There are 56 counties in Montana, and each one gets its own unique numerical prefix on the state’s license plates. Historically these were assigned by population—the more people who lived in a particular county, the lower the number. When Montana first started registering motor vehicles, the mining city of Butte was by far the largest…
Ineos Has Named US Dealers Ahead of Grenadier Launch
The Grenadiers are coming. Ahead of the official deliveries of its all-new SUV, Ineos has named its US dealers. Covering most corners of the country, the dealers will finalize the 7,000 current North American Grenadier pre-orders and provide service, parts, and sales support. Greg Clark, Executive Vice President Americas for INEOS Automotive, said, “We spent…
Dumb or Dumber? A Half-Life Man Learns to Ride
(Great Falls, Montana)—My home state of Montana is famous for its instantly recognizable landmarks and unique history. From the rapidly disappearing glaciers of Glacier National Park (see them while you still can!) to the Little Bighorn Battlefield, where a confederation of Plains Indians routed a hapless group of US Army soldiers led by an overconfident…
Overland Journal’s Scott Brady Named Toyota Legend
The Land Cruiser Heritage Museum in Salt Lake City, Utah, and the wider Toyota community have named Expedition Portal and Overland Journal Publisher and CEO Scott Brady their latest Toyota Legend. Brady needs very little in the way of introduction for most of us in the overlanding world. He would likely wave off this assessment…
Remote Chad by Drone—Video
North Africa and the greater Sahel region have been extremely difficult for overland travelers to access since, well, since forever. This arid swath of the world’s second-largest continent hosts climactic, geographic, and political challenges that have stymied explorers and traders for centuries, whether on foot, via camel train, or by 4×4. Videographers Rene Bauer and…
Fall Gear Essentials—Editors’ Picks for 2023
It’s barely perceptible at first, the shortening of the days. You might notice it here and there in the background—the colder, darker mornings, a shift in the angle of the sunlight, unconsciously scooting a little closer to the campfire. Fall is my favorite time to explore off-grid. Most of the crowds from the peak travel…
Benchmade Mini Bugout CF-Elite :: Field Tested
I’ve never been a “knife guy”. Never mind everyday carry, I barely ever carry at all. With pockets jammed full of keys, wallet, pens, notebook, and phone, who has space to port around one more item? However, I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve been caught out on more than one occasion when I…
Tune Outdoor M1 Truck Camper :: Field Tested
When Tim, Tune Outdoor’s genial PR rep, dropped off a full-sized Tune Outdoor M1 truck camper for an extended Expedition Portal test run, I was struck first by its austerity. As he opened the tailgate of the 2018 Ford F-150 Raptor demo vehicle to walk me through the M1, only three factory-installed options appeared to…
Gear Roundup—Overland Expo Mountain West
At the Pacific Northwest version of Overland Expo, Expedition Portal’s 4WD Editor Graeme Bell walked us through some of the more interesting and useful gear available in the vast exhibitor area at the Deschutes County Expo Center. Overland Expo Mountain West in Loveland, Colorado, offered an even more expansive selection of vendors hawking everything from…
New Vehicles Have Privacy and Data Security Holes You Can Drive a Truck Through
The Mozilla Foundation has been reviewing and ranking various technology products in terms of how they protect consumer privacy and data security for many years. This week, the Foundation released a comprehensive report delving into new cars and concluded that automobiles are “the official worst category of products for privacy that [they] have ever reviewed.”…
Top Rigs at Overland Expo Mountain West
Rigs, rigs, rigs. Overland Expo was founded as an educational event where travelers from all over the world could gather and share their experiences, knowledge, and skills with like-minded adventurers. But let’s be honest—we also love Expo for the largest number of the most diverse rigs you can find concentrated in one place. If ogling…
Colorado’s High Passes Remain Closed Deep Into Summer
Like many states in the American West, Colorado saw record snowpack levels in the winter of 2022-2023. Some parts of the state saw as much as 140 percent of average accumulation, and stream runoffs are still high across the Centennial State. As a result, many of Colorado’s high passes remain closed deep into the summer season….
Overland Expo Mountain West 2023 – August 25-27 in Loveland, Colorado
It’s been a banner year for Overland Expo—when Toyota launches an all-new Tacoma at your event, as they did in May at Overland Expo West in Flagstaff—you know you’ve hit the big time. The Pacific Northwest edition of the Expo saw big attendance numbers despite some record heat in central Oregon, and believe it or…
4x4electric Is Circumnavigating Africa in a Solar-Powered EV
It’s worth remembering that most of the first motor vehicles were electric. In the late nineteenth century, electrification was the hot technology, and forward-thinking engineers (like Ferdinand Porsche) were betting on batteries to drive humanity into the future. These were not energy-dense or range-efficient machines by any measure, but it’s interesting to think about where…
The ARB Earth Camper Joins the Trailer Wars
Quick, without thinking about it, name five overland brands right off the top of your head. Ten-to-one says ARB is one of them. The venerable Australian manufacturer has been a stalwart in the market for decades, with a wide array of products, both cutting-edge and very traditional. The off-road trailer market is still red hot,…
Lightship L1 Electrifies the RV Market :: Video
Lightship says their flagship camper, the Lightship L1, can be towed with near-zero range loss for EVs. This is a bold claim, and only real-world experience will back it up, but one thing is for certain: the L1 is a tour de force in the design department. Overland Journal’s Brian McVickers got a behind-the-scenes look…
The Everyman’s Overlander — Video of the Week
By the time I sat down with Pat Rich for a plate of tacos near his home in a Salt Lake City suburb in 2021, we had known each other for eight years and yet had never seen one another in the flesh. Thus is it often with internet friends. We first crossed paths in…
Ural Upgrades Gear Up Engine and Drivetrain for 2023
In the motorcycle world, there’s nothing quite like the Ural Gear Up. The Russian three-wheeled, side-car-ed, two-wheel drive ADV anarchist has soldiered across the globe through peacetime and wars both hot and cold since 1941, and very little about the bike has changed in the interim. But big shifts have been afoot at Ural. Currently…
onX Maps Offroad App Adds New Features
onX Maps has boosted its Offroad app with a new proprietary Route Builder feature. In recent years, the Montana-based company has made big waves in the GPS navigation world with its suite of online and offline mapping software that caters to many stripes of outdoor enthusiasts, including those of us that are drawn to the…
Rivian Is Adopting Tesla’s Supercharger Standard
Rivian is adopting Tesla’s Supercharger standard for its R1T and R1S 4x4s, as well as new models going forward. Auto manufacturers are slowly converging on a single charging structure for EVs in North America (the North American Charging Standard), and Tesla’s Supercharger network is by far the most robust, reliable, and extensive on the continent….