Define "Overlanding"

[Billiebob]

Do It For the 'Gram: How Social Media Ruined Overlanding

You'll never look at a roof top tent the same way again.

www.drivingline.com

 

[Wallygator]

After paying so much for this thing I will never get rid of my RTT unless it gets stolen but I didn't buy the tent for "the gram" or "overlanding." My son plays collegiate baseball and the cost of hotels were killing my wallet. ( single dad two kids in college) I spent half the last season either staying in hotels or commuting for hours and then the last half staying inside my 4Runner.
This was doable but got old rather quickly and tent camping meant the need to go to a campground which created even more logistic problems...on the east coast it's hard to boondock around cities...
Decided that if I am going to go without hotels then I needed to be more comfortable and have a quick setup with high mobility. I could have thrown down mega money and got a van but why? So I bought the roof top tent. Next season will be the first full season with the tent and in one season I will almost pay for the tent from not getting a hotel and boondocking sometimes. YMMV.

 

[old_man]

Overlanding is... a two dollar word.

 

[tjZ06]

and many of the posts on here are giving back change...

I might be known to write... too much. ;)

-TJ

 

[tjZ06]

Do It For the 'Gram: How Social Media Ruined Overlanding

You'll never look at a roof top tent the same way again.

www.drivingline.com

GREAT article. I hope I fall into the category the author calls "the enthusiast." Whenever possible I do my own work on my rigs, I grew up wheeling, then graduated to other motorsports (where I still turned the wrenches... ever replace the clutch in a C5 Z06 on jackstands in the paddock between road course sessions?), and now I'm back off-road, but with different goals than my old "wheeling" days. Heck, he even picked a WJ for the example of "The Enthusiast" so that means I'm okay, right? Also, I'm closer to 40 than 35... so there's that.

Seriously though, the segregation between "column A" and "column B" is in what you do, not what you say (errrr, type). My goal is to build up my rig myself, so I know every nut and bolt. I try to bring a good supply of tools and "just in case" equipment and if you ever need it, I'm happy to help. I was recently watching a YT video where a guy had a LS-swapped JK on tons (not junkyard stuff, mind you... but high-dollar bolt-in stuff) and his fans and gauge display (aftermarket, not the stock gauges in the dash) quit. He checked maybe 2-3 things, then resorted to having somebody else pull him out. In the process he ran his Jeep occasionally, with no fans, to assist in climbs or get power steering, nearly overheating it. He also completely cooked the brakes. As it turns out, it was a blown fuse. Yes, really. Now, to be fair this can happen to any of us, and we all make mistakes (see my other post about bringing along a friend who only had a donut as a spare and not confirming he had a fullsize spare myself). That said, I always have some wire, some various connectors, some basic crimpers etc. so I can hot wire a fan, or fuel pump, or whatnot.

-TJ

 

[CR-Venturer]

If you really think about it , backpackers travel hundreds of miles on foot with everything they need to survive on their backs and manage to keep it in the 20-40lb range , but for some odd reason when you have a vehicle you need 300lbs of camping gear 100 lbs of food , a memory foam mattress and solar power to run all those electronics. Most people seem to be trying to set up their weekend trip rig like someone who is living out of theirs fill time .
Keep your gear as simple as possible and you will enjoy your trips more .

I definitely subscribe to this philosophy. While I do take heavier gear than I would if I was backpacking, I don't take unnecessary gear or unnecessarily heavy or expensive gear. Case in point is my cot tent that cost me $50 and weighs about 25 lbs vs a roof top tent that costs $1000 and weighs 100+lbs.

I don't think that overlanding necessarily has to be super long multi-week, month or year trips. I think it has more to do with the philosophy behind it, the valuing of the journey as well as the remote camping and exploration aspect. Some of us don't have the time to devote weeks, months or years to travel, but we have the same desire to explore wild, unknown places and get in touch with the beauty of creation. To me, that's the more defining aspect.

So I guess you could say I define it as vehicle based travel where the journey, the adventure, and the exploration are the primary goals.

I have to add, also, that one of the reasons I really value OB as a community is the lack of elitist attitude and exclusivity. There's a ton of useful resources here and many like minded people without a lot of the bickering, elitism and exclusion that you find in many other communities. There are diverse opinions here, certainly, as well as many diverse approaches, but OB puts the emphasis on what we have in common, and I think the core values of OB speak to that.

 

[slomatt]

The amount of time spent defining "overlanding" is inversely proportional to... (fill in the blank).

 

[Shannon]

My mom and grandmother used to sew-up their own tents and sleeping bags, cram a bunch of kitchen utensils in a box and head out to camp all summer long. They could do this because my grandmother taught school in an era when teachers actually got summers off. The whole summer! So camping was on the short activity list. I’d definitely call what they did overlanding despite the fact that they probably did it in a normal car and the word didn’t really exist. I know my mom sure knew her way around a dirt track in a two-wheel-drive car by simply utilizing boards, shovels, and changes of direction. She certainly didn’t need a souped up 4wd “rig” to take my brother and I camping in extremely wild places and instill a life-long love of being outdoors in us. I’m having trouble getting comfortable with the word “overlanding” myself but the accepting philosophy of this forum is sure helping.

 

[CR-Venturer]

My mom and grandmother used to sew-up their own tents and sleeping bags, cram a bunch of kitchen utensils in a box and head out to camp all summer long. They could do this because my grandmother taught school in an era when teachers actually got summers off. The whole summer! So camping was on the short activity list. I’d definitely call what they did overlanding despite the fact that they probably did it in a normal car and the word didn’t really exist. I know my mom sure knew her way around a dirt track in a two-wheel-drive car by simply utilizing boards, shovels, and changes of direction. She certainly didn’t need a souped up 4wd “rig” to take my brother and I camping in extremely wild places and instill a life-long love of being outdoors in us. I’m having trouble getting comfortable with the word “overlanding” myself but the accepting philosophy of this forum is sure helping.

Your grandmother sounds awesome! :D Wish I had a grandmother like that.

The way I see it, the term is merely a useful descriptor that helps us all understand what we mean when we talk about the activity we like, as distinct from camping, wheeling, etc. It isn't and it shouldn't be a strait jacket that constrains or limits what we do.

 

[Shannon]

The way I see it, the term is merely a useful descriptor that helps us all understand what we mean when we talk about the activity we like, as distinct from camping, wheeling, etc. It isn't and it shouldn't be a strait jacket that constrains or limits what we do.

Of course. And I agree. Well said! I look forward to becoming VERY comfortable with the word “overlanding”.

 

[Anak]

I try not to fret much over the word. It is just a fancy word for camping, just like utilize is a fancy word for "use".

Some people need to feel more special, so they need a special word. Others of us have been at this for long enough to keep doing what we have always been doing and not really care what anyone calls it.

 

[grubworm]

It is just a fancy word for camping

i never heard the term "overlanding" until january of this year while looking for a small camp trailer and I also heard the term recently of "glamping". i listen to my teenager and his friends and they also make up words that dont particularly make any sense other than to them...and then even they argue about what a made up word means.
but yeah...its camping

 

[Anak]

i listen to my teenager and his friends and they also make up words that dont particularly make any sense other than to them...and then even they argue about what a made up word means.

Gee.

Have I ever seen anything like that?

Hmmm...

 

[Lanlubber In Remembrance]

I try not to fret much over the word. It is just a fancy word for camping, just like utilize is a fancy word for "use".

Some people need to feel more special, so they need a special word. Others of us have been at this for long enough to keep doing what we have always been doing and not really care what anyone calls it.

To me the word "OVERLANDING" is just a word that helps to unify us as a group. Kinda like "BASEBALL" where every one plays a position, but play as a team. The words OB, means we are all like minded players.

 

[CR-Venturer]

Pimping your 4x4 with as many comfort items you can cram in and on. Taking it on a semi paved road 1 mile from Starbucks and then stage it so seems you are in the middle of Africa so you can post to instagram.

I often think it would be funny for me to start a youtube channel or something and call it Ghettoverlanding, because my setup is so ghetto it's not even funny. $1800 Craigslist beater pre 2000 honda, home built, kludged up kit, everything old or second hand lol I still have a lot of fun though! I bet if I added up everything I've spent on my rig other than oil changes I'd probably be less than 5k into it.

 

[grubworm]

so you can post to instagram.

if its not worth doing for 100 likes...its not worth doing at all...

 

[grubworm]

I often think it would be funny for me to start a youtube channel or something and call it Ghettoverlanding, because my setup is so ghetto it's not even funny. $1800 Craigslist beater pre 2000 honda, home built, kludged up kit, everything old or second hand lol I still have a lot of fun though! I bet if I added up everything I've spent on my rig other than oil changes I'd probably be less than 5k into it.

you're not parking next to me at the mall, either

 

[CR-Venturer]

you're not parking next to me at the mall, either

Don't worry, I can't afford to shop at the mall :P

 

[Yroundrdn]

For me it's being as minimal as possible but as comfortable as I want to be with the rig. Then climbing in with the wife and spending some great time alone in the wilderness. It's fun to have a rig you know from front to back and take the routes you think it can do. I've had to turn around on some trips, get pulled out of mud, and even gone days without needing 4x4. It's about seeing amazing places and getting away however you can. Just go for it and get out where no one can be found. Then come home with a list of more fun stuff to do on the rig for the next trip.

 

[Buckaroo]

If you really think about it , backpackers travel hundreds of miles on foot with everything they need to survive on their backs and manage to keep it in the 20-40lb range , but for some odd reason when you have a vehicle you need 300lbs of camping gear 100 lbs of food , a memory foam mattress and solar power to run all those electronics. Most people seem to be trying to set up their weekend trip rig like someone who is living out of theirs fill time .
Keep your gear as simple as possible and you will enjoy your trips more .

some of us DO live in our rigs for a long periods of time.
for weeks on end , this is my home.