Thair Camper on a Gladiator: 3,000 Miles Later
Tony and Chris catch up on Jeep Talk Show with no interview this week after Gatekeeper Off-Road had to reschedule. They talk Ford Fest mud and rain, a listener since episode one, Anastasia and her husband’s Ineos Grenadier, Gatekeeper knuckle lights on Tony’s 2021 Gladiator, G-Tops versus one-piece glass roofs, Chris MCing BG4x4 Fest in Bowling Green, Ohio, and real-world use of the Thar inflatable truck camper. Plus new JTS extras: Movie Night watch-along and JTS Flix.
Timestamps
Key Highlights
- Gatekeeper Off-Road interview is postponed; knuckle lights on Tony’s Gladiator sit low and turn with the wheels for fog, dust, and night driving
- Ford Fest was muddy and wet, but Chris met longtime listener Ram Mike and Anastasia plus her husband in an Ineos Grenadier on 38s
- G-Tops stay removable like Freedom Panels; Tony and Chris prefer them over 360/365 one-piece glass for open-air days and heat control
- BG4x4 Fest is Oct 2–3 at Wood County Fairgrounds: mud pit, sled pull by weight class, kids events, concert, drone show — bg4x4fest.com
- Thar Camper uses drop-stitch paddleboard material at about 5 PSI, drives inflated, sleeps like a tent with more insulation, and patches if it leaks
Like the episode if this update hit home. Comment if you would run an inflatable camper on a Gladiator or pull a sled in an XJ. Subscribe so you do not miss the Gatekeeper interview. More at jeeptalkshow.com, jeeptalkshow.com/watchalong, and jeeptalkshow.com/watch.
Support the Show & Shop Jeep Gear Thank you for watching and listening! If you enjoyed the conversation with Tony and Chris, consider checking out some of the great products and upgrades we discussed.
Gatekeeper Off-Road JL/JT Steerable Knuckle Pod Light Mounts
View on Amazon
JeeTops / G-Tops clear Freedom Panels https://jeetops.com/
Thar Camper inflatable truck camper https://tharcamper.com/
Head to jeeptalkshow.com/amazon for the gear we actually use. Purchases through those links help keep Jeep Talk Show rolling at no extra cost to you.
Episode Transcript
[00:00:00:14 – 00:00:26:09]
Tony
Alright. So we are here with Chris. We’re gonna kinda do an update with Chris. No interviews this week. We did have an interview scheduled that’s gonna reschedule but they called out on the interview day so keep watching for that interview. I’m really interested in doing that interview Chris. That’s with Gatekeeper Off-Road and they have some pretty cool products.
[00:00:26:09 – 00:00:34:13]
Chris
Yeah and you have some product on your 2021 Jeep Talks with Gladiator now. The knuckle lights or they are on your steering knuckles aren’t they?
[00:00:34:13 – 00:00:56:04]
Tony
Yeah, steering knuckles. I got that on there. I think that is really neat. You know how I am about lights but this was a way to actually have the lights on there and have a good use for them. I like the idea of having the lights real low and I think it’s a wonderful opportunity for foggy situations, dusty situations and
[00:00:57:06 – 00:00:59:06]
Tony
I mean if you live in California the
[00:00:59:06 – 00:01:02:27]
Tony
wildfires, you can actually see as you’re trying to
[00:01:02:27 – 00:01:05:27]
Tony
escape from the flames.
[00:10:05:27 – 00:09:37:19]
Tony
So was there anybody that you were surprised to see out there at the Ford Fest? Any interactions that were something interesting to report on?
[00:09:38:24 – 00:09:41:19]
Chris
Yeah, I got to meet a listener, a longtime listener, to learn
[00:09:41:19 – 00:09:45:07]
Chris
Ram Mike. And he was the videographer
[00:09:45:07 – 00:10:42:08]
Chris
the National Rock Racing Association. He came over to me. He’s been a listener since episode one. So that was really neat to meet him and to hand out some stickers. Also met Anastasia from a former Chick Chat host. Now she doesn’t have a Jeep. Also met her husband, who does have a Jeep. So Anastasia was out there. And the Grenadier, the NEO’s Grenadier, which it’s an off-road vehicle, Land Rover style type vehicles. But it was really neat to meet her, really talked to her husband more. He’s got a jail on 38s and tons. So good conversation with Anastasia’s husband. And good to see Mike. And good recognition folks had listened to the show, recognized the Jeep Talk Show logos on Mike Latiator. And just some good fan interaction. But again, it was just a very muddy, rainy day. So people really weren’t hanging out and farting around too much because it just wasn’t great weather.
[00:10:42:08 – 00:10:46:20]
Tony
Yeah, that’s a shame. But I mean, that’s the risk you always have for any event.
[00:10:46:20 – 00:10:48:22]
Chris
Yes, especially an outdoor event.
[00:10:48:22 – 00:11:05:03]
Tony
I think EJS had some flooding or at least some vigorous rain last year. I think I remember hearing about that from the Jeep Talk Show folks that were out there. So, you know, it’s all part of the adventure, right? Absolutely.
[00:11:05:03 – 00:11:08:04]
Chris
That’s what it’s all about. Get a little muddy, get a little dirty.
[00:11:08:04 – 00:11:25:10]
Tony
So I know from talking with Anastasia, we did an interview. Don’t remember, it was over a year ago. I did an interview. I remember her talking about her love for Jeeps. And, but she got this, this Grenadier. I think it was a
[00:11:26:10 – 00:11:58:01]
Tony
family purchase and she’s been driving that. I was surprised to hear from you when you were talking to her husband that if he made that, correct me on this, I think he made a comment that you or him would not fit so well in the Grenadier, which I was very surprised because that thing looks like a bus. It looks huge. I mean, it’s perfect for her because I don’t think she’s much over five two. Maybe she’s five four. Never met her in person. But seems like to be a lot of room for her.
[00:11:58:01 – 00:12:01:20]
Chris
It is, I’m sure. And I sat in one, not
[00:12:01:20 – 00:12:39:01]
Chris
at this four fest, but last year. And it’s a European vehicle. And the European vehicles, I believe are built a little smaller. I would say it’s at least the overall length of a JL, a four door JL. They do have a quarter master, which I believe is almost lengthwise identical to a Gladiator, but you’re right. It doesn’t have the interior space that a JL or Gladiator has. So yeah, it would be a little uncomfortable. Maybe they have some aftermarket parts or kits to move the seat back. Maybe not, but definitely a European style vehicle if that makes sense.
[00:12:39:01 – 00:12:48:04]
Tony
Was the physical outside? I mean, I’ve never seen one in person, but was the physical outside of it small? It seems like it’s large.
[00:12:48:04 – 00:13:03:23]
Chris
No, and to your point, it’s deceiving as large as it is outside. It’s cramped inside for folks much over six foot two, like you or I or Anastasia’s husband, where you’re about six, three, six, four, depending on which
[00:13:03:23 – 00:13:07:19]
Chris
convenience store you’re running out of. But yeah, it’s just,
[00:13:07:19 – 00:13:42:17]
Chris
deceiving. But has a very tall, it’s got a tall posture to it, probably the wrong word, like Land Rover. So it’s got the skinny tires and just the tall roofline, I guess, not instead of posture, tall roofline. And it’s got great stop. I was teasing our friend, Chris from G-tops. It’s got G-tops already in it, but they’re glass and they open. So it gives a, even when you’re inside of it, it gives a much more wide open field because you have the open, the windows that can open, three inches over your head, driver passenger.
[00:13:42:17 – 00:14:12:02]
Tony
You know, I’m glad you mentioned G-tops. They’re not G-tops, it’s part of the Ennio’s Grenadier design. Correct, yes. But they’re like G-tops. And it is really neat. You have a set of G-tops on your Gladiator. I’ve got a set of G-tops on my Gladiator. And it’s just like having a sunroof. I think the last time I had anything that I could see out of above me was my 82 iRock Z
[00:14:13:03 – 00:14:26:09]
Tony
that I bought used with the T-tops that you could take off. And that was so cool to be able to drive around and have that or to take them off and have it open. Much the same type of deal that you have with
[00:14:27:10 – 00:14:42:15]
Tony
the ability to take the freedom panels off. And I guess it’s after having the G-tops and talking to Chris over at G-tops so much that I just kind of shake my heads when I see clear lids or this 360,
[00:14:43:20 – 00:15:53:01]
Tony
365 single sheet of glass type thing. And I will say that the one, I think it’s the 360, that’s a really cool look. It’s completely clear from one side all the way over to the other. But my concern about it is that if you wanna do something like you do with freedom panels, just take them off, put them in the bag and drive around open air, you need doing that with the 360. I mean, you don’t have to have the top off in your Jeep. You can just have that thing on there and leave it on there. But it really keeps you from being able to take that off in those rare days, especially down here, where it’s fall weather or pre-winter and it’s nice and chipper outside and driving the smells everything that you can experience with the top off, it makes it worth it. The G-tops for me, I don’t know how you feel about it, but the G-tops for me means I can treat this as like a regular freedom panel. I can stick it in the bag, carry them with me. As long as I don’t have a bunch of people with me, carry the freedom panels with me, it starts raining, put them back on, back and still see through them.
[00:15:53:01 – 00:16:28:01]
Chris
Yes, and then they’re modified freedom panels. I absolutely agree. And it gives you plenty of light, plenty of visibility. The other thing, the 365, and I don’t know this, if they have a screen, I have also have a, my wife drives a 2025 Jeep Grand Cherokee with the glass roof and it’s great. But when you forget to close the shade and it sits outside in the morning, especially on the weekend, maybe you’re getting a little bit later starting the day, it’s quite warm under the glass. So that would be my concern as well with the 365 G-tops comes with
[00:16:28:01 – 00:16:31:16]
Chris
optional screens to put in. And I’ve used mine.
[00:16:31:16 – 00:16:48:06]
Tony
the way you did that. You’re in sales. I like the way you did that. Comes with optional screens. It doesn’t come with it. They’re optional. Optional, yes. But hopefully you slide that right through, you get the sale and go, hey, where’s my screens? Oh, like I said, those are optional.
[00:16:48:06 – 00:17:22:08]
Chris
Yeah, those are a little bit more. But no, I agree. And I enjoy the freedom, taking the freedom panels off for those days, like you mentioned, but you don’t wanna travel too far and be without the freedom panels that are in the back seat or in my case, I throw them in the bed with Gladiator. So you always have them with you. You can button it up. And my thing, I’ve always had anxiety when I had my JK in the freedom panels or having the top off. I just had anxiety and it’s probably not justified if somebody crawling in there and doing something or an animal or a bird. Spiders. Yeah, something. I mean, bird crap.
[00:17:22:08 – 00:17:24:14]
Tony
I’m gonna be doing 75 miles an hour and
[00:17:24:14 – 00:17:27:16]
Tony
gonna go, eee! Right in front of me.
[00:17:30:14 – 00:17:30:25]
(Both Laughing)
[00:17:33:09 – 00:17:51:18]
Tony
Yeah, they’re pretty cool. So I think it was 2025, my wife and I went out there and that was the first year that I had the G-tops. And when we were out there, and don’t get me wrong, I loved the changing weather. In fact, on our way to EJS
[00:17:53:15 – 00:18:33:01]
Tony
in New Mexico, I think it was New Mexico, we got through quite a bit of snow. I mean, it was for two native Southeast Texans, it was just so cool to see that much snow. And because of the G-tops, you could look above, you could look down, you could look all around. But we were still in a nice warm environment with a heater on. And I know you guys are going, “Oh, boo, you’re supposed to have the top off, “be getting wet or burned up or whatever.” Yeah, that’s fine, you peasants do that. I’m gonna use the clear tops.
[00:18:33:01 – 00:18:35:07]
Chris
Absolutely, absolutely.
[00:18:35:07 – 00:18:41:07]
Tony
I still wanna get that one put in for the rear part of the top.
[00:18:42:26 – 00:18:51:17]
Tony
I don’t know what you call it, the main cabin top, not the freedom panels, because he has a panoramic that goes in the back. I just like that. I just love those things. You
[00:18:52:22 – 00:19:19:06]
Tony
actually set up an interview with Chris. That’s how I found out about him. But I was nervous about having my freedom panels cut and the stuff put in there. I mean, you can, and this is like I’ve told Chris, it’s difficult to, I mean, the price is great. The price is the same as the best flip top, that thing that you flip up out of the way. That 360, 365, I think is around $1,200.
[00:19:20:09 – 00:19:23:20]
Tony
The clear lids, which I personally would never touch. That thing
[00:19:23:20 – 00:19:24:16]
Tony
like a nightingale.
[00:19:25:20 – 00:19:27:10]
Tony
And they’re
[00:19:27:10 – 00:20:05:17]
Tony
the same price. So the only one that I know that passes the test for impact resistant polymer and meets the automotive standard and also too, has the advantage of the still just being freedom panels, where you can just take them off, put them on. I mean, seeing more is always nice, but you got to say something about the convenience of it. And still being able to use it as a record Jeep. Anyway, very happy with it. Didn’t mean to do a commercial for Chris and GTOPS, but it’s one of those things that I think, I know I love and I think you love it too, Chris. Absolutely.
[00:20:07:24 – 00:20:17:24]
Tony
It’s one of those things though, that most people don’t see, especially on a lifted Gladiator, because it’s kind of up high. When they sit down, they go, “Oh, what’s that light? Oh, that’s neat.”
[00:20:19:05 – 00:20:40:24]
Chris
Yeah, but since I’ve looked at my Gladiator recently, it is more apparent when you open the door. Obviously, if you’ve got somebody getting in your Jeep, they’re going to see it eventually, but it is a lot more apparent when it’s lifted and they’re looking up or looking for the grab handle, because it’s obviously taller to get in a lifted Jeep. So it draws more attention to it initially.
[00:20:40:24 – 00:21:19:19]
Tony
Yeah. And as I was saying, out at EJS, we went through a little bit of snow, a little bit of rain, a little bit of sunshine, a little bit of, it was kind of cold, so cold weather, but it was just amazing with the view that we had. I mean, it was 180 side to side and vertically. So, especially with those cliffs and stuff, as you’re the rock formations that you’re driving by that are several hundred feet high or a thousand feet high, you can just look up and look at them as you’re driving along. Don’t have to hang your head out the window or take anything off to be able to enjoy that.
[00:21:22:08 – 00:21:29:03]
Tony
All right, so you have another MC event that you’re going to be doing this weekend, aren’t you?
[00:21:29:03 – 00:21:40:28]
Chris
Yeah, the Bowling Green 4×4 Fest, Bowling Green Ohio, recent Rachel, Rachel was a recent interview guest she had on just a week or two ago. So the privilege to MC that event for the second year in a row.
[00:21:42:00 – 00:21:49:10]
Chris
October 3rd, Saturday, October 3rd, Friday, October 2nd, they’re doing a hype event at Thayer Chrysler Jeep
[00:21:50:18 – 00:22:51:21]
Chris
Dodge in Bowling Green, Ohio, right down the street. And yeah, it’s gonna be a mud pit, which was really neat last year. I’ll get some video and some more content on that, but they have a purpose built mud pit, car crushing Friday night, balance blocks, and then the mud pit all day on Saturday. They’ll also have the sled pole. It’s at the Wood County Fairgrounds in Bowling Green, Ohio, which I learned last year that is the site of the National Tractor Pole Association. And the end of August, every year from around the country, and I believe some parts of Canada, the professional tractor pole folks, and we’ve all seen them since the 70s. They have the tractors that have four or two or five or six engines. That’s where the national championship is at the last weekend in August. So they use that same track. It’s a purpose built track with grand stands on both sides and you have the opportunity for a donation that all goes to charity to
[00:22:52:22 – 00:23:39:12]
Chris
give your shot at pulling, seeing how far you can pull, seeing if you can get a full pull. And that’s just pretty neat. I don’t know that I’m gonna do it with my gladiator, but there were a couple of Jeeps that gave a pull at the sled. So that’s going on for a couple hours on Saturday. Then we’re gonna have stuff for the kids and they’re gonna have some kiddie poles with some pedal tractors and vendors. So just a good one day event. This year they’ve also added a concert at 7 p.m. on Saturday and then a drone show that’s gonna go off at nine o’clock on the third Saturday night. So just a good fun day. The weather looks about 50, 50 rain or shine, maybe a little rain in the morning, which would obviously help the mud pit. It’s gonna be a fun day.
[00:23:39:12 – 00:24:12:06]
Tony
Well, I’m sure they got a hose for the mud pit. The thing I thought was really cool is you can get out there and your XJ or your JK or your JL, GLU and pull the tractor. And I think I had asked Rachel, I said, “So do you guys do something different with the sled?” So that, I mean, cause they get out there with huge tractors and diesel trucks for the sled pull. And I can’t imagine an XJ not saying it can’t, not saying it will be drivable once it’s done,
[00:24:13:10 – 00:24:21:22]
Tony
but she said they adjust it. So I think that would be really cool to see an XJ do it a sled pull on a national track.
[00:24:21:22 – 00:25:49:16]
Chris
Yes, and it is, I learned too, it is they have different classes and that’s by weight of the vehicle. So weight of an XJ, weight of say F250 with a big diesel. And that’s how they make the adjustment. I don’t know what it is, but they’re not out there to break it. There was a gentleman last year, I saw on a two door JK that was a manual and that was impressive. He got it a lot farther than anybody thought he would. And I thought the front wheels were gonna come off the ground. They didn’t, but he was pulling it pretty good. He was in the mud pit later on in the afternoon. So, and he drove it home, presumably. So yeah, that’s just neat to see and neat to be at that facility. It’s seating for 5,000 people outside along either side of this track. So unfortunately some family stuff got in the way this year but I really, if you’re within a few hundred miles of Bowling Green, Ohio, it’s just south of Toledo. I think at the end of August, that would be quite a party and quite an event to see because again, they come in from all over the country. And the Wood County Fairgrounds is a great facility. Also gonna be camping there Friday night and the Gladiator and Theracamper. And I was also told last year that it is the largest permanent campground adjacent to a professional motorsports venue, larger than NASCAR. So very, very large campground, which useless fact but I thought was interesting.
[00:25:49:16 – 00:26:01:18]
Tony
No, it’s cool, especially if you don’t wanna rent a hotel. Hotels are so expensive. So is it, was it, I should remember this, but I don’t. Was it BGB, BG?
[00:26:03:17 – 00:26:07:12]
Tony
I’m trying to remember the website. Is it bg4x4fest.com?
[00:26:07:12 – 00:26:11:22]
Chris
Yes, that’s correct. Yes, bg4x4fest.com.
[00:26:11:22 – 00:26:16:05]
Tony
Yep, so go out there and check it out and say hello to Chris. If you can,
[00:26:16:05 – 00:26:18:28]
Tony
interrupt him while he’s talking. Best of them all.
[00:26:20:13 – 00:26:31:14]
Tony
Okay, you mentioned- Make faces. Yeah, you mentioned camping and I definitely wanted to talk to you about the Thar camper. And let’s explain Thar camper because it sounds hoagie.
[00:26:32:22 – 00:26:37:14]
Tony
Par, well, I mean, if you, I guess if you got a name like Par, it makes perfect sense.
[00:26:37:14 – 00:26:38:11]
(Chris Laughs)
[00:26:38:11 – 00:27:27:08]
Tony
Yes. Par Thar, but it’s like the air camper without the E. Yes. So he loves it. He kind of giggles, because we interviewed him too. He kind of giggles at the how well it worked out, getting the tharcamper.com. And through Par and tharcamper.com, we have a camper, it’s an inflatable camper. No, it’s not what you think. Cause I think most people think like me, they think it’s like one of those inflatable dolls or something. There’s no basic shape to it. It’s just whatever the air holds in place. But this is different. It has a built-in stuff in it between the walls. So it forms its shape and I mean, it knows its shape. And then when you put hair in it, it just kind of solidifies the whole thing. And
[00:27:28:15 – 00:27:52:07]
Tony
Par sent you a camper for your gladiator, a much better choice for you than me, because you go out and do stuff. Mine would be sitting in the back of the gladiator or in the garage. So, and you’ve been very impressed with this. I mean, you’ve done tent camping for a while, and this is your first time getting a little bit out of the bear harm’s way.
[00:27:52:07 – 00:28:22:17]
Chris
Yes, you have tent camp for my whole life, say for one trip to a race where we rented a proper motorhome, but that was a work related thing many years ago. So I’ve tent camped for my life for over 25 years camping. And this is a camper and it’s an inflatable camper. Like you said, it’s the stand up paddle board material or drop stitch technology. In fact, if you go to jeeptalkshow.com,
[00:28:23:17 – 00:28:41:05]
Chris
search drops, drop stitch technology, and you’ll find the interview that you did Tony with, with Par the inventor and owner of their camper. And it becomes rigid, like you said, and it runs only four to five PSI in all of the chambers or six chambers, I believe.
[00:28:41:05 – 00:28:47:22]
Tony
Well, you were running at 10 or 15 when you first got it, weren’t you? And you couldn’t make it fit.
[00:28:47:22 – 00:28:48:21]
Chris
Yes,
[00:28:48:21 – 00:28:52:02]
Chris
the directions, read the directions.
[00:28:52:02 – 00:28:52:27]
Tony
You just have to
[00:28:52:27 – 00:28:55:23]
Tony
it first, then read the directions so it doesn’t work out.
[00:28:55:23 – 00:29:28:11]
Chris
It didn’t fit. So on the valve, just like a tire, maximum do not exceed pressure of maximum pressure is. And it says 15 on the valve. So it was a lot bigger or more rigid, so it wouldn’t quite fit in the bed at the gladiator. Reading the directions for a moment, I figured that out and it’s rigid at five PSI. So I run all the panels at five PSI. It can sleep three men. I think kids or maybe the wife would be a little cozier, but it is a fully,
[00:29:29:25 – 00:29:41:18]
Chris
I love Par’s tagline, inflatable and interstatable camper. So you inflate it, install it, inflate it, strap it down to the bed and the top. And go down the road with it.
[00:29:41:18 – 00:29:54:28]
Tony
Yeah, that’s a lot of people don’t understand that. You’ve run across that with people that they don’t understand that you air it up and then you drive wherever you’re going. It’s not something you’re installing. It’s not like a tent you’re putting up every time you go to a new place.
[00:29:54:28 – 00:30:16:02]
Chris
Correct, and I had a woman at work at the office. So to clarify, I’ve done five nights in it so far since June and five nights of my sixth night will be at the Bowling Green, the four fasts. And probably have about 3000 miles on it. I’ve left it on, it drive to work in it. I mean, you’re not gonna go through the drive through the
[00:30:16:02 – 00:30:19:21]
Chris
McDonald’s drive through because it is quite tall over top the
[00:30:19:21 – 00:30:29:12]
Chris
And like I mentioned before, I’ve got a bit of a lift and 35’s on my gladiator. So I guesstimate it, it’s about nine feet off the ground, maybe nine and a half feet at the top of it,
[00:30:30:24 – 00:31:34:05]
Chris
or over top the gladiator. So it’s up there, but yeah, you drive down the road on it. You’re not inflating it when you get to your destination. You put all your stuff right down the middle, your firewood, your chairs, your coolers, your boxes, whatever you take on your camping trip, you put it right down the middle. I’ve left, I used it last weekend. I’m obviously gonna use it this weekend. I left my sleeping mat, my sleeping pad, my pillow, some clothes, so it’s ready to go. It’s ready to go, just like a real camper is. And that’s what I love about it. So that’s really been different. And for me, I did a last minute trip to a sprint car race this past weekend and everything was in there. I put a cooler with some waters and some food in the back and my buddy and I got to the race late, pulled up, went in, watched the race, race ran late. My point saying all that, we got back, it was late. I’m like, yeah, let’s just crash. Crawled up inside, crashed, got up in the morning, had a little coffee, you ready to go? Put the cooler, put the chairs back in and you drive away.
[00:31:34:05 – 00:31:48:24]
Tony
Very easy. And for me, I say, yes. You’re not doing a lot of work, you’re tired, you just lay down, go to sleep, get up, drive away. It sounds like a perfect situation. Now the important question is, how does it sleep versus the tent?
[00:31:49:26 – 00:33:04:05]
Chris
I would say about the same. It’s a little more insulated than a tent because it’s about two inches. Each wall is two inches wide. So you’re gonna be a bit more insulated than a tent on the ground. But for me, sleeps very well. You can adjust the pressure. I also got the buddy bunk. So you can configure the inside of the camper several ways. And if you go to theircamper.com, you can see how you can configure it. So basically you have two sides or two benches, and then you have a cab over portion that goes over the cab. And the first couple of nights, my buddy slept over the cab with no issue and then got the buddy bunk. So there’s two, on the two, you can get a buddy bunk for either or both sides of those benches, which extend the sleeping area, which makes it more comfortable. And that’s what we’ve been doing now is just sleep on one side or the other. There’s also a twin and a queen mattress that you can get to go side by side. And I’ve seen on the website, you’ll see some folks, maybe they’re sleeping with their partner, their wife, their husband, whoever it is, their kids. So they’ll sleep side to side. So you’ve got a little more room side to side, but it wouldn’t be something you do when you’re drinking buddies or you’re fishing buddies.
[00:33:05:09 – 00:33:18:16]
Chris
But that’s your business teacher. But in all seriousness, you can configure it a few different ways. And I’ve connected with some other users of their camper that they take their wife, their son and their dog, or they take their son, their dog, and
[00:33:19:20 – 00:34:02:01]
Chris
their fishing gear. So it’s just endless ways to configure it. I’m really getting used to, like I said, coming 25 plus years in a tent. Now it’s like, wow, you don’t have to take stakes out of the ground and roll it up. You can leave your sleeping bag in place. It’s not gonna go anywhere. You can leave your camp chair, your camp table, your box of firewood. You can leave it all there, which is great. And then everything’s been in mind since last weekend. I’m gonna put some sandwiches and some waters in the cooler Friday morning when I go to work and I’m ready to go. But yeah, it’s still, people still struggle with it. You inflate it when you get there. It’s like, no, it’s just like it is.
[00:34:02:01 – 00:34:05:22]
Tony
sense. It’s inflatable, so you had to figure that that, and I’m
[00:34:05:22 – 00:34:20:23]
Tony
think of the idea of you driving down the highway at 70 miles an hour with this big, huge inflatable thing that you probably have to deflate it at least somewhat. And that’s not the case at all. You set it up and then you just go and go until you’re ready to take it off and store it.
[00:34:20:23 – 00:34:40:05]
Chris
Yes, and it weighs total 180 pounds, the camper itself. So it is not virtually no weight in the bed. It’s not top heavy. I mean, some other folks say, oh, your gas mileage must be horrible. It’s gone down about one and a half MPGs. I’ve calculated it. No, I’ve got it landed. Yeah, it’s just the wind break.
[00:34:41:09 – 00:34:52:08]
Chris
But it’s not going from 15 to five. And the only time you feel it is when you pass a semi truck with the tractor trailer.
[00:34:52:08 – 00:34:59:17]
Tony
That’s the only time you feel it. I’m sorry, before we get too far away from it, I wanted to ask you, you were talking about the tent or the
[00:35:00:21 – 00:35:10:15]
Tony
Lauer camper, the comfort is about the same. Do you have anything for the tent, a cot or anything? Or are you laying straight on the ground in the tent?
[00:35:10:15 – 00:35:17:04]
Chris
I’ve done both. Recently in the last year, I’ve added a cot to my tent camping equipment.
[00:35:17:04 – 00:35:26:20]
Tony
So now you don’t have to have the cot. You can just lay in the, again, the convenience factor of this thing and it’s ready to go. Oh, how long does it take you to air it up?
[00:35:26:20 – 00:35:53:07]
Chris
It takes about 15 minutes, to air it up. It comes with a pump. It comes with an electric pump, as well as a hand pump, which works very well. I say 15 minutes in total, because you’ve got to get it in the gladiator or any truck, you put it to about two or three PSI to give it structure. Then you get it fitted, you get it strapped down, get it locked down with the straps, and then you take it to five PSI. Total
[00:35:54:22 – 00:36:24:19]
Chris
half hour, if you’re doing it by yourself, maybe a little bit more. But it’s something that can be done, and Parr has on his website, he does it himself. It just helps if you’ve got a buddy helping you out, just pulling the straps and makes it go long. But I’d say 15 minutes to inflate it. But you do need to inflate it to give it some structure before you tilt it up into the bed. Because when it’s deflated, it’s a big 180 pound mass of rubber, more or less.
[00:36:24:19 – 00:36:41:19]
Tony
So it seems like you’ve mentioned this, correct me if I’m wrong, but I think that the air pump that comes with it, the electric air pump that comes with it, it’s not 100% duty cycle. So you can only run it for a little bit, and then you’ve got to let it cool off and then continue running it, is that correct?
[00:36:41:19 – 00:36:43:12]
Chris
No, actually,
[00:36:46:09 – 00:36:52:28]
Chris
I’ve heard duty cycle, it doesn’t get real warm. It does not get real warm. Now, again, I made the mistake initially thinking I need to go to
[00:36:52:28 – 00:36:56:09]
Chris
15 PSI, and it was taking a long time. But
[00:36:56:09 – 00:37:05:03]
Chris
depending on the vehicle, the Gladiator, I run it at five PSI, I’ve messaged other people, they run between five and seven. I’d say no more than 10.
[00:37:06:16 – 00:37:50:08]
Chris
I mean, it has structure at three PSI, and it doesn’t sound like a lot, but it is. But the pump I’ve been very impressed with in deflating it, reinflating it. So I’ve initially put it on and fitted it, drove it, took it off. So I’ve had it on and off three times, just from trying it, and I took it off for a bit because I didn’t have any travels. You do lose, obviously, the rear view out of the back of the Gladiator, the glass, and it is because of the lack of length and that of the Gladiator or the length of the Theracamper, your tailgate’s down. If you rely on a backup camera, which in my opinion you shouldn’t do,
[00:37:53:15 – 00:38:10:18]
Chris
it’s a bit long. So you’ve just gotta pay a little more attention when you’re pulling into a tight parking lot. And I back in a lot more places because you can throw your head out the back window and hug the line and back in. So just be aware of what’s behind the Gladiator. And it’s really no issue. But again, you’re not going through the McDonald’s park.
[00:38:10:18 – 00:38:34:27]
Tony
So my question about the AirPump was that I was thinking that you might invest in a 100% duty cycle AirPump, but do you think that this AirPump is adequate for just every day, I mean, weekend camping where you shouldn’t have to worry about it? You mentioned the HandPump. I can imagine that would take a little while longer, but is there any reason to get a better pump?
[00:38:34:27 – 00:38:37:11]
Chris
No, not in my experience, no.
[00:38:37:11 – 00:38:47:17]
Tony
Though the pump– But you could have a pump for your tires and probably use that, right? So I mean, if you had a Vi Air system or something like that, you could use that to air up.
[00:38:47:17 – 00:38:56:22]
Chris
I don’t know because the opening, and if anybody’s listening that has a stand up paddleboard, I would say it’s probably half inch round without a locking.
[00:38:56:22 – 00:38:57:16]
Tony
Oh really?
[00:38:57:16 – 00:40:32:07]
Chris
Yeah, so you– So it’s not a standard tire fitting. No, no, it is not. And again, I learned the hard way of trying to inflate it to 15 PSI took a lot of time, but it gets to five, six PSI very quickly. So the electric pump that comes with it, I’ve been very impressed with. And then I’ve used the HandPump as well. And when you’re not trying to go much above five or six PSI, it gets there really quick. And I carry the pumps with me just in case, but the electric pump has a cigarette lighter adapter, and then it also has USB-A connector. And I just carry it with me. I leave it on the floor of the Gladiator. I have USB-A and USB-C ports in the back. I just plug it in. So it’s always charged. It’s always with me and you’re good to go. So now the pumps, I mean it, and again, I mentioned it’s stand up paddleboard material so that the pump that comes with it or the pumps that come with it have been around a lot longer than Theracamper. But yeah, I don’t– Oh, okay, that’s interesting. Yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure. And it’s something I recall Parr mentioned when you interviewed him is that most paddleboards these days are inflatable, stand up paddleboards. And during COVID, going back many years, I got a couple of cheap plastic kayaks where my son and I, and we were doing some fishing and just doing some different stuff. And that’s when I saw these people would basically take a backpack out of the trunk of the car. And five minutes later, they’d have this paddleboard and they’d be paddling around in the lake or the pond.
[00:40:32:07 – 00:40:35:25]
Tony
So 200 years ago, you and your son would have been
[00:40:35:25 – 00:40:39:14]
Tony
burned at the stake for being witches, carrying a boat
[00:40:39:14 – 00:40:40:23]
Tony
two boats around with you.
[00:40:42:16 – 00:40:56:17]
Tony
So let me ask you this, and this is also a common question that people have about inflatable things. And if they haven’t had the paddleboard thing, they probably don’t know that. I think the paddleboards are made very, very well and don’t have issues with leaks.
[00:40:57:19 – 00:41:08:23]
Tony
But I could see that somebody would be concerned about leaks on Theracamper. You’ve been running this since June, or using it since June. Have you had any leaks? And if so, what’d you do?
[00:41:08:23 – 00:42:39:06]
Chris
Yeah, I did find a, I was having a real slow leak and I was just getting some feedback from Par. And I just found an abrasion on the side under the bed. I don’t know what it is from, but it does come with a patch kit as well. Three tubes of glue, plenty of patch. And I just was able to patch that. So back in action. And again, it is inflatable. I mean, you could take something off the road. I mean, people get flat tires every day, but it was in the lower portion in the bed. I did have it out at Holly Oaks, one of my initial trials and drove down some trails and scraped some trees, no issue. But no, they came with the included patch kit and that took about 15 minutes. And most of that was waiting for that to cure and it sits back in action. So it does come with a patch kit. I mean, that is certainly a possibility versus a composite or fiberglass or whatever, a 10 or $15,000 campers made out of. But I mean, but you gotta think about it though. You know, keep saying stand up paddleboard. Also there’s ribs, which rib boat. It was rigid, inflatable. You see them certainly in the armed forces uses them. The Coast Guard, I mean, I live in Michigan and the Great Lakes, we see them. The Coast Guard uses them, but it’s basically an inflatable surround of a rigid floor for a speed boat. And it’s the same material that their campers made out of. So
[00:42:40:06 – 00:42:44:20]
Chris
no concern with that going down the road or going down the trail.
[00:42:44:20 – 00:42:53:13]
Tony
So you mentioned off-road. This probably is not something you’d want to stay inflated if you were taking your gladiator off-road.
[00:42:53:13 – 00:42:55:17]
Chris
No, and that’s not
[00:42:57:08 – 00:43:10:16]
Chris
anything against their camper. Again, with the gladiator. And if you look on their camper.com, you’ll see other trucks, the tailgate most likely, depending on bed size is gonna be flat or down. And the gladiator is, as you know very well,
[00:43:12:00 – 00:43:45:16]
Chris
the drawback and people say it’s too long. It is a long vehicle. You’re gonna scrape the tail of it. And I know you, I think you recently got another product to protect your hitch. Your hitch there. So yeah, that would be a drawback off-road. I did post a short Instagram video at Mount Magna, at Hollyoaks, going up that. I went down a couple of hills. I don’t know if there’s any content about that. That’d be my biggest concern. Secondarily, it is quite large. It does look a little funny.
[00:43:47:11 – 00:44:07:14]
Tony
It’s huge compared to the gladiator. I mean, it was built for a full-size pickup, but it does work for the gladiator. But yeah, I mean, but it’s nice that you have the same area, whether you have a mid-size truck or a full-size truck. So I would assume that it takes less than 15 minutes to deflate it. So if you were
[00:44:08:21 – 00:44:48:02]
Tony
going to EJS, and you probably could wheel EJS with it inflated, because there’s not a lot of tight spots at EJS. But let’s say you go to EJS and you have your camper right there with you. It’s only 180 pounds. So you get there, maybe you get there in the evening and the camper is already set up. You get in there, you’re gonna sleep. Next morning, you get up, you deflate it, and then you just have to put something, some mechanism in there to keep it tied down. Like if you were off-road and you got to bounce it around, you had to go pick up your camper off the trail. But it fits completely in the bed of the gladiator, right? I mean, what is deflated?
[00:44:49:05 – 00:45:02:09]
Chris
I would say no, not in the gladiator. Just because the gladiator is obviously a smaller pickup bed than an F-150 or a Silverado or other full-size. I believe it would be, it would look like
[00:45:02:09 – 00:45:05:23]
Chris
mushroom. But what I was going to do
[00:45:05:23 – 00:45:16:01]
Chris
before I had to leave my gladiator with the dealer for some warranty work for three weeks is just simply remove it. It’s like I said, 15 minutes to inflate it, a half hour total to get it in.
[00:45:16:01 – 00:45:18:08]
Tony
So you would just leave it at camp?
[00:45:18:08 – 00:46:15:09]
Chris
Yes, leave it at camp and to remove it and install it. Again, I’ve done it a few times. Like I said, going down the road, all the chambers are at five PSI. You wanna give it a little structure. You don’t want it to be too rigid like I did the first time at 15 PSI. But you inflate the sides, you get it, basically the shape of it. You take the roof to five PSI, the front wall that goes over the cab to five PSI, the rear wall and door to five PSI, and it slides right in and out. And so what I would like to do, and it’s my intention, and life got in the way the past few years is to get to EJS, use it to go cross country because it’s about 20-ish hour ride for me, a little more. And then if necessary at EJS, just remove it when you go to the trail. It probably take five or 10 minutes and then put your cooler, your camp gear in it, then just leave it there at camp.
[00:46:15:09 – 00:46:24:29]
Tony
You could strap it down. I mean, it does get quite windy at Moab from time to time. It’d be a shame if it was a 2,000 foot down off the
[00:46:24:29 – 00:46:29:04]
Tony
mesa. I try to figure out how to get to it. Yeah, I’m sure
[00:46:29:04 – 00:46:30:08]
Tony
survive just fine.
[00:46:31:09 – 00:46:42:28]
Tony
Well, anyway, that’s some interesting information. I wanted to go over this because it’s a cool concept. I have a lot of questions about it and you’ve used it. I’m sure some of our
[00:46:44:01 – 00:47:14:19]
Tony
viewers and listeners were curious as well. And we’ll have more information on it in the future, but you just go over to thearcamper.com and check it out yourself. If whatever you call, if you call over there or contact somebody over there, make sure you heard, you tell them you heard about it on the Jeep Talk Show. All right, Chris, I wanted to go over a few things that a few new things that we’re doing on the Jeep Talk Show. I think first and foremost, or the newest thing is a movie night. So
[00:47:15:26 – 00:47:51:21]
Tony
I’m sure that you guys have seen Mystery Science Theater 3000, where they would have a sci-fi show and a group of three individuals would be making comments on the show. And it was pretty funny and it was fun to watch. I’m sure you’ve gone to see a movie with a friend or two, and they always want the smart ass comment guy to go, or a woman, I think it’s more guys than women. They want the smart ass to go so that they can hear funny things being said during the movie. Well, that’s kind of what our Jeep Talk Show movie night is.
[00:47:52:29 – 00:48:15:12]
Tony
We have the round table, which you’re probably aware of every Tuesday. The round table itself starts at 8 p.m. Central time, but the Zoom room, which we use to get together for the round table, starts up usually before, but at least by 7.30. 7.30 p.m. Central time, we are now running a movie, and we’re picking
[00:48:16:13 – 00:48:34:09]
Tony
YouTube videos that are about Jeeps. And what you do is you join the round table, the Zoom meeting, and then you go to jeeptalkshow.com slash watch along, like in a browser, something different than Zoom, you leave the Zoom thing running, and then you go to the browser, and
[00:48:35:20 – 00:49:22:25]
Tony
the host, me, presses play, and the video starts playing, and you see that same video that everybody else is watching. So it’s not like, it’s not that thing where you go, okay, everybody get ready, press play now. And somebody says, oh, I missed the button. Can we do it again? You know, synchronize your watches like in World War II. So this is pretty cool because you see the same thing everybody else is watching. And keep in mind, there’s no copyright here because it’s playing directly to your computer, your phone, from YouTube. So it’s individual streams from YouTube to everybody that’s in the movie night. So that also means that if you wanted to watch what happened in the past, you can just go after the
[00:49:24:06 – 00:50:10:22]
Tony
movie night’s over, you can go to jeeptalkshow.com slash watch along and see past movies and hear the comments that we’re all making during the movie. And there is individual volume for the movie aspect of it or the Zoom room people aspect of it. So you can turn it up on the movie, turn it down on the movie, turn it up on the Zoom people, turn it down on the Zoom people. So I think I’ve been really, really excited about how well this is working out. And Chris, I don’t think I’ve mentioned this to anybody. I’m thinking that we might get guests on to join the round table whose video we’re playing. And the- Great idea. Yeah, the first one comes to mind is Marvin for 24 hours of
[00:50:10:22 – 00:50:21:18]
Tony
hell and back. He has some really cool videos that he puts up. We know Marvin, he’s been on the show a few times. I interviewed him at an EJS in 2025.
[00:50:22:25 – 00:50:30:14]
Tony
And I think it’d be fun to have Marvin on and hear some of the stuff from the background, things that is not in the video.
[00:50:30:14 – 00:50:34:24]
Chris
You know, director’s cut type of perspective.
[00:50:34:24 – 00:51:11:25]
Tony
Yeah, exactly. And so, and that’s just not just them. And keep in mind that when we have your video on movie night, however many people are watching it along at that time, I mean, it could be 10 people. It could be 20, it could be a hundred. That’s how many videos, I mean, that’s how many downloads or views that you’re getting on that YouTube video. So this is a great way for you to promote your video and get people watching it. I think it’s gonna build over time because it’s a lot of fun. Everybody’s having a lot of fun watching it. And we watched a 1958 abandoned Jeep
[00:51:12:29 – 00:51:15:06]
Tony
that was resurrected on
[00:51:16:10 – 00:51:30:20]
Tony
this past Tuesday. And it got to be 8 p.m. The video was still going. And I said, do you guys want me to stop the movie? And you can just use the round table as usual. And it says, I think it was Steve O that says, “No, I’m invested now. “I wanna see what happens.”
[00:51:30:20 – 00:51:31:11]
(Laughs)
[00:51:31:11 – 00:51:36:25]
Chris
Staying up late, I’m gonna go on and work early tomorrow. Going to work late, because I gotta see the whole thing.
[00:51:36:25 – 00:51:40:25]
Tony
Well, we were waiting to see him start this thing. And there was no way in
[00:51:40:25 – 00:51:48:00]
Tony
I mean, for example, one of the cylinders was kind of rusty. He honed it without taking the piston or rings out.
[00:51:48:00 – 00:51:49:01]
(Laughs)
[00:51:50:25 – 00:51:51:24]
Tony
So, and the
[00:51:51:24 – 00:52:10:27]
Tony
thing started. But he was trying to start it with the old piston. I mean, with the old spark plugs. Wow. He finally invested in new spark plugs. He got one of those, what do you call those? Insect spray pumps, you know, the container. It has the pump thing, so you build up pressure. So you can spray the- Oh, yeah.
[00:52:10:27 – 00:52:12:01]
Chris
The lawn sprayer.
[00:52:12:01 – 00:52:18:14]
Tony
Yeah, they spray the- Yeah, spray the- You don’t have to just use insect poison, but that’s the way I look at it. So he put gas in that.
[00:52:18:14 – 00:52:22:04]
Tony
So he put gas in that, pumped it up, and hooked it into the
[00:52:22:04 – 00:52:26:17]
Tony
line of the carburetor, because the fuel tank had a hole in it.
[00:52:27:20 – 00:52:38:06]
Tony
He’s driving, he got it started, and he’s driving around with this. Wow. It was really, really cool. So we had a lot of fun. And I don’t think anybody saw that twist coming.
[00:52:39:12 – 00:53:37:29]
Tony
All right, so another thing that we have is JTS Flix. So we have a, this is website. It’s not a program that you have to download and install. You just go to, and this is a bit confusing. I apologize for this, but if you go to jeeptalkshow.com slash watch, different from watch along, because that’s the movie thing, jeeptalkshow.com slash watch, you get a Netflix style interface of all the jeep talk show videos that we have up. Answer a few questions about what you like, about what you want to see, what you don’t want to see, and it will present it in the screen. Like I said, it’s Netflix, but it’s all the jeep talk show videos. So you can just go there. And I think the main advantage to the JTS Flix thing is it’s really configured for work. So if you’re in a job where you can watch videos, you can
[00:53:39:01 – 00:54:05:29]
Tony
do JTS Flix, and whatever the video you start, it’s done. It automatically starts another one, not the same one, but another one. So if you’re sitting in the office eight, nine hours a day, you can watch these videos. You can make it a picture in a picture that stays on top, and you can move it around to your screen or screens, wherever you want to put it. So now you’re listening, and maybe you’re glancing up at the video whenever you want to see what’s going on. I think it’s amazing.
[00:54:07:09 – 00:54:19:18]
Tony
And I’m throwing out these links to you. If you just go to jeeptalkshow.com, the menu at the top of the page, you’ll see the watch and the movie night, and all those things are right there.
[00:54:20:26 – 00:55:13:05]
Tony
So Chris, we’re doing things. We’re making modifications to the Jeep Talk Show, so we can make it easier for you. It’s kind of like the R Camper. You have a convenience thing of having the camper right there. You just get in, get out. We want the same thing for the Jeep Talk Show. We want to make it easy for you to review content, listen to it. And we haven’t forgotten about you guys that listen to the show, because the vast majority of our, I’ll say viewers, listeners, are listening to the show through the various podcast means. Of course, if you go, yeah, well duh, that’s how I listen to the show. We’re on YouTube as well. So you can see the video side of things for these episodes as well, if you care to do that. Of course, the JTS Flix is all audio video. You don’t have to watch the video. It’s there in case you want to see it.
[00:55:13:05 – 00:56:00:02]
Chris
Also to Spotify, I think you’re still doing on Spotify. You can listen on the Spotify on your phone most likely within the app and you can seamlessly, which is very impressive that Spotify does move between audio and video. So maybe you’re, don’t do it while you’re driving, but maybe you’ve got the auto feed and you’re mowing the lawn or taking a run or whatever, riding the bike and you hear something and you hear something that’s referenced, you want to see it. You can, without missing a beat in the audio, turn your phone sideways. I haven’t done in a while, but then you get the video right there and then you can watch the few minutes and maybe you got to get back to your run, get back to mowing the lawn, you can turn the audio, put it back in your pocket. So check out the Spotify app. That’s what I listened to the show on. That’s why I like the Spotify app and it’s free. Jeep Talk Show is always free.
[00:56:01:06 – 00:56:08:12]
Chris
So check out Spotify as well as Apple Podcasts. And then I heard a great saying, anywhere you find your finer podcast.
[00:56:08:12 – 00:56:08:22]
Tony
That’s right.
[00:56:08:22 – 00:56:12:01]
Chris
So anywhere you find finer podcasts, you’ll find the Jeep Talk Show.
[00:56:12:01 – 00:56:19:14]
Tony
Yeah, very good. Well, that’s it for the evening. Chris, was there anything that you wanted to throw in before we wrap up?
[00:56:19:14 – 00:56:27:12]
Chris
No, thanks. Great to be on with you again. And yeah, come out to Bowling Green 4×4 Fest and come check it out.
[00:56:27:12 – 00:56:52:16]
Tony
All right, guys, thanks a lot. Remember to check us out at jeeptalkshow.com slash contact to see all the ways that you can contact us. You can leave us a video voicemail. That’s there on the contact page. We love those. Those are fun. That’s where you can call in and see yourself on an episode of the Jeep Talk Show. And call in about anything you like. Funny is better.
[00:56:54:22 – 00:56:57:23]
Tony
So until next week, have a great week and
[00:56:59:20 – 00:57:02:03]
Speaker 3
You’re my friend, you’re my new friend. Hehe.
[00:57:02:03 – 00:57:48:14]
Tony
XJTalk.com LLC and the Jeep Talk Show podcast is attended for entertainment purposes only. The views and opinions expressed by the hosts, guests and contributors are their own and do not represent professional advice, endorsements or recommendations. We strongly advise consulting a licensed or certified mechanic or automotive professional for any repairs, modifications or maintenance to your vehicle. By listening to or using any information provided on this show, you assume full responsibility for your actions and any resulting consequences, including potential risks to safety, property or legal compliance. The Jeep Talk Show and its affiliates disclaim all liability for any damages or losses arising from the application of this content.
