Nobody is making anyone buy into the expensive builds/mods and if anyone feels like they need a built vehicle like the major "influencers" are driving then that's more of a personal issue than anything to do with overlanding itself. Do it however it works for you, if you're feeling the "pressure" of "needing" to spend crazy money then maybe consider who you're taking your advice from or why they're pushing what they are.
Everyone's needs and wants are different. Do I enjoy watching YouTube vids and seeing what folks are doing/building? Sure. I like it when those things are organic, though, not when those videos are simply pushing/promoting products. I don't like commercials, but I like getting ideas from people that are actually out there documenting their experiences.
My wife and I have had a multitude of hobbies/activities we've gotten into together over the years. They've all centered around travel/adventure/outdoors. We've had PWCs, boats, travel trailers, an RV, etc. Some were new experiences and some we went back to because we missed them, some depended on where we lived at the time, etc. So things have evolved over the years for us, and when it came to overlanding that also evolved over the course of ~3 years. It was never driven by "let's copy them!" but there were various sources of inspiration that drove us into wanting to get into it. We sat down and talked about what we wanted to do, what we didn't like about camping in the past, and how to make it happen without spending an arm and a leg up front. Basically, we bought a cheap soft-cover RTT and I replaced my OEM all-season tires on my truck with some Wildpeaks. We already had camping gear from before (stove, heater, cooler, etc) so it was really just a matter of packing up what we thought we might need and heading out for a couple of weeks.
Over the following winter/spring we discussed what worked and what didn't and how to improve things for our next big trip. It was largely around organization and ease of access to things as well as removing or not packing things we never used or needed, so I installed Decked storage, bought a relatively inexpensive 12v fridge, and a portable power station to keep the fridge powered without draining my battery. Then that summer we headed out on another adventure.
After that it was time to make a decision because using an RTT was becoming a bit of a hassle and after a health scare we realized it would be difficult to leave camp in a hurry without just unlatching the RTT and tossing it on the ground, whether that need to depart were due to health or something like a fast-moving wildfire, we didn't feel like the RTT was the best solution. The RTT also made it a chore to get into bed after a long drive/day, etc, due to having to set it all up. So, the next decision to be made was deciding if we enjoyed doing this enough to justify spending more money to make it more comfortable, convenient, and "safer" or move on to something else. Some people don't mind setting up and tearing down camp every time they want to go somewhere, or they don't mind the effort involved because it's "part of the experience." Totally cool, do it however it works for you. For us, we're on vacation. It shouldn't frequently feel like having to do work and getting dirty/sweaty just to set up or tear down. Again, if that doesn't bother you then great.
So, we decided that we really enjoyed every aspect of this kind of travel and the places it takes us except for the setup/teardown of camp. That's when we started researching more permanent setups that didn't require much setup at camp. We started out looking at doing a 4WD ambulance conversion or similar but that still had the large downside, for us, of having to tear down/pack up camp in order to drive anywhere. That's when we started looking into trailers and researching different options, which is how we ended up where we are currently. Had the trailer for just over a year now with some big and small trips completed and we couldn't be happier.
No, the trailer wasn't cheap. No, it wasn't an impulse buy. No, it wasn't something that some "influencer" was promoting. It was all done based on our experiences, wants, "needs," and research. I'm not going to try and push our decision on anyone else, and I'm sure there are folks that won't understand how anyone can justify spending a fair amount of money on a trailer, but I will say that after owning 3 travel trailers and an RV, knowing how they're constructed, and then researching off-road trailers you really need to make sure what you're getting is worth the money. I won't name names, but there are multiple "off-road" trailer companies out there building cheap crap and then slapping a high price on it because it's for "overlanding" or "off-grid" use when they're more flash than substance. It's those poor quality trailers and high prices that I think make a lot of people assume they're all like that. Well, they're not. Thankfully. I've seen a lot of trailers at expos that are worth maybe 1/4 of the asking/list price because they aren't built any better than the mass-produced trailers from Indiana and they're just trying to make a quick buck off the overlanding hype.
Do what feels right and makes you happy, stop caring what other people think or push.
