{"product_id":"banjo-retro-overland-rig-rtt-camp-kitchen-solar-free-guides","title":"Banjo — Retro Overland Rig | RTT, Camp Kitchen, Solar | Free Guides","description":"\u003cp\u003eBanjo is a 2002 Chevy Blazer ZR2 built for one thing: getting you off the pavement and into the PNW without having to figure out any of it yourself. Everything you need to skip to Nat'l Park campground crowds and camp serenely free on public land — rooftop tent, camp kitchen, solar power, 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThere'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.\u003cbr\u003eThis isn't that.\u003cbr\u003eBanjo 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 squirrel).\u003cbr\u003eEverything you need is already loaded. Rooftop tent, camp kitchen, solar 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. You show up, we hand you the keys, and you drive away a fully equipped overlander.\u003cbr\u003eThe Rig\u003cbr\u003eThe 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.\u003cbr\u003eIt's not a luxury vehicle. The interior shows its age in the honest way that working trucks do. But mechanically it's maintained, capable, and set up correctly — which is the thing that actually matters when you're 12 miles down a forest road and it starts raining.\u003cbr\u003eThe Gear\u003cbr\u003eEvery piece of gear was chosen because we use it ourselves. Nothing in Banjo is there to look good in photos and fail in the field.\u003cbr\u003eRooftop Tent: Mounts to the roof rack and sets up in under 2 minutes — unfold, extend the ladder, done. Sleeps two adults comfortably on a real foam mattress with bedding included. Gets you off the ground, which you will appreciate at your first campsite when you realize what \"established clearing\" actually means at ground level.\u003cbr\u003eCamp Kitchen: A slide-out camp kitchen with a two-burner propane stove, cookware, plates, bowls, mugs, and utensils. Real meals are possible. You are not condemned to granola bars and string cheese just because you're in the woods. We've made pasta, stir fry, and breakfast burritos out of this kitchen. So can you.\u003cbr\u003eSolar + Power Station: A rooftop solar panel feeds a portable power station inside the cab. Keep your phones charged, run a fan, power a light. You're off-grid, not off-power.\u003cbr\u003eFresh Water: 5 gallons loaded at pickup, already in the rig. Drink it, cook with it, brush your teeth with it. We refill before every rental.\u003cbr\u003eCamp Chairs + Table: Two camp chairs and a packable table. Set up takes 3 minutes. The view from those chairs is the whole point of the trip.\u003cbr\u003eFirst Aid Kit: Stocked. We check and restock between every rental.\u003cbr\u003eRecovery Gear: Tow straps and a hi-lift jack. Because capable isn't the same as invincible, and knowing you have recovery gear changes how confidently you drive. We also walk you through basic recovery scenarios at pickup — not to scare you, but because knowing what to do is the difference between a minor situation and a bad one.\u003cbr\u003eOffline Maps: The rig comes with maps pre-loaded for Washington and Oregon national forests. You will lose cell signal. That's a feature, not a bug. The maps work without it.\u003cbr\u003eThe Easter Eggs\u003cbr\u003eWe call them Easter eggs — small details that have nothing to do with survival and everything to do with the trip becoming a story.\u003cbr\u003eThere's a Nintendo GameBoy Color in the glovebox loaded with Pokémon Yellow and Tetris. There's a Polaroid camera with film. There's a field notebook. None of it is essential gear. All of it has shown up in renter photos and \"best part of the trip\" reviews, usually from the person who was most skeptical about camping in the first place.\u003cbr\u003eThe Guide\u003cbr\u003eEvery rental includes our curated dispersed camping guide — a handpicked list of beginner-friendly sites within two hours of Seattle that we've personally driven to, camped at, and would go back to. GPS coordinates, road condition notes, what to expect when you arrive, and seasonal access info.\u003cbr\u003eIt's not a list we pulled from an app. It's the list we use.\u003cbr\u003eWashington has over 9 million acres of national forest land, most of it open to free dispersed camping. The guide is how you find the good parts of that without spending a Friday evening on a forest road junction wondering if you made a wrong turn.\u003cbr\u003eThe Pickup\u003cbr\u003eWe do a full walkthrough at pickup. Every system, every piece of gear, how the tent works, how to read the maps, what to do if something goes sideways. First-timers especially — we built the pickup process to make sure you leave confident, not just holding the keys.\u003cbr\u003ePlan 30 minutes for pickup. It's worth it.\u003cbr\u003eWho Banjo Is For\u003cbr\u003eFirst-time overlanders who want to try this without buying $8,000 worth of gear first. Couples who want to go somewhere that requires actual directions. Families with kids who are ready to explain why there's a GameBoy in the truck. Anyone who has driven past a forest road and wondered where it goes.\u003cbr\u003eYou don't need experience. You don't need your own gear. You need a free weekend and a willingness to lose cell signal for 48 hours.\u003cbr\u003ePickup is in Seattle.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Outdoorsy","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42432944275538,"sku":null,"price":191.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0072\/8504\/7378\/files\/zxmr7oyile6dmcm1ryvk.jpg?v=1780426601","url":"https:\/\/basecamper.com\/products\/banjo-retro-overland-rig-rtt-camp-kitchen-solar-free-guides","provider":"BaseCamper","version":"1.0","type":"link"}