5 Year Trip in a Grenadier Across the World towing a Patriot X3 Which We Live In.

[ColoradoMike]

Thanks for this. I think sometimes people forget the actual reality on the ground and expectations are BBC / Netflix / HBO / Amazon level documentaries.

The size of the teams, resources, budgets and time to execute these projects people expect these days is a whole different league to us. Even a lot of YouTubers you see outsource the editing etc.

We have a camera, a drone and a computer and we’re doing it all while on the road… it’s a lot of very late nights, not easy at all. Sometimes we question whether it’s worth it due to the additional strain it puts on the journey but we see it as memories for years to come and a lot of people have asked us to keep going and so we’re going to try our best.

We aim to keep improving all the time. The next project we hope will be very interesting, it’s pretty sensitive but we decided to go for it as the story is a special one and needs telling. A few interviews in that one.

For me, it makes your videos soooooo much more realistic knowing that you do all of that on the road without a support film crew!

 

[Matt P]

Matt you and your family's travels have been an inspiration to my family! Soon we will be trying some mild overland adventures here in the states but we hope to travel for a couple of months at least in the Grenadier coming up. Not certain I have the ability to do what you guys are doing but I can always DREAM! Thanks again for putting yourself out there and letting us all participate in your journey!

Hi Mike! Amazing, glad we could help give you a nudge to do this. Once you’ve dipped your toe, it’s hard to go back.

I had a chat recently with Scott Brady and we agreed that once you’ve mobilised for a few months, it’s really not much more effort to go for longer and further..

As for ability, you learn through experience and doing. No one is perfect, no one knows everything and there’s no perfect way to do it. I used to run my own Adventure Academy, it wasn’t so much overland based but more generic adventure including all environments, day and night, hot, cold, no internet, no phone signal, no English, all disciplines. So many people come with the idea that it’s difficult or hard or they don’t have the skillsets or ability but the main thing is the mindset. That’s what I concentrated on as well as showing what they’re capable of when tired, hungry, lost and a bit down.. (using some stuff I’d learned in the military)

Once you have the mindset, some basic kit and start to get some experience under your belt, the world is your oyster.. skills can be learned, problems can be solved and nothing is insurmountable if you take it slowly, chunk by chunk and stay positive despite what comes your way. That’s what I believe anyway. I’ve no doubt you’d be fine. Keep us posted with how it all goes. Where are you planning to go? You guys in the US have so many epic options! Hence why we’re thinking of settling there after this trip. See how things go..

 

[ColoradoMike]

Hi Mike! Amazing, glad we could help give you a nudge to do this. Once you’ve dipped your toe, it’s hard to go back.

I had a chat recently with Scott Brady and we agreed that once you’ve mobilised for a few months, it’s really not much more effort to go for longer and further..

As for ability, you learn through experience and doing. No one is perfect, no one knows everything and there’s no perfect way to do it. I used to run my own Adventure Academy, it wasn’t so much overland based but more generic adventure including all environments, day and night, hot, cold, no internet, no phone signal, no English, all disciplines. So many people come with the idea that it’s difficult or hard or they don’t have the skillsets or ability but the main thing is the mindset. That’s what I concentrated on as well as showing what they’re capable of when tired, hungry, lost and a bit down.. (using some stuff I’d learned in the military)

Once you have the mindset, some basic kit and start to get some experience under your belt, the world is your oyster.. skills can be learned, problems can be solved and nothing is insurmountable if you take it slowly, chunk by chunk and stay positive despite what comes your way. That’s what I believe anyway. I’ve no doubt you’d be fine. Keep us posted with how it all goes. Where are you planning to go? You guys in the US have so many epic options! Hence why we’re thinking of settling there after this trip. See how things go..

We have done some weekend camping over the years but now its time to do the adventure thing. Since I retired from the military back in 2010 it has been a dream of ours to do the whole adventure travel things! Now that my wife retired in January and things are getting a bit stable after my Dad's passing, we are ready for the next steps!

Since we live in Colorado we have access to tons of stuff for fun. Our first trip will most likely be to do an easy Colorado Back country Discovery trail....I have done most of it in parts but would like to make it an entire trip.

 

[Matt P]

We have done some weekend camping over the years but now its time to do the adventure thing. Since I retired from the military back in 2010 it has been a dream of ours to do the whole adventure travel things! Now that my wife retired in January and things are getting a bit stable after my Dad's passing, we are ready for the next steps!

Since we live in Colorado we have access to tons of stuff for fun. Our first trip will most likely be to do an easy Colorado Back country Discovery trail....I have done most of it in parts but would like to make it an entire trip.

Sounds like good timing and a good plan to kick things off with! Sorry to hear about your Dad. Sometimes these things kick of the next chapter!

I did a lot of off-roading with my Dad when I was younger in a Series IIA and my first big trip was from London to Mongolia through many of the world’s most untouched and so-called dangerous countries. We did this in a Suzuki SJ which cost £150 and camped the whole way using a simple ground tent. We got sponsored for almost all the gear and so it was just food, fuel and visas we had to worry about. So it just goes to show you don’t need all the latest gear. You just need an idea, a rough plan and off you go…

 

[ColoradoMike]

Sounds like good timing and a good plan to kick things off with! Sorry to hear about your Dad. Sometimes these things kick of the next chapter!

I did a lot of off-roading with my Dad when I was younger in a Series IIA and my first big trip was from London to Mongolia through many of the world’s most untouched and so-called dangerous countries. We did this in a Suzuki SJ which cost £150 and camped the whole way using a simple ground tent. We got sponsored for almost all the gear and so it was just food, fuel and visas we had to worry about. So it just goes to show you don’t need all the latest gear. You just need an idea, a rough plan and off you go…
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Thanks for sharing this Matt! It means a ton! Amazing times you had with your Dad! Cherish those memories!

 

[Matt P]

I did like the episode when they where in the mountains and had tea with the locals. Felt like a great moment. Doesn't need to be a social study but I thought that was nice. Same with this one when they took turns digging at the wall, that was nice.

We do our try our best to document it all. Generally we’re in the moment though and don’t get to film them and we’ve decided that’s ok. We also don’t want to do anything fake or recreate things, we either capture it naturally or we accept we’ve missed it

 

[Matt P]

Thanks for sharing this Matt! It means a ton! Amazing times you had with your Dad! Cherish those memories!

I do. It’s set me up for the life we live today. Like Steve Jobs said, it’s only when you look back can you connect the dots. Dad is also a big outdoors guy and so that helped a ton too. Getting us out in all weathers, no excuses.

 

[Logsplitter]

We do our try our best to document it all. Generally we’re in the moment though and don’t get to film them and we’ve decided that’s ok. We also don’t want to do anything fake or recreate things, we either capture it naturally or we accept we’ve missed it

And you have to be careful what you film in that part of the world. Lots of guns and suspicious officials as you’ve seen.

 

[Karearea]

Fantastic footage and editing guys. Also really enjoying your adventures and so pleased you have moved on from the awful loss of the camper!

 

[Zimm]

But, is Johnsons of Leeds still open and aware that for the cost of a tent and multifuel camp stove, the ads are paying off 2 decades later?

 

[CRH]

But, is Johnsons of Leeds still open and aware that for the cost of a tent and multifuel camp stove, the ads are paying off 2 decades later?

I was thinking of giving them a call to check on any current offers

 

[CRH]

But, is Johnsons of Leeds still open and aware that for the cost of a tent and multifuel camp stove, the ads are paying off 2 decades later?

still there ready to supply all the preppers!

Johnsons Of Leeds – Government and Army Surplus

www.johnsonsofleeds.co.uk

 

[Zimm]

still there ready to supply all the preppers!

Johnsons Of Leeds – Government and Army Surplus

www.johnsonsofleeds.co.uk

And it looks like the same web technology as 2006! That's what I love about Europe, everything is historic.

 

[Matt P]

And you have to be careful what you film in that part of the world. Lots of guns and suspicious officials as you’ve seen.

Yup!

 

[Matt P]

Fantastic footage and editing guys. Also really enjoying your adventures and so pleased you have moved on from the awful loss of the camper!

Thanks so much for the support! We're trying to move on but it's going to take a while that's for sure. Glad you're enjoying our journey!

 

[Matt P]

But, is Johnsons of Leeds still open and aware that for the cost of a tent and multifuel camp stove, the ads are paying off 2 decades later?

They're still around as far as I'm aware. They were legends and basically gave us what we needed from their warehouse. Very grateful as we had very little cash and so needed to do all we could to get what we needed before setting off.

 

[Matt P]

still there ready to supply all the preppers!

Johnsons Of Leeds – Government and Army Surplus

www.johnsonsofleeds.co.uk

 

[Matt P]

And it looks like the same web technology as 2006! That's what I love about Europe, everything is historic.

This made me laugh a lot! It's crazy how far back in time some places are even though they live in one of the most developed countries in the world and a website is pretty simple to put together these days. They're clearly doing ok if it's not a priority, word of mouth is still as strong as ever or maybe our trip is still paying dividends for them.

 

[CRH]

This made me laugh a lot! It's crazy how far back in time some places are even though they live in one of the most developed countries in the world and a website is pretty simple to put together these days. They're clearly doing ok if it's not a priority, word of mouth is still as strong as ever or maybe our trip is still paying dividends for them.

I never bothered with a website, it only encourages people to ring me.

 

[Matt P]

I never bothered with a website, it only encourages people to ring me.

Johnsons is your place?