Camera Gear and Cars

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David, I didn’t read every reply, so if I’m being repetitious…sorry. I kinda thought about my new vehicle when getting rid of my Ford F-350 Dually. Traded it in on a 2021 Jeep Gladiator EcoDiesel and thoroughly happy with it for photography. I can easily reach my gear located anywhere inside the cab vi also installed a Leer Topper, which secured and keep any gear in the bed dry. It’s my everyday driver, 24mpg in town and approximately 30mpg on the road. Had it 8-months and just turned over 12,000 miles. Leaving tomorrow to purchase a Lance 1685 travel trailer and then off to far away places. Just my two cents….
 
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random thing.

regardless of what direction you go, i thought i'd put a shout-out for cameras. even with the Jeep which has reasonable visibility i've had to back out a long ways on certain shelf roads and other places where it's not viable to turn around. the backup camera on our Jeep has been invaluable in that regard. it makes it much easier and safer.

and the current generation of trucks have limited visibility in the front, so a front facing camera can also be valuable.

high quality cameras facing both rear and ahead are on my requirements list for my next vehicle.
 
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John Navitsky said:
random thing.

regardless of what direction you go, i thought i'd put a shout-out for cameras. even with the Jeep which has reasonable visibility i've had to back out a long ways on certain shelf roads and other places where it's not viable to turn around. the backup camera on our Jeep has been invaluable in that regard. it makes it much easier and safer.

and the current generation of trucks have limited visibility in the front, so a front facing camera can also be valuable.

high quality cameras facing both rear and ahead are on my requirements list for my next vehicle.
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I think the latest Jeep UL and Gladiators have both forward and rear cameras.
 
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DavidT said:
I sold my car this week and am shopping for my next vehicle which will be centered around my three hobbies of shooting guns, fishing and photography. I am leaning towards an SUV over a truck and if I go the SUV route I am debating between a full-size or midsize. It will be a 4x4 model, I will do some mods to it improve clearance, lighting and tires. I want to be able to access off the beaten path via forest roads, trails but not looking to take it rock crawling. It will be a vehicle that is a daily driver however capable for long trips and backcountry (see what I did there lol ;)).

So with that out of the way I am curious if any of you have done the same and what do you do to store your gear? I am considering either a custom build rear storage system or an off the shelf drawer system. I am thinking camera gear on one side and recovery, food and camping gear on the other side. If camping I see it as a 1-3 day limit and than staying in a hotel etc.

I would like to be able to safely leave my vehicle with some gear in it while say hiking, eating etc. If going to a hotel I would take the gear in with me. I am thinking drawers that will accommodate my bags so they are an insert and if pulling gear out it is simply zip up the bag and go.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts and any pics of what your solution has been.
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I might suggest you check out each of the current 4x4 vehicles Toyota has out, in my 35 years of ownership they have never failed me in the mountains of Kentucky. My most recent trade was for a 22 Toyota Tacoma 4x4 and I traded in my son's 2007 Tacoma that had 356,000 miles on it and still in good enough condition to receive a cash of $3000 in hand. Low upkeep, dependable and several variations for everyone situations. As for storage of camera items , insulated coolers provide great protection from extreme temps and rough traveling.
 
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DavidT said:
I have Jeep in mind but if I do I am thinking more along the lines of Grand Cherokee L Summit. I want something comfortable to drive to say Montana from TX. I am a bit worried about Jeep quality, have you had any issues? I have a budget of $70K or less for a truck/SUV.
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Previous vehicle was a GMC 3500 DRW diesel for pulling our 40’ 5th wheel with bed cover. Tripods could be fully extended and left in the bed. All cameras and lenses rode in the cab. Snacks, cooler and camera accessories were in the bed. Then made the change to a motorhome. Wanted something smaller than a full size SUV. Settled on a Grand Cherokee L Overland 4x4 to flat tow. Meets our needs tripods fully extended, camera accessories snacks and cooler in back with third row sets down. Camera’s and lenses in backseat 600f4 on floor others strapped in. Meets our needs and really like the car, BUT. Do question the quality / reliability. Radio lost all audio including blue tooth with the phone, then the batteries died, intermittently won’t start, now they are saying that they believe the rear lift gate module is the cause. Original fault was the radio everything else has occurred while at the dealership. So far been 2 months. Dealer has provided a loaner a Jeep Gladiator Rubicon, this would be a NO bed too short to fully extend tripods back seat too small.
 
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fulltimewanderer said:
Previous vehicle was a GMC 3500 DRW diesel for pulling our 40’ 5th wheel with bed cover. Tripods could be fully extended and left in the bed. All cameras and lenses rode in the cab. Snacks, cooler and camera accessories were in the bed. Then made the change to a motorhome. Wanted something smaller than a full size SUV. Settled on a Grand Cherokee L Overland 4x4 to flat tow. Meets our needs tripods fully extended, camera accessories snacks and cooler in back with third row sets down. Camera’s and lenses in backseat, 600f4 on floor others
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How’s the reliability of the Jeep been? I’ve looked at one online. Does the L have more rear cargo area with 3rd row down?
 
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fulltimewanderer said:
Previous vehicle was a GMC 3500 DRW diesel for pulling our 40’ 5th wheel with bed cover. Tripods could be fully extended and left in the bed. All cameras and lenses rode in the cab. Snacks, cooler and camera accessories were in the bed. Then made the change to a motorhome. Wanted something smaller than a full size SUV. Settled on a Grand Cherokee L Overland 4x4 to flat tow. Meets our needs tripods fully extended, camera accessories snacks and cooler in back with third row sets down. Camera’s and lenses in backseat 600f4 on floor others strapped in. Meets our needs and really like the car, BUT. Do question the quality / reliability. Radio lost all audio including blue tooth with the phone, then the batteries died, intermittently won’t start, now they are saying that they believe the rear lift gate module is the cause. Original fault was the radio everything else has occurred while at the dealership. So far been 2 months. Dealer has provided a loaner a Jeep Gladiator Rubicon, this would be a NO bed too short to fully extend tripods back seat too small.
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Oh this answers my question I asked. That’s what’s keeping me more in the Toyota camp.
 
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DavidT said:
Oh this answers my question I asked. That’s what’s keeping me more in the Toyota camp.
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Owned five or six Jeeps over the years, still have one (78 CJ5 w/304). The only car that was less reliable, and I think this is reflected in many surveys is any Land Rover.
 
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wrt jeeps and reliablity, i think this ebbs and flows with the newness of the models. my '14 had some glitches, and a lot of reports about problems with the entertainment system. my '18 has had almost no problems. note that you can get an extended unlimited mile warranty on the jeeps and i've done that for the last two models just in case. we should remember the new ones are a completely new model and you can expect more problems with a new model, esp. coming out of a pandemic.

i'll note that lately i've been hanging out on the ford tremor and ford raptor forums and i've been seeing a lot of reports of glitches there. ironically reflecting how glitch free the late model WK2 is and kind of being disappointed although i'll also point that most of the glitches in modern vehicles tend to be annoyances that you have to spend time to get resolved, rather than stuff that leaves you in the lurch.

i'll also point out the vast amount of complicated systems and complicated electronic systems in new vehicles. i would be careful to extrapolate that any new vehicle is going to be perfectly reliable and i'd suggest hanging out on vehicle forums for the specific model you are interested in to get a feel for what you might expect.
 
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Nimi said:
Owned five or six Jeeps over the years, still have one (78 CJ5 w/304). The only car that was less reliable, and I think this is reflected in many surveys is any Land Rover.
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The Land Rover Discovery I owned had a split personality and the reliability ratings that year and in quite a few years reflected that. Off road performance was fantastic. Rated by consumer reports etc. at the top of reliability ratings for drive train and the bottom for everything else.

Many British designed vehicles earned a well deserved reputation for having consistent and constant electrical problems with lucas components. I have not kept up with the bouncing ball of who owns Land Rover now and where they are produced and who supplies parts. Last move I remember was Ford selling them to Tata Motors.

I had my LR discovery for 10 years and no issues with the drive train and it always got us there and back as per it's rep ... but and a BIG but ... various other pieces and parts like electric drive motors for power windows etc. had to be replaced and they were very expensive parts. Much of my replacements were covered by an extended waranty. My uncle was the local Land Rover, Jaguar, Volvo, Mercedes, Acura and Porsche dealer. He was not a big proponent of extended warranties except for Land Rover and Jaguar. After my uncle died I switched over to Toyota.
 
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Ken Miracle said:
The Land Rover Discovery I owned had a split personality and the reliability ratings that year and in quite a few years reflected that. Off road performance was fantastic. Rated by consumer reports etc. at the top of reliability ratings for drive train and the bottom for everything else.

Many British designed vehicles earned a well deserved reputation for having consistent and constant electrical problems with lucas components. I have not kept up with the bouncing ball of who owns Land Rover now and where they are produced and who supplies parts. Last move I remember was Ford selling them to Tata Motors.

I had my LR discovery for 10 years and no issues with the drive train and it always got us there and back as per it's rep ... but and a BIG but ... various other pieces and parts like electric drive motors for power windows etc. had to be replaced and they were very expensive parts. Much of my replacements were covered by an extended waranty. My uncle was the local Land Rover, Jaguar, Volvo, Mercedes, Acura and Porsche dealer. He was not a big proponent of extended warranties except for Land Rover and Jaguar. After my uncle died I switched over to Toyota.
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Yes, Tata-owned. Recent visit to a dealer (a friend), the service bay had twice as many new Defenders in it than the front of the house. It's just not a car i'd trust to get me back.
 
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My choice back in 2012 was to get a 2012 Trail Team Edition of the FJ Cruiser. Gets me to almost all backcountry locations that I would venture to visit as well as rarely visited beach loctions on the South east coastline. No rock crawling, so pretty much stock except for the rock sliders. With the rear seats folded down have no trouble camping out for a night or two and still plenty of room for my large format gear. A pretty comfortable ride both on and off road and reliable on numerous long distance trips. Has kept it's value as they are no longer imported into the US. Been offered by both private and by the dealership more than the original purchase price that I paid back in Feb 2012. Am now looking for an EV to take it's place as a daily driver, only using the FJ on those excursions off the beaten trail.

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Breaking a window on any vehicle takes seconds and anything inside is likely to be taken. A metal strongbox is the only solution that has a good chance of slowing down a thief sufficiently. I also want everything out of sight which is why the "pet bridge" helped with my SUV. I know too many people who have had their vehicles broken into and had their gear stolen and their trips ended prematurely.

I had a 2011 diesel pickup and range was great but it was by far the least reliable vehicle I have owned in my life. I had three trips aborted midway due to malfunctions with the engine and I was happy to sell it for a gas powered SUV.

Toyota trucks are well built but one cannot get a large gas tank with these trucks or a limited slip rear differential, much less a true locker. This put my choices to either a Ram pickup or a Ford one. Ford had the best rear tailgate with an integrated step and grab bar and as I want to get up into the bed this was very important.

I have driven all over the western USA and have an extensive collection of USFS road maps and I used Toyota HiLux mini trucks and had larger gas tanks installed as it was legal at the time. I teamed with a friend who had a Jeep CJ7 and there was nowhere he could go that I could not. But one should realize that these roads are cut by the US Forest Service for the logging trucks with their 40' trailers and the radius of the turns is not as sharp as some might think. More important is having 4WD and a low range gearbox and a limited slip or locking rear differential as pickups are light at the rear wheels and need help.

My full size crew cab pickup is 18" longer than I would have liked but with the shortages in inventory I had no choice and did not want to wait another year to special order a truck and have it built. Any car or truck sold today is likely to be priced at $5,000 to $7000 above MSRP.
 
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144 Sprinter 4WD.
Fits in a standard grocery store parking spot (no longer than a full size pickup truck)
Handles logging/fire/service roads just fine without too much rattling of the dishes.
Sleep ready five minutes after pulling over.
Safe for valuables bolted to the vehicle floor.
Convenient tripod platform on roof when you need that extra 11 feet of elevation.
Expedition ready anytime.
etc, etc, etc.......

I love this vehicle.





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just got back from a trip and because i’m thinking about getting a truck i’m a bit reflective about vehicles and while i wish it had a bit more cargo space i have to say the grand cherokee with the higher end off-road package and bfg ko2s is remarkably capable. we do a lot of forest service roads, some pretty torn up and the gc just putters over it all with zero drama.
 
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John Navitsky said:
just got back from a trip and because i’m thinking about getting a truck i’m a bit reflective about vehicles and while i wish it had a bit more cargo space i have to say the grand cherokee with the higher end off-road package and bfg ko2s is remarkably capable. we do a lot of forest service roads, some pretty torn up and the gc just putters over it all with zero drama.
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The Grand Cherokee L will give you that bit more room. But, ours has been in the shop for 2 1/2 months. Took it in for the radio, then was told both batteries were dead dead, now being told that it won’t start. Nothing fixed, just more things not working.
 
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Well it’s been months in the making but after months of researching, driving and pondering I made a choice for my new vehicle. It came down to a used Land Cruiser or a new F150 Tremor. I went with the tremor. Flew yesterday to pick it up and drove it back last night the 400 miles home. It’s amazing and can’t wait to get it ready for photography.
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DavidT said:
Well it’s been months in the making but after months of researching, driving and pondering I made a choice for my new vehicle. It came down to a used Land Cruiser or a new F150 Tremor. I went with the tremor. Flew yesterday to pick it up and drove it back last night the 400 miles home. It’s amazing and can’t wait to get it ready for photography. View attachment 49425
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Congrats!!
 
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