BADASS-inspiration for all....

http://www.northbyrover.com

Wow. That is my fantasy vacation. I wish the E was that hardy.

While I haven't read all their journal entries, it looks like an Element could handle nearly all the through roads they took. Much of the Alaska 4wd trails that they tried just went to some bog and back, and were used more by ATVs than rigs their size. The Element should handle the gravel roads as well as their Discovery. 15 years ago I drove to Alaska in an S10 pickup, and rarely used 4h except to compensate for the poor traction of the rear wheel drive on washboard roads. I was quite happy with the Element's handling of British Columbia backroads on my recent trip. Parts of that felt as remote as my Alaska and Yukon travels.

paulj

Be sure to read the post trip evaluations:

http://www.northbyrover.com/looking_back_on_the_trip.htm

I can understand the vehicle size issues, particularly with regard to rearranging gear while at camp. Sleeping the Element is easiest when traveling light. On the other hand, there are a lot of 'what if' items that are hard to leave behind.

Notice also the tension between modifications for improved off-road performance, and their adverse effect on highway use.

The comments about the roof top tent struck a bell. When I spent 3 mths on an Alaska trip, I had a pickup camper top (shell) that opened up into a tent. I had similar problems with rain and waterproofing - partly due to the single wall design and partly because I did not seals the seams before hand. I ended up using a poly tarp as a fly over everything. We ended our northern trip with a loop through the SW 4-corners area 'to dry off' (also to fill some slack time left in our schedule). Since then I've paid alot more attention to rain flys, both for the tent, and for the cooking/eating area.

On our Dempster leg, we crossed paths with a fleet of little 4wd Fiat cars, each with a roof top tent. A group of Italians had driven them north from Vancouver, and another group was driving them back from Inuvik.

It was interesting to note that when they had flat tire on the Campbell Hwy in the Yukon, they choose to patch it with the Safety Seal kit, rather than put on the spare
http://www.northbyrover.com/day_73_-_86__aug_11_-_24.htm

The use of such a patch kit was discussed in an earlier off-road thread.

I found one journal entry in which their used their off-road recovery gear
http://www.northbyrover.com/day_31_-_40__june_30_-_july_9.htm
At Bennett Lake they had to use their winch and Pull Pal winching anchor which they'd carted around for 6 years. That is probably a typical situation - carry items around for so long without use that you wonder whether their worth the space, and then you get into a situation where you really appreciate them.

http://www.northbyrover.com/preparation.htm has some interesting pictures of their inside storage and sleeping platform. I just spent 2 weeks testing my own Element camping rig.

paulj