This overland checklist is for those planning, or starting, an off-the-beaten path adventure. It was created with the assumption that some people might not be able to live full time on the road, but are working to create a lifestyle that will support that dream.
For those who only have 3 days here and there to give, we got you.
Here are some ways to help you get started.
Note: We have not received compenstation for any of the products listed in this article.
A few items to consider before you start:
1. This overland checklist is to help prepare you for longer adventures. This list will give you a great starting point for the supplies you need to consider for your journey.
2. This basic supply list assumes you have a capable rig for what you want to do.
3. Know before you go! Do your research on the terrain/weather of your destination. You’ll need to adjust your equipment and provision amounts depending on the duration of your trip, but with this setup you are good for many days.
4. Bring a journal to help fine tune your overland checklist! Each time you go out make a note of:
The things I had that I don’t need
The things I needed and I didn’t have
By doing this, your list gets better and more refined every time you go out.
The Foundation: Three Cases Method
Your list will naturally consolidate and improve over time, and for us, the pack list consolidated to three prepacked cases. The advantage of a prepacked case method is that you can get out of town and into the great outdoors in 20 minutes!
The overland checklist three categories are:
1. Dry goods
2. Kitchen and camp utilities
3. Comfort
This configuration packs tight. And remember… Organization will keep you sane.
The Starter Overland Checklist
First things first. Let’s go over the basics needed.
Water (1-2 gal. per person per day depending on environment)
Cooler/Fridge (cold foods according to your meal plan)
First Aid
Tent/Sleeping Shelter
Map/GPS/Tablet or Satellite Comms
Clothes
Bedding (pads, sleeping bags, pillows)
Camp Kitchen
Table
Chairs
A tool kit for your vehicle
Recovery Gear (winch, straps, traction boards)
Once you have the basics covered you can drill down into the case method.
Case 1: Dry Goods
The dry goods case is our pantry. This list is the easiest to change up and make appropriate for you. Our shopping trip before heading out of town is for fresh items like fruits, pastry treats for a ‘special’ breakfast for kids, vegetables of all sorts, cheese, proteins, etc.
Canned Soup
Canned Black Beans
Canned Kidney Beans
Canned Tuna
Canned Chili/Hearty Stew
Canned Whole Tomatoes
Canned Tomato Paste
Dry Pasta
Spaghetti Sauce
Spices: Salt, pepper, steak rub, garlic salt
Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinegar
Steak Sauce
Sriracha Chili Sauce
Cholula Hot Sauce
Coffee
Cereal
Instant Oatmeal
Almond/Soy Milk
Dried Fruit
Energy Bars
Nuts
Peanut/Almond Butter
Small jar of jelly
Hot Chocolate
Hersey Bars
Marshmallows
Graham Crackers
Tortillas
Chips
Salsa
This list is the framework we shop from when we take inventory of our “pantry”. We always try to pack things that will pair well with fresh vegetables and protein.
Case 2: Hardware
This is the ‘nuts and bolts’ of a base camp set up case, plus your cooking supplies. Consider how compact and packable you can make these items.
Lantern/Lights
Compact Stove – We highly recommend Fore Winds single burner stoves
Trash Bags
Propane
Insect Repellent
Eating Utensil Sets – Cliff Set is our go to
Wet Ones
GSI Pinnacle Camper Kit (pots, pans, plates, cups)
Thin Plastic Cutting Board
Coffee Filters & Pour Over Kit
Water Purification kit
Fire Bag (lots of ways to start a fire – wet, dry, strike, lighter, fuel, gels, etc.)
Cooking utensils
Knife X 2
Paper Towels
Boo Boo First Aid Kit
Bottle/Can Opener
Aluminum Foil
Napkins
Kleenex
Paper Plates
Toilet Paper (Mountain Money)
Case 3: Camp Comfort
This is our case for all the things that make campfires memorable.
Folding Chairs
Stuff sack blankets
Extra beanies and gloves
Pocket warmers
A general reminder: Pull from the resources you have and make sure the resources you pack are right for your needs. Meaning, you don’t have to go out and buy this entire list. Many of these items can be found around the house. You’ll be surprised at what you do and do NOT need.
Additional Inspriation
And for those really looking for a starting point, here’s how we typically plan meals assuming a three day excursion.
Day 1
Dinner
Chips & Salsa
Easy to heat up canned chili/stew
Saltine Crackers
Carrots/veggie with hummus
Day 2
Breakfast
Cold Cereal w/ Almond Milk
Apples w/ Almond Butter
Coffee
Lunch
Flour Tortilla rolled with lunch meat, cheese, veggies & Cholula (or PB&J!)
Chips & Salsa
Trail Mix
Apples w/ Almond Butter
Dinner
Hunk of meat
Red Potatoes in Foil/with canned tomatoes, can of beans, veggies and seasoning
Broccoli w/ garlic salt and pepper
Breakfast
Fruit
Instant Oatmeal
Pastries
Lunch (on the road)
Create Your Own Kit
We have used Plano cases in the past, and are a great solution for our pack three cases method. They offer an incredible value. You can get them here.
Any advice based on your experience? Let us know in the comments.
Updated October 24, 2022
Great list Michael. I always check my list against other camping lists and I found a couple things here that I will add to mine. I love your videos and I was very happy to find your name mentioned in someone’s post about building and preparing for an overland trip.
Thanks Mark! I’m glad you found a thing or two that you’ll find useful! I should probably update the list from time to time. Ours changes for the better over time! Cheers!
Hello guys been watching on Youtube for a bit, you all are awesome. Been visiting the website since then but never had the urge to join until I realized, after considerable healing , I might be going over landing again this year with the family. We go by The Barefoot Family, for everything, so I guess that is a good way to get to know us. We are 5 of 7 still at home, including Mortdecai our Great Pyrennes and caring protector in the wilds.
Awesome! We’re stoked the article is helpful! You may also want to head over to our forums https://www.overlandbound.com/forums to meet a whole community of folks ready to help and answer questions! We’re glad to have you! Quick heads up, the forum is a separate login :/ I know I know, we are fixing that soon! Glad to hear you are getting back out there!
I got tons of these lil lists on scrap paper floating around. May print this and add/subtract to my needs so I have something a bit cleaner and it seems to hit all the high points of mine.
Awesome! Glad it is helpful! We’ve refined this over a number of years, and we still continually update it!
Great list and really like your videos. I’m wondering if you could comment on the use of a dedicated GPS device versus a smartphone with a GPS app. Have you considered the latter?
I am on the same boat.
I have spent some time looking at the forum, trying to find a discussion about what is the best GPS for overlanding and can not find it. Maybe I am using the wrong search terms?
Just starting out and its great to have a guide to work from. Looking forward to getting out there and exploring with my family!
Great article, Michael! It got me to thinking about how to get my stuff organized so I can get out of town quickly and at a moments notice. I guess my “disorganization” comes from childhood camping trips. We would know a couple months in advance when we were going and to where. That allowed lots of time to gradually get things organized for typically multi-week camping trips (3-4 weeks straight!).
But things are way different today. While my list is different than yours, the strategy is the same: How to get out quick! I may be a little weird, but I have my carrier sitting on a few chairs in the living room and “dry fitting” all my stuff.
I could keep going, but it’s likely only exciting to me!
Check!
Downloaded….Thank you !
Sweet! And thank you I'm downloading also.
Cool!
Awesome!
Great read! I am finding this super-helpful as a new to the scene kind of guy. Thanks for making this!
Yeah man that's a great list to reference to… Thx !
Thanks for the share Micheal
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[QUOTE="CastilleRouge78, post: 61656, member: 6907"]Great read! I am finding this super-helpful as a new to the scene kind of guy. Thanks for making this![/QUOTE]
What he said 😀
I've done some car camping but as someone who is fairly new to the whole vehicle dependent travel this is a nice checklist!
Thanks!
Good information! Thanks
Thank you good reference as we pack for our trip.
This is awesome information. Thank you
Downloaded and will be used, thanks.
Awesome!
Awesome list. And i love the plano cases. I snag them anytime academy sports has them on sale.
Great site. Really enjoy the many video posts. Never done any overlanding before. Recently bought an fj62 and looking forward to some explorations on Northern California trails.
I noticed in you check list you don’t mention or reference information about nearest ER location along your planned route.
This is a great starting point for us new guys. I just bought three of these cases from Amazon. I’m curious…what chairs do you have, and how many fit into one of your Plano cases?
Hey guys I don’t have access to open the checklist.
When planing trips and selecting what will or will not come I like to think through various scenarios like how am I going camp if: Sunny and perfect, less than perfect but doable and total shit storm. It’s been helpful both in bringing the correct gear but also what plan b is when it’s to windy/stormy to cook outside or a bug invasion happens at dusk.
thanks. slowly transitioning to bins. great list.
I just discovered some totes made by ziplock that have 6 latches and a foam seal. They’re clear, so I use them for stuff inside my rig but they stack well and so far I’m impressed.
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Love lists…I have been a back country backpacker for decades. Lists are your friend and I find I go over them a lot weeks, days and hours before a trip…nothing like hiking 15 mile into camp and forgetting your propane canister. On the other hand my girlfriend has always gone glamping and she has nothing that would fit into the uber-light category…so when we go we pack a full crew cab truck to the nines with equipment. I must say we have a great outdoors kitchen setup and friends feel pampered with my short order skills. Now that we have the Jeep we want…mainly me…to tone some of the gear down. [USER=1]@Michael[/USER] you have put together a great list for our overlanding rig…at least I can say look honey overlanders don't bring so much stuff with them when we are going over the checklist.
Thanks for the list, meal ideas, etc. Since we have a pop up truck camper,we can pack more. It does t mean we do, but items are more readily accessible. Also, we have two dogs so it’s like packing for twin toddlers. I found a great lantern while shopping that is built tough and lots of light. Don’t know if I can name it, though so message me for info. Our list has been fine tuned over the years but more and more we travel to remote areas, so have more self-extraction gear and what if scenario items.
[QUOTE="Michael, post: 36831, member: 1"]Michael submitted an Article on the main site!
The Ultimate Overland Checklist
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[caption id="attachment_21594" align="alignright"…
Continue reading the Original Blog Post.[/QUOTE]
Nice!
Great read!
Now we're cooking with gas 🙂
Excellent List Micheal, I will definitely get the cases you have, they seem really good and affordable. Looking forward to comparing your list to mine and add more stuff to our camping checklist, Thanks for the info.
Haha,
Haven't heard any call TP,"mountain money" in long time. Brought back many fun memories of some good times! Benz.
Hi again, another great article, but even though I’m logged in, I don’t see a download button ….. all I see is:
Subscribers can download the checklist here:
You don’t have permission to access this content
Sample Page
Please detail recommended “truck tools”. Thanks –
I am a Master Mechanic and would like to put my 2 cents here for you with what I bring with me ( I tend to bring a bit more seeing as I have the skill to help others in need and have the room). In my opinion, I would at least bring the following.
1. A test light for any electrical issues to trace down. Even if you are not familiar with them I’m sure someone around you while out on the trail would be and they will love you for having it if they try and help. You can pick up a cheap one that will do the job for under 5 dollars.
2. Just your run of the mill automotive toolkit with sockets, screwdrivers, and such. They are small and compact like the ones you can find at Home Depot, Walmart, Sears etc..
3. Jumper cables.
4. An inexpensive air compressor that you can plug into a cig lighter/power outlet for airing up tires and a tire plug repair kit. You can repair a nail hole, or puncture repairs on the trail safely.
5. Duck Tape – millions of uses, I even used it once to make a fan belt for someone on an old Chevy to get to town and it worked!
I would say water, hammer, First Aid kit, and some other items but I think they fall under what you should already have for camping in general.
this is a great list. this will surely help with our 1st trip.
Downloaded, great start, thanks!
will definitely be using this check list to help with organizing and planning my gear also will be getting a couple of those planto cases
Just awesome.
Great idea and list! I’ll definitely be using this.
I see the link, but it doesn’t work.
This checklist has saved my butt more than once!!! thank you [USER=1]@Michael[/USER]
Appreciate the thoroughness of this list. Downloaded!
Thank you for updating this list! I was having trouble finding the downloadable list but this is perfect! Take care all.
Great list Michael! Wish we would have had it 3 years ago!😁 The only thing for our crew is each one of those one cases is usually 2 for us being a family of 7.
Still a great list and the Plano cases are my favorite reco.
Maybe add in a manual or electric pump for a portable shower/rinse kit.
Can certainly go with one of the full kits but I think just a pump fits the ethos of this list.
Cheers
Great job. I’m comparing my own list and have found several good ideas for improving. Thank you for sharing!
I am so glad that you have published something like this. It helps people think about what they need and don’t need. I would like to suggest that people also plan for an emergency such as a car breakdown on the back country road. I’ve seen a few videos where people were stranded by themselves and lacked the resources to get ‘unstuck’, and don’t forget that a small backpack with food, water and extra clothing will be necessary if you have to walk out of the area to get help!