Buying a bicycle is a momentous event, akin to marriage: you are acquiring a partner. – Dervla Murphy, South From the Limpopo It was no surprise to anyone, including Dervla Murphy herself, that a case of dysentery confined her to bed in Abbottabad, Pakistan. The previous week’s endeavors exposed the Irish cyclist to numerous perils as she crossed the 13,700-foot…

Two familiar names in the world of off-road and overland exploration, Jeep and OnX, have partnered to offer 2021 model year owners six months of complimentary OnX Elite access. The program officially kicked off on June 10 and is a continuation of Jeep’s effort to provide Jeep Wave members with new and valuable member benefits. “It’s in the DNA of…

Overland Journal partners Land Rover Las Vegas and Surefire have provided some great products for an exclusive offer just for Expedition Portal members. (Quantities are limited and will disappear from the website as they sell out. New subscriptions begin with the Summer Issue) Subscribe to Overland Journal now and receive: One-Year Subscription receives a Browning lock-blade pocket knife, in brown…

Do your part to preserve off-pavement adventure riding opportunities by becoming a BDR member today.

Exciting news in the world of ExPo! We continue to grow and have now reached more than 100,000 members!

Will Ryan chronicles his transformation from riding a KLR650 to a KTM 990, in a build thread that represents a change in the bike as well as himself.

Standing on the frozen Arctic Ocean, clad from head to toe in winter gear, my beard froze as my convoy mate informed me that it was -50°F in Tuktoyaktuk, where my overland vehicle was parked. A grin spread across my face, and I felt a wave of satisfaction and tempered elation course through my warm body. We had done it;…

The Chattahoochee Oconee National Forest in Georgia is the location of the latest motorcycle adventure route devised by the folks at Backcountry Discovery Routes (BDR). The “Hoochee” is a BDR-X format, taking in just a corner of northern Georgia in its 350-mile circular track. This is the fourth route that BMW Motorrad USA has presented in association with BDR. Alpinestars…

There’s no shortage of 4WDs suitable for backcountry travel, but far fewer are considered pinnacle overland platforms (e.g., Toyota Land Cruiser and Land Rover Defender). The G-Wagen is undoubtedly one of these illustrious few and was long the vehicle of choice for Publisher Scott Brady. He states: “The venerable Mercedes-Benz Geländewagen is the elder statesman of overland vehicles, having been…

At Expedition Portal, we periodically choose a 4WD that stands out as exceptional for overland travel and build it up as an Overland Journal Project Vehicle. With this in mind, we decided to upfit the Lexus GX470 for backcountry travel and later showcased the completed build on the Expedition Portal YouTube. So, why the GX470? Firstly, it’s underpinned by the…

Las Vegas-based XGrid Campers has recently introduced the Australian-built Lifestyle Campers Iconn E4 hybrid caravan following the successful US debut of the Fusionn hybrid caravan (the larger brother of the Iconn E4) earlier this year at Overland Expo West. The Iconn E4 offers American consumers a robust and feature-rich option for off-road adventures, designed to be suitable for the North…

In recent years, the trend of converting vans and SUVs into mobile living spaces has grown in popularity, driven by the desire for freedom, adventure, and the convenience of having a home on wheels. This surge in interest has led to the rise of van and SUV camping conversion kits—pre-packaged systems that simplify transforming a vehicle into a camper. No…

Overland travelers have always pushed the limits of vehicle travel, and in many instances, their hunger for exploration has included shipping expedition vehicles to the far reaches of the globe. Unfortunately, over the past year, there have been numerous fires aboard transport ships, and two vehicle carriers were lost at sea due to fires aboard that are thought to be…

AMERICAN NORTHWEST Descend on Bend When August 30-September 2, 2024 | Where Yamhill River, Oregon Celebrating its 10th anniversary, Descend on Bend returns with live music, a daily maker’s market, a community potluck, a raffle, and workshops. The inaugural event occurred in 2014 when 15 VW Vanagon Westfalia enthusiasts gathered at Bend’s Hole-in-the-Ground crater and vowed to make it an annual tradition….

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II would have been proud to watch 10 of her royal Land Rovers march through the 2024 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance as though they were Trooping the Colors at Horse Guards Parade. This was the first time this collection of vehicles made their way to the United States, and they put on quite a regal display….

In this installment of the Expedition Portal series on brands that inspire us, Senior Editor Ashley Giordano profiles overland industry leader and vehicle-based storage solutions manufacturer Goose Gear.  It’s easy to notice the quality of a Goose Gear product at a glance. Burly slides hold expertly crafted wood drawers. Marine-grade plywood coated with a proprietary blend of bedliner protects each cabinet top and…

Editor’s Note – Valentina Vallinotto’s father, Angelo, was an ambitious explorer. Piling his young family into a series of Land Rovers, IVECOs, and Toyotas, he tackled uncharted routes across North Africa and the Sahara Desert throughout the 1960s all the way until the early 1990s. The 1970s was a particularly exciting decade for overland adventurers on the African continent, as…

Lead photograph by Joanie Pépin Despite becoming more materially affluent over the past four decades, those living in developed countries have not experienced the happiness boost expected from modern materialism. Since the 1940s, we’ve upgraded significantly, installing showers and bathtubs, microwaves, dishwashers, and big-screen color televisions—purchasing twice as many vehicles per person, and adding boats and campers, iPads, and laptops galore….

In this installment, Alpine Tactics (aka Shaun) embarks on a transformative trip through Southern Utah with his two kids (Brooklyn and Henry) and friends Ryan and Alexa (aka @rneptune). However, this is more than a movie; it and shares an important message that the overlanding community needs to hear.    As the episode begins, Shaun reminisces on the good ole days…

Even if we aren’t aware of it, overland travel provides countless immersive lessons in geography. Mobility allows us to observe how cities and towns are connected, whether by fields of cheerful canola flowers, hills punctuated by wind turbines, or riverways choked with litter. We notice how environments change from one place to the next and how the onset of valleys,…