Member Introductions *NEW MEMBERS INTRODUCE YOURSELF*

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SGT.

Rank IV
Launch Member

Advocate II

1,293
COACHELLA VALLEY, CALIF.
Member #

6251

Hello everyone.
I'm Jeff. I am from southwest Missouri. I have always been an outdoor enthusiast. I enjoy everything outdoors. My favorite things to do outdoors have always been camping and off roading. My rig is a 06 Jeep Rubicon. I am looking forward to meeting new people.
welcome. Nice rig!!!!
 

Road

Not into ranks, titles or points.
Launch Member

Advocate III

3,379
On the road in North America
First Name
Road
Last Name
Dude
Member #

6589

Hey everyone - new member here, but far from new to having a utilitarian vehicle and depending on it to get off the beaten path.

I can be long-winded in profile intros, especially when told to include photos and stuff about rig, experience, location, etc. But I like to write and love playing with words, so here you go.

From my profile:

Born in the American west, raised in Europe, and been wandering North America pretty much ever since, interspersed with occasional bouts of domestic responsibility.

Starting in the late 60's, I've used a variety of vehicles for extended long distance travel, from a VW Beetle, VW Bus, '69 Chevy Carryall, Dodge Club Cab pickup (with a 360 that thing could climb a wall), station wagons, Ford van, Chevy diesel van, and now my GMC Savana diesel van. My road trips are often long affairs, often multi-month or more, even once for eight years steady on the road with no home or apartment of my own. I've used my vehicles to wander everywhere from the deep south and up and down the Appalachians, to all over the SW American deserts, entire US west coast, the PNW, Canadian Maritimes, the Great Plains, the entire US/Mexican border, and most everywhere in between.

I have some serious sand in my shoes and just can't get enough of seeing this amazing continent in person. My trips are typically solo, though I relish having someone along for some or all of a journey.

The best way I start my day is to pack up and pull away from wherever I spent last night, pausing at the edge of the road and wondering "Well let's see, I wanna go left, or do I wanna go right today," with a big grin on my face. Then letting the road lead me where it will.

I'm currently in the planning stages of my next big coast-to-coast North American journey, and outfitting my van for photography, writing, and both back-country camping and urban exploration.

Glad to find this growing community of people who like going somewhere with their vehicles, and a big thank you to Michael & Corrie for getting this particular community of overlanders going.

Hopefully I'll be meeting a bunch of you along the way. Pics below.

"Pasó por aquí. . . "

Road

=======================

Savana-ext-150901_2803.JPG
My trusty workhorse of a van, a 2008 extended body GMC Savana with a 6.6 turbo-diesel Duramax. I'm 2nd owner and 2nd driver. It was a Penske van leased to Netflix in OK and had the same driver 'til I bought it 5-6 years ago. I've driven it from coast to coast in North America several times, and from Edmonton, Alberta and Sept-Îles, Québec in hard Canadian winter to the southernmost tip of Texas along the Mexican border in the height of summer heat. I'm going to try and do that the other way 'round sometime, though I do love a good weather challenge.


20150907-_DSC2775.jpg
Working out of it for a photography gig in northern Maine a couple years ago. The blue upholstered cushions, folded boards, and square black container in the back right is part of my folding bed setup. It's something that's evolved over the years to be simple, efficient, and very functional. More about that, below.


ChisoMtns2012_1357.jpg
Set up for vancamping. This is in the borderlands on a week-long father-daughter run from El Paso>Van Horn>Marathon>Terlingua>Presidio>El Paso. One of my favorite places on earth, Brewster and Presidio counties, Texas.

Rugged, remote, and sparsely populated. Same kind of country you see in the movies No Country for Old Men, Hell Or High Water, Paris Texas, and The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada. If you've never been, look up these movies, and (though some of the scenes in Hell Or High Water were done just over in NM) you'll want to experience this part of the country and the high desert of west Texas even more.

SantaElena_1400-900.jpg
Santa Elena Canyon. That's Mexico on the other side, and for scale, the tiny figure at the edge of the Rio Grande is my adult kid.


ChisoMtns2012_1359.jpg
I really prefer a walk-through floor plan, and with the amount of room I have in this vehicle, think I will keep a walk-through plan setup for the next long adventure. After the 4x4 conversion everything will be a lot more buckled-down and strapped in for greater off-road travel, of course, than in the setup above. Planning a tent-sided pop top, too. That will free up even more space for photography and other gear below, a giant stash area above the front seats, and a spacious full-length stand-up height when the top is up that I plan on using as photography blind for birding, when shooting (photo-shooting) wildlife, and for astro-photography.


Savana-empty_600x450.jpg
My van in work mode again, ready for a load to be strapped down and hauled lord knows where.


crossstrappedbox_2085.jpg
I've hauled expedited, time-critical loads including everything from a 6"x6"x60" box with a special crane part that a mine in northern Quebec needed STAT...


autobins-wlid-rear_7803.jpg
to pallets stacked with auto parts from Laredo TX going to Jeep in Detroit where an assembly line was waiting, to a kid in a casket from an airport in Kansas to a funeral home in southern Oklahoma, where guys in suits and ties were hoping I'd get there before the mourners did.

That's 8' of E-track on the floor, and self-built side boxes along each side that taper out to full width at the doors while retaining 52" between wheel wells. That way it funnels loaded pallets and keeps them centered. I designed and built the side boxes to be a comfortable sitting height, so when I put a bed-board or my gear containers back there, there's a comfortable consistency. There's a total of 140" of usable floor from back of the seat bases to rear doors. I'll take a good van over a pick-up and it's 96" bed, any day. I built out the rest of the interior too, with radiant barrier, insulation, easy to maintain walls, Fantastic roof vent, etc.

In work mode like this, I keep about 27" of space directly behind the seats (ahead of the white 1/3 bulkhead behind the driver's seat) for personal gear, including a folding bed that goes across the width of the van at the same height as the side boxes. That way, when in between work gigs, I spread out in the back and can put the bed along the length of either side or straight across again, as my gear boxes (other side of the bulkhead in this shot) that support the bed, are the same height as the side boxes. Makes a super-convenient and very modular, change-on-the-fly setup. I can even use the gear boxes and folding bed in a ground tent.

The side boxes have tops with finger holes and hold an incredible amount of gear. A ton of camping stuff, ratchet straps, portable air compressor, maintenance fluids, tools, etc. The small white bulkhead at the end of the left side boxes but before the 1/3 bulkhead hides a little fold-out desk and cabinet for personal items. All very neat and tidy when I pull up to pick up or deliver a load somewhere. Gets lots of comments and questions.

When I'm done setting it up for this next long trip, with 4 wheel drive, pop-top, and hauling an XV-2, I'll be able to stay out for months, hopping from one great location to the next, refueling and stocking up here and there, and looking for various groups to visit and rallies and expos to attend.

See you out there somewhere.

Dry roads and open skies...

Road
 
Last edited:

SGT.

Rank IV
Launch Member

Advocate II

1,293
COACHELLA VALLEY, CALIF.
Member #

6251

Hey everyone - new member here, but far from new to having a utilitarian vehicle and depending on it to get off the beaten path.

I got my name from being on the road so much over the years. People have asked "How much do you travel?" I tell them "Well, I'm on the road 49-50 weeks a year, and the other 2-3 weeks I'm on vacation, so I GO somewhere!" Stopping into a favorite small town diner onetime in North Dakota, I think it was, a server recognized me and said "Hey, you're that road dude..." and started calling me Road, then introducing me as Road. The name stuck.

I can be long-winded in profile intros, especially when Michael says to include photos and stuff about rig, experience, location, etc. But I like to write and love playing with words, so here you go.

From my profile:

Born in the American west, raised in Europe, and been wandering North America pretty much ever since, interspersed with occasional bouts of domestic responsibility.

Starting in the late 60's, I've used a variety of vehicles for extended long distance travel, from a VW Beetle, VW Bus, '69 Chevy Carryall, Dodge Club Cab pickup (that thing could climb a wall), Ford van, Chevy diesel van, and now my GMC Savana diesel van. My road trips are often long affairs, often multi-month or more, even once for eight years steady on the road with no home or apartment of my own. I've used my vehicles to wander everywhere from the deep south and up and down the Appalachians, to all over the SW American deserts, entire US west coast, the PNW, Canadian Maritimes, the Great Plains, the entire US/Mexican border, and most everywhere in between.

I have some serious sand in my shoes and just can't get enough of seeing this amazing continent in person. My trips are typically solo, though I relish having someone along for some or all of a journey.

The best way I start my day is to pack up and pull away from wherever I spent last night, pausing at the edge of the road and wondering "Well let's see, I wanna go left, or do I wanna go right today," with a big grin on my face. Then letting the road lead me where it will.

I'm currently in the planning stages of my next big coast-to-coast North American journey, including the adventure of picking up an XVenture XV-2, converting my Savana to 4x4 and getting a penthouse/pop-top on her, and outfitting it all for photography, writing, and both back-country camping and urban exploration.

Glad to find this growing community of people who like going somewhere with their vehicles, and a big thank you to Michael & Corrie for getting this particular community of overlanders going.

Hopefully I'll be meeting a bunch of you along the way. Pics below.

"Pasó por aquí. . . "

Road

=======================

View attachment 29134 My trusty workhorse of a van, a 2008 extended body GMC Savana with a 6.6 turbo-diesel Duramax. I'm 2nd owner and 2nd driver. It was a Penske van leased to Netflix in OK and had the same driver 'til I bought it 5-6 years ago. I've driven it from coast to coast in North America several times, and from Edmonton, Alberta and Sept-Iles, Quebec in hard Canadian winter to the southernmost tip of Texas along the Mexican border in the height of summer heat. I'm going to try and do that the other way 'round sometime, though I do love a good weather challenge.


View attachment 29130
Working out of it for a photography gig in northern Maine a couple years ago. The blue upholstered cushions, folded boards, and square black container in the back right is part of my folding bed setup. It's something that's evolved over the years to be simple, efficient, and very functional. More about that, below.


View attachment 29136
Set up for vancamping. This is in the Chisos Mountains of Big Bend on a week-long father-daughter run from El Paso>Van Horn>Marathon>Big Bend>Terlingua>Presidio>El Paso. One of my favorite places on earth, Brewster and Presidio counties, Texas.

View attachment 29137
Rugged, remote, and sparsely populated. Same kind of country you see in the movies No Country for Old Men, Hell Or High Water, Paris Texas, and The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada. If you've never been, look up these movies, and (though some of the scenes in Hell Or High Water were done just over in NM) you'll want to experience this part of the country and the high desert of west Texas even more.

View attachment 29132
Santa Elena Canyon. That's Mexico on the other side, and for scale, the tiny figure at the edge of the Rio Grande is my daughter.


View attachment 29131
I really prefer a walk-through floor plan, and with the amount of room I have in this vehicle, think I will keep a walk-through plan setup for the next long adventure. After the 4x4 conversion everything will be a lot more buckled-down and strapped in for greater off-road travel, of course, than in the setup above. Planning a canvas-sided pop top too, hopefully from Colorado Camper Van. That will free up even more space for photography and other gear below, a giant stash area above the front seats, and a spacious full-length stand-up height when the top is up that I plan on using as photography blind for birding, when shooting (photo-shooting) wildlife, and for astro-photography.


View attachment 29133
My van in work mode again, ready for a load to be strapped down and hauled lord knows where. I've hauled expedited, time-critical loads including everything from a 6"x6"x60" box with a special crane part that a mine in northern Quebec needed STAT, to pallets stacked with auto parts from Laredo TX to Jeep in Detroit where an assembly line was held up 'til I got there, to a kid in a casket from an airport in Kansas to a funeral home in southern Oklahoma, where guys in suits and ties were hoping I'd get there before the mourners did.

That's 8' of E-track on the floor, and self-built side boxes along each side that taper out to full width at the doors while retaining 52" between wheel wells. That way it funnels loaded pallets and keeps them centered. I designed and built the side boxes to be a comfortable sitting height, so when I put a bed-board or my gear containers back there, there's a comfortable consistency. There's a total of 140" of usable floor from back of the seat bases to rear doors. I'll take a good van over a pick-up and it's 96" bed, any day. I built out the rest of the interior too, with radiant barrier, insulation, easy to maintain walls, Fantastic vent, etc.

In work mode like this, I keep about 27" of space directly behind the seats (ahead of the white 1/3 bulkhead behind the driver's seat) for personal gear, including a folding bed that goes across the width of the van at the same height as the side boxes. That way, when in between work gigs, I spread out in the back and can put the bed along the length of either side or straight across again, as my gear boxes (other side of the bulkhead in this shot) that support the bed, are the same height as the side boxes. Makes a super-convenient and very modular, change-on-the-fly setup. I can even use the gear boxes and folding bed in a ground tent.

The side boxes have tops with finger holes and hold an incredible amount of gear. A ton of camping stuff, ratchet straps, portable air compressor, maintenance fluids, tools, etc. The small white bulkhead at the end of the left side boxes but before the 1/3 bulkhead hides a little fold-out desk and cabinet for personal items. All very neat and tidy when I pull up to pick up or deliver a load somewhere. Gets lots of comments and questions.

When I'm done setting it up for this next long trip, with 4 wheel drive, pop-top, and hauling an XV-2, I'll be able to stay out for months, hopping from one great location to the next, refueling and stocking up here and there, and looking for various groups to visit and rallies and expos to attend.

See you out there somewhere.

Dry roads and open skies...

Road
Welcome ROAD! AMAZING AND again WELCOME!!!!! Safe travels
 
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Traveler I

Hello everyone, my name is Guillermo, but you can call me Memo. I recently by a 4X4 vehicle and I really happy and exited about overlanding.

Location: Mexico city. If you are planning any trip to Mexico, I will be more than happy to help.
Rig: Jeep Wrangler Sahara 2016
Overlanding level: Novice

I have done some basic camping and short trips, but I planning a 3-4 states travel within Mexico, and hopefully some day, a long trip to US.

See you in the road !!!
 

Eric Haltom

Rank V
Launch Member

Advocate III

1,493
Mesa, Maricopa County, Arizona, United States
First Name
Haltom
Last Name
Family
Member #

6339

Hi everyone!
I'm excited to be here! I'm just getting into Overlanding. I picked up a CPO 2014 Toyota 4Runner Trail w/KDSS last month and have begun an exhaustive research effort to identify which modifications I'll want to make. Looking forward to becoming a part of this community - see you out there!

-Inspectorgn
Hi Inspectorgn, good to meet you!
 
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BenRogers98

Rank I
Launch Member

Traveler I

Hey Guys and Gals!

My name is Ben and I'm just getting into Overlanding.

I live in north Alabama in the Huntsville Area.
I drive a 1988 YJ Sahara that is basically stock (I changed it's old transmission for an AX-15)
As I said earlier I am a complete novice. I have some experience driving in mud and on bad trails but otherwise I'm pretty green.

Look forward to being a part of this community. See you on the Road!
 

Attachments

Jake Wettern | iamjake

Rank V
Launch Member

Advocate II

2,666
Wisconsin Rapids, WI
Member #

5315

Hey Guys and Gals!

My name is Ben and I'm just getting into Overlanding.

I live in north Alabama in the Huntsville Area.
I drive a 1988 YJ Sahara that is basically stock (I changed it's old transmission for an AX-15)
As I said earlier I am a complete novice. I have some experience driving in mud and on bad trails but otherwise I'm pretty green.

Look forward to being a part of this community. See you on the Road!
Hey Ben - welcome to OB. Nice rig! Safe travels and enjoy the open road!
 

Jake Wettern | iamjake

Rank V
Launch Member

Advocate II

2,666
Wisconsin Rapids, WI
Member #

5315

Thanks Man!
Hey, Ben! Thank you for the message post and your kind words. Glad I gave you some inspiration to get you into Overlanding! I haven't made it to AL for my official state visit - BUT I will be there! I have a questionnaire I use for my 50 state road trip which provides me with your contact info when I'm in your area - I hope you will complete it -https://goo.gl/forms/ZopZP74rkYqGTBhh1 - Until then, safe travels and enjoy the open road!
 

BenRogers98

Rank I
Launch Member

Traveler I

Hey, Ben! Thank you for the message post and your kind words. Glad I gave you some inspiration to get you into Overlanding! I haven't made it to AL for my official state visit - BUT I will be there! I have a questionnaire I use for my 50 state road trip which provides me with your contact info when I'm in your area - I hope you will complete it -https://goo.gl/forms/ZopZP74rkYqGTBhh1 - Until then, safe travels and enjoy the open road!
Filling it out now
 
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Foltzwagn

Rank I
Launch Member

Contributor I

233
Ephrata, PA
Member #

6370

Hello all,
My name is Max I'm 22 and just getting in to this overlanding thing.
I have a 2006 Gmc Sierra 2500hd Duramax, that I am outfitting to explore.
Over the past month or so I've been loading up on supplies for my first trip utilizing the truck
A short weekend trip to the heart of West Virginia, Coming at the end of the month (much excite)
I am a hobbyist photographer and an avid moutain biker so I'm super excited to start my overlanding adventures.
Onto the pics, (if it works)

DSC_7251 by Max Foltz, on Flickr
DSC_7241 by Max Foltz, on Flickr
 

RickB

Rank II
Launch Member

Enthusiast I

404
Floyd County, Indiana, United States
First Name
Rick
Last Name
Bonam
Member #

6451

Hey all.

My name is Rick, I just joined the forum in the last few days, and also plan to get a full membership as well.

I live in southern Indiana right outside of Louisville, KY., and have been interested in exploring the area beyond what the usual roads and camp grounds might have to offer. My experience is spotty, so I would consider myself a novice overlander for all intents and purposes. My rig is a stock Jeep Wrangler Unlimited. I have plans to eventually lift it a couple of inches, add 33" tires, some protective plating underneath for some added off-roadability (adding lockers would be great, but I feel like I could find a lot of gear for that kind of money that would be used a lot more), lights, winch, etc.. The usual bits and pieces, but I do plan to keep the majority of it stock to keep reliability up since it's also my daily driver. Also to be considered is sleeping accommodations. I've just got a basic tent for the time being, but I'm considering options that would include a rooftop tent, and I'm checking out what everyone has done as far as that goes. Lots of ideas!

Hoping to meet others in the relatively local area to get together with and do some exploring, or even just a night at the local campground to get out of the house for a bit.

See you out there!