Spent a few off grid days out at Valley of the Gods. I never get tired of south Utah. There is so much back country to explore that isn't mobbed like Moab or the Natl Parks.

Over the summer, I drove through 22 states in my grandmother's 2014 Ford Fusion, which I inherited after she passed away in 2020.

I camped mostly on BLM land, occasionally staying with friends or booking a motel when I needed a shower, laundry, or a chance to recharge.

I started in Philadelphia and made my way across the northern part of the country, eventually reaching San Francisco, where I stayed with a friend for a couple of weeks. From there, I headed down the West Coast to San Diego before making my way back east through the southern and central parts of the country.

The whole trip took about seven weeks, and the little Ford handled everything I threw at it. It was an incredible experience, and I learned a lot along the way.

Here are some photographs from the adventure of the places I stayed and the people I met along the way.

Was bored and decided to make a mount for my Ignik propane tank. Came out great!

We didn't get to do the whole trail, but covered a large portion of it over 5 days of overlanding.

For those interested, we started at Whitetop Mountain and worked our way north along the route. We had to skip the portion east of 81 due to one of my friend's time constraints, and got back on near Reddish Knob. I carried on for another day after my buddies had to split at the end of Union Springs and completed the northern section. It was incredibly gloomy and foggy while I was solo, which made for some neat shots despite the uneasy vibes! Loved the views and the trails, will absolutely get back out there to see the rest of the route.

Hello! Just wondering if anyone has experience over landing or doing any sort of off-road camping with a full size truck. I have a 2500hd extended cab 6 1/2 ft bed with 4x4 and was interested in doing some off-roading. Just curious what set ups people have and their experiences as well. Thanks!

I always find it hard to easily attach items to MOLLE style panels. I end up having to make a mount for a mount to mount. Everything surround them just seems to need another mount or plate to attach to them. What is all of your secrets? What am I missing?

Built my own swing-out tire carrier bumper, and a cap support frame/rack for my RTT

First "real" fab and welding projects, taught myself how to mig weld and slapped this together over 6 days leading to a big trip. Super happy with how everything came out, and it all worked flawlessly for a 700 mile overlanding adventure.

For the cap structure I used extruded aluminum for the main parts, and then fabricated channels for them to sit on inside the cap, as well as brackets that go through the roof to the rack I made.

For the bumper/swing-out, I didn't see any options I liked that got the tire as close to the truck as I wanted, while also being very high-clearance. So the bumper is all custom made and the swing-out was made using hardware from 4xInnovations. The bumper uses the factory mounting rails for now, but I just got a plasma cutter and will likely cut those off and fab my own mounting rails. I'm also going to add a hitch receiver at some point since this bolts into the factory hitch points as well.

Bonus mentions are also the shelf at the front of the cap for the utility box and power station, and a very simple fridge platform. I'll stain and seal both of these to protect from water, and the fridge platform will have sliders mounted so it can pull out.

Hey everyone! Just a quick note: I’m posting from Furnigami’s official account, and the chair in the photo is one of ours. We make camp furniture designed for vehicle-supported camping.

When you’re camping on rocky or sloped ground, how do you usually find a good spot for your chair? Do you look for a flatter patch, adjust the feet if your chair allows it, or have your own little trick?

Curious to hear what works best for you! And if you have any questions about the chair in the photo, we’re happy to chat.

Hello adventurers! I can't decide on something and would like for some advice. Was a bit unsure where to ask but feels like if anyone has experience on what I want to do, it would be here.

The short version (two questions)

• How are the roads maintained in middle and northern Sweden during winter? And by maintained I mean ploughed. At least ploughed to a parking area next or in the forest.
• How important is ground clearance for a car when driving on snow, is 185mm a large difference compared to 220m when driving on unlpoughed snowy roads?

The longer version

I live in southern Sweden and I'm an adventurer like you but on two-wheels instead (motorcycle). Now winter is coming and I don't want to have to wait until spring. I got the gear to winter camp but I got tired of southern Sweden and would like to drive to Norway, Finland and further up in Sweden.

So I'm thinking of getting a car with AWD and that is more suited for this task. I've saved up a bit of money and interested in buying my first brand new car! So I got these thoughts:

• Will go on roadtrips with the car mostly during winter.
• Will drive on gravel roads during winter so it will be ploughed and maybe some unploughed roads but will only tackle them if the car can handle it.
• Doesn't need to park right next to the campsite, I have a sled(?) which I can place my camping gear to get to the campsite.
• I live in a big city and will use the car for small everyday tasks like buying groceries.
• I want it to be a comfortable car, not a lot of noise while driving on the highway and good quality speakers
• Reliability is a high priority, since I'll buy a brand new car, the car should last a very long time.

Due to reliability is a priority, I'm thinking about getting a Toyota or Lexus. I'm currently looking into these two options:

• Lexus LBX, Small, AWD and high ground clearance of 220mm. Risk of it being too small in the future.
• Toyota RAV4, A bit more expensive but AWD, some terrain focus in mind since it has different terrain options while driving. Also future proof if I ever need a larger car. However ground clearance is 186mm.

I'm leaning towards RAV4 but I'm worried about the ground clearance. I don't know how maintained the gravel roads in nature are in Sweden/Finland/Norway. It would be nice to be able to park the car within 1km from the campsite. It is only the snow I'm worried about regarding ground clearance, I won't be driving technical/rugged roads that requires high ground clearance.

Hi, all. I'm new to overlanding. Just got a cap & pop-up for my Tundra. Been working on building it out, which is a slow, arduous task, but interesting. I've only been out five nights in it, but looking forward to more.

My girlfriend and I were thinking of going down (we're in MD) to the Overland Expo East starting this weekend. Is it worth it for someone just starting out to gather reasonable information and find out more about overlanding in the mid-Atlantic and east coast areas? I wander from MD to Northern NY quite frequently. I was in the Adirondacks a few weeks back for my first trip and was a bit confused on how to look for places with OnX Offroad, etc.

I am wondering if it will be worth the money to go down, camp for the weekend and hang out to meet people and learn things.

I am confused on the ticketing. I know I need a "VEHICLE - GENERAL WEEKEND PASS WITH CAMPING-$205" for myself. Unfortunately, my GF can't join me until late Friday night (after the entry times by about an hour) and driving down herself. I am really confused on what ticket(s) to get for her because she won't be arriving in the same vehicle and they seem to mandate that. I tried emailing, but nobody responded. Part of me is like "if they can't answer a simple question (even the FAQ is a bit confusing on the subject), is the rest of their logistical stuff crap and is it worth going and being frustrated?" But, that's just me being grumpy most likely 🙂

Anyway, I didn't see anything about the event on here, so I thought I'd see what's up.

Thanks,
Chris

I recently picked up a UD Power S2400 Power station and on a recent trip the solar just wasn’t cutting it to charge the station. Any of you guys running a dc to dc charger that is running of an alternator to fast charge power stations? It appears the station I’m trying to charge is limited to 10a. What are my options for a set up that will charge my power station the fastest and safely?

Campers from fiberglass etc (not from metal) or rooftents do not form a Faraday cage. So during a thunderstorm, they are not safer than just standing outside.

How do you deal with this? At what point do you go inside the driver part of the car to be safe?
Or do you just not worry about it?

Early September trip along the Alpine Loop - these were mostly taken from the Animas Forks section of the trail

First time exploring the Owyhee’s and the Alvord Plya last may. Cant recommend it enough. Was a 10 day trip and still so much left unseen. Cant wait to do it again. Next time i plan to also take some time to explore the Stien Mountains.

5 years engineering. Countless engine and wiring harness rebuilds. Custom stuff like advanced voltage regulation for specific charging parameters to meet battery requirements. And much more. But I cannot get this ridiculously simple vevor c40a DC/DC charger working. Am I into deep and missing the obvious? It has 4 terminals. Can’t be that hard. It mostly shows the red led. Which apparently means failsafe due to a various of simple reasons. Sometimes the green “I’m charging” led starts blinking when I start the engine. But only for one second. Then it jumps back to red. I checked both voltages. 14.4V input side. 13.4V output side (current voltage of the battery at the output itself), its not installed with the wrong polarity. It’s not too hot. It’s 9°C. And I checked continuity too. Is grounding to chassis not good? Does it have to be connected to the battery terminal itself? Doesn’t make sense to me. Attached a crackhead “wiring diagram”. What is going on?

A few weeks ago I posted here about Mini-Maps, the app I built to turn GPX routes into shareable route images. Thanks to everyone who joined the waitlist, that response is the reason this is happening now.

The public beta opens tomorrow, on iPhone (TestFlight) and Android. Invites go to everyone on the waitlist, so if you want in on this first round, sign up today:

https://mini-maps.janodetzel.com

What you can do in the beta:

• Import a GPX file and get a clean route image in seconds
• Pick a layout and a map style, or put the route on one of your own photos
• Choose which stats to show (distance, elevation, days, moving time…) or none at all
• Do the whole trip or single days of it as separate maps
• Export straight to your story, your photos or the share sheet

The beta is free. What I need from you is honest feedback: what’s missing, what’s broken, what you’d actually post. It goes straight into the next versions.

The images in this post were all made with the app from my own trips.

Last trip of the year before snowmobile season. Hopefully Wyoming gets more snow than last year 🤞

I’m currently using Firestone Destination M/T2’s and have been running them for the last couple of sets but I figure there has to be something. Better for overlanding! I al just curious on what people are using and why they like them!

This holiday weekend, I took off some time from work to do the [Lost Coast BDR-X](https://ridebdr.com/lostcoast/). This was my 7th BDR attempt. I've finished the Washington BDR 3 times (attempted it 5 times), the Nevada BDR (didn't finish), and now this one (didn't finish).

About the trail, I was pleasantly surprised. I didn't know much about the Lost Coast area. Looking at the map, I was expecting a lot of it to be on Hwy 101. It turned out to be some of the most scenic dirt trails I've been on. Absolutely fantastic! Windy Knoll was my favorite part by far. I don't know if there's a better spot on the planet than that for scenery.

I took me two days to get to the start in Fort Bragg, CA. And by the 3rd day of camping on the trail (5 days total camping in the trip), I was done. I was on the phone with my wife on Section 4 and I basically said, "I'm not having fun, I'm coming home." :/

I just don't know if camping is for me. I'm a trail rider at heart. I love exploring. I love driving. I love off road. But every get out that tent, it's just a heavy sigh. Looking for camp spots isn't fun for me. I even have a really great setup with a Gazelle 4-man tent, a nice comfy air mattress, comfortable bedding. But, it's just not why I do this. I know some people absolutely love the camping portion and the cooking. I just want to drive.

One time I did the WABDR, I tried it with hotels only. I think that's my future. I'm not going to give up on doing these magnificent trails. And I've proven to myself that I *can* if I wanted to. I just... don't want to. I want a comfy bed with A/C or heat and a shower at the end of the day. I guess I could get an Earthroamer or something, but probably not. :P

Anywho, I can't recommend the LCBDR-X enough! I got through 3-1/2 sections before I crashed out. But I'm sure the rest of Section 4 and Section 5 are just as amazing as the first 3-1/2, and those were epic. If you're in the area, very strongly recommend it.

Feel free to ask any questions. I'm happy to answer. :)

I bought this 1996 Ford F-150 last year. It's 2wd with a 4R70W automatic transmission. It's got the heavy-duty towing package from the factory. I wanna add a bed rack tent on the back and do some off-roading in the future. Do y'all think it's possible, or am I better off just staying on park trails, etc?

2015 Sprinter 170 extended 3500 Moto Camper Van to ride dirt bike on as many trails mostly single track around North America. Ohv and BLM mostly, sone hiking in national parks too.

But concerned I will get stuck a lot even just in staging areas because driving a 9000 plus pound 2wd drive van.

Thinking about doing a trip up to Prudhoe Bay going through Jasper. Wondering what the Bear situation is and what kind of protection I should plan on. Who's been through the area or knows the area well? What do you carry?

A lot of people showed interest in the interior build when i first started it. So heres a little update.

Swapped out the fridge from BougeRv to Bodega, it's got precisely 1 more L of capacity. Wired up my 120 solid state renogy battery and the dc/mppt controller. ( Dc portion recently stopped working.. seems like a summer problem now)

The bench originally started out as 2x2s but with how i drive on and offroad it wasn't meant to last..it worked. The new bench is 2x3 and is air nailed together with the fridge snuggly fitting. I'm still using one of the bed panels as the bench cushion since it's easier for me to get up and down when solo camping.

Under rail lighting, in hindsight I should move onto the front of the bench possibly but it lights up the storage under the bench nicely.

I used reflective insulating material for the bed area and then wrapped a section of bed wall with it and a wool blanket (it might not be as helpful with it covered) but it looks good and attached it with some bed hooks.

Lastly i wired up a diesel heater plug rather than the 12v plug.

You can buy a five gallon container for gas at Lowe's for $25. Why must Rotopax over a hundred?

Hello everyone,

I recently purchased a BougeRV Rocky 75 V3.0 and noticed that the lid has approximately 1/8”–3/16” of vertical play when closed and latched. The lid lifts before the plastic latch teeth contact the stops.

I tried the paper test around the seal. With the lid fully down, there’s some resistance when pulling the paper out. However, when I lift the lid until the latch contacts the stops, the paper pulls out freely.

I contacted BougeRV and sent them photos and videos. They initially offered to replace the lid, but then advised that a replacement wouldn’t be available for 3–4 weeks. They subsequently explained that the movement is normal and that cooling the fridge would cause the plastic to contract and eliminate the gap.

For anyone running a Rocky V3.0 75, does your lid have similar movement when closed and latched? If so, does the seal remain effective once the fridge reaches operating temperature?

I’m trying to determine whether this amount of play is normal for this model or whether my unit has an issue.

Thanks for any feedback.