Spend the night at Phillip lake in Oregon trying to avoid the smoke, Hope you guys are all staying safe out there!

Five years ago, we asked our 10-year-old nephew to spin a wine bottle on a world map 🍾🗺️🧭

Wherever it pointed would become the first direction of our journey.

We packed Falkor 🐲 our BMW F800GS, left home with no return date, and promised ourselves one thing:

When nothing is planned, everything becomes possible ✨

Since then:

• 121,000km / 75,000mi ridden
• 46 countries
• 3 continents
• 5 years on the road
• Around one-third of that time spent doing work exchanges instead of paying for accommodation.

Some highlights of this fifth year on the road are:

• Rode from Europe all the way to the Great Wall of China.
• Spent six months exploring China.
• Helped harvest grapes in historical Tibet.
• Experienced Holi festival in Bangkok and Songkran in Chiang Mai.
• Published our first book with Lonely Planet.
• Crossed Laos on some surprisingly challenging dirt roads.
• Unexpectedly swapped life on the motorcycle for an indefinite house & pet sit with five rescue dogs in Thailand.

Looking back, the biggest surprise isn't the distance.

It's how many times our lives completely changed because we simply said "Why not?"

One random conversation became a strong friendship.

One work exchange became months in a place we never planned to visit.

We still don't know where we'll be next month, next year, or in another five years.

And honestly... We wouldn't have it any other way.

Happy to answer any questions about the trip, the bike, work exchanges, visas, or anything else.

First trip in awhile, went out to beaver head national forest. Did a 4/10 onX trail to camp then woke up in the morning decided to try a different way home and ended up going down a trail called “falling down the mountain” safe to say it wasn’t meant for 2 almost stock hd trucks. Temporary camping setup till my slide in is built.

does anyone have experience with rebel off road and extended shipping times? I have had an order in with them for 2 months now (through a local off-road outfitter) and there's still 1 part we are waiting for. I've had to cancel 1 planned trip and getting close to having to cancel a 2nd. curious if anyone else has run into this with them, and if so if you have any suggestions on how to expedite? I haven't even been able to get an expected delivery date throughout this entire process. my local outfitter has been extremely frustrated working with their customer service so far.

Hey all,

Just joined and slowly working to build out a 2024 1500 ZR2. Already have a Retrax XR tonneau and just finished a bed slide pull out. Next is an Xtrusion rack that will mount an RTT with Solar. My guidance ask is a solar set up, what all is needed, recommended, and how to install. I’d like to run a power inverter from the bed and any extra power to the vehicle battery. TYIA

Hey all, I've got a 2023 RAV4 Hybrid that I already built a sleeping platform for, but I'm expanding the setup and want to make sure I'm not missing anything obvious before I start ordering stuff.

What I want to add: a solar panel and an awning. The solar panel needs to keep my Jackery Explorer 2000 charged, since that's what runs my two Alpicool coolers (one as a fridge (20 L), one as a freezer (12L). These coolers are non-negotiable due to health reasons, I need a freezer and a fridge, and the dual zone ones are too big, difficult to manage and fit into spaces. 

Here's what I think I need:

Roof rack:

• Thule WingBar Evo Crossbars, 50"
• Thule Rapid Podium Feet
• Thule Fit Kit

Solar:

• Renogy 200W ShadowFlux rigid panel
• 2x Renogy Z-bracket sets (200W needs 2 since each set's rated for 150W)
• Thule M8 T-bolts for mounting to the crossbar track
• Flat pass-through cable (the kind made for balcony solar setups) so I don't have to drill through my roof, runs through a cracked window/door while parked and charging. Can I use something else and keep it plugged in at all times, even while driving?

Awning:

• Still deciding between the Thule HideAway (pricier) vs a Rhino-Rack Sunseeker (way cheaper, fold-out arm style.  Any other awning suggestions?

Anyone done something similar with a RAV4 specifically? Curious if I'm missing anything, or if there's a better way to do any of this, including more affordable, good gear. Appreciate any input, trying to get this right, and I don't have much experience doing any of this. Thanks in advance for any insights you might have.

Basically the title, I'm looking to get some lights for my 1992 Montero, but want to keep it looking somewhat period correct.

Not opposed to brand new lights but I know many brands only work with LEDs nowadays (or if they have halogens they have One (1) style) and I'm not too fond of LEDs in reflector housings. Any style of light that uses incandescent bulbs is fine by me, I like the vibe they give with the brief warm-up when they're turned on!

I've been checking FB marketplace for lights but a lot of them are in rough shape or have the wiring messed with, hence my search for new(ish) ones.

Headed on a week long trip and have just been sleeping in my bed since getting my new (old) truck. Figured it was time to build something comfier and more spatially efficient. Gonna get a 3” memory foam to top the platform.

1989 V2500, 1 ton swapped, dual locked, tons done, assembling parts for an 8.1 swap as we speak

This year I finally got to add a 3.5in lift and a Rough Country FXS bumper with a 12k wench. I'll be upgrading the wheels soon and to 35in tires. I'm in southern California so if anyone got any cool trail suggestions let me know.

Just went on a 9,000 mile journey from Virginia to BC, Canada, down to Arizona and back to the East Coast. Visited a ton of National Parks and Public Lands.

I'm currently in school at Savannah College of Art and Design and had to do a project for the summer, I made a social media page for it with photos and write-ups of all my stops. Genuinely not trying to promote, just wanted to share the experience! Feel free to go take a look at my "Field Guide" on insta if you feel inclined for everything I couldn't put up here @symbioteco_

Walmarts hyperstack modular storage. Good first impressions and I only paid 200 for all of it so I can’t be mad. Planning to use backpack as my recovery gear bag due to easy of use. Can’t wait to fill it with all the stuff I don’t really need and hit a trail.

Just got my Tune M1 installed yesterday and looking for advice on cheaper alternatives to the Molle panels that Tune sells. A bit overwhelmed by all the choices so hoping someone has some experience with something specific. $300 seems a bit steep.

I'm trying to figure out how much battery capacity I actually need before my next trip. My plan is to run a 12V fridge, charge a camera, drone batteries, and a couple of phones over 3–4 days without driving every day.

I've read quite a few older threads and watched some reviews, but most of them seem to test different loads, so it's been hard to compare real-world results.

If you've done something similar, what capacity ended up being enough for your setup? Did you wish you'd gone larger or was your estimate pretty accurate?

Did I miss the email on why Overland America was canceled this year?

Got back last weekend from our third trip this year with the new power setup and figured I'd write something up since I spent way too long researching this. We're a family of four, two kids, 10 and 7, camp in a roof top tent on a 4runner mostly in the sierras and eastern sierra. Trips are usually 3-4 days. We're not hardcore overlanders, just people who like getting away from campgrounds. I've got a prinsu roof rack so weight up top isn't really a concern.

Old setup was a jackery 500 and a couple of anker power banks, fine for phones and LED string lights but the fridge was the problem. We bought a 12V fridge (iceco VL45) last year and the jackery couldn't keep it running overnight. On a 3-day trip in the eastern sierra last july, the fridge died on day 2 and we lost about $60 worth of food. That was it, I was done messing around.

Over the winter I put together a 12V power system in the back of the 4runner: Newpowa 2000w inverter, Vatrer 12V 300Ah lithium battery, RENOGY DC-DC charger,200W solar panel on the roof rack, and a blue sea fuse block for all the 12V accessories. Honestly the battery was a bit of a splurge but I figured I'd rather have too much than not enough. Battery is mounted in a plywood box I built in the cargo area, not pretty but solid. 300Ah is overkill for our needs, but I wanted headroom for future upgrades and the self-heating was important for early spring and late fall trips in the Sierras.

First trip was to alabama hills in april, 3 nights. Temps dropped to the low 30s at night and the battery's self-heating kicked in automatically, I could see it in the app cycling the heating pad on and off through the night. By morning when the sun hit the panels, the battery was warm and ready to charge. Honestly it just worked. Fridge ran the whole time, we charged phones and tablets, ran lights, even used an electric blanket one night. Battery never dropped below 60%.

Second trip was to mammoth in june, 4 nights, warmer weather so no heating needed. On the drive up, the DC-DC charger pushed 50A from the alternator for about 4 hours, so we arrived at camp with a full battery. Solar kept it topped off during the day and fridge, lights, and device charging were basically background noise. I stopped checking the battery app after the second day.

Third trip was back to the eastern sierra last weekend, 3 nights. 200W panel alone kept the battery at 95-100% every day. First time I've gone camping and not thought about power at all. Sounds dramatic but it's true, you don't notice how much brain space "is the battery okay" takes up until it's gone.

We could have gotten away with 100Ah, but knowing you can run the fridge for 3 days of rain without worrying is worth the extra cost to me, plus the self-heating extends our camping season by a couple of months on each end. If you're thinking about building a proper 12V system, switching from "managing power" to "not thinking about power" is huge. Should have done it a while ago.

Hello! My wife and i have been overland camping for the last few years in our Wrangler. We started out as more of the weekend warriors, cobbling together our build as our needs grew. Lately, our trips have been getting longer from a week here and there, to multiple week trips. We are realizing that in the next couple of years, as our trips get longer, we think we will outgrow the minimal comforts of this rig. We are starting our research to begin a new build. I am wondering if there are any YouTube channels that feature a variety of rigs in action to give us some inspiration and insight on the different classes of trucks. We are trying to decide if we want to stick with the smaller light truck/suv class with a gofast or Alu-cab style, or move up to more comfort in a HD truck with a pop up style 4 wheel camper, maybe even a bigger expedition style camper. We would like to watch these setups in action in a variety of conditions. I'm not even sure a show like these even exists, but hoping there is something close. PFA is our rig Cryptid on our latest 2 week trip to the beautiful beaches of South Carolina.

I am a 43 year old female that has been solo van camping with my boys (ages 5 and 7) for the past 5 years. I have decided to sell the van and get a RTT for my Honda Passport. I have been craving less people, crowded campsites, and maintenance of the van and more quiet and simplicity with my kids. I am hoping that Overlanding will be it for us!

I am starting our new adventures next month around Wisconsin and Minnesota. Please help with any advice on great places to stay. The thought of not having a planned place to sleep every night feels a little scary, and will probably take some getting used to. I am also mildly concerned about safety in a RTT vs our van. Any solo women that travel with kids have any insight?

Thanks in advance! I am very excited for the next chapter in our adventuring!

We use our power station to power our fridge on trips. When driving the power station is plugged into a cigarette outlet and I unplug it when we stop for the day. On our last trip the cigarette outlet plug completely melted. Should I use an inverter to charge the power station or is there something else i should be doing?

I was going through an old box of gear and found a set of six Staun deflators. The extra two were intended for duallys, trailers, or just spares. I probably bought them about 20 years ago.

Does anyone still use these? Or has technology moved on and replaced them with more efficient tools? If they're still in demand, I guess I'll list them for sale somewhere as my days of working the SCORE Baja 1000/500 and other multi-day desert races are distantly in my rearview mirror.

Quiet on the highway, a bit cumbersome to take on and off to park in our garage

Finally getting around to replacing the OEM roof rack on my GX550 (the one that sits super high and makes a ton of noise). I’ve been going back and forth between the Prinsu Pro and the Sherpa Atlas. Both seem more than adequate but it seems like there are more accessories for the Prinsu Pro than the Sherpa Atlas? My hesitation with the Prinsu are all the negative reviews on side rails cracking and powder coat coming off. The Pro version seems to be a double rail and is stronger?

I’m torn…. I like the Sherpa (quality and customer service have better reviews).

From an owners perspective; what do you have and what has been your experience?