Photography by Dan Grec and Katie Harris While technically in the driver’s seat, what I’m doing can’t reasonably be called sitting. With the Jeep nearly vertical, the steering wheel is directly below me, and I’m pushing back hard to keep my body off the dashboard and my back against the seat. I can barely see…
Renogy IP67 Charger and 100 Pro Lithium Battery: Field Tested
Renogy has been relentlessly innovating its vehicle-based energy products since 2010. While the dual battery system I put together with Renogy products in 2015 functioned flawlessly for three years and 54,000 miles around Africa, Renogy’s latest round of products are more efficient and durable while being smaller and lighter. By incorporating customer feedback and real-world…
Crossing the Simpson Desert in the Footsteps of a Legend
I wake with a splitting headache, my body hurts all over, and I feel disconnected from reality. It takes a full 20 minutes to overcome heavy lethargy before I can crawl out of the swag and confirm Katie feels no better. With nets over our heads to block the unrelenting blowflies, we only feel worse…
Field Tested :: Renogy DCC30S Solar Charge Controller
Editor’s Note: This Fieldsheer article was originally published in Overland Journal’s Spring 2023 Issue. Dual-isolated batteries have been a fixture of overland vehicles for decades, and in recent years, the price of solar and lithium batteries has dropped enough to become the go-to choice. Correctly isolating batteries is essential to preserve the vehicle starting battery, and keeping batteries…
Old Versus New : A Real-World Perspective
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in Overland Journal’s Winter 2021 Issue. It’s common wisdom in overlanding circles that older vehicles are the smart choice for exploring remote and seldom-visited corners of the globe. Because they were built without computers, function perfectly fine without the need of fancy gizmos, and are made with virtually…
Garmin Drive GPS with Open Street Maps
Garmin has been at the forefront of vehicle-based GPS systems for over two decades, and it shows in their latest flagship range, the Drive series, available in 5- or 7-inch screen sizes. The touch screen is bright and responsive and automatically dims to a high-contrast night mode to preserve night vision. Garmin’s mature route-finding algorithms…
Learn how to drive the Pan-American Highway
Before I had even heard the word “Overlanding” I set out to drive my little Jeep Wrangler from the top of Alaska to the bottom of Argentina. Needless to say I had the adventure of a lifetime, and I will never be the same. Over the course of almost 2 years I drove 40,000 miles…
The Road Chose Me Volume 1: Two years and 40,000 miles from Alaska to Argentina
When I set out to drive my little Jeep Wrangler from Alaska to Argentina, I had no idea how much the journey would change my life. I had no idea that the people I would meet, the experiences I would have, and the lessons I would learn could have such a deep and lasting impact….
West Africa Overland Travel: Myths, Misconceptions, and Misnomers
A great deal has changed in West Africa since overlanding became popular in the ’80s and ’90s. Back then, it was a serious slog into the unknown. Things like infrastructure and supplies were extremely hard to come by, but that was 30-plus years ago. Now it’s 2018, and Africa is rapidly developing. As a community…
The Road Chose Me: A 200 Night Review of the Ursa Minor J30 Pop-Top
Testing a mobile abode with a lap of Africa.
The Road Chose Me: Dan Grec’s Jeep Wrangler Rubicon
A unique Jeep purpose-built for a trip around Africa.
The Ferry XPress is now in operation connecting Panama to Colombia
Getting around the Darien Gap just got a whole lot easier.