OUR RIG: 1999 Mitsubishi Montero, Winter Package

We quickly realized how often we wanted to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city. We were seeking the solitude and stillness of nature on a regular basis. So, we started looking at Toyotas, but realized it was out of our budget to buy one, then spending money to outfit it on top of all that. We started looking at alternatives, and fell in love with the look and features of the “gen 2.5” Mitsubishi Montero with its stock over fenders. The Montero offered everything we had hoped for. It is rugged, reliable, cost effective, and looked so damn cool with a bit of dirt flung all over it. One thing led to another and we started to modify the truck to suit our needs for living on the road. What was meant to be a simple point A to point B weekend vehicle became a full fledged adventure mobile to carry them, and their dogs, out on a trail for weeks --and potentially longer!

Minimalism is the ideological motto we strive for with our Montero. Everything added onto the truck has to serve a purpose. Functionality proceeds form. Weight is the number one enemy for any kind of touring vehicle. Weight not only kills fuel economy, but puts unneeded stress onto the suspension, and ruins overall driving quality.

We opted to not mount any additional fuel canisters. That addition would add unneeded weight, and we’re not fans of having having so many “things” mounted to the outside of the truck.

Since we don’t plan on traveling outside of the North American continent, fuel, of any kind, is incredibly easy to come across anywhere. So, with a bit of planning ahead, and knowing what our fuel consumption would be, we never run into any fuel related anxiety.

Exterior bits and bobs

Our Montero is currently sitting on a 2.5” lift courteously by Old Man Emu.

The underside of the truck is protected with a front skid and transmission skid plate guard made by Adventure Driven Designs.

We replaced the original glow-worm-esque headlight bulbs with LED bulbs from PIAA, and added four vintage style round lights on top for added night visibility. Plus, the four top lights look period correct for a 1990s 4x4 import.

Storage system

Since the Montero has very little aftermarket support in the United States, let alone any kind of overland/touring aftermarket, we had to go custom with our storage solution. We went to BP Autosound and asked them to design and build a storage solution that fit our exact needs.

We’ve completely removed the middle row and third row and put custom drawers in its place. The middle row now houses a chest that is a home for the “house” electrical system as well as storage for miscellaneous electronic gear that we use on the road.

The Kitchen Area

The rear storage drawers were built around the idea of a no-holds-barred mobile kitchen. Linhbergh loves to cook and wants as little sacrifice as possible when it comes to how the Montero’s kitchen is set up.

We run a Camp Chef Mountaineer off of a five pound propane tank that’s mounted on the full size spare tire. The stove features two 20,000 BTU burners and is more than enough to cook whatever his heart desires.

The bottom left drawer can be pulled out and a 24x18” cutting board is placed on it to be used as a prep table.

Habitat

When we were shopping around for a hardtop tent, we went into it with our countless nights-on-the-road of experience. We wanted a clamshell tent (not those that deploy straight up and have four soft walls). This directive came from all those nights we slept in extremely windy camp spots with the wind buffering every soft piece of tent as if it was actually in our ear. Sound sleeping was a mere fantasy for those gusty nights. We wanted a built-in awning to shield us from the sun and rain. And finally, we wanted a price tag that was reasonable for its feature list. We weren’t looking for the perfect tent, just one that fit our budget and lifestyle the best. The Roofnest Sparrow Eye checked all those boxes.

There are nights where we slipped into camp far too late and crawl into the tent. The moment we laid down, a sigh of complete pleasure would resound from the both of us. The Sparrow Eye comes with a three inch mattress as well as an anti-condensation mat below which adds a one centimeter layer of additional cushion. The mattress itself is soft, yet with a hint of roughness that comes with a camping product. But the anti-condensation mat wipes away all of those rough edges, replacing it with a soft pillowy cloud of middle-of-nowhere luxuriousness. 

Off-grid power

We run a very basic power setup. Electrical power isn’t something we struggle with our rig. Our power needs are pretty low. We use it to charge a laptop (or two), charge a few camera batteries, run a small food processor, hand blender, and, most importantly, to make sure the fridge is always running.

On top of the roof top tent, we’ve mounted two Renogy 160W flexible solar panels for a grand total of 320W of star-harnessing power. The panels are connected to the charge controller, and then connected to a 700W inverter. All this is ran via one 100Ah “house” AGM lead acid battery. The house battery is also connected to the starter battery via a battery isolator. The alternator is then able to charge the house battery when the truck is running. All this keeps our food cold 24/7. We’re very happy with the results.

FULL SPECIFICATIONS LIST:

SUSPENSION

• OME Nitrocharger Sport Shocks

• OME medium springs

• OME Torsion Bars

LIGHTS

• PIAA Platinum H4 headlight bulbs

• PIAA LP560 LED (top)

• PIAA Quad Series Flood LED (Back)

ARMOR

• Adventure Driven Design Stainless Steel Front Bumper

• Adventure Driven Design Front Skid Plate

• Adventure Driven Design Transmission Skid Plate

• Rocky Road Rock Sliders

WHEELS & TIRES

• Toyo Tires Open Country A/T III, 285/75R16

• Volk Racing TE37X, 16x8 +0

POWER

• Renogy 160W Flexible Solar Panels (2) https://amzn.to/39wGJOt

• Renogy 700W Pure Sine Wave Inverter https://amzn.to/39sdaxC

• Renogy 30A Rover-Li MPPT charge controller https://amzn.to/2JrVt6A

• Renogy 500A Battery Monitor https://amzn.to/39wfLGP

• Renogy BT-1 Bluetooth Module https://amzn.to/3avAcVn

HABITAT

• Roofnest Sparrow Eye

• Rhino Rack 2.5m Awning

• Voyager Racks Custom Safari Rack

• BP Autosound custom drawer system; Middle Row + Trunk

• Dometic CFX-50W

• Camp Chef Mountaineer Stove

• Blueridge Overland Tire Storage Bag XL