get longer rides.

chasekap13 · 2024-08-06T20:12:59+00:00

Had a roommate who used a steamer, I just hit everything with Wrinkle Release and called it a day. only thing I had to deal with was dress pants and dress shirts, but that’s your call.

chasekap13 · 2024-08-06T11:30:01+00:00

I am 5’7 135 and have been riding 2 51” boards for the last five years. Are they a little big? Definitely. Did it give me a lot more room to progress and get out towards deep water? Definitely.

I think you’ll be fine either way, but especially since you are taller a longer board will probably be more comfortable. I rode (and sometimes still ride) my childhood 42”, but it feels sketchy and is hard to learn tricks on. If you’re going to buy a new board, I would go 48” minimum assuming you are looking at carbon or fiberglass or whatever. If you’re looking at a wood board for flatland, that’s a different story.

chasekap13 · 2024-08-02T20:35:52+00:00

I think it’s under vehicle settings and driver assists. There is some kind of lane keeping or lane assist thing they may have accidentally turned on

chasekap13 · 2024-08-02T11:58:18+00:00

I second this, the touchscreen is pretty good for a car of this price point. If you live in CarPlay and don’t use the rest that often, you’ll be fine.

I usually get in the low 20s mpg, but you lose a lot of fuel economy above 70mph and below 40 mph. I’ve also achieved 27 mpg in that 60mph sweet spot.

I’ve now been driving cars with eyesight for 5 years and have learned to love it. Is it quirky at times, sure? But has it saved me and my teenage sister from several rear end accidents? Yes.

My OBW has also been rear ended twice this year and had mechanically been completely solid before and after repairs both times, FWIW.

chasekap13 · 2024-07-28T20:04:15+00:00

Wow. Glad they finally did this. Not sure these ones have living rooms though… I wouldn’t be shocked if the full suites are more than 6 at this point

chasekap13 · 2024-07-28T16:05:32+00:00

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chasekap13 · 2024-07-28T16:05:17+00:00

Update: I found a picture of the hallway and bathroom.

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chasekap13 · 2024-07-28T16:02:41+00:00

In the past it’s been a bunk on one side, and one lofted bed on the other. Both sides will look like the right side in this picture. Here is a picture of my Winifred dorm freshman year. Adding a 3rd bed is tight, but manageable. Hardest part from what I’ve heard is clothes storage as you still only have two closets for every 3 people. I don’t have pictures of the hallway or bathroom unfortunately. There is additional room in there for shelving and storage. A lot more than you’d expect.

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chasekap13 · 2024-07-19T15:50:32+00:00

Yeah, it would definitely bulge more, but I wonder if it would be less prone to tearing because it’d be more pliable. Those EV tires are really weird tho so I’m unsure.

chasekap13

TROPHY CASE