Thread: School me on Swags

Originally Posted by NewbieZAR

Looking at the comments above i wonder if i wont be better off buying the tent (sides) for my utes awning and a couple stretchers for camping by the ute.

A lot of it comes down to personal preference. Believe me I’ve tried pretty much every configuration on the market at some point or other, either our own or other peoples. I still have the Eezi-Awn rooftop tent that we bought in Johannesburg in 1994 - for Africa that was unbeatable. I’ve bought and then sold a couple of configurations because they just didn’t work despite looking like a good idea at the time.

Other than the rooftop tent, the one aspect of this mode of travel that I wouldn’t do again is to attach my sleeping arrangement to my vehicle. Absolute 100% no chance. Tried the awning option - total pain in the arse. It removes the ability to use the vehicle separately to your sleeping arrangements, which simply doesn’t work - you might think you won’t need to use your vehicle but then the reason will present itself and you will be irritated! (We got so good with the rooftop tent we could put it up and take it down in literally a minute or two.)

The other thing I would mention when we are comparing our stories from Australia to the reality of New Zealand is of course the difference in the weather. Here in New Zealand you absolutely must be able to seal yourself into a waterproof sleeping arrangement that doesn’t go flap flap flap in the wind. If you don’t have this then I can guarantee you will be sleeping in your truck in no time. A lot of the lightweight Australian options are very good for their prevailing conditions - perfect for long dry outback months for example - but absolutely useless here in the mud and horizontal rain.