Banjo is a 2002 Chevy Blazer ZR2 built for one thing: getting you off the pavement and into the PNW. Everything you need to skip to Nat'l Park campground crowds and camp serenely free on public land — rooftop tent, camp kitchen, fresh water, recovery gear — is already loaded and ready to go. You show up, we hand you the keys, and you drive away a fully equipped overlander.
There's a version of camping where you fight for a reservation three months out, park between two RVs, and listen to someone else's generator all night.
This isn't that if you're looking for something different.
Banjo is a 2002 Chevy Blazer ZR2 built for dispersed camping — the kind where you pull off a forest road onto public land, find a clearing with a mountain view, and sleep there for free. No reservations. No fees. No neighbors. Just you, the trees, and whatever's making that sound in the dark (it's probably a pika).
Everything you need is already loaded. Rooftop tent, camp kitchen, battery power, fresh water, recovery gear, offline maps. We've done the gear research, bought the right stuff, and dialed in the setup so you don't have to.
The Rig
The ZR2 is the capable trim of the S-10 Blazer — not the base model with 4WD bolted on, but the platform built from the factory for off-pavement use. Upgraded suspension, Bilstein shocks, skid plates, and a 4.3L Vortec V6 paired with a low-range transfer case. It's been wheeling Washington's national forest roads for over two decades. It knows the job.
It's not a luxury vehicle. The interior shows its age in the honest way that working trucks do. But mechanically it's maintained, upgraded with new tech like AndroidAuto/Apple CarPlay, and set up correctly — which is the thing that actually matters when you're 12 miles down a forest road.
Who Rad Rigs Is For
First-time overlanders who want to try this without buying $8,000 worth of gear first. Couples who want to go somewhere off the paved path. Parents who want to take their kid out on a fishing trip and want a fun retro 4x4 for the core memory. Anyone who has driven past a forest road in their FWD and wondered where it goes.
You don't need lots of experience. You don't need your own gear. You need a free weekend and a willingness to lose cell signal for 48 hours.
Pickup is in West Seattle, convenient to the C Line bus route, rideshare dropoff, or street parking.
