Uploaded July 2018 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
From our annual Dude's Weekend adventure in which we take the kids out on a weekend campout and let the moms stay home and do less ridiculous things. I give you a quick tour of our camp and let the boys set up the tents by themselves.
Our Aerotow off-road trailer project is coming along well with tires and wheels that match the 4Runner. We cary an REI Camp Kitchen tote table, REI roll up table and a nice woven matt as a floor for the camp kitchen. More on this trailer here: youtube.com/watch?v=_cnYhyEWB_8
Our 3rd Gen 4Runner is our tow vehicle. We keep the cooler in the truck so that it's ready to go on day trips away from camp. I have a custom made cargo deck with a slide out table. More on that deck here: youtube.com/watch?v=FtDqSYoixAE
We love our REI tents. We have a Kingdom 6 and a Quarterdome 3.
From our annual Dude's Weekend adventure in which we take the kids out on a weekend campout and let the moms stay home and do less ridiculous things. I give you a quick tour of our camp and let the boys set up the tents by themselves.
Our Aerotow off-road trailer project is coming along well with tires and wheels that match the 4Runner. We cary an REI Camp Kitchen tote table, REI roll up table and a nice woven matt as a floor for the camp kitchen. More on this trailer here: youtube.com/watch?v=_cnYhyEWB_8
Our 3rd Gen 4Runner is our tow vehicle. We keep the cooler in the truck so that it's ready to go on day trips away from camp. I have a custom made cargo deck with a slide out table. More on that deck here: youtube.com/watch?v=FtDqSYoixAE
We love our REI tents. We have a Kingdom 6 and a Quarterdome 3.
![3rd Gen Tacoma Suspension Shoot out [kind of] Bilstein vs Old Man Emu [not really]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/RhbxQB7b7as/mqdefault.jpg "3rd Gen Tacoma Suspension Shoot out [kind of] Bilstein vs Old Man Emu [not really]
3rd Gen Tacoma Suspension Shoot out [kind of] Bilstein vs Old Man Emu [not really] #Broverlanding
More info on this excursion here: https://allterrainfam.com/overlanding-mt-patterson-sweetwater-range-nevada-california/
When I was a kid, we just called it camping. But if you ask the experts today youll get another definition. And thats OK. Things change over time. The air clears, and we can see things in a different light.
Overlanding is self-reliant overland travel to remote destinations where the journey is the principal goal. According to Wikipedia. Others specify it as vehicle reliant adventure travel. But its obvious for those of us who do this with young children, for them, its Dad reliant adventure travel.
This time I set off with two other grown, independent adults who require no direct care from me and for the first time in, longer than I can remember, I set out on a trip of free exploration and adventure, where bad ideas abound, the F-Bombs flow like beer, and beer flows like wine.
I embrace the new nomenclature. But dont call this overlanding, this is
Broverlanding.
Now, it can be hard to tell the difference at times, but some of the halLmarks of Broverlanding are Getting 4k footage of yourself airing down your rig,
Driving entirely too close to each other because it looks better in drone footage,
Posting everyones instagram handle,
And going on and on and on about your modified suspension.
And thats where we left it for day one of our Broverlanding Adventure. Other stuff happened, but you know, it was bro stuff.
Day two began with coffee and breakfast sandwiches. Then some vista viewing of the low settled smoke over the Pine Grove Hills. Then we headed out across Boulder Flat towards the other side of the Sweetwaters. This road is rough with steep tight switchbacks, but is totally passable in a stock 4x4 like Mikes Tacoma. Adventurous souls could and likely have also probably do it in a Subaru.
The road tops out here at this spectacular promontory at the top of the Sweetwaters with views of the Sierra Nevada and Great Basin all around. Actual results may vary due to smoke...
Heres where the bad ideas come in. Through this whole descent from the summit, I was shooting video and making Colin drive over all kinds of rocks to get footage I could use for Nitto, Method and ARB content. And if youve been watching Harry Situations on Driving Line, youve seen some of this footage there.
So then Im like, lets test the suspension!
And then I thought I could hit it faster...
Anyway, Nates precision fixed that this week. If you want to go really crazy even with bypass shocks, you need air bumps and reinforced control arms... Live and learn.
OK, now for the suspension comparison.
And with that, we took off for home. Wed found a clean pocket of air in a long hot smokey summer in Reno. And in that clarity learned that being out in the mountains with your bros is great, no matter what you call it, fancy suspension is great, but so is nice suspension, and if were being realistic, stock suspension is fine too. Just make sure you air down your tires, have plenty of beer, and for crap sake keep a tight pattern so the drone footage looks bad ass.
Happy trails")
