Overlanding Puns

Our family in Peña de Bernal, Mexico

We're overlanding around the world. Started the journey on October 9th of 2021. Now 3+ months in we're looking back on our time in the interior of Mexico.

For those considering an international overland journey, full-time overland life, or just overlanding with a family, we'd like to know if you have any questions for us?

I'm happy to answer them here. If we get some really good questions I'll probably use them in my next video so that our community can have that question answered too.

Aside from first year woes, it seems to check all of the boxes for a quality overlanding base.

I don’t know about anyone else, but I find a lot of inspiration from people who are really out there doing global overlanding trips. The Itchy Boots channel recently came up in my YouTube recommendations and it’s been awesome… solo woman on a motorcycle who has done a lot of cool trips and currently in Colombia heading north to Alaska. I searched her channel name here and nothing turned up so figured I’d share.

Just discovered this company is local'ish. What do you think of this machine? Vanderhall Brawley.

Edit: My apologies for posting in the wrong subreddit. This s/h gone under off-road, rather than overland.

Gone are the days when Lexus GX’s only see the pavement of pick-up lines at elite private preschools… it’s time I take my new beast off-road and go explore.

I’m now the proud owner of a 2012 GX 460 with 68,000 miles, suffice it to say, the car is practically brand new. It’s also the perfect overlanding truck, and I really want to unlock its potential this spring and summer.

As far as the car goes, I’m pretty much starting from scratch. The car has no after-market mods to it.

Both myself and the car are originally from Illinois, and I moved out to Utah relatively recently. Of course, it’s slim pickings when it comes to overlanding in Illinois (at least compared to Utah) so this is a completely new hobby I’m looking to get into.

I’m a total noob when it comes to this stuff, so I’m looking towards the community for advice on where to start.

Starting off with the lift, I’m looking at the pros and cons of a suspension vs body lift. Obviously one is more expensive than the other, but the versatility and capability of a suspension lift might make lighter work of some of the overlanding we have here in Utah. What is your experience with body/suspension lifts? What would you recommend to someone with a stock GX?

Also bare in mind I’ll be looking at new rims and tires too. What kinds of tires do y’all have on your rigs? Again, what sort of mods would you recommend I take a look at?

I know the basics of simple car maintenance, but I’m not incredibly mechanically inclined, so some of these mods I might be looking to have done professionally.

When it’s all said and done, I’m looking at probably spending no more than $5,000 (preferably less) on this stuff. I just sold my old car and was looking to portion some of that to put into my GX.

I’m looking forward to seeing y’all out there and exploring! I’m looking forward to making this my favorite hobby!

Me and the wife have been lurking for a while and being in awe over this new thing we found. So we have been planning a trip starting in Sweden (because we live here) ending the trip in cape town. We have a lot of friends who have either lived in some of the adrican countries or have parents from there, so we are definetly looking at visiting Eritrea and Somalia. Along with Uganda, Rwanda. Honestly we have an excel sheet with plans and routes to take which we are more than happy to share with you all.

I was wondering if you can give us some advice, those who have done it, where do we have to go and what do we have to do?

Which countries and cities do you recomend which we might not have thought about? Write all you can think about until I edit and add the list!

What are the most important things to bring along and equip the car with?

What kind of budget are we talking about? Thinking about renting out our apartments and have a 10 - 15k buffert. Fair enough or are we not talking enough money?

Love you all, thank you for all the inspiration and advice we already have gotten just looking at all your posts!

This questions been on my mind a lot recently after I had some troubles of my own. I wasn't overlanding but recently was driving 1,500 miles via Interstate. I've always kept my Tundra in great condition, 2008 with 200,000 miles on it. I pulled over to fill up before a stretch with no services and after I filled up, bam, starter was completely shot.

As I said, I've been meticulous, and there was absolutely no warning on this one. Had to tow it and get it replaced luckily I was 10 miles from a shop.

Had I been overlanding 100 miles from service I would have been completely screwed. What's the worst bad luck situation you've been in and how did you get out?

So question I'm very interested in overlanding and was wondering if i could overland in a 2014 toyota highlander hybrid limited and if i can what would i need?

I live in Western Mass, near Northampton, and I’m just about to get a Subaru Outback!! I plan to get an air mattress and some camping gear and go out camping once the weather’s a little better but… it’s just occurred to me that idk anything about Mass or New England.

Anyone know any spots, preferably not too far away, that I could go Overlanding or car camping to? Or do you have links to articles or blogs or maps?

Thanks!

I'm looking to hire freelance writers with overlanding/off-roading experience for a website I publish. Must have a good grasp of English and be a competent writer. Ideally, you'd have experience writing about overlanding, off-roading, or outdoor adventure before. If interested, please message me.

My boyfriend and I are planning to take our rig down to Baja in March and travel the coastline and some parts of the Baja 1000. I grew up in San Diego and have been to Baja a handful of times and have always thought it to be a relatively safe place to travel. However, I know COVID has changed the travel landscape in many places and we have been hearing more and more about cartel violence in Baja. Our vehicle is a huge, lifted E350 Sportsmobile with all the fixings, so we are about as far from low profile as you can get.

Has anyone spent time in Baja recently or have any knowledge of the safety of the area, keeping in mind that we will probably stick out like a sore thumb? Our Spanish is limited and is really only good for ordering food or finding bathrooms- not really enough to get us out of a situation. We know not to drive at night and, in general, not to be stupid.

We do have a friend who will be crossing the border with us in his truck but we will be going our separate ways after a few days.

Any insight would be super helpful! Thanks!

I'm planning a trip out to Alaska this summer and i'll actually be renting a vehicle from AlaskaOverlander.com

I've explored tons across washington and i'm very familiar with the area but obviously i've never been out to the Anchorage area.

For those of you who have explored Alaska just curious to hear any suggestions on places to visit, things to see, good advice/tips in general for the area etc.

Thanks!

Hi there! Looking to the Reddit experts for feedback since this is the only place I can post with my husband not seeing. I was looking at gifting him an attic for his LandCruiser. This one in particular: https://www.blueridgeoverlandgear.com/products/toyota-landcruiser-attic?variant=19020194545760.. now, i know you get what you pay for but there are others on Amazon for 1/4th the price. Does anyone have any experience they would so graciously like to share? Please! :)

https://preview.redd.it/4ebyn0txxp581.jpg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e471ea3fab012d3516e383e02dfc35b62969b7fd

pic for tax

Does anyone know of any good trails or parks in Oklahoma to explore? TIA

Hey guys. Just moved to the Denver area and there's a MASSIVE number of overlanders here. Like 1/20 vehicles is some sort of truck modded for overlanding!

Any good meetups you'd recommend?

I have a 2021 Tacoma I'm in the process of upgrading and I'm sure I'd learn a TON by osmosis and hanging out with you guys!

One of the most common posts I see in this subreddit is some variation on "what gear do I need to get started" or "what vehicle mods do I need". If I comment, I usually end up just typing pretty much the same thing every time. I figure if I put my thoughts in a post, it might come up if people are using the search function or at least just allow me to link this post instead of writing out a couple paragraphs each time. Just some clarification before I start; my definition of "overlanding" is relatively short trips, nothing more than a week or two. That seems to be the mainstream definition of the term "overlanding" anyway. Also, if anyone disagrees with what I have to say please post a comment and let me know.

What is Overlanding, really?

Everyone's definition of Overlanding is different. For me, it's mostly short (3-7 day) trips out to the mountains. I drive around exploring nature on rough roads and try to dispersed camp each night. Really, I am car camping with some light-moderate off-roading thrown in. That's what I do, and it seems to be what the vast majority of people do, especially beginners.

Do I need a special kind of vehicle?

The simplest answer to this question is no, but ideally you will want some sort of 4WD vehicle with decent ground clearance. Almost any semi-modern truck or SUV will be more than capable for getting started. The vehicle should be reliable and well maintained. The entire overlanding industry is about big 37" tires, differential locks and rooftop tents, but in reality you can get to 95% of dispersed campsites (*in the continental U.S.) with a stock 1998 Chevy Tahoe. There is someone out there off-roading a stock 2004 Honda Odyssey or Civic harder than 99% of people out there with lifted Jeeps. You can make 2WD vehicles work, but especially as a beginner you are going to want 4WD. AWD is nice as well, I accidently explored more backroads in Tennessee than I wanted to in my sister's 2006 Volvo XC70.

Does my vehicle need any modifications?

Once again, my simple answer is no, but ideally a vehicle used for overlanding will have high quality, All-Terrain tires. There are plenty of resources out there to help you decide which tires to buy, so I won't dwell on that here. I spent ~$800 to have a set of stock-size Goodyear Wrangler Duratracs installed on my Yukon. They have been good tires, a little loud but not obnoxious. With all this said, as you gain experience, you might find a modification you want. I think

Hello, I'm currently debating between two spots for my next overland trip. I live in the panhandle area of florida, and really wanted to overland in some mountains in the upcoming holidays. The Talledega national/state forest in northern alabama is about 3-4 hours away from me. It looks really cool, but I was wondering if it's worth it to just go ahead and drive into tennessee and do some overlanding there. I've got probably about 2-4/5 in total, so if anyone else has any suggestions of another place within the same time frame that would be even more mountainous/ fun to overland, name them. It's not a matter of skill as I am pretty capable and so is my vehicle (I'll be going with someone else too) but just about basically the most I can get for my time limits. If I should just stick to the Talladega forest, let me know too. Thanks! (This is also my first time posting on reddit, so sorry if it's not how it's normally done).

I came across a Chrysler 8.25 with the gears I want and a TruTrac Eaton LSD Locker. Will this be enough for basic overlanding and trails? I’m not rock crawling at all. I was waiting to save up for air lockers front and rear but if an LSD is good enough than I’ll just pull the trigger here.

Also- maybe a dumb question here but if I have different gears in the rear, do I need to change them in the front too? I’ll get an LSD on the front too and regear if I have to.

I am looking for countries with good overlanding rentals (4x4 with rooftop tent would be preferred) and I would like to get some ideas/suggestions from this community.

So far I did rent in Costa Rica (which was amazing) and I am planning for SA/Botswana. I also know of several companies in the U.S. - also on my list. Iceland would also be an option.

Has anyone here tried overlanding rentals in lesser known countries? Any special tips on good countries for overlanding rentals? Any other experiences with this topic?

Starting a thread on the unique characteristics of overlanding a sparse and massive, but ultimately well developed area of the US.

You're never more than 100 miles from a McDonald's in the US, no need to pretend your in the bush. Gas is readily available most places, and small stations with a diner built in are nearly every where a pair of state highways intersect. But storms can make the gas unavailable. A gas can is overkill, until that moment it isn't. You end up in the middle of a deracho, and no one has power to pump, you could be stranded.

If you can help it, and you should make the effort, get your food from grocery stores. Many have pre cut fruit and salads, bbq chicken you name it, that will be better and more satisfying than fast food, also deli counters will have fresh homemade style food meant for local folks lunch breaks. Saved you on the sodium and fast food garbage Obviously you'll fill your cooler or fridge there too .

AT tires seem best. The gnarliest of roads you can go down, there will already be a an '02 Pontiac Grand Am there. There's not really BLM land, but there's under maintained farm roads and even a state forest or logging area in some areas. Even Nebraska has a National Forest.

The best of the area is usually near the river valleys. Use the major rivers. Missouri, Arkansas, Canadian, Mississippi as a guide.

Middle of Kansas has a massive wetland, southern KS has the tailgrass prairie.

Oklahoma has salt flats, sand dunes, mesas, and the Ozarks and Ouachitas.

Nebraska has dune hills, toadstools, the southern part of the Loess hills and protected prairie land.

Iowa has a ski resort, it's not all that flat if you stay close to the east or west borders.

ND, SD, MN all have national parks.

Stay west in the Dakotas even down to Nebraska. Get north, north east in Minnesota.

Missouri has Ozarks.

Arkansas is just absolutely amazing,

You'll have to learn to appreciate the immense, and stay away from the highway.

Newbie here. So I purchased a suzuki jimny jb74. And I´m trying to decide what to do with it.

I want to make a month-long road trip to baja peninsula in it. With my wife and 2 beagles. so, we are in urgent need for space, just the dogs create fill half the space inside the mini truck, and here is where I´m not sure what to do. I am thinking in a roof rack, a trailer hitch cargo carrier or even to tow a small trailer. No need to say that I will travel the lightest way possible. Do you guys can help me with pros and cons of each one?

Sorry for my broken English.

I am looking to relocate to a new state, I currently live in Colorado and love the overlanding/off-roading here and all of the other outdoorsy stuff. On top of overlanding I greatly enjoy photography, hiking, and fishing. I feel like Colorado isn't the state where I want to live the rest of my life though so I am leaning towards moving to either Utah or Idaho. How does either of these states compare to Colorado? The mountains here are amazing and the outdoors are ripe for photography as well as the plethora of trails.

Idaho is my first choice: The only con is it doesn't seem like there is a ton of trails similar to Colorado. Unless the app I am using isn't as developed in Idaho, I am using all trails to take a glimpse at these other states. Folks from Idaho how is the off-roading?

Utah is my second choice: The state has tons of opportunities for off-roading but they all appear to be arid and rocky desert trails where I prefer the mountains and trees, don't get me wrong I think the Utah desert is beautiful in its own way. Utah is also within the range of west Colorado, from the salt lake area roughly a 6hr drive.

Just looking for opinions regarding these two states and the opportunities for overlanding/outdoors that they offer compared to Colorado. Any other suggestions or recommendations are welcome as well!