Is anybody actually getting out ? (Edit)

[KonzaLander]

Winter is my busy time so I don't take off for a long trip. I am going to get lost and wander around this coming weekend, try another small town diner and camp somewhere. It's not the kind of epic trip that is worth publicly sharing, but I will be disconnected and living in the moment.

 

[Smileyshaun]

I used to post up trip reports on various forums, here, expo, mud, YouTube, F/B etc, and even had a couple of stories published along with photos in hobby magazines. I was easily clicking the shutter a thousand times during a 3-6 week trip. I even had a very small fan base. In the 3-4 years I was doing all this I discovered a couple of things. It’s hard work. When you’re behind the lens, it removes you from the experience. When you are constantly taking notes, that too removes you from the experience. I was busy “ making memories” which is a term I have come to despise. Memories, should be a by product, by default, of an experience, not the primary reason for creating an experience.

Other things I learned about myself? I wasn’t living in the moment, I was always looking ahead to the next great shot or the next great story line. Secondly, I’m not enough of a narcissist. Too often people would tell me how they were living vicariously through me. That ended up making me uncomfortable. People should live their lives through themselves. So, I stopped writing, I stopped clicking the shutter so damned many times and I took down my FB page. Now, when we tour, we actually enjoy it for what it is, not for what we want it to become, and I don’t pull out the camera nearly so often. I could easily tell a very nice short story about the day this photo was taken. However, I’ll remain silent and allow the viewer to make up their own story. View attachment 247606

move always enjoyed your posts , you seem to just be a genuine take it or leave it honest kind of person.

 

[MOAK]

move always enjoyed your posts , you seem to just be a genuine take it or leave it honest kind of person.

Thank you Shaun, as I get older I find it to be a lot easier to be whom I was meant to be. I can be quite inquisitive sometimes, always trying to figure out how things work, especially minds, and I’m sometimes mistook as being a troll. Sarcastic? Absolutely , but never troll like! Ha!

 

[slightNine]

I don't take many of photos or videos when I'm out. I'm of the mindset that tech is the opposite of why I'm out there, so I try to avoid it.

Now in the garage it's a different story. Pics and video are common.

 

[DintDobbs]

@Smileyshaun In all seriousness this time, why do the ones who "represent" overlanders in the public view, represent by what we own, rather than what we do?

You must also consider this - the high-profile people who post about their trips frequently on social media get asked about their gear every day. They have a huge following and they must maintain their following by answering their questions, or just posting content in general.

Making a review for some random piece of equipment that they already own keeps the flow of content going, keeps the uploader relevant in the notification stream, and promotes a product that the uploader can endorse (some times for a profit).

It is also relatively easy and cheap, compared to the complexity and expense and potential vehicle damage that could result from making trip logs.

So, the ultimate answer is that what we do, doesn't get asked about so much as what we have. The "consumers" who watch the videos and want their trucks to look "cool" or "tough" like the overlanders, don't care what we do with it or how it helps us to stay safe, but wonder what products we rely on.

I'm also not saying that the uploaders are blowhards who never get out - but making a product review is like a day off, for the types who make content every day.

Just my thoughts. I'm about to go wheeling between the trees again to day, will plan on taking pics and sharing a bit, but not on this thread.

 

[Smileyshaun]

@Smileyshaun In all seriousness this time, why do the ones who "represent" overlanders in the public view, represent by what we own, rather than what we do?

You must also consider this - the high-profile people who post about their trips frequently on social media get asked about their gear every day. They have a huge following and they must maintain their following by answering their questions, or just posting content in general.

Making a review for some random piece of equipment that they already own keeps the flow of content going, keeps the uploader relevant in the notification stream, and promotes a product that the uploader can endorse (some times for a profit).

It is also relatively easy and cheap, compared to the complexity and expense and potential vehicle damage that could result from making trip logs.

So, the ultimate answer is that what we do, doesn't get asked about so much as what we have. The "consumers" who watch the videos and want their trucks to look "cool" or "tough" like the overlanders, don't care what we do with it or how it helps us to stay safe, but wonder what products we rely on.

I'm also not saying that the uploaders are blowhards who never get out - but making a product review is like a day off, for the types who make content every day.

Just my thoughts. I'm about to go wheeling between the trees again to day, will plan on taking pics and sharing a bit, but not on this thread.

I was more saying as someone who has been “ overlanding” sense I started driving but has been on this site sense 2017 I have seen a steady decline in people actually getting out and more and more it being about the build . Nothing that is anything wrong with that Its was just an observation I’ve noticed.

 

[DintDobbs]

@Smileyshaun It's also likely that a contributing factor is overlanding entering the mainstream - when anything reaches the mainstream, hordes of shallow people who like the image of a lifestyle, jump in and start spending money on anything that makes them look like "the cool guys".

Until recently, overlanding as a lifestyle (camp-wheeling) was done generally by either extremely rich people who could afford to travel, or by people whose work required such travel and backcountry field work (safaris, expeditions, military field work, etc.)

Off-roading, however, has been part of the main stream ever since the World Wars, when soldiers returning from the wars made a hobby of the technical driving that they learned in the military. Again, it's fun, but not always worth documenting.

Besides the reasons others have listed in this thread, there is also a great possibility that the mainstream uploaders want to keep their favorite places off the big screen - 4x4 enthusiasts are already losing a great number of our places to wheel every year, and we don't need the clowns who watch YouTube overlanders to bring their trucks out and tear up our quiet spots.

Again, just my thoughts.

 

[tjZ06]

I was out for 3 nights starting Christmas day...



-TJ

 

[Smileyshaun]

I was out for 3 nights starting Christmas day...

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-TJ

What camper is that ?

 

[Smileyshaun]

I guess I should find it a little ironic all I’m doing right now is putting parts on my truck and not getting out lol maybe this weekend the stars will align

 

[tjZ06]

What camper is that ?

Fourwheel Campers Hawk (side-dinette specifically) on my SAS'ed '11 D'max.

-TJ

 

[HighVoltOverland]

Random Musings as they relate to me:
1. I have gotten out at least once a month for the past year. All of these have been 18 Hour Adventures and somewhat limited to softer roads as my wife and I shared a daily driver while I waited for myna Rig
2. Now that I have a new rig I have gone to a couple of places that were planned when we planned around a lower clearance vehicle, so these few trips have been mostly base camping and gear shakedowns (which has worked well as I figure out all the new storage options on my vehicle)
3. I hate social media but became a recluse after I left the Army (a month before Covid shut the world down) so I am trying to utilize this forum as a place to meet some folks that share a common interest
4. "In Country" I tend to have a hard time slowing down and enjoying the nature aspect (years of sleeping in hootches and firebases have made camping something I have to relearn, so much so that I find forcing myself to take a single picture helps me get back to in the moment with nature, and helps me enjoy sitting around camp as opposed to stressing about being packed up ready to go at a moment notice)
5. I enjoy the hell out of the Youtube folks that have been able to make a career/ paying hobby out of overloading but am very deliberate in reminding myself that they live off of selling products, maybe that is something that others are less mindful of, but if the general feel is that public people only care about gear, it's because the gear literally pays the bills.