What Is Overlanding And How Can You Prepare Your Rig For It?

Everything You Need To Know About Overlanding

What's up everyone? Today, we're gonna be covering a widely growing trend that most off-road enthusiasts have already heard about, but quite a few still have yet to experience. In today's piece, we're answering the question "What is overlanding?" and help you get your rig ready for the adventure. Let's dive right in and check out how you can make the most out of every time you head out for an overlanding trip!

Table Of Contents

-Definition and Quick History of Off-Road Overlanding

-What Are The Best Vehicles and Modifications To Use For Overlanding?

-Best Wheels and Tires To Add To Your Overlanding Rig

-What Gear and Supplies Should You Bring Along For Overlanding?

Definition and Quick History of Off-Road Overlanding

First and foremost, overlanding is defined as a self-reliant journey to remote locations, and the journey itself is the adventure - not the destination. Overlanding is vehicle-dependent travel, and it often involves off-road capable vehicles where travelers can discover trails in areas that are less frequently visited. Overlanders usually enjoy off-grade camping and try to be self-sustained for an extended period of time.

What does that mean? Personally, we think it's more of an experience that you have to live to really understand overlanding, but it all starts with an adventurous spirit and a desire to want to explore and travel. After all, we leave our places of creature comforts and the madness of day-to-day life for the fanatical love of exploration and adventure.

Interestingly enough, the term "overlanding" originates from Australia, when Aussie cowboys were cattle driving for long distances across the vast Outback. Later, road construction crews used the term "overlanding" as they opened up infinite stretches of landscapes across the Australian wilderness. Nowadays, overlanding is used as a general characterization of off-highway vehicle travel to a multitude of destinations.

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What Are The Best Vehicles and Modifications To Use For Overlanding?

Let's move onto the vehicles used to take us on these journeys - first off, the rule of thumb is that there is no perfect rig to seek after if you're just getting into overlanding. The saying goes that the best rig for overlanding is the one that will get you to your destination, but that being said, there are a few key points to keep in mind.

The first thing to consider for your overlanding rig is capability, and your vehicle's ability to traverse rocky, muddy, and cross-axle terrain, including deep water crossings, severe side slopes, hill climbs, and descents, is a massive advantage. Certain vehicle mods, although not always necessary depending on the terrain, can also be a huge help.

Other upgrades such as suspension lifts for additional ground clearance to clear larger rocks, snow, mud, and deep water crossings can be a huge help for your overlanding rig, and you should also upgrade to gas charge shocks, monotube shocks, or bypass shocks, because they're designed to take much more abuse. Plus, they'll dampen the harsh terrain and keep it from jolting up into your back.

Read More: What Are The Best Tires For Overlanding?

Best Wheels and Tires To Add To Your Overlanding Rig

Another major element to overlanding rig upgrades is the tires that you choose to add, and when you're upgrading these, make sure you go with increased tire diameters and switch to either a hybrid, all-terrain, or mud-terrain tire. This will not only help give you the extra traction and clearance that you'll need, but they're also designed to be more durable against cuts in the sidewall and tread punctures.

With having purpose-specific tires, having a set of wheels packaged with those tires that are designed to take off-road abuse will also be important in getting you to your location. Method wheels, for example, offer bead-grip technology that aids in keeping the tire beads sealed to the rim of the wheel while running low air pressures for added traction.

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What Gear and Supplies Should You Bring Along For Overlanding?

Because overlanding is such a self-reliant journey, having the right gear, a properly-maintained vehicle, and enough supplies to hold you over for the length of your trip is essential. There are thousands of new products hitting the market annually because of the ever-growing popularity of overlanding over the last decade or so, but the essentials to bring along are food and water.

Having a good water filtration system can help get you through emergency situations, so be sure to bring one of these along for the ride - also, freeze-dried food packets are popular among overlanders because of their ease of use. They're pretty much ready to eat once the package is opened and water is added, which is way easier than having to cook a whole meal yourself.

Next on the list of essentials is proper clothing for the elements you'll be traveling through - obviously, desert travel is different than, say, mountain riding, so dress and plan accordingly. Speaking of mountains, you should also have fire starters to keep warm in certain climates, and other essentials like fire extinguishers, flashlights, tools to repair breakdowns, tire plug kits, medical supplies, and reliable communications systems are huge too.

Read More: Are Overlanding Trailers Worth It?

Shop Wheels, Tires, and Overlanding Supplies for Your Rig at TrailBuilt Off-Road

Before you head out for your next overlanding journey, you should know that we have some of the best off-road wheels, tires, and equipment you need to stay safe and secure on the trip. You can get a top-tier wheel and tire package for your build, but we also have tents, awnings, survival kits, and much more in our accessories store. Shop online now and we'll help get you ready for the adventure!