One of the Southwest’s premier guides builds a Jeep Wrangler for the road less travelled.
The Clean Cruiser Project: June 2019 Update
Paso Robles to Merida, Mexico Twenty-one days in, I can’t help but laugh a bit when reflecting upon our departure from Paso Robles, California. While other teams would be conducting gear layouts, checking and double-checking vehicle documentation, and ensuring that they’ve packed their toothpaste, we were half a bottle of whiskey in, spending time with…
The Space Tractor: Andy and Mercedes Lilienthal’s Mitsubishi Delica Van
Photography by Andy and Mercedes Lilienthal It’s late afternoon on Waiheke Island, a 30-minute ferry ride from Auckland, New Zealand. We’re aboard a tour bus that takes people around the small idyllic isle, which is complete with lush scenery, wineries, historic locales, and a small central village. Our tour guide and bus driver is Horst…
Balancing Act: 2017 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk
Photography by Sarah and Chris Ramm While the Cherokee XJ is now regarded as an incredibly capable off-road vehicle, it wasn’t always that way. When the XJ first hit the markets in 1984, it was scoffed at for tarnishing the family name. People said things like, “Square headlights?” “That isn’t a real Jeep! It is…
Asp Kickin’ Ford: Bruce Dorn’s Project Ford F-250 Super Duty
Cinematographer Bruce Dorn prepares his Ford F250 for a drastic mid-life carrier change.
Jeep JL ICON Suspension
It is easy to list the specs of a new product and publish the press release, but what is too often a secondary thought is how will a product perform in a month, four months, 7,000 miles and longer after installation. At Expedition Portal, we prefer to review and report on products after we have…
Heart of a Range Rover Stage III
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in Overland Journal, Gear Guide 2013. There are certain events you never forget. While some drift away on the winds of memory, those that stay with you define your attitudes and perceptions for life. Camping by the banks of the Boteti River in the Kalahari Desert, Botswana, when I was…
The Modern Classic
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in Overland Journal, Gear Guide 2018. Photography by Chris Cordes, Scott Brady and Sarah Ramm The grass is greener on the other side, at least when it comes to Land Cruisers. As of 2014, Americans were able to begin importing the venerable 70 Series into the United States…
The Modern Explorer: Land Rover LR4 – Part III
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in Overland Journal, Winter 2014. I will be the first to admit that the introduction of a Land Rover Discovery with an independent suspension system sounded like the death knell to a brand I have come to love. Over the past few decades, each new model seemed to become increasingly…
The Modern Explorer: Land Rover LR4 – Part II
Overland Journal addresses wheel diameter and ground clearance on the LR4.
Heart of a Range Rover Stage II
Building a Range Rover Classic for reliable, economical expedition travel. Senior Tech Editor Graham Jackson continues the restoration of his childhood steed.
Full-Size Overland: ExPo’s Diesel Excursion Project
What is the ultimate overland vehicle? Plenty of people have voiced their opinions, but from Defenders to Jeeps their responses couldn’t be more diverse. Out of everyone I’d say Jonathan Hanson was the closest when he wrote “The best overlanding vehicle is the one you already have”, but it still left something to be desired. In my opinion the ultimate overland vehicle…
Full-Size Overland: The Excursion Part Two
A little over seven months ago we introduced our latest project vehicle: a low -mile, 7.3-liter turbo-diesel Excursion. It had spent the last 17 years living the easy life in a small town garage, but with our purchase came a second chance for a life of adventure. The plan was to turn this low slung SUV into…
Field Tested: Buckstop Bumpers
When Ford designed the Excursion, it’s clear that they had a few things in mind; durability, reliability, and versatility for example, but somehow I doubt overlanding made the list. Despite its solid axles, massive payload, abundant storage space, and diesel motor, this truck has a couple issues that can make four wheel drive touring difficult,…
Tool of the Trade
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in Overland Journal, Spring 2018. Throughout the history of our publication, the Toyota Tacoma has remained the most popular vehicle among our readers, a reflection of the model’s reliability and accessibility. As travelers, we ask a lot from our 4WDs, expecting durability, capability, comfort, and capacity, all the while hoping…
Heart of a Range Rover
Building a Range Rover Classic for reliable, economical expedition travel. A family road-trip in the desert leads to a long-term fascination with Solihull metal.
Dust and Snow in the American West
Five months. That’s how long it took me to crack. Just 5 months and the concrete jungle surrounding my Dallas apartment had driven me insane. A train rolled by every 15 minutes, passing cars echoed in a constant hum, and the view outside my window was nothing but a continuous reminder of the city in…
The Modern Explorer: Land Rover LR4 – Part I
Determined to vet the reliability and performance of a modern Land Rover, Overland Journal secures a 2012 LR4 and modifies it for serious exploration.
Long Term Review: Falken Wildpeak M/T
Snow whirled out of the darkness, disappearing into the night as quickly as it came. My weary headlights were hardly up to the task, and the mountain roads seemed to curve sharper and harder as the weather raged on. We were in Colorado, and just a few hours ago I had asked my girlfriend, now…
Building a Pinnacle Vehicle: Overland Journal’s Land Rover Discovery I SD – Part II
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in Overland Journal, Gear Guide 2009. Modifying a vehicle is nearly always a compromise. Adding horsepower typically comes at the cost of efficiency. Lifting a vehicle often comes at the cost of high-speed stability, and each new modification usually adds more weight and complexity to a platform that…