Overland Expo is always a showcase for the latest and greatest in adventure builds, from big global travel rigs to ADV bikes to creative takes on vintage iron and even seeing what the OEMs cook up for their newest models; there’s always something for everyone. Below, we have a selection of some of the top…
Overland Expo Mountain West :: Top Gear
The 2024 overland show season keeps churning, and the most recent stop for its marquee event, Overland Expo, was in Loveland, Colorado. Every Overland Expo has its own character, and the show owner, Emerald Expositions, is trying hard to lean into those differences: Expo West is where the travelers gather, Pacific Northwest feels the “crunchiest,”…
Jessy Muller Takes the Slow Road
Overland Journal Podcast Episode 202 Full-time nomad Jessy Muller has been living on the road for over six years. Over that time, she’s learned a lot of lessons about slow travel, finding peace as a solo adventurer, and coexisting with an old RV—in Jessy’s case, a 1978 Dodge Commander. In this wide-ranging conversation with Overland Journal…
Principles of Overlanding :: Vehicle Electrical Systems with Mark Bruce
Overland Journal Podcast Episode 201 When you’re embarking on an overland vehicle build, the electronics side of things can seem awfully intimidating. Alternators, inverters, converters, AGM, solar, induction, fuses, MPPT, LiFePO4, volts, amp hours, watts, DC-to-DC—where does the madness end? Fear not. Overland Journal Podcast host Scott Brady touches base this week with Redarc Electronics…
The Ford Ranger Raptor Is Legit :: Video
Last summer, I had the good fortune to review Tune’s impressive M1 truck camper. It did not hurt that the M1 was bolted to the back of a 2018 Ford F-150 Raptor. I can safely say that I had a pretty good three weeks with that truck. The driving experience over any and all terrain…
Overland Journal Podcast :: Episode 200
Overland Journal Podcast Episode 200 Five years and 200 episodes. Scrolling through the history of the Overland Journal Podcast, going back all the way to the first time Scott and Matt sat down to chat with Dan Grec at Overland Expo in 2019, it’s remarkable how much literal and metaphorical ground we’ve covered. The wealth…
The Perseids Are Here with a Message from Outer Space
Comet Swift-Tuttle rockets around the solar system at a mind-bending speed of 134,000 mph (slightly faster than my Land Rover, but not by much). It needs just 133 years to make a round trip of the sun, and it is a truly big boy, by far the largest near-Earth object in our neighborhood—nearly 16 miles…
Overland Journal Podcast :: Andy and Mercedes Lilienthal
Overland Journal Podcast Episode 199 Andy and Mercedes Lilienthal are the dynamic, bespectacled duo behind Crankshaft Culture, one of the most creative automotive and adventure travel media outlets going. Globetrotters, award-winning journalists, denizens of road rallies around the world, and connoisseurs of JDM trucks (particularly Mitsubishis), Mercedes and Andy have an undeniable enthusiasm for the…
Peak Design Phone Case, Mount, and Tripod :: Field Tested
In my midlife, I am a new motorcyclist. That means I am exceptionally careful in how, when, and where I ride. I have an acute sense of my own mortality, and on a bike, distractions are deadly. Here, of course, are a few products designed to add distraction to the riding experience—but only if we…
Oregon’s Alvord Desert | Overland Routes
The silence of the Alvord Desert is all-consuming. The column of quiet that descends on the dry lakebed in the evenings reaches through you. Sounds that would be swallowed by the regular cacophony of a workaday wilderness are amplified, like they’ve been plugged into a Marshall stack—the rumble of a pickup truck on the county…
Rux Essentials Hybrid Storage :: Field Tested
Organization is a key component to enhancing your overland travel experience. From mapping out your route and menus to sorting your gear, having some semblance of a plan goes a long way toward boosting the fun factor. I have found that a little bit of organizing ahead of time even allows for more spontaneity in…
Overland Journal Podcast :: Next Meridian Expedition on the Importance of Finding Your Own Rhythm
Overland Journal Podcast Episode 198 Nick Chazee and Mathilde Vougny of Next Meridian Expedition are a French-Italian couple in the midst of a world tour in their Land Rover Defender. In this episode from the field, Nick, Mathilde, and host Ashley Giordano discuss the ins and outs of shipping a vehicle to Australia, top tips…
Rust To Glory – The Ultimate Overland Movie – Is Now Streaming
Rust To Glory redefines the overland adventure documentary genre by capturing the trials and tribulations of three unique teams and their unlikely vehicles as they tackle the world’s largest amateur rally, the Budapest-Bamako. “We wanted to show what it’s like to compete in this grueling overland rally in three junkyard rescues,” said Andrew G. Szabo,…
Ignik Topside and Flipside Heated Bedding :: Field Tested
Rest is one of the most underrated necessities of overland travel. One of the first pieces of advice I offer to new overlanders is to go all in on their sleep systems. Waking up refreshed with a comfortable eight hours on the pillow makes everything you do during the day that much more vibrant and…
BMW Marks 25 Years of the X5 with Special Off-Road Edition
Ah, BMW, the “ultimate driving machine,” but not necessarily a brand that leaps first to mind for rough-road prowess or as an overland platform. In fact, the BMWs we tend to cover on Expedition Portal have two wheels, not four. However, the Bavarian brand was among the first to stake a claim in the burgeoning…
Portable Fire Pits for Every Season
I learned to explore the outdoors when I was quite young, and one of my early mentors-in-adventure was a scoutmaster who was exceptionally cautious about when and where he built a campfire. “Every campfire needs the right campsite, but not every campsite needs a fire,” he would say. These are wise words to live by….
Overland Journal Podcast :: Clay Croft
Overland Journal Podcast Episode 197 Scott Brady interviews Clay Croft at the 2024 Overland Expo West, discussing his most recent adventure in Africa and travel with his family and team. They also discuss the importance of doing hard things and being gentle with ourselves in pursuing our goals. The conversation also delves into the security…
Tracks4Africa Founder Wouter Brand :: November, 22 1954 – June, 14 2024
Even if you’ve never traveled on the continent, you are likely familiar with Tracks4Africa, the pioneering crowd-sourced GPS mapping software and paper map publisher. Its co-founder, the enigmatic Wouter Brand, died last week at the age of 69. When GPS technology was made available to civilians at the end of the twentieth century, new travel…
Sinuhe Xavier on Adventure and the Meaning of Home and Fatherhood :: Video
Raising a son is like watching a fragment of yourself break free, stepping into the world on its own. With each word and each step he takes, he drifts further from you, molding you into who he’s destined to be. It’s like your heart is out there, navigating the world independently, evolving beyond your grasp….
The Realities of Solo Motorcycle Travel with Chasing Crystal :: Overland Journal Podcast
Overland Journal Podcast Episode 195 Crystal Fong is currently traveling on her 1990 Honda Dominator NX250 through Europe and beyond. In this podcast from the field, Crystal and host Ashley Giordano touch on the ups and downs of solo travel, how Crystal has created a sense of community by playing badminton around the globe, and…