I also really like the idea of a hard shell, but would wait until this Silverwing goes on sale, which it has been before.

Y'all might see I'm a Costco nerd. Any thoughts about this tent that is $400 off through tomorrow?

Cheap fridge option.

I just picked up a small 26qt. fridge from Rockpals. Right now (Nov 2020) they have a coupon code for $70 off. Normally this little fridge is $259 so with the code, I picked it up for $189 and free shipping. https://www.rockpals.com/products/rockpals-26-quart-portable-rv-refrigerator

This thing is straight China stuff as all the instructions, labels and box were all in Chinese. The one English label has the classic Chinese to English translation. It does seem decently made though as the fit and finish are good. Has that familiar igloo cooler plastic feel and texture to it. It cooled down quick and since it only displays the temp in Celsius, I had to brush up on my conversions. It is a 12/24v DC/ 110v AC fridge/freezer and the setting goes to -20 to 10 Celsius.

It's not huge but for solo camping or just keeping drinks cold on those beach trips, this looks like it'll do the job. It will easily hold 24,12oz cans or 16 water bottles. The cans can't be stacked upright though. The upper tub is 3" deep but the divider wall is on 2". Overall dimensions are 12.5" tall, 24" L x 15"W and weighs about 25lbs. If this thing works out, I'm going to use it mainly as a freezer on our extended family trips in out trailer.

Costco has the "Maxsa Innovations Escaper Buddy Traction Mats, 2-pack" right now for $130.

I'm reviving an old thread about cheap gear: any thoughts about the new Harbor Freight (gasp!) Badland Apex 12,000 lb synthetic line winch? I know most don't like to use that retailer name much and I typically get what I've paid for, but the tools I have from them, including electric ones, have been decently reliable. (Let the flying tomatoes commence)

Cheap gear update: Cheap chinese NATO fuel can copies.

So I've had these cans for a couple months and have sort of been testing them out. Nothing too drastic and out of the ordinary but I didn't baby them. I ordered these off Ebay with pretty low expectations and when they arrived I did have a little hope that these would be awesome cans. All I can say now is that they hold fuel and have not leaked. One can started off as a test dummy over night holding 5 gallons of water. It did not leak and survived the tip over test....I just tapped it over with my foot. Scratched a little paint but it didn't leak out the top.

I mounted the carriers in the bed of the truck behind the wheel wells. The cans fit pretty snug in the carriers and some spots rubbed the paint off the can.

One can I only filled it with 2 gallons of gas, the other was filled with 5 gallons of fuel. Heres where I see the biggest issue with these cans. THey are very thin and pop when the vapors build up. However both cans hold the pressure, they just bulge a little at the top. When the pressure was released the cans stayed buldged out. They still fit in the carriers and the only malformation is at the top sides of the cans.

The only other issue that I can see is over the long run these things will rust over if not repainted. every little spot that does not have paint has already flash rusted. I used the 5 gallons to refuel some yard equipment and the nozzle actually did not leak however the rubber nozzle part needed to be shoved on a little tighter as it seeped a little gas on my glove. Nothing major and easily fixed.

Pros: Affordable, They don't leak(so far), Hold pressure, The carriers are decent, lockable and fit other 5 gallon cans.

Cons: Thin metal, will rust out eventually, easily dented, weld quality is not the best.

I'll rate these as a 6 out of 10 on the overlander scale. They're great if you want a cheap way to acheive the look and occasianally carry fuel in them but don't expect them to last if used alot.

This next entry was a toss up between being cheap gear challenge worthy or flat out decent gear to add to the arsenal. I picked up a set of X-BULL traction boards on ebay for $99 and free shipping. They claim to be 10 ton rated and come with a bag. https://www.ebay.com/itm/X-BULL-Recovery-Traction-Sand-Tracks-Snow-Mud-Track-Tire-Ladder-4WD-Off-Road/222352552148?epid=676538335&hash=item33c53eb0d4:g:hLwAAOSwIjJZXv-F

These appear to be heavily influenced by the TJM Treads but have ramps on both ends. They shipped the next day after I ordered them and they were here in 2 days after I got the tracking number. Right out of the box I could tell these were pretty stout and have a way better quality "feel" than the crappy smittybilts that crumbled under the weight of the honeybadger.

Today I finally got a chance to test them out in the back yard. I purposley got the rig stuck in 2wd going up a slight incline. I buried the driver's rear all the way to the axle and the passenger rear about 3" from the tube.

After digging out enough infront of the tires I threw the track in and tried to pull out in 2WD. With the slope and being in 2WD, I couldn't get enough traction on the boards and spun the tires a little. I put it in 4Hi and was able to drive up. The boards held up fine but I'm not sure they really helped get the truck un-stuck and out of the hole. If anything, they just made a good ramps out of the holes.

The traction nubs held up great to the spinning of the tires. Just a couple show signs of rounding out. Nothing cracked or broke off of the boards.

Next up I wanted to see how they held up to being used as a bridge or ramp. I found a hunk of log and put 1 board down. I pulled the driver's side front about halfway up the board. No cracking or odd noises. It did bend but allowed me to drive straight up and bounced back to original shape. I then stacked the 2 boards and repeated. 2 boards together held up better but still bent a little.

After getting off the lawn, I just threw them down onto the driveway and parked the front end on them. The boards didn't even flinch. The maintained their shape and supported the weight of the front end just fine. I even was off a little on the passenger side with the tire hanging over the edge. The board held up fine.

The boards are a little curved after being used as a ramp but have since flatted back out. I did notice there is a little discoloring of the plastic where it stretched. Only damage to the boards was I broke off one of the little X's on the bottom when it was on the driveway. Iwas on a rock when I parked the truck on it. Nothing major and shouldn't have any influence on how the boards perform..

All in all I think these are a great alternative to the more expensive traction boards out there. I have never bought the "made with engineering grade plastic" thing and I look at traction boards as a wear items. I think I will pick up 2 more of these things and really test them out on the beach. $99 you can't go wrong there. They are also available on Amazon but $10 more. Not a whole lot of info or reviews out there yet on them but here is another's youtube video. https://youtu.be/mqgn8-tXi5A

Jim Lee's Response: Over the years, 75 of ’em, most people, for whatever reason, tended to toss out the rear seats from the old military carryalls. You can always tell a new owner online because they all start out with. “Does anyone have any extra rear seats for sale..” Everyone laughs. I’m in the same boat. I have this great big SUV that seats two.

Then I got this brilliant idea! Do they make dual fold up camping chairs?

They do and they are only $35 on Amazon. And, it fits perfectly! Even has holes in its feet I can use to lag it to the floor.

Ha! I’m a genius!

This was great for a few weeks until our youngest daughter came home (from college) and we took her for for a ride to town. My wife, Julie (in the picture) took one look at “her baby” in that chair.. I noticed real quick she was getting angry. We’d not driven 100 yards and she’s all. “You need to get rid of that chair and get a real car seat. That one’s not safe!”

So ends my brilliant plan to solve the seating whoas for $35.

-jim lee

P.S. I still think its a pretty nice camping chair.