Expedition 2.0 by Off-Grid Trailers goes to "The Playa" - Black Rock Desert

[@BirdPhish]

In case anyone is curious and wondering....not on video we offered the Great Black Hornet that showed up some water in a shallow lid which he drank from for a good bit! After having his thirst quenched he crawled around looking for a quiet spot to wait out the dust storm we guess, we were eating an apple so we put a small piece next to him and he went to it and was obviously feeding on it which is in the second clip of him... so when it became obvious he liked it we put a larger fresh piece next to him and he went to that bigger piece right away and dominated it for about an hour! When he was done feeding he came crawling over next to us looking rather sprite and refreshed and then he took to flight...hovered for a moment in front of us as if to say goodbye to his friends and then took off high speed into the dust storm and wind. Never helped out a hornet before but there's always a first for everything. Something I will never forget for sure. My only question is why and how he showed up....did he stop seeking rest and shelter from the dust storm when he saw us crossing the vast expanse of the Playa, maybe some scent drew him to our camp......or did he run smack into our camp in the blinding dust, got knocked silly and needed time to recover. We'll never know but let me know how you think he came by our camp in the comments.... I think he saw shelter and took refuge...I have a hard time imagining he didn't see us and ran into us and got knocked silly.

[@richardfitzwell5708]

I love how you finish the video with the solo chair out there…that’s my style, too. I’m a subscriber now.

[@BirdPhish]

Thanks...I was struck on the stark difference between of the calm peaceful mornings there versus the intense winds of the afternoons...two different worlds on one lol. Thanks for watching, commenting and subscribing...glad you enjoyed and welcome aboard the channel! New content coming soon...

[@TheComputerCowboy]

That food looked delicious!

[@BirdPhish]

Oh it was thanks! Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@DavesArchives]

Wow, really well put together video and completely captures the experience of off-road camping without having to use an exhausting narrative. Really enjoyed watching this.

[@BirdPhish]

Thanks for watching and commenting with the very nice compliment! Very glad you discovered and enjoyed it..... Happy camping!

[@HudsonHenryPhoto]

Fun stuff my friend. I was there with 10s of thousands of others in 2010. It's an amazing place.

[@BirdPhish]

Hudson thanks do much for stopping by and commenting! Fun Stuff indeed...it's all about creating life long memories! Great respect and thanks for your channel and content my friend...learning a lot from your work....keep it up!

[@FKA_Skull]

Any chance you could make a video on how you ran electrical to the back storage compartment?

[@BirdPhish]

Hi FKA Skull...I'm just back from a 6 week long trip with tons of content to edit from the adventure. Along with the editing I'm also doing some repairs and more mods on the trailer before our next trip.... so I should be able to put something together not too fancy like but will still show how I did it. Thanks for watching and the request!

[@FKA_Skull]

@@BirdPhish very cool! Maybe you could make a video showing all your modifications, I’m sure people would find that interesting and useful

[@BirdPhish]

@@dhrtiwalter8670 I had a tear in the awning at the sewn seam that supports the weight of the wall kit...would not happen unless you have the wall kit attached. Also I had a huge freak wind blast while camped on the rim of Owyhee canyon, the awning stakes were in really soft ground and didn't hold so the wind blast ripped them out of the ground and bent the awning mounting brackets up vertical...wind was all calm before and after. I stowed it away and couldn't use it for most of the rest of the trip. I've since repaired it with some brackets I fabricated. No repairs yet needed on the trailer itself. The torn seam I reinforced with some nylon strap...I have a video of that repair. kzbin.info/www/bejne/mYOqYoCsbL2arpY The awning may seem like a lot of trouble and you do need to be careful with wind but it's so integral to the experience I can't imagine not having one.

[@sKeetsJeep]

When can we expect another camping video! Was great to watch!

[@BirdPhish]

Glad you liked it Dan! Thanks for watching... I'm in the process of retiring, just a few more weeks to go! I'll need a few weeks to take care of some things on the trailer and truck and then we're planning on taking off on our first really long adventure! I'm working on a video or two on our trailer I hope to post before we leave on a long trip but that is slow going too being so busy taking care of retirement stuff. We'll hopefully be on the road for a good while so I'm planning to try and do some editing on the road while we're traveling.....that'll be new for me but I'm trying to set up for it and we'll see how that goes. Either way I've got some new camera gear and I'll be capturing lots of content while out on our first long trip so be patient if you can and it will be coming. Cheers!

[@ryanclemens38]

Man thank you for the cooking class what did you just make looks grat.

[@BirdPhish]

Haha thanks! My wife calls it Tortilla Espanola but I've juiced up her recipe a bit by adding the onions and mushrooms...it's a favorite and being able to cook it outdoors makes it all the better. Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@gonagain]

Really great videography and look at you cooking on electric!

[@BirdPhish]

Thanks for coming over to the channel to watch and the kind compliment. Really enjoy your channel...keep sharing and posting!

[@dougsullivan3564]

You definitely deserve more subscribers! Proud to be one of them now!

[@BirdPhish]

Hey Doug...thanks you for watching, subscribing and the kind words! Welcome aboard at the start of what hopefully will be more fantastic adventures. I have a lot to learn in producing videos and hope to get better at it....and to post at a faster pace in not all too long from now when I say goodbye to the dreadful day job for good. Thanks again!

[@pmurphy12667]

how are you staying cool inside without an A/C in the heat? MAxx fan can only do so much in 90 plus heat in the desert like where we live.

[@BirdPhish]

Hi Paul...thanks for watching and posting a question! The trailer is on wheels so we'd move to a cooler location if it's too hot to take lol... Joking aside the trailer is small, a bed on wheels more or less so it's not something we spend hanging out in during the day, that's where the awning is an integral part of the trailer for cool shade. The Maxfan is overkill for the size of the trailer, it moves a lot of air on low quiet settings and so far has done a good job of keeping things cool/fresh at night when we are in the trailer. I imagine hot humid muggy nights on the east coast could be an issue...maybe have a roof top tent for those balmy nights? I wouldn't want AC...it's not my thing. Another thing to point out with this trailer, they painted the top of the trailers black for some stupid reason...idk... which absorbs a lot of heat, a white roof would help. The solar panels I put on the roof shade the roof and keep it from getting hot so it's not an issue for me now.....otherwise I would repaint the roof white.

[@jefferyh01]

What kind of cutting board setup is that? Did you make it?

[@BirdPhish]

It's a Milwaukee Pack-out case that I mounted a cutting board on top of, both sourced on Amazon. The nice thing about the Milwaukee Pack-out case is it happens to have a recess in the bottom that the running light on the fender fits perfectly in so it sits flat on the fender. I originally was going to mill out a cutout in the bottom of the cutting board to fit over the running light on the fender but I discovered by accident the case would sit on the fender flat and fit nicely and then had the idea to mount the cutting board on top of it...worked out great!

It would be great if someone inboxed me now

[@TheComputerCowboy]

all-in, with the annex walls on the canopy, how long does this take to setup? I'm VERY seriously considering purchasing one of these campers to pull through the mountain forest service roads behind my gladiator.

[@BirdPhish]

I've never actually timed it but will the next time I put it up. The awning is ridiculously easy to set up, I'd say about 3 minutes or less. The wall kit takes maybe another 5 minutes if I had to guess. I only add the walls if I'm staying awhile or anticipating wind/cold....it adds a lot more shade too than without. I can't imagine not having the awning...it's integral to the set-up imo and the wall kit adds a lot more capability to the awning. We could not have stayed on the Playa for a week without the wall kit for sure. We had the ranger stop by our camp....he said he was jealous or our set-up :) I'm working on a video of the awning and wall kit...time is hard to come by lol. And we're off on another trip in a few weeks so stay tuned for more on this and new videos....thanks for watching and commenting! We love the camper!

[@TheComputerCowboy]

@@BirdPhish thanks for your informative reply! That setup sounds amazing. So under 15 minutes-ish, if you work fast, to have the awning with walls deployed, and then you have one heck of a campsite. That's amazing setup time. This camper is amazing. Yeah, where I live in the northwest, I imagine I'd use the awning walls more often than not, as it's often cold and rainy - or snowy if I hit all the right trails 😜.

[@BirdPhish]

@@TheComputerCowboy my pleasure....yeah that about sums it up 10-15 minutes and you're done...base camp for exploring with your Gladiator :)

[@elnidofan]

I was looking at this trailer and stumbled into your channel. Black Rock is so dusty that my local car wash would not want to wash my Totyota 4 Runner. lol Would you mind telling me how much it cost you for your rig? You can DM me if you prefer. Will sub to your channel since I want to follow your adventures with this trailer. Thanks.

[@BirdPhish]

Thanks for watching... and subscribing! I'm still cleaning the dust out from Black Rock lol... but it was fun and definitely an adventure never forgotten. No problem...my rig was just shy of $30k with all of the options I selected...their online configuration and pricing is accurate. The only option I would not order again if I were to do it over is the Zamp portable solar panel. I didn't know anything about solar when I got the trailer, I've since learned a lot and added 600 watts of panels to the roof rack for about the same amount of change as the 90 watt Zamp portable panel I got with the trailer cost me....and now I don't even take along the Zamp portable :( Thanks again...Happy camping!

[@bboggz]

@@BirdPhish loved the video and just subscribed! Can you share a link to where you picked up your cutting board case? It's pretty slick. Also, by chance can you do a video about the solar panels you added? I'm also considering this trailer and would love to know more about what you like or don't like, mods you have made, etc. Thanks!

[@BirdPhish]

@@bboggz Glad you liked it and thanks for subscribing! I'm working on more videos for the future on various upgrades and fixes and the solar panel installation is high on the list! and of course I'd like to do more travel videos as well. The cutting board and case is Milwaukee Pack-out small parts organizer with a cutting board I mounted on top real easy with 4 or 6 wood screws thru the lid of the case. The case can be found here on amazon (no affiliation) www.amazon.com/48-22-8430-Packout-Compartment-Small-Organizer/dp/B0776MKD8S/ref=sr_1_3?crid=3LP6J7SG6F68O&dchild=1&keywords=milwaukee+packout+organizer&qid=1598753824&sprefix=milwaukee+packou%2Caps%2C207&sr=8-3 The cutting board I also sourced on Amazon but couldn't find it again... any cutting board the right dimensions should work. The nice thing about the Pack-out case is there is a cutout on the bottom that fits over the running light on the fender so it sits flat. Happy camping!

[@bboggz]

@@BirdPhish thanks for the link and info on the cutting board, and I look forward to the future videos. All things considered with how long you've had the trailer, are you overall very happy with it or would you consider a different trailer if doing it again? My wife and I have it narrowed down to this one, the Boreas XT (or AT & upgrade slowly), the Escapade, or a Hiker, though Off Grid & Boreas are my two favorites.

[@BirdPhish]

@@bboggz No Problem. I would buy the Expedition all over again but I'm sure I would have been happy as well with any of the trailers you listed, they were all on my short list too. One other you didn't mention is the Vistabule teardrops... very nice..... Cosmo Weems has a nice channel with one. I felt like the Off-Grid was the best design and platform to build on, storage room for 2 batteries played a big factor.... I wanted large capacity for electrical power, most of the others had compartments for just one battery.

[@bikinggal1]

Like the music addition to the video. Thank you for feeding the wasp!! How long were you here for? One day? Just trying to understand why ...in the middle of nowhere..windy, sandy..nothing to see. You wife was almost blown away near the end!! haha.

[@BirdPhish]

Thank you for taking the time to watch! We were there for a full week. As to why.....it's all about the adventure and experience....this was definitely an experience and adventure we will never forget. It wasn't windy all the time, every morning was so quiet, peaceful and relaxing.... but as the day heated up in the afternoon the wind would gradually pick up steam...the peaceful time made the wind and dust worthwhile....almost lol. There is something about sitting in the middle of such a large flat expanse it's sort of awesome in a real sense. There are hot springs at the perimeter of the dry lake bed to explore that is not in the video. There were lots of people camping out there on the Playa but it's so huge everyone is spread out. There was also some interesting eccentric locals that are all about the Burning Man, a couple named Ju Ju and Ja Ja came by to visit and some guy with a Mad Max looking vehicle was driving around blaring music....during the Burning Man some 80,000 people gather together there. The other objective on a long stay like this is to sort out and get the trailer ready for full time travel next year. We got to test the wall kit for the awning for the first time... and in some extreme wind too....the last day was so intense we took the wall kit down after a tear started at a seam on the awning. I'm doing a repair and re-enforcement to the awning so I won't have that issue again. Each time out we learn what is working and what is not and what is left to do the get ready....we're almost there I think. Anyway thanks again so much for watching....and happy camping!

[@bikinggal1]

@@BirdPhish ok..fair enough. Just not somewhere I would want to camp. do you know you can buy a stainless steel coffee filter...no more paper!! My room mate uses one! I am working towards a retirement in a van or trailer..hard to find anyone around here interested in that plan!! Solo I will go!! I subscribed...so will catch any new videos you post!.

[@BirdPhish]

@@bikinggal1 I would agree it's not for everyone. I'm going to try a stainless steel filter, we use a French press at home but they take too much water to clean on the road imo. Don't hesitate to go it solo if need be...I would if I was alone. Thanks for subscribing and taking the time to watch and comment! Cheers!

[@juniadventures]

Food prep channel…. Ughhhhh

[@BirdPhish]

Yeah I know some just don't like the food stuff...a legit gripe...no problem I've got a new video up with zero food prep in it....maybe give it a view? Thanks for watching and commenting....

[@juniadventures]

@@BirdPhish ya that may come across wrong.. you do you lol.. it's definitely YOUR channel.. I'm sorry it came out like that. To be honest I have been searching and searching for some expedition 2.0 videos where more people are actually using it, showing how the inside it can fit a large human sitting for example... I just can't find any.. it's all videos like show n tell or walk around.. I'm about to spend 30 grand on a box, I was looking to find some real world use and stuff like that lol.. again, sorry I trolled there.. don't change your style or what makes your channel content. Hifive.

[@BirdPhish]

@@juniadventures No worries 407...wasn't taken as a negative. I'll keep posting videos with my Expedition 2.0....some will might have food and some will not. You're free to watch....or not.. lol....you do you man. Cheers, thanks for watching and commenting!

[@juniadventures]

@@BirdPhish Hifive!

[@georgeseriani2482]

When I get my expedition 2.0 the very last place I would take it is to the desert! The desert suck I know I like in the Mojave desert. And if I do a video it won't won't be about me cooking and cutting onions it will be in the forest by a lake and it will be about just how cool the trailer really is. And I will have my super hot wife with me.

[@BirdPhish]

Hi George, Thanks for watching and commenting. Have great day!

[@galeriafuentes]

How long do we need to wait for that vid? 30-40yrs??

[@michaelrizzio509]

Who cares what you like! I know what I don’t like and it’s YOU..