Ideas for an initial camera for "roadtrip" documentary videos

[kayasaman]

Hi everyone,

 

I'm coming over from stills photography and recently I had a trip up to Scotland where I assisted a Pro photographer but decided to make a documentary style video about the trip (after watching a few "overlanding" Youtube channels and being inspired). I found that I really enjoyed the experience and want to continue making more videos like it and include more things which I do in stills like Landscape, Wildlife, Macro, Nightscapes - Low Light - Astro, even underwater stuff if I get the chance to go scuba diving

Basically, whatever I encounter on the road out there... maybe interviews, some vlogging and of course videoing vehicles traveling off-road.

 

Having 2 stills camera systems in a Pentax K1 mkII and Nikon D500 I am not too keen on the idea of a cross-over hybrid or VDSLR... I have looked at the Lumix GH5/6, Sony's and Nikon Z6III already.

The Z6III looks good on paper and I would be able to use some of my lenses with it but they are photography lenses and not video lenses so I'm not sure how they would perform.

AF wise, the AI tracking for various subjects looks interesting but do I really need it? Isn't continuous AF with a point that you set over your subject going to be good enough for most things?

 

Initially I was considering a Blackmagic Pocket either 4k or 6k Pro as it's got a nice DSLR like "portable" form factor and great color science and sensor etc.... however, reading more on these, they don't seem like the best suited as the AF is crude, no stabilization and it seems these cameras are more suitable for teams of people and being part of a much larger rig, rather then solo shooter or "run and gun" style grab and go video maker.

I did check this out which uses some older Nikon lenses with aperture rings:

 

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLz1nyrI50HXJsc_y9C7ITd0Vfm8Z8Zsmr

 

The last few days I am looking quite closely at the Canon C70 and now comparing the C80 which might have an edge in accordance to what I'm looking for as it has better AF and low light performance and even a sharper image as many people claim the C70's DGO sensor is a little "Soft" which is great for cinema effect but maybe not so much for wildlife and documentary usage. Apparently the C70 has a poorly designed screen hinge too which is fixed in the C80.

All in all it might be a really good "go-to" camera that will allow me to do everything that I'm looking for with ease??

 

This is my playlist from Scotland which has 3 -parts: 

 

 

It was done using a DJI Action 4, Pocket 3 and Air 3 drone.....

Obviously it was the first stuff I ever did so lots of room for improvement and I messed up the LandRover scene in Part 2 by having the Action 4 set to ISO 100 and not Auto ISO which ended up creating a lot of noise and underexposed image inside the vehicle then over exposed when pointing the camera out the window... all part of the learning curve 🙂

 

The originals were worked on in Shotcut but since then I have now purchased Resolve Studio and reworked some of the clips for learning and there was a massive improvement. The Denoise AI in Resolve helped the above stated LandRover scene dramatically though the output was a bit plasticky even after sharpening.

It was great because I also got to rework the color grading and get more tuned into balancing things and getting things more neutral rather then skewed into one direction or another - aka color correction.

 

Lens wise I'm not too sure either.... I am looking at the 200-800mm RF, the 24-105mm f/2.8, the 100mm macro which I think should cover me for what I want... I guess if I need to I could always go for a 15-30mm as well but that should cover all my bases as far as I can tell based off of my stills experience.

 

It will be a pretty big project as I'm also looking to swap my car out for a 4x4 and either outfit that with a roof top tent or off-road/off-grid trailer in order to get to way more places that normally I wouldn't be able to reach and I guess start making proper "overlanding" video documentaries

 

So far I've checked out a little bit on audio capture as well and the C70/C80 just seem to make things really simple with 2x mini-XLR and 3.5mm input. I was looking at a separate in-field audio recorder but now I don't think I'd need one!

I've also checked out a little bit on the color grading too to get a glimpse into what needs to be done:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_bPIVMvs4Q

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-rYj0DSIdE

 

 

Any thoughts or advice would be really appreciated.... many thanks.

 

 

 

[Davide DB]

On 2/1/2025 at 12:44 PM, kayasaman said:

many people claim the C70's DGO sensor is a little "Soft" which is great for cinema effect but maybe not so much for wildlife and documentary usage. Apparently the C70 has a poorly designed screen hinge too which is fixed in the C80

 

 

 

[eatstoomuchjam]

I was also about to post about Chimp Empire which I watched after that recommendation!

Also, I haven't seen all of King Coal yet, but the trailer and various clips that I've seen from it looked great.  The C70 is also pretty affordable nowadays, as things go.  Is it the sharpest camera on the market?  Nope.  You can always rent it, though, to see if it meets your needs.

As far as lenses for the C70, instead of buying the latest shiny RF glass, you could also consider permanently affixing Canon's 0.71x focal reducer and using EF glass which is plentiful on the used market and very good.

If you're focused on Canon, you could also look at the original R5 which is now available used for about $2,000 and has a nice 8k raw image.

I'd also say that, had you not already said you're using the DJI Pocket 3, it would have been my first suggestion...  or maybe my second suggestion after an iPhone 16 Pro (or whatever the latest fancy Android phone with a great camera is, probably a Samsung something-or-others).  The iPhone can put out some really nice-looking ProRes log footage and it's one of the few cameras out there which will work well in every scenario you mentioned - whereas the C70 is not fantastic in low light and unless you buy a housing costing as much as the camera, won't work well after you submerge it in the water.

Working on technique and editing/storytelling is going to do a lot more for your overlanding vlogs than buying $10,000 in gear...  venture4wd, one of the most popular overlanding YouTubers uses a combination of action cameras and a Panasonic - I think an S5 II?  And he didn't upgrade to the Panasonic until his channel was already big.

[MrSMW]

1 hour ago, eatstoomuchjam said:

Working on technique and editing/storytelling is going to do a lot more for your overlanding vlogs than buying $10,000 in gear...

Yep.

It is not that the camera type does not matter, but there are literally dozens and dozens of options.

I would simply A. set a budget and B. set out a list of 'must haves' and see what matches up.

As a LUMIX user, I could just say go and get a used S5II off MPB and a couple of different focal length f1.8 primes and you are done, but other options exist. For between 2500-3000 you'd be golden.

I don't shoot travel docs, 'just' weddings and for me it's just unbeatable all factors considered; cost, size, weight, performance, near gimbal like IBIS settings, higher end AF.

Pretty much all some folks complain about is not having full-frame 4k 60p but how many really NEED that?

I've considered Canon several times but would want to go down the RF lens route and it then falls apart for me.

I've considered Sony and it just doesn't have some of the features I like that LUMIX does.

I've considered Nikon and other than pushing the budget up to Z8 levels, doesn't work for me.

M4/3? Could work but I've never really been able to go back to that after tasting full-frame.

But as above, A + B and go from there.

[Snowfun]

If I was planning this the last thing I'd worry about was the actual camera.

I'd be more concerned about battery types. The more gear which can take adapters to use a single battery type (and therefore a single charger) is important. Personally I try to adapt everything to Hawk Woods (Sony) NP-F970 albeit the BM6k uses the smaller capacity ones (same charger).

(albeit the iPhone, drone and gimbals throw a spanner in the theory...)

I suppose the same could be said for the recording medium. 

[kayasaman]

10 hours ago, eatstoomuchjam said:

I was also about to post about Chimp Empire which I watched after that recommendation!

Also, I haven't seen all of King Coal yet, but the trailer and various clips that I've seen from it looked great.  The C70 is also pretty affordable nowadays, as things go.  Is it the sharpest camera on the market?  Nope.  You can always rent it, though, to see if it meets your needs.

As far as lenses for the C70, instead of buying the latest shiny RF glass, you could also consider permanently affixing Canon's 0.71x focal reducer and using EF glass which is plentiful on the used market and very good.

If you're focused on Canon, you could also look at the original R5 which is now available used for about $2,000 and has a nice 8k raw image.

I'd also say that, had you not already said you're using the DJI Pocket 3, it would have been my first suggestion...  or maybe my second suggestion after an iPhone 16 Pro (or whatever the latest fancy Android phone with a great camera is, probably a Samsung something-or-others).  The iPhone can put out some really nice-looking ProRes log footage and it's one of the few cameras out there which will work well in every scenario you mentioned - whereas the C70 is not fantastic in low light and unless you buy a housing costing as much as the camera, won't work well after you submerge it in the water.

Working on technique and editing/storytelling is going to do a lot more for your overlanding vlogs than buying $10,000 in gear...  venture4wd, one of the most popular overlanding YouTubers uses a combination of action cameras and a Panasonic - I think an S5 II?  And he didn't upgrade to the Panasonic until his channel was already big.

Thanks so much!

 

I am actually looking at Lifestyle Overland Youtube channel which uses the Lumix GH6, and also Expedition Overland channel too... among a few others.

 

Just starting out, I need to actually get a proper vehicle too with higher ground clearance and more cargo capacity then what I have available in my trunk.

 

One thing I am noticing is that whatever "Overland" channels I watch which are a few there always seem to be at least 2 people taking film duty. So when one person drives for example another will film or use a drone etc....

Sadly I don't have that luxury.

 

I'm under no impression that my stuff is going to be as good as people who have been doing this a long time, but we all have to start somewhere. I am happy with my first attempt but feel that it was a little ad-hoc, rushed and dull....

In honestly I had no idea where I was going either apart from the first week which was planned so things just kinda happened spontaneously - which may or may not be a bad thing.... 

[kayasaman]

8 hours ago, MrSMW said:

Yep.

It is not that the camera type does not matter, but there are literally dozens and dozens of options.

I would simply A. set a budget and B. set out a list of 'must haves' and see what matches up.

As a LUMIX user, I could just say go and get a used S5II off MPB and a couple of different focal length f1.8 primes and you are done, but other options exist. For between 2500-3000 you'd be golden.

I don't shoot travel docs, 'just' weddings and for me it's just unbeatable all factors considered; cost, size, weight, performance, near gimbal like IBIS settings, higher end AF.

Pretty much all some folks complain about is not having full-frame 4k 60p but how many really NEED that?

I've considered Canon several times but would want to go down the RF lens route and it then falls apart for me.

I've considered Sony and it just doesn't have some of the features I like that LUMIX does.

I've considered Nikon and other than pushing the budget up to Z8 levels, doesn't work for me.

M4/3? Could work but I've never really been able to go back to that after tasting full-frame.

But as above, A + B and go from there.

Originally I tried using my Nikon D500 in video mode shooting a demo of driving around at night and the content was unusable... so much sensor read noise that it was crazy.

 

I tried during the daytime and similar.... crazy noise.

 

I would be looking at something capable of capturing good low-light footage though which is why I bought my Pentax K1 in the first place, to do Astrophotography with. It's kind of why I was thinking about the C70/C80 

 

The Action 4 and Pocket 3 start struggling when light become challenging due to the small sensors. I was hopefully wanting to get some footage while doing astro too but that might be hard due to the fact that I'm usually working in Zero light with just a red headlamp illuminated and maybe the rear screen of the camera

 

Though I do agree with the above posting in that technique and story telling desperately need to be worked on

 

Probably "must haves" for me at this stage would be more action cameras.... I guess getting the right mounts to fit around the vehicle would also be needed

Having seen a few shots from (was it TFL Offroad?) that hooked their action cam up to the underside of the 4x4's they were testing to see the bottom of the chassis and mechanicals at work was really cool. No idea what they used or where they hooked the thing up but that needs investigating from my end definitely 🙂

[kayasaman]

6 hours ago, Snowfun said:

If I was planning this the last thing I'd worry about was the actual camera.

I'd be more concerned about battery types. The more gear which can take adapters to use a single battery type (and therefore a single charger) is important. Personally I try to adapt everything to Hawk Woods (Sony) NP-F970 albeit the BM6k uses the smaller capacity ones (same charger).

(albeit the iPhone, drone and gimbals throw a spanner in the theory...)

I suppose the same could be said for the recording medium. 

Wouldn't that be a bit difficult when using cameras of different types?

 

I mean the Action 4 takes totally different batteries to the Air 3 drone and the Pocket 3 has internal batteries....

 

My Pentax K1 and Nikon D500 also have very different batteries.....

 

Add my laptop into that mix and you have a cocktail of different things.....

 

For that trip, I used the 3 battery charger of DJI for both Air 3 and Action 4. Luckily most work off USB power so a mains to USB adapter was all that was required

[kayasaman]

Photographically, this is  the kinda stuff I'm usually doing.... often working in "pitch black":

 

So I thought it would be nice to combine things with video too, maybe right now might be too early but definitely later on. Would be really nice to expand into nature documentary style stuff too to combine with the 'road trips'

That's kinda why I was thinking about the C80 as the triple base ISO seems like it would work well....

 

I reworked a few of the clips from Scotland in Davinci Resolve too as part of the learning curve and came up with this:

 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gv9JFhFmsxfdtbILlTkXURWPjtGU5mPv/view?usp=drive_link

 

 I will definitely check out venture4wd though!! Right now I'm just checking out this, which I believe are from Holland hence the yellow front and rear plates? - nope actually from same place as me which I should have noticed through the front plates being white; difference though is that it's a family of 4 which makes things more interesting while I am alone and have ASD and ADHD just to add to the mix and doesn't help much at all:

 

 

[Ty Harper]

Canon R50 is a cheap option. No Clog but HDR PQ is usable and you get Zebras for exposure control.

I think it's got a 1 hour record limit and overheating is an issue - BUT if you've got some DIY spirit and are willing to add the thermal pads like this guy did you should be ok. 

I was actually gna pick one of these up for a trip but just figured I'd save some $$ and go with my stripped down R5C instead.

 

[kayasaman]

1 hour ago, Ty Harper said:

Canon R50 is a cheap option. No Clog but HDR PQ is usable and you get Zebras for exposure control.

I think it's got a 1 hour record limit and overheating is an issue - BUT if you've got some DIY spirit and are willing to add the thermal pads like this guy did you should be ok. 

I was actually gna pick one of these up for a trip but just figured I'd save some $$ and go with my stripped down R5C instead.

 

That's interesting!

 

Though at the top I did mention that I could opt for a Nikon Z6III which would allow me to use my current lens lineup and still have unlimited record time, AF + Tracking, and a few other bits

 

I think as I have two really nice DSLR's already I am not sure I want to go for another one even if it has "V" in the name....

 

We'll see as I'm in no rush for this and I want to be sure that I have researched enough in order to be satisfied that I have made the right decision at the end....

[IronFilm]

Given your background and current gear, then the Nikon Z6III is the very obvious choice here. (heck, even going with a cheaper Nikon Z6II / Z6 / Z50II / Z50 would be an ok idea as well if on a tight budget). 

[MrSMW]

Z6iii does seem the obvious choice.

Z6ii and OG Z6 have a very nice image but the AF is a bit clunky.

Zf is also very good photo and video, especially low light.

 

[eatstoomuchjam]

As far as action cameras, if it's your own vehicle, I'd use GoPro's adhesive mounts for things like mounting the camera on the underside of the bumper - and it's not just a naive suggestion.  I've done exactly that with my own Jeep.  At least in the case of the Jeep, there are also screws in the bumper that are intended for mounting things like winches - in my case, I custom-made some mounts with 1/4" and 3/8" screws for mounting camera gear - at least on the front bumper.  I also custom-made some mounts to add a 3/8" screw to my roof rack.  The driving footage in this video is a mix of bumper cameras and roof rack camera, with a Sony ZV-1 for some of the handheld and car footage and the OG GFX 100 for the rest.

You can also get clamps and strong suction cup mounts for less-permanent attachment of gear to the vehicle, just with the caveats that usually come with them, like the spot for the suction cup needs to be clean or you'll lose it with whatever is attached.  And the clamp, similarly, needs to be well-secured (lost a cheap action camera (Yi 4K+) in Chile because the clamp apparently got loose and the camera wasn't mounted in a place where I could see it.

You don't need a lot of action cameras for this and you don't need the latest/best either.  In fact, if a rock knocks off your under-car action camera and it gets lost, you'll feel a lot less bad if it's, for instance, a Hero 10 than a Hero 13.

Depending on how smooth you want the footage to be and how dusty the area is, you could also look into something like the movmax blade arm to mount your Osmo Pocket 3 to the car.

[kayasaman]

Budget isn't really being thought about right now.... as budget wise my biggest concern is getting a suitable vehicle and trailer to take off-road and with what I'm looking at I probably need to import both from the US which will be tricky to say the least...

Most likely I might even have to build a custom trailer to integrate with the Garmin control system and maybe have a NAS storage system built in too....

 

This is kinda the access I have to lenses.... these are a mixture of both my Pentax and Nikon ones. Not all are brand new:

 

 

1 hour ago, eatstoomuchjam said:

As far as action cameras, if it's your own vehicle, I'd use GoPro's adhesive mounts for things like mounting the camera on the underside of the bumper - and it's not just a naive suggestion.  I've done exactly that with my own Jeep.  At least in the case of the Jeep, there are also screws in the bumper that are intended for mounting things like winches - in my case, I custom-made some mounts with 1/4" and 3/8" screws for mounting camera gear - at least on the front bumper.  I also custom-made some mounts to add a 3/8" screw to my roof rack.  The driving footage in this video is a mix of bumper cameras and roof rack camera, with a Sony ZV-1 for some of the handheld and car footage and the OG GFX 100 for the rest.

You can also get clamps and strong suction cup mounts for less-permanent attachment of gear to the vehicle, just with the caveats that usually come with them, like the spot for the suction cup needs to be clean or you'll lose it with whatever is attached.  And the clamp, similarly, needs to be well-secured (lost a cheap action camera (Yi 4K+) in Chile because the clamp apparently got loose and the camera wasn't mounted in a place where I could see it.

You don't need a lot of action cameras for this and you don't need the latest/best either.  In fact, if a rock knocks off your under-car action camera and it gets lost, you'll feel a lot less bad if it's, for instance, a Hero 10 than a Hero 13.

Depending on how smooth you want the footage to be and how dusty the area is, you could also look into something like the movmax blade arm to mount your Osmo Pocket 3 to the car.

 

Hmm.... interesting!

 

Right now I have the iFootage large diameter suction cup mount  with larger articulating arm.

https://eu.ifootagegear.com/products/spider-crab-vehicle-mount-system

 

I used it for Part 1 of my videos above to mount the Pocket 3 on. Bit difficult to turn the steering wheel as I had it mounted to the side window but it was the first time I'd ever used it and was a little rushed - plus I'd been on the road for around 12 hours too so quite tired additionally.

 

What I am probably inclined to do is get the kit of suction mounts or go with the SmallRig magnetic suction mount, as they also have clamps I reckon something like these:

 

https://www.smallrig.com/clamp-mount-v1-w-ball-head-mount-and-coolclamp-1124.html

 

- I have some clamps like this I bought ages ago off Amazon that I used with webcams before!

 

while this is the magnetic suction mount:

 

https://www.smallrig.com/MagicArm-Magnetic-Suction-Cup-Mounting-Support-Kit-for-Action-Cameras-4466.html

 

I have a cheesebar and a mini tripod from Smallrig and feels like high quality. I haven't used them much as my main tripod is a German built Novoflex which I love....

 

ps. thanks so much guys for all the responses 🙂 🙂 I really appreciate them.... when starting out with something it is always so easy to get lost either in equipment or direction

[MrSMW]

50 minutes ago, kayasaman said:

my biggest concern is getting a suitable vehicle and trailer to take off-road and with what I'm looking at I probably need to import both from the US which will be tricky to say the least...

Curious as to why as I thought you lived in the UK?

"Trip up to Scotland".

I used to do a lot of field sports photography and went EVERYWHERE the Landies, Rangies, Shoguns, Landcruisers went in nothing more than my first gen and then a second gen, Nissan X Trail(s).

OK, they had Yokohama Geolander tires on them, but that was it and they aren't that serious an off road tire...

https://www.grip500.fr/pneu/255-60-18/yokohama-geolandar-x-at-g016-gp1552854?utm_source=compare&utm_medium=google-shopping&utm_campaign=tyre&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAAC7HhBsoc7IWXQh_OvrqL4FevXYJL&gclid=CjwKCAiAqrG9BhAVEiwAaPu5zoxmhHdIXxEk067WnVZ0Ygsd_1i7eqZ1N4iS_HbLgri0YKg97Dgw1RoChx8QAvD_BwE

Both very reliable as in never had a single issue with either.

But off-road travel trailers, maybe...

There's a company I looked at who if I remember correctly, were in Poland who made a really great one, but in the end, I gave up the field sports stuff (couldn't make any money from it) and focused on my wedding work.

I had a caravan for 2 years, from 4/5 years ago and will be going into my 3rd season (out of 25 in total) with a compact motorhome this year.

The advantage of the motorhome is the second part of that word, - it really is a home away from home (permanent; living/dining/work area, kitchen, bathroom and bedroom) and I spend up to 6 weeks in it on certain trips.

It is not suitable for off-road stuff however. It's got some all season mud & snow tires on it, but the reality is they are shit. Or at least combined with the crappy traction control. A dry dirt track is about the limit, though there was this time I got lost in the dark on a rutted woodland track and had to press on as there was zero chance to turn and if I had taken my foot off the gas...

There's always a compromise somewhere and various options including a roof top tent.

I considered one once and they look fancy, but the reality is, they are stupidly overpriced because you can have a tent on the ground for a fraction of the cost which you can actually stand up, have furniture in, ie, actually 'live' in. I think they are a gimmick other than if you are afraid of scorpions.

A 4WD compact motorhome makes most sense but they cost a bomb.

On a tight budget, something like a well maintained ex-school run, used 4WD with some decent tires and pretty much any kind of fold out camping trailer makes next most sense because as long as that also has some decent tires, at the end of the day, it's just a fairly lightweight towed trailer and a lot of the articulation happens off the tow hitch so as long as you are not going flat out down endless off road tracks...

[kayasaman]

11 minutes ago, MrSMW said:

Curious as to why as I thought you lived in the UK?

"Trip up to Scotland".

I used to do a lot of field sports photography and went EVERYWHERE the Landies, Rangies, Shoguns, Landcruisers went in nothing more than my first gen and then a second gen, Nissan X Trail(s).

OK, they had Yokohama Geolander tires on them, but that was it and they aren't that serious an off road tire...

https://www.grip500.fr/pneu/255-60-18/yokohama-geolandar-x-at-g016-gp1552854?utm_source=compare&utm_medium=google-shopping&utm_campaign=tyre&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAAC7HhBsoc7IWXQh_OvrqL4FevXYJL&gclid=CjwKCAiAqrG9BhAVEiwAaPu5zoxmhHdIXxEk067WnVZ0Ygsd_1i7eqZ1N4iS_HbLgri0YKg97Dgw1RoChx8QAvD_BwE

Both very reliable as in never had a single issue with either.

But off-road travel trailers, maybe...

There's a company I looked at who if I remember correctly, were in Poland who made a really great one, but in the end, I gave up the field sports stuff (couldn't make any money from it) and focused on my wedding work.

I had a caravan for 2 years, from 4/5 years ago and will be going into my 3rd season (out of 25 in total) with a compact motorhome this year.

The advantage of the motorhome is the second part of that word, - it really is a home away from home (permanent; living/dining/work area, kitchen, bathroom and bedroom) and I spend up to 6 weeks in it on certain trips.

It is not suitable for off-road stuff however. It's got some all season mud & snow tires on it, but the reality is they are shit. Or at least combined with the crappy traction control. A dry dirt track is about the limit, though there was this time I got lost in the dark on a rutted woodland track and had to press on as there was zero chance to turn and if I had taken my foot off the gas...

There's always a compromise somewhere and various options including a roof top tent.

I considered one once and they look fancy, but the reality is, they are stupidly overpriced because you can have a tent on the ground for a fraction of the cost which you can actually stand up, have furniture in, ie, actually 'live' in. I think they are a gimmick other than if you are afraid of scorpions.

A 4WD compact motorhome makes most sense but they cost a bomb.

On a tight budget, something like a well maintained ex-school run, used 4WD with some decent tires and pretty much any kind of fold out camping trailer makes next most sense because as long as that also has some decent tires, at the end of the day, it's just a fairly lightweight towed trailer and a lot of the articulation happens off the tow hitch so as long as you are not going flat out down endless off road tracks...

I actually am in the UK.... which is why I'm struggling so much with vehicle choice and places to go LOL

 

Ideally I am looking at doing world tours to places like Africa and central Asia as well as the Americas, as per the YT vid above on Kazakhstan as it seems they are also from the same city as me...

 

Currently I'm in planning for a route which will take me through central Europe to Turkey and a region called Uludag which I know very well. The route will go through the east of France into the Alps, into Italy and the Dolomites, then east Europe and finally to the mountains of Turkey.

I saw a posting by a couple from the Czech Republic that went to Romania and caught some brown bears on camera.

That kind of thing would be fantastic to video (as well as image). You do also get Eurasion Pine Martens out there and jackals etc...

 

For me in terms of things, because of my ASD and ADHD I think having an off-road trailer will be the best. If I could set it up as an office too with NAS drive and Strarlink it would be amazing. That way I wouldn't have to worry about running out of SD cards continuously in my cameras.

I would also get a shower and even toilet which is something I would need for a medical problem I have....

 

Sadly when you have conditions relating to "Neuro Divergence" things become so much more complicated and you have to think of "what happens if I get stuck?" type scenarios....

 

It *did* happen on the way back home from Scotland where I had a panic attack en route and then really struggled to drive home after that.

Since then things have been even more difficult and have now been put onto medication for it. Partly it's down to quieter and less populated areas suite me better but sadly in the south east of England that isn't available so things get pretty difficult to deal with.

[MrSMW]

OK, sorry to hear about the health issues but that then leads me to think a motorhome with a quad bike on trailer is perhaps a better option?

First, you have all the proper facilities in one single vehicle, ie, proper bathroom, kitchen, bedroom, office etc.

Second, you have an off road vehicle to go off the beaten track with.

Motorhomes/campers are a bit of an investment, but quad bikes and trailers are not so much and cheaper than a specialised travel trailer?

If it's something VW'ish like a T5/T6, you can get away with it as a main 'family' transport also.

Our MH is based on a Citroen Jumper van and though it's an 'off the shelf' pro factory build rather than a custom or self build and it could be used as every day transport, but it's not ideal for that. 

A 5-5.5m camper could be but 6m (mine) is pushing it a bit.

The only thing with campers over motorhomes is you don't get a dedicated bathroom which is fine for short trips, but anything running into weeks, could become an issue very quickly.

I used to watch a lot of those van life videos on YouTube and it was hilarious (and ridiculous) just how many of these kids think they can live in a van with no bathroom. Van conversions can and should be built around a bathroom as a very high priority IMO!!

Most camper users stay on sites with facilities or the occasional overnight at the coast or similar, but I can park up in a venue car park and be self-contained for up to a week.

Of course expeditions can be done on nothing more than a motorbike and tent, but as with all things, where and what is your compromise?

My MH is my office, my home and my sanctuary on the road.

[kayasaman]

17 minutes ago, MrSMW said:

OK, sorry to hear about the health issues but that then leads me to think a motorhome with a quad bike on trailer is perhaps a better option?

First, you have all the proper facilities in one single vehicle, ie, proper bathroom, kitchen, bedroom, office etc.

Second, you have an off road vehicle to go off the beaten track with.

Motorhomes/campers are a bit of an investment, but quad bikes and trailers are not so much and cheaper than a specialised travel trailer?

If it's something VW'ish like a T5/T6, you can get away with it as a main 'family' transport also.

Our MH is based on a Citroen Jumper van and though it's an 'off the shelf' pro factory build rather than a custom or self build and it could be used as every day transport, but it's not ideal for that. 

A 5-5.5m camper could be but 6m (mine) is pushing it a bit.

The only thing with campers over motorhomes is you don't get a dedicated bathroom which is fine for short trips, but anything running into weeks, could become an issue very quickly.

I used to watch a lot of those van life videos on YouTube and it was hilarious (and ridiculous) just how many of these kids think they can live in a van with no bathroom. Van conversions can and should be built around a bathroom as a very high priority IMO!!

Most camper users stay on sites with facilities or the occasional overnight at the coast or similar, but I can park up in a venue car park and be self-contained for up to a week.

Of course expeditions can be done on nothing more than a motorbike and tent, but as with all things, where and what is your compromise?

My MH is my office, my home and my sanctuary on the road.

 

Last night I was watching something about a Volvo FT Expedition vehicle... looks nice but I wasn't too impressed...

and for $250k (US) yikes!

 

My current thoughts are to import something like a Toyota 4Runner gen6. Trailhunter from the US and then maybe an Imperial Outdoors X145 or MDC XT16 trailer again from the US.

 

No idea... will need to contact an importer and find out if the 4Runner could even be made legal over here.

 

I had a look at the Toyota Hilux too which *is* sold here but only a 2.4 or 2.8 liter diesel engine which is small and I really don't like diesel.

 

Right now I just wish there was somewhere I could go and rig up my current equipment on my car, including drone and practice and see what kind of things I can achieve.... 

Due to laws I can't fly my drone around locally as I need to be 150m (492ft) away from people. That is hard because even at 2am in the morning I was in the middle of nowhere (well not quite but it was quiet) and someone drove up to me so I had to land and move.

 

Somehow I need to find a solution to things and maybe even relocate if that is the best answer....

[eatstoomuchjam]

2 hours ago, kayasaman said:

Budget isn't really being thought about right now.... as budget wise my biggest concern is getting a suitable vehicle and trailer to take off-road and with what I'm looking at I probably need to import both from the US which will be tricky to say the least...

For the vehicle, a Landy is a great option.  venture4wd has one as his secondary vehicle and a lot of his content lately has been driving it all over the mountains in Arizona.

For a trailer to take off-road, you should think about that long and hard before making the jump.  I'd rank buying a pull-behind camper as one of the worst decisions I've made in my entire life.  The one I got was not specifically an overlanding camper or whatever, but it had decent enough ground clearance - but even as a fairly short trailer (about 15 feet), it plus the tongue basically doubled the length of my car (my Wrangler is about 19 feet long) which is awful when you're on a small dirt road that someone gated off.
And that's note even starting to get into how often it broke, the difficulty of repairs, etc.  I ended up selling it at a huge loss (bought for $10k, put in about $2-3k in upgrades, sold for about $3-4k) and felt grateful to be rid of the fucking thing.

YMMV, of course.

Given your plans, you may also want to check out Dan Grec's page/channel.  He hit every country in Africa in a Wrangler with Ursa Minor camper shell, a setup similar to venture4wd's beloved Orangie.  He also has a lot of thoughts about what is and isn't important.

2 hours ago, kayasaman said:

maybe have a NAS storage system built in too....

What sort of NAS do you have in mind?  Keep in mind that bouncing around on rough roads will have a negative impact on spinning hard drives, even if they're turned off/parked.  My solution for longer-term trips is a handful of 4T SSD's and just copy everything to two of them and keep them in different parts of the car (and/or trailer if you have one).  I also have some OWC thing that takes two 2.5" SATA SSD's and does hardware RAID-1 - so I use that with 2 4T drives in it.

1 hour ago, MrSMW said:

There's always a compromise somewhere and various options including a roof top tent.

I considered one once and they look fancy, but the reality is, they are stupidly overpriced because you can have a tent on the ground for a fraction of the cost which you can actually stand up, have furniture in, ie, actually 'live' in. I think they are a gimmick other than if you are afraid of scorpions.

This depends a lot on the rooftop tent and your goals.  My hardshell RTT (iKamper Skycamp Mini) sets up and comes down in around 2 minutes and I can leave a pillow and some blankets inside it.  That's faster than any ground tent I've used (I've used Coleman pop-ups which set up in about 5 minutes and come down in, realistically, about 10 if you actually pack it back into a bag properly - the bags suck).  It also facilitates camping on a pullout in a dirt road where a tent isn't feasible.  If you're moving around a lot, it's great.  If you're going somewhere for a week at a time and staying there, the extra few minutes in setup/teardown is a lot less annoying.

I'm actually going to sell mine this Spring, but not because I don't like the tent itself - but because despite having a heavy-duty Rhino Rack roof rack, after tens of thousands of miles with the tent on the car, the roof rack started falling apart.  Two years ago, my camping trip was cut short by it nearly falling off the car (roof rack loosened) and last year, I ended up immediately taking it back off the car (and injuring my arm in the process) because the now-repaired roof rack re-broke, this time requiring a replacement part that Rhino took something like 4 months to ship to me (despite that the rack is still a current product that they are selling).

Now I'm revising my platforms in the car so that I can sleep inside.

32 minutes ago, MrSMW said:

I used to watch a lot of those van life videos on YouTube and it was hilarious (and ridiculous) just how many of these kids think they can live in a van with no bathroom. Van conversions can and should be built around a bathroom as a very high priority IMO!!

Again, it depends on the use case and where you are!  For me, if I'm staying in an established campground, I can use their toilets.  If I'm off-grid, I have a Cleanwaste Go, a sturdy folding plastic toilet that can be used either to poop into a hole in the ground or into a little plastic baggie full of what is basically kitty litter.
It ain't glamorous, but it works.

But if I were trying to camp out in an event center parking lot for a week, my setup sucks.  I'd just get a hotel room at that point. 😃