Overland Regrets.....

[Raul B]

There was a time many years ago when overanding wasn't the "it" thing to do. During that time it didn't matter what the hell you drove as long as you got out there.... 3 years ago when I decided to open my company it was because I wanted other people to share my enthusiasm for overlanding. I'm happy to say that I have helped a lot of people do this but have also myself become what I didn't want other people to become..

How so? Well I spend most of my time getting my truck "ready" even though we all know it will never be 100% complete. Even when I do get the chance to get out I spend a lot of my time documenting the trip for social media. The high cost of my newer truck (which is not my daily driver) also hurts me not being able to go out because I'm stuck with a large payment (granted I had the truck before I decided to turn it into my overland rig). That being said I have 5 more payments and she will finally be paid off...... but.... That got me thinking....

Even if its paid off its going to sit there most of the time... I'm lucky if I drive it 5 days out of the month. What a waste!. With some heavy thinking I feel like the best thing to do is sell it, pay off almost all our debt and buy something super simple (leaning towards a 96 bronco). with no truck payment and our debt paid off I would have plenty of $$$ to take trips....

Now comes the other factor..... I am currently the father of 6 kids (my wife and I are foster parents). 3 of them with special needs. The main reason I rarely get out is because all my weekends are packed with kid stuff. and I feel guilty leaving my wife ... On top of that my youngest son 5 (which has special needs) just started tiger scouts so ill be going to a lot of events for them and also volunteering.... during the week he also has Jijitsu and swim classes...

Anyways...

For me I think I need to get back down to basics... yes I love overlanding and yes I love my truck but I honestly just like camping better... I could care less about the trial ride to the destination... I just want to get there so that I can enjoy myself with my kids....Some of the best locations I like going to don't even require 4wd.

So it is with a heavy heart that I think ill be putting up the Overland F150 up for sale. If you know anyone that is interested in buying an already built Let me know..... I have over 20k in parts on her (which I know doesn't really amount to anything).

-Raul

 

[Mike W]

I think a lot of people have similar challenges. The correct balance of family and work and all that. This stuff can be pretty expensive if you get caught up in the 'outfit' part.

Sounds like you still plan to enjoy getting out there. Best of luck!

 

[buckwilk]

Now comes the other factor..... I am currently the father of 6 kids (my wife and I are foster parents). 3 of them with special needs. The main reason I rarely get out is because all my weekends are packed with kid stuff. and I feel guilty leaving my wife ... On top of that my youngest son 5 (which has special needs) just started tiger scouts so ill be going to a lot of events for them and also volunteering.... during the week he also has Jijitsu and swim classes...

You sir, are an outstanding man!! Kudos! Good luck with the truck and your future.

 

[Raul B]

Now comes the other factor..... I am currently the father of 6 kids (my wife and I are foster parents). 3 of them with special needs. The main reason I rarely get out is because all my weekends are packed with kid stuff. and I feel guilty leaving my wife ... On top of that my youngest son 5 (which has special needs) just started tiger scouts so ill be going to a lot of events for them and also volunteering.... during the week he also has Jijitsu and swim classes...

You sir, are an outstanding man!! Kudos! Good luck with the truck and your future.

Thank you for the compliments.... I wish I could take all the credit but most of it goes to my wife... My regular job has me gone 12 hours a day 5 days a week... She does all the heavy lifting.....

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[Murphy Slaw]

I wish I was younger.........

 

[2dub]

Raul, I like your thought process and that you have your priorities in the right place. Overlanding will always be there and if you enjoy the camping the scouts will give you plenty of opportunities for awesome camping memories with your son.

I'm sort of on the other side of where you are now. I stopped a number of activities I use to do before children and now am getting back in since the kids are older (an so am I). Before children I would have thought nothing about buying a new rig for myself and continuing to do all the fun modifications/repairs. Now even with the kids being a bit older the family budget has to come first. Now rather than buying a new 2017 truck I'm looking at an early 2000's model.

 

[Dylan Cave]

I will never get out there as often as I would like. For me, what makes up the difference, is enjoying the preparation process. Working on the rig with my boys, and including them on the planning and prep.

I think you're doing the right thing in identifying your limitations and priorities and making changes to fit them.

Good luck on the new approach


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[B_the_GXdude]

I think our issues are we get caught up in the "outfit" aspect of outfit and explore. Not enough exploration. Perhaps if we change the slogan/motto to " Get out and Explore." More folks wouldn't think so much of the outfit part of things. I know I find myself getting caught up on buying stuff like maxtrax boards or something as opposed to just loading up what we have and going. I think that's where I kind of fail as an overlander. lol I personally have got to stop thinking of the next "upgrade" and just focus on the moment.


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[Raul B]

I think our issues are we get caught up in the "outfit" aspect of outfit and explore. Not enough exploration. Perhaps if we change the slogan/motto to " Get out and Explore." More folks wouldn't think so much of the outfit part of things. I know I find myself getting caught up on buying stuff like maxtrax boards or something as opposed to just loading up what we have and going. I think that's where I kind of fail as an overlander. lol I personally have got to stop thinking of the next "upgrade" and just focus on the moment.


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I see this a lot.... esp being in the industry.... Its one of the deciding factors I have had that has made my decision to sell the F150 and go back down to basics. It looks really cool and it actually performs but I don't to crazy rock crawling.... A simple 4wd with 33" tires will get me to all the places I normally visit.

This problem doesn't just exist with overlanding.. Its everywhere in all aspects of our lives... Always wanting the newest next best thing out there which in turn bogs us down in debt. The plan for me is sell the rig, use the equity to pay off all our debt (except the house and my wifes mini van), use 5k of it to buy something simple and get out and explore.....

-Raul

 

[Lepik]

I think our issues are we get caught up in the "outfit" aspect of outfit and explore. Not enough exploration. Perhaps if we change the slogan/motto to " Get out and Explore." More folks wouldn't think so much of the outfit part of things. I know I find myself getting caught up on buying stuff like maxtrax boards or something as opposed to just loading up what we have and going. I think that's where I kind of fail as an overlander. lol I personally have got to stop thinking of the next "upgrade" and just focus on the moment.


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Wonderfully said. I am guilty of this too. New hobby or passion and time and money I spent dreaming, upgrading, fixing, tweaking vs just doing.. it is all about exploration, adventure and nature

 

[B_the_GXdude]

I see this a lot.... esp being in the industry.... Its one of the deciding factors I have had that has made my decision to sell the F150 and go back down to basics. It looks really cool and it actually performs but I don't to crazy rock crawling.... A simple 4wd with 33" tires will get me to all the places I normally visit.

This problem doesn't just exist with overlanding.. Its everywhere in all aspects of our lives... Always wanting the newest next best thing out there which in turn bogs us down in debt. The plan for me is sell the rig, use the equity to pay off all our debt (except the house and my wifes mini van), use 5k of it to buy something simple and get out and explore.....

-Raul

Agreed! More often than not I find myself on basic, upkept trails when I do go out, than traveling into unknown, steep rocky slopes. We'd love to be the type to see an untouched location and go camp there for a while...but reality of it is, life happens, and when life happens, I'd rather be at a common campground than 60+miles in the wilderness. That being said, a basic rig setup does it for us too. Maybe in another lifetime I'll have the ability to spend every waking moment traversing anywhere and anything...but for now, it's all about just making some memories for me and my family. Overland dreams definitely seem to take up my brain tho, vs Overland reality. Lol


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[Lepik]

Making memories for me and my family! That is what it is about right there. That is the key to life my friend

 

[Jeepney]

No regrets. Like a lot of you, it is all about building memories for me and my family. I make certain life choices that forces these Overland dreams to reality. Coz if we don't, it is so easy to fall back into our pop-culture lifestyle. By the time we know it, our kids have moved on. I personally wouldn't want to miss the chance of sharing these memories with my kids while I still can. Different families do this differently, some want to see their kids become a professional athlete, some strive to see their kids at top university, and so on. I strive for my kids to see what's out there and experience a lot of adventure with me so that when the time comes, they will say to their own kids, I remember when my Dad used to bring me to...

 

[Billy "Poserlander" Badly]

I remember when my Dad used to bring me to...

YES! I say this all the time about my Pops, and I want my daughter to do the same. I cherish the memories I have of camping with my family (especially since my dad passed away in 2006), and I hope it's the same for my girl. If that means one-night trips to local campgrounds versus week-long backcountry treks, so be it.

 

[Lepik]

I think it is important to always reflect on "why we do what we do". Regardless of our passions and dreams, knowing why we started it in the first place is where it is at.

I started photography because I loved producing amazing photos. After a while I started making money doing it and after a while I only did it for money and not the experience. I now try and ensure I get some quality shooting time in where I am not on assignment.

Same with Overlanding. I am new to this world but immediately want all these things for the rig but at the end of the day the rock 4runner is perfectly capable of what I need. My last vehicle was perfectl fine for everything I needed and the 4Runner is light years ahead of it.

Sometimes we need to stop, realize why we started something and go back to our roots. When we die, no one will care what we drove. They will only have the memories we shared.

 

[TerryD]

I think you should probably just stick with your truck as it's newer and almost paid for and get rid of the equipment you don't feel you need anymore. Then just start daily driving it! Like you said, the pieces you added don't add value to the truck, but by themselves you can recoup quite a bit of their value. Plus you know the truck and don't have to worry about having a 90's truck with all the associated 20 year old truck problems that are going to come with it. Plus your truck is a lot safer and roomier than a 90's Bronco. That's my $0.02.

I think a lot of guys really dive in deep into the build. I came from the more hard core off-roading world where camping was simply a byproduct of the trail riding. I started building a K5 to crawl with and realized that I didn't want something I had to trailer out 1-2 times a year and it would just sit at the house the rest of the time. I was daily driving my K2500 GMC while the K5 sat at home and I found myself saying "if I had the K5, I'd check that trail out!" One day I finally realized that when I DD'd my Cherokee, if I wanted to check something out I'd just yank it in 4wd and go and in that moment I REALLY wanted that again so I started looking and found my Xterra. It wasn't long after I got it that I found Overland Bound.

My wife and kids all like camping and we like to travel so a vehicle that would handle both easily just fits the "overland" label. My Xterra fits that great. It's small and nimble while still driving good, holding 5 people plus gear and getting decent fuel mileage.

 

[buckwilk]

I would like to take this opportunity to encourage you to come to my Overlanding Anonymous meetings. Yes they are expensive but much less than your addiction.

 

[Young Satchel]

This is a great thread. I applaud both your honest introspection, and your commitment to family Raul.

I've got two boys, one of whom has an orphan generic disorder and is blind & autistic. We do the best we can, but I can't imagine the load with any more than just these two. Hats off!

I did something funny that I mentioned in a recent thread about how We all got in to overlanding : I actually sold a universally-approved overland-capable rig with a huge aftermarket (Toyota 4Runner) when I had kids and got a Volvo station wagon. Then by accident I built that into an overland rig. [emoji24]

It's sort of perfectly ideal in the sense that with no real off-road aftermarket, there aren't just tons of parts and upgrades waiting around for me to to buy to make it more "trail ready" or what have you. So I literally just put some ATs on that bish and started smashing around the state forests. Of course I've since purchased more "overlandy" crap for it, but my point is the vehicle itself is a convenient limiting factor that allows me to focus on getting out there, getting dirty, and having a blast with my boys.

Cause that's what this shit is actually all about, amirite?!

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[B_the_GXdude]

All us basic bros should get together for a basic overland camping trip with the families. Boom.


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[Overland Ranger]

Good on you for what your doing it should always be family first overland in second. "it's not the destination it's getting there" family is the journey and I aplode you decisions

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