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Cars in Taylor Swift Music VideosWhat is Overlanding?
Outdoor vehicle adventuring is one of the hottest trends in motoring. Overlanding truly is about the journey rather than the destination.
Finding the Great Outdoors
In the past five years or so, overlanding has gone from the niche pursuit of a few outdoor enthusiasts to the hottest trend in automotive circles. Overlanding rigs and equipment are now a major component of conventions like SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association), they’ve spawned their own conventions like the Overland Expo West and are now influencing the designs of new SUVs and trucks as buyers seek more rugged, off-road-worthy vehicles to fulfill their overlanding aspirations.
Below we’ll explain what overlanding is and explore typical routes, rigs, and equipment.
Overlanding Defined
Overlanding is, at its core, vehicle based off-road camping. Overlanding trips can encompass a weekend exploring logging trails in the mountains or dirt tracks in the desert or extend over weeks, months, or even years covering multiple states or countries. Though cool destinations are often involved, they’re considered touchpoints along the way. In overlanding, it’s the journey not the destination that’s of primary importance. For those in love with overlanding it’s about the obstacles overcome, the vistas encountered, and the companionship and camaraderie shared among those you travel with.
A key feature of overlanding is its self-sufficient nature. Like long-distance hiking, overlanding asks that you take everything you need with you, including food, water, and shelter. Being properly equipped isn’t just essential, it’s part of the allure of the overlanding hobby, a hobby which combines a love of off-roading and camping. As such, there’s a lot of tinkering to be done, gadgets and gear to accumulate, and trips to meticulously plan. This tendency to fall down the rabbit hole of details and minutia is part of the fun of any hobby and overlanding is no different in this regard.
But don’t let the seeming complexity put you off, either. One of overlanding’s greatest strengths as a hobby is its low bar for entry. With minimal equipment and a sense of adventure you can find some of your most rewarding outdoor experiences overlanding off the beaten path.
Finding the Right Road for Overlanding
A curiosity for overlanding often begins with a vehicle. You see a Toyota Land Cruiser decked out with lights, a winch, knobby off-road tires, and a roof tent and the little kid in you gets excited. But before you go putting a down payment on an off roader, we advise considering what kinds of overlanding trips (and trails) you’re interested in. That’s because the equipment requirements can vary greatly depending on what kind of terrain you’re looking to tackle.
As a beginner, overlanding near your home area in familiar territory is recommended. Mastering local off-road trails and dirt roads over a few weekends can boost your confidence and stoke your thirst for greater adventure. Plus, these short trips will quickly teach you what kinds of equipment will prove essential for longer trips in more challenging terrains. Internet research will be invaluable in broadening your knowledge of the trails and routes best suited for every experience level.
For the ambitious and committed there are bucket-list-worthy trails like the Trans-American Trail that spans over 5,000 miles across the US from Oregon to North Carolina or the notoriously rugged Rubicon Trail in the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California. Less involved expeditions include the Smoky Mountain Road in Grand Staircase-Escalante Nat. Monument or the Valley of the Gods Road, both in Utah. For those looking to get a bit muddy there’s the High-Water Mark Trail from St. Joe to Cass, Arkansas. And for those newer to overlanding, there’s the Trans-Wisconsin Trail. Though it’s over 600 miles long, the roads are easy to pass.
Building an Overlanding Rig
Central to any overlanding trip is your rig. The specifics of your chosen vehicle may vary based on the terrain you wish to tackle, but invariably a proper overlanding vehicle will be four-wheel drive and have a decent amount of clearance.
Most overlanding trips involve taking minimally maintained unpaved roads and trails. Some are legitimately gnarly, with rocks and ruts, water to ford, and intimidating gradients to surmount. If you want to tackle such trails, you’ll need a vehicle designed specifically for serious off-roading, something like a Jeep Wrangler or Toyota Land Cruiser. But many overlanding trails aren’t so hairy, and a properly outfitted four-wheel or all-wheel drive vehicle will perform more than ably.
In most cases, you can start with the four-wheel/all-wheel drive vehicle of your choice and work from there. Common modifications include the following: lift for added height (the specific height of the lift will depend on what your vehicle initially comes with and the nature of the trails you’re looking to tackle), larger, knobbier off-road tires, an off-road focused suspension upgrade, and items like a winch, lightbars, intake snorkel, and roof racks. Given just a few of these modifications, or in some cases, none at all, you can take your Subaru Outback Wilderness, Lexus GX, or Toyota Tacoma overlanding.
Essential and Non-Essential Gear
Like practically all other automotive hobbies, the tendency in overlanding can be to go hard on gear and accessories with your overlanding rig quickly becoming as tricked out as your average WRX tuner car. As we noted above, you can actually get off the beaten path with a fairly modest set up and that includes the gear and supplies you take with you. That doesn’t mean a few bottles of water and a Ziplock of trail mix is enough, either. Self-sufficient camping requires packing everything you’ll need for your trip.
Water and food come first. MREs, or meals ready to eat, are popular among overlanding enthusiasts mainly for their compactness and ease of use. You’re also free to bring at least some treats, like a cooler of steaks suitable for a memorable cookout under the stars but remember that every ounce of weight counts against your fuel (another item you’ll have to ferry without). Good water filtration can also save on weight as well if you know you’ll be traveling to or near a water source. But in most cases, we’d recommend investing in a water tank of some sort.
Tents and sleeping gear are also a must. You can do anything the weather and your budget permits, from rooftop tents or sleeping in the vehicle to ground tents or even hammocks. Even if you go with the former options, it’s suggested you bring a suitable tent in case your vehicle gets stuck and you need to ruck your way out of the wilderness.
Other vitally important items to pack include a first-aid kit, tools for impromptu repairs, weather appropriate clothing (remembering high altitudes and desert nights mean colder temperatures), recovery gear for when you get stuck, and a personal locater beacon in case you get lost or struck. From there, you can add any amount of other gear from a portable shower to a propane stove.
Overlanding on the Cheap
At first glance, overlanding might intimidate the uninitiated, seemingly requiring major investments in both a capable vehicle and tons of gear. But most overlanding devotees will tell you that you can get out on the trails for a lot less.
A big key is finding a reliable four-wheel drive vehicle. One of the reasons used Tacomas, 4Runners, and Land Cruisers are so popular and retain their value well past 200,000 miles is because they are rugged, durable, and reliable. The last thing you want is a breakdown out on the trail, even if you’re a skilled mechanic. Here’s our list of reliable overlanding vehicles for your consideration.
Once you’ve found your chosen ride, you’ll need gear. While you could go down our list of overlanding gear and buy every item, you can probably get away with just a few key items and work from there to fill out your specific kit.
Overlanding’s exploding popularity in recent years is a testament to the joys of exploring the great outdoors.
