What’s the vibe here with Overland Bound?

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Steve_1e1b60

Rank I

Contributor II

124
First Name
Steve
Last Name
Visnage
Hi everyone. I’ve been camping/exploring for decades but recently decided to upgrade my ride to a 4X4 GX470….love it btw. I joined the GX470 forum on Facebook but have found it to be not very welcoming. Feeling a bit bullied, trolled, and just being made fun of for being the “newbie”. Feels weird to be saying this at 51 years old, but I am looking for a community that is welcoming, open to all types of experience levels, and there is a level of moderation to deter out of control behavior by members. I’m always impressed with the Overland Bound videos, and hoping that the vibe on the channel mirrors the forum and vice versa. I live in Florida but do travel extensively all over the country and even abroad. Lifelong surfer, fisherman, kiteboarder, paddler, and father. So please share your experience with the group as I am looking for a home to share and learn from. Thanks for listening.
 

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bcmedicxj

Rank IV
Launch Member

Off-Road Ranger I

1,146
Vonore, TN, USA
First Name
Bruce
Last Name
Collins
Member #

19170

Ham/GMRS Callsign
GMRS WRKP 397 Groundhog
Service Branch
EMS
Welcome aboard, this is a good place to be. All walks of life with all makes of vehicles are here. It's all about the outdoor experience. I went through a similar experience with a Jeep club because I have a Cherokee XJ instead of a "real jeep". Message me if your ever in East Tennessee, I can suggest some good trails.
 

DintDobbs

Rank V

Advocate III

1,412
First Name
Daniel &
Last Name
the Vulture
@Steve_1e1b60 Never understood people who want to drive away people who are exploring the community... like, keep people from joining your club, that makes perfect sense, right?

You'll find that this community does a lot of talking and discussion during the week, and dies off during the week ends, because that's generally when people are out on a trip or working on their rigs.

We aren't here to impress anybody, we're all just here to do what we do and learn, and share what we think might be important or useful.

Some times discussions get fiesty, but I've never seen a fight here due to a difference in opinion. Usually each member has an actual reason for his or her values, opinions, and advice; and we all tend to respect that each member's needs and wants are different, based on the way one uses the vehicle in question.

There are of course the "You're doing it wrong" people, but they're often helpful if you listen to them. Just do your thing, share some of it here and there, and discuss what you find interesting.
 

El-Dracho

Ambassador, Europe
Moderator
Member
Supporter
Investor

Off-Road Ranger III

13,288
Lampertheim, Germany
First Name
Bjoern
Last Name
Eldracher
Member #

20111

Ham/GMRS Callsign
DO3BE
Hi Steve,

Welcome to Overland Bound!

As many have already written, every overlander is welcome here. No matter which vehicle, no matter if beginner or an experienced overlander and no matter if going camping with the family on a weekend, doing a bigger trip for a couple of weeks or maybe does a world tour... we all learn from each other here and share our experiences.

Just look around and if you have any questions, there are many here who will be happy to help you.

Greetings from Europe,
Bjoern
 

Kent R

OB Executive Director
Staff member
Mod Team
Moderator
Member

Pathfinder III

5,200
El Dorado, Ca
First Name
Kent
Last Name
Reynolds
Member #

1632

Ham/GMRS Callsign
K6KNT
Service Branch
Retired Firefighter
Hi everyone. I’ve been camping/exploring for decades but recently decided to upgrade my ride to a 4X4 GX470….love it btw. I joined the GX470 forum on Facebook but have found it to be not very welcoming. Feeling a bit bullied, trolled, and just being made fun of for being the “newbie”. Feels weird to be saying this at 51 years old, but I am looking for a community that is welcoming, open to all types of experience levels, and there is a level of moderation to deter out of control behavior by members. I’m always impressed with the Overland Bound videos, and hoping that the vibe on the channel mirrors the forum and vice versa. I live in Florida but do travel extensively all over the country and even abroad. Lifelong surfer, fisherman, kiteboarder, paddler, and father. So please share your experience with the group as I am looking for a home to share and learn from. Thanks for listening.
Welcome To Overland Bound
The best way to find out about the community is to dive in and check it out. Also please add a city, town and country to your profile so the app and members can get you local information.
Check the forum calendar and Meet-Up page for events, and the Trip Planning page for trips being planned by members. These pages can be filtered by region.
Overland Bound Meetups
Overland Trip Planning
You can use the Member Map to find other members and events in your area. You can also send a message directly from the map to other members.
RESOURCE MAP
North America
App Tutorials
Overland Bound One App Adventure and Expedition Tutorials
Take a try at adding a track or point of interest to the app.
Local information for any of our regions can also be found in the “Overland Bound by Region”
OVERLAND BOUND COMMUNITY
Check out the four Overland Expo events https://www.OverlandExpo.com
Quick adult & youthTread Lightly online awareness course.
Online Courses - Tread Lightly
Tread Lightly! Youth Online Course
If you have any questions don't hesitate to message me, hopefully I can get you going in the right direction. @Kent R or Kent@OverlandBound.com
 

PapaDave

Local Expert Northern ID and North East WA
Member

Protector II

8,868
Coeur d'Alene, ID, USA
First Name
Dave
Last Name
Addington
Member #

10123

Ham/GMRS Callsign
KN6BKH
Hi everyone. I’ve been camping/exploring for decades but recently decided to upgrade my ride to a 4X4 GX470….love it btw. I joined the GX470 forum on Facebook but have found it to be not very welcoming. Feeling a bit bullied, trolled, and just being made fun of for being the “newbie”. Feels weird to be saying this at 51 years old, but I am looking for a community that is welcoming, open to all types of experience levels, and there is a level of moderation to deter out of control behavior by members. I’m always impressed with the Overland Bound videos, and hoping that the vibe on the channel mirrors the forum and vice versa. I live in Florida but do travel extensively all over the country and even abroad. Lifelong surfer, fisherman, kiteboarder, paddler, and father. So please share your experience with the group as I am looking for a home to share and learn from. Thanks for listening.
Welcome! This community is what you put in, and over the years I’ve gotten a lot out of it!
 

roots66

Local Expert, Texas USA
Launch Member
Member

Member III

3,477
Weir, TX, USA
First Name
Mike
Last Name
Roots
Member #

16968

Service Branch
USAF
Hi Steve,
Welcome to the OB family. In my experience, vehicle specific clubs do tend to be less welcoming to new members, especially if they aren't total fanboys of that vehicle. That's why Overland Bound is different. "It doesn't matter what you drive", so the focus is on enjoying the entire experience. My only negative vibes have only been when I needed to air down. ;)
 

reaver

Rank VI
Member

Explorer I

3,680
Caldwell, ID, USA
First Name
Brian
Last Name
McGahuey
Member #

23711

Ham/GMRS Callsign
GMRS WRMV941
Welcome!

I find OB to be a very welcoming and knowledgeable place. I find what vehicle we all drive to be way less important around here than other forums, and fb is a cancer, so I just don't use it myself.

I will say, if you run into someone that doesn't gel with you, it's very easy to ignore them and not see their posts. I've had to do that with a couple of folks myself.

All in all, I legitimately think this is the best overland community on the internet.

So stick around!
 

Steve_1e1b60

Rank I

Contributor II

124
First Name
Steve
Last Name
Visnage
I started at this club with a minivan with a rooftop tent. I was welcomed and supported by this community. I believe you have come to the right place. Welcome!!
I’m coming from a van conversion I did. Everyone was stoked on the things I did. However, it seemed in the GX threads, if your not lifting your vehicle and going rock crawling, you are literally dirt to them.
 

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HaVeeBear

Rank V
Member
Investor

Off-Road Ranger I

1,518
Elkridge, Maryland, United States
First Name
Javier
Last Name
Armendariz
Member #

27524

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KC3VWL
Welcome! I think you'll find this community generally espouses the founders principles of "it doesn't matter what you drive" and "all are welcome." That's one of the things that drew me here too. Being on the "other side" of 50 as well, I'm pretty tired of posturing and ego driven self promotion.
 

OTH Overland

Local Expert Washington, USA
Member
Investor

Trail Blazer III

4,847
Camano Island, WA, USA
First Name
Dave
Last Name
Ballard
Member #

20527

Ham/GMRS Callsign
N7XQP
Service Branch
Fire/EMS/SAR
Steve, Welcome to Overland Bound from Washington State. Overland Bounds founding principles are centered around being nice, sharing information, and it does not matter what you drive. Those carry over to the forums, events, and trips almost without exception. We travel and have friends here with all types of vehicles, level of build and backgrounds, best group of folks and forums that I have ever been part of! Yes you will probably run in to an individual here and there that may not play by those rules, but far and few in-between, and as @reaver mentioned there is an ignore button to no longer show responses from someone, but mine has grown dust and never needs to be used. Typically its a case of someone being very passionate about their way of doing things, Questions usually get answered with positive ideas and solutions from multiple view points. Enjoy your travels here, both on the trail and online.
 

jeepers29

Rank V
Launch Member

Influencer II

2,258
Georgetown, TX, USA
Member #

16977

Welcome aboard, this is a good place to be. All walks of life with all makes of vehicles are here. It's all about the outdoor experience. I went through a similar experience with a Jeep club because I have a Cherokee XJ instead of a "real jeep". Message me if your ever in East Tennessee, I can suggest some good trails.
An XJ is a real jeep. Wish I had bought one when they were cheap. LOL Welcome.
 

socal geek guy

Rank IV
Launch Member

Enthusiast III

1,116
San Diego, CA, USA
First Name
Chris
Last Name
Walker
Member #

19531

I’m coming from a van conversion I did. Everyone was stoked on the things I did. However, it seemed in the GX threads, if your not lifting your vehicle and going rock crawling, you are literally dirt to them.
lol, i get the complete opposite with my mercedes gl450. people scratch their heads wondering why i put all terrains on and go off road. i'm not rock crawling it, but i do go out on some cool trails that i'm comfortable with. we're probably on a similar frame of mind where you want something comfortable that can go on some mild/medium trails, but not hitting trails like the rubicon.
 

ThundahBeagle

Rank V

Advocate I

1,548
Massachusetts
First Name
Andrew
Last Name
Beagle
Member #

0

Welcome aboard, this is a good place to be. All walks of life with all makes of vehicles are here. It's all about the outdoor experience. I went through a similar experience with a Jeep club because I have a Cherokee XJ instead of a "real jeep". Message me if your ever in East Tennessee, I can suggest some good trails.
An XJ. IS a real Jeep in my book. Whole reason they finally came out with a 4 door Wrangler is because they didnt want the XJ stealing the thunder of the flagship model.
 

ThundahBeagle

Rank V

Advocate I

1,548
Massachusetts
First Name
Andrew
Last Name
Beagle
Member #

0

Hi everyone. I’ve been camping/exploring for decades but recently decided to upgrade my ride to a 4X4 GX470….love it btw. I joined the GX470 forum on Facebook but have found it to be not very welcoming. Feeling a bit bullied, trolled, and just being made fun of for being the “newbie”. Feels weird to be saying this at 51 years old, but I am looking for a community that is welcoming, open to all types of experience levels, and there is a level of moderation to deter out of control behavior by members. I’m always impressed with the Overland Bound videos, and hoping that the vibe on the channel mirrors the forum and vice versa. I live in Florida but do travel extensively all over the country and even abroad. Lifelong surfer, fisherman, kiteboarder, paddler, and father. So please share your experience with the group as I am looking for a home to share and learn from. Thanks for listening.

Hi Steve,

While I have a full size truck, I consider a Subaru Forester a great vehicle. 4Runner, Rav4. Minivan. Whatever. I dont think you will get that kind of snobbery and pushback here.

Its car camping taken to whatever level of intensity you want. Or not
 

wigsajumper

Rank V
Launch Member

Advocate I

1,515
Maine, USA
First Name
Aaron
Last Name
Wiggin
Member #

21594

Service Branch
US Army
Welcome aboard. They are pretty chill around here

My wife has a GX470 wish I had learned more about them before I bought my 4Runner.

For GX470s info check out IH8MUD forum. Bunch of good Toyota/Lexus guys over there. Lots of good info. I am on that same facebook group for the GX470 you mentioned and I have it silenced just search it when I have something on the GX to work on.
 
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Michael Golden

Rank VI
Member

Explorer I

4,240
Tampa Fl
First Name
Michael
Last Name
Golden
Member #

28987

Ham/GMRS Callsign
KG4BCN
Service Branch
U.S. Army
Hi everyone. I’ve been camping/exploring for decades but recently decided to upgrade my ride to a 4X4 GX470….love it btw. I joined the GX470 forum on Facebook but have found it to be not very welcoming. Feeling a bit bullied, trolled, and just being made fun of for being the “newbie”. Feels weird to be saying this at 51 years old, but I am looking for a community that is welcoming, open to all types of experience levels, and there is a level of moderation to deter out of control behavior by members. I’m always impressed with the Overland Bound videos, and hoping that the vibe on the channel mirrors the forum and vice versa. I live in Florida but do travel extensively all over the country and even abroad. Lifelong surfer, fisherman, kiteboarder, paddler, and father. So please share your experience with the group as I am looking for a home to share and learn from. Thanks for listening.
Welcome to the overland bound community from another Floridian. You'll find this group a whole lot better than any FB group. Glad to have you join us.
 
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