Drones for scouting?

[xunil76]

hey guys, new to the forums here.  just wondering how many of you use a drone to scout out boondocking areas, especially on BLM or National Forest land (where allowed)?

i think it would be very handy to assess the conditions of a road before you take the time to drive down it and possibly get into a sticky situation.  i know you can look on google maps, but there are a lot of areas where you can't really see the topography that well.  not only that, but those satellite images are sometimes years old and things could have changed a lot since they were taken.  using a drone would allow you to see the current conditions in real time, without having to hike down some 2 - 3 mile dirt road, or lug around some other means of small transportation to do the scouting (bike/motorcycle/atv/etc.).

 

[owl]

I had not considered that! I think that's a brilliant notion.

 

[Almost There]

I don't fly one but from what I understand, the common rule of thumb is that you should keep the drone within sight of you at all times so sending it 2 or 3 miles down a road scouting for you really isn't a good idea.

The other thing that might lead you into serious trouble is that from the air it's impossible to test the quality of the sand for depth and ability to withstand the weight of a vehicle. Nothing beats walking for a good indication of whether you should and could drive on a specific surface.

Also, anything administered by the National Park Service is strictly off-limits for drones as well as a lot of BLM land.

IMHO nothing beats feet on the ground.

 

[owl]

Seeing down the road isn't always distance, altitude allows you to see quite aways. Most BLM an F S roads aren't on sand. N P don't allow camping anywhere other than campgrounds, so not an issue. Still a good idea.

 

[xunil76]

I don't fly one but from what I understand, the common rule of thumb is that you should keep the drone within sight of you at all times so sending it 2 or 3 miles down a road scouting for you really isn't a good idea.

The other thing that might lead you into serious trouble is that from the air it's impossible to test the quality of the sand for depth and ability to withstand the weight of a vehicle. Nothing beats walking for a good indication of whether you should and could drive on a specific surface.

Also, anything administered by the National Park Service is strictly off-limits for drones as well as a lot of BLM land.

IMHO nothing beats feet on the ground.

absolutely, you'd definitely want to do your research prior to lifting off to make sure it's not prohibited...and i do agree, the best set of eyes for making the absolute determining factor are the ones in your own head.

but: assuming that you have made 100% sure you are allowed to fly at the location, a drone could at least help you to find things that are easy to spot as problems for your rig that you can't really see on google maps all that easily, including things like, are there even any empty spaces available in the current time (which google maps won't show you).  then once you have "pre-scouted" with the drone and determined that there are no glaring problems ruling out the area, only then do you actually take the time to get out and walk/ride it out if there is still any question about your ability or willingness to go there.  at the very least, the drone can help you to see if there are any areas to turn around if you can't get back far enough for your liking.

it's not so much to be used as a complete replacement for walking/riding to scout, but to save you time & energy in the event that there is some problem that could easily be spotted in a few minutes via remote control, which would otherwise take you much longer on foot/bike.  it would suck to have to walk for 30 - 60 mins or bike for 10 - 20 mins, when a drone can cover the distance far quicker, leaving you more time to find another location if there is something you don't like about the area you're at.

i have 4wd, so i'm not all too concerned about sand quality as much as most people, but pulling a travel trailer would make it very difficult to get back out if there are no places to turn around, or i've gone down some long road, only to find that i can't fit in the space, and/or all the spaces are already taken.

as for keeping the drone in sight, that's less of an issue if you have a drone with video relay capabilities...you can view what the camera is picking up in real time, so you can avoid obstacles pretty easily as long as you are going forward.  then once you've done enough "pre-scouting" with the drone, you press the "return home" button, and the drone follows the same path out as it took going in, and lands itself within a few inches of where it took off from.

if they truly mandated that you always keep the drone within sight, the manufacturers would not be able to make them with video relays that work over more than 4 miles away, or allow you to "pre-program" the flight path to cover more than twice that range.  i've seen drones with the ability to pre-program paths well over 8 miles away.

 

[WanderingRose]

I don’t like the idea of people sending drones out into wilderness lands, to scout for campsites or scout for whatever.

I know it’s done, but it’s another level of intrusion.

But, that’s just me.

 

[Cammalu]

I like it as long as they aren’t harassing animals.


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[B and C]

I like it as long as they aren’t harassing animals.


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Or me

 

[tx2sturgis]

I like it as long as they aren’t harassing animals.

And I would NEVER fly mine over the Magic Circle....

:angel:

 

[wayne49]

Walking is good exercise.

 

[Cammalu]

Right TX.... it being so close to camp and all how in hell can you avoid it? Camp is like what? 20 feet from the nekkid zone?

I drove by two nekkid people riding recumbent bikes a few days ago. It was kinda warm but not that warm. They were having a good time.

 

[[email protected]]

you can find a lot of good info on google earth version of google maps. You can get a good view of terrian and when you put the cursor on area it show the distance above sea level, this along with a good bike or motoscoter will be a bonus.

Its like using a drone without all the over head but walking or riding on the surface is the best bet.

 

[Gr8ful]

I have a DJI Mavic pro with 3 batteries, 2 chargers & a bunch of extra for sale with 1 flight, 1/2 hour on it. I ended up with 2.

 

[Dingfelder]

Please watch this video by a guy who uses drones to video himself riding around. It may be a little slow but it's only 15 long and it's extremely relevant here:



TLDR: he got fined heavily by the govt. for it. It's illegal in some parks etc, for fire hazard, should it crash, and perhaps some other reason. Very expensive. Watch the video.

 

[Weight]

In the proper wilderness area they would make fine shotgun targets.

 

[LoveCareThinkDo]

The other thing that might lead you into serious trouble is that from the air it's impossible to test the quality of the sand for depth and ability to withstand the weight of a vehicle. Nothing beats walking for a good indication of whether you should and could drive on a specific surface.

I concur. I just spent two days helping to dig a box truck out of the sand in a wash. We had to dig three feet down and it was still nothing but soft sand. We had to haul in huge rocks and literally build a sloped road out of the hole, THEN use a come-along so he could inch his way up out of that hole. 

There is just no way you can tell how soft sand is just by looking at a drone video. 

Besides, is it gonna kill someone to get out and walk? Yes, even two or three miles.

 

[tx2sturgis]

If your main reason for buying and flying a drone is for surveying nearby roads and trails for access to camping spots, trust me, a drone is not really the right tool for that job.

A bicycle with fat tires would be a much better recon vehicle, and a lot cheaper in most cases, plus they are legal damn near everywhere.

Even a small folding bicycle with standard tires could likely go anywhere that your vehicle might be able to go.

 

[highdesertranger]

yep Texas is right. nothing beats boots on the ground or in this case tires. highdesertranger