Overland Vs Off-Road

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MOAK

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There are a lot of folks here on OB that, let’s face it, go 4 wheelin. They may travel long distances to do so, but at the end of the day, they are doing one of two things, getting a hotel or having the luxury of living in a big camper. To me, “overlanding” ( the word makes my blood curdle because the umbrella has become so large that the term no longer has any meaning) is traveling & living out of a vehicle that is capable of traversing to & from the most remote regions available to us is a self sufficient manner. I liken it to backpacking with a vehicle.
 

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To me, “overlanding” ( the word makes my blood curdle because the umbrella has become so large that the term no longer has any meaning) is traveling & living out of a vehicle that is capable of traversing to & from the most remote regions available to us is a self sufficient manner. I liken it to backpacking with a vehicle.
Same.

I have been "Off-Roading" my whole life (starting in 1976). That's what it was called. No one really had lockers and the biggest tire you saw was a 35" (common was a 32"). In some of the magazines, people would say "overlanding" or "adventure" but that was it. It was still called "Off-Road". Some times my "Off-Road" trips were multi day and sometimes they were day trips. The cool part was, the only difference between backpacking and "Off-Roading was whether or not I got to carry an ice chest.

A few years ago someone drew a line in the sand and said you did one or the other. Now you have people new to the sport who are confused. This is why we need videos to tell us the difference. I guess now I'm categorized as an "Overlander" and not an "Off-roader". My current rig has no lockers. That means I cant run the Rubicon or Dusy trails.
 
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tjZ06

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Agreed, just as an example you can be doing both if you go to the Rubicon trail.
Which, with a little luck, I'll be doing later this year in my WJ. Probably take 3 days, 2 nights to do it... so "Overlanding" by definition, and most people would consider the Rubicon Trail a legit "Off Road" trail (a lot of people call it the hardest trail in the West, or even US, but anybody that's seen Fordyce or any number of WAY harder trails knows that's BS).

Perhaps I guess I get tired of these shameless self-promotion posts on OB so I came at this thread with a bit of negative to start. Click-bait type thread titles with nothing more than a YT link and maaaaybe one sentence to get us to watch their channel. It seems rampant all over OB. I feel like folks posting these things should at least add some dialogue to add value to the OB thread beyond what one gets just from the video...

Like the folks above, I've been Off Roading and "Overlanding" my whole life. It's just, when I was doing it decades ago, nobody called it "Overlanding" in the US. My buddies and I would go somewhere via non-paved roads/trails and camp. We called it camping. ;) We also did more serious wheeling, that sometimes included camping whether planned, or not (breakage, recoveries, etc. running long).

There are like eleventeen-billiondy threads here on OB about "what Overlanding is", I don't think we need any more. The bottom line, it's whatever you want it to be. Just get out and get off the beaten path. I don't care if it's super well-groomed forest service roads in a small FWD street car, or if you're in a fully-built rock-buggy on 54"s running things a production vehicle couldn't even dream of.... or anywhere in between.

-TJ
 

smritte

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Which, with a little luck, I'll be doing later this year in my WJ.
When you run it, I want to see pictures.
I've run it several times and It's been ten years since I was there last. Its a fun route, easily doable in a day and a half. There's a few spots off the side to camp, away from the trail if you want to extend the trip time. If I was to go back now, I would stage in one of the campgrounds at the entrance and run the "non" Rubicon routes then run the trail itself. If you ran Fordice, Rubicon is easier (or was). If you haven't run the Dusy yet, go there sometime. I stage at Shaver Lake (camp Edison) for two week's, run that and all the trails out there. Dusy is about the same difficulty as Fordice but, in a dead run from one end to the other, its 3 days. I spend 5 on it.
 

North American Sojourner

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Here is a definition that Overland Bound folks appreciate;

con·trib·u·tor
/kənˈtribyədər/
noun
  1. a person or thing that contributes something.



    I appreciate the OP's contribution to our site. Whether or not his post superfluous or redundant it's appreciated.
    Thanks @Johnmosessa
    Zim



 

MOAK

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Same.

I have been "Off-Roading" my whole life (starting in 1976). That's what it was called. No one really had lockers and the biggest tire you saw was a 35" (common was a 32"). In some of the magazines, people would say "overlanding" or "adventure" but that was it. It was still called "Off-Road". Some times my "Off-Road" trips were multi day and sometimes they were day trips. The cool part was, the only difference between backpacking and "Off-Roading was whether or not I got to carry an ice chest.

A few years ago someone drew a line in the sand and said you did one or the other. Now you have people new to the sport who are confused. This is why we need videos to tell us the difference. I guess now I'm categorized as an "Overlander" and not an "Off-roader". My current rig has no lockers. That means I cant run the Rubicon or Dusy trails.
Ah ha, you date yourself. 1976? We used to go four wheeling in a friends pickup truck back in the early 70s in Ohio, but I really began all of this camping thing in SoCal out of a VW bug back around 74 or 5 or so. Got my first serious vehicle in 76, 30” tires, no locker, open diffs. Back then we just called it, let’s go out to the desert.
 

tjZ06

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When you run it, I want to see pictures.
I've run it several times and It's been ten years since I was there last. Its a fun route, easily doable in a day and a half. There's a few spots off the side to camp, away from the trail if you want to extend the trip time. If I was to go back now, I would stage in one of the campgrounds at the entrance and run the "non" Rubicon routes then run the trail itself. If you ran Fordice, Rubicon is easier (or was). If you haven't run the Dusy yet, go there sometime. I stage at Shaver Lake (camp Edison) for two week's, run that and all the trails out there. Dusy is about the same difficulty as Fordice but, in a dead run from one end to the other, its 3 days. I spend 5 on it.
Lots of great info there! I haven't run Fordyce in my own rig, not sure I will. IMHO it's a loooooot harder than The Rubicon, if you're doing all the Winch Hills. But yes, when I do The Rubicon I'll document it for sure.

Here is a definition that Overland Bound folks appreciate;

con·trib·u·tor
/kənˈtribyədər/
noun
  1. a person or thing that contributes something.



    I appreciate the OP's contribution to our site. Whether or not his post superfluous or redundant it's appreciated.
    Thanks @Johnmosessa
    Zim


Yup, just my opinion... and you know what they say about opinions...

-TJ
 
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Nomad164

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To get back to basics:

The term “overlanding” was originally coined in Australia with reference to moving livestock over long distances. Generally equated with Alfred Canning's “Canning Stock Route” and Len Beadell's Australian road construction in the mid-1900s, the early concept of overlanding was primarily utilitarian.

Off-roading is the activity of driving or riding a vehicle on unsurfaced roads or tracks, made of materials such as sand, gravel, riverbeds, mud, snow, ...

I am sure that there are many other different meanings - but who really cares what terms are being used as long as you get out there and enjoy the bush.

On a side note, here in Western Australia we tend to use the term 4WD Touring more than the two terms above - but it means the same thing.

Karl
 

Ceg

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I have been 4 wheeling or what this thread calls "Off-roading" since the early 80s camping out of my rig. Some places the roads and trails were a challenge to get through and other times it was easy going. Now days some call it overlanding.

I have past through challenging sections through mud 4 wheeling or overlanding only because it was part of the route. Yes I have been "mudding on private land for fun in my youth, never as a wheeling trip. Mudding to me has never been wheeling.

Our group does day and weekend base camp wheeling trips. We also do "overland" trips we camp out of our rigs along the way. If it is a road trip, a few days crossing public lands, or miles on and offroad, that is overlanding to us.

Each their own on what you call it. Just go and have a responsible good time with friends and family.

PS: It's Snow Wheeling season for us right now with the same rigs we overland with.

 
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Billiebob

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overlanding offroad by foot

83565E04-BFF5-4A6A-8109-1C8C5BFADA63.jpeg

Nims took this viral pictures on his quest to climb the worlds 14 highest peaks in 60 days.
This is Everset, he is on his way down having already summited.

He completed his quest in 57 days.

But is this off road overlanding ???? and why not ??
 
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Billiebob

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Where to fit this..... a Seep over water on a 20,000 mile journey from Alaska to Chile.... without assistance even crossing water.
A great book to read from a simpler world. The dog definitely has the best seat.

13026.jpg
 
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