Skills and Training Archives

A black off-road vehicle is being pulled up a forest trail using thick ropes and a winch, with essential winch accessories like a winch bag nearby, all surrounded by dense green foliage and towering trees.

Camper and Trailer, Camper and Trailer, Four Wheel Drive, Four Wheel Drive, Gear, Gear, Gear, Skills and Training, Tools, Recovery and Safety

What’s in your winch bag? The basic gear you should be carrying

The other day I ran into the proud owner of a well-built four-wheel drive. Eager to talk shop, he began to list a few of the numerous pieces of equipment he had installed on his new vehicle. The list included 37-inch tires, aftermarket wheels, a 4-inch lift, lights, a roof rack, a front bumper, and…

Close-up view of a rugged, mud-terrain Toyo Open Country tire mounted on an overlanding vehicle, featuring deep treads and a multi-spoke alloy wheel, set on a sandy and rocky outdoor surface.

Four Wheel Drive, Four Wheel Drive, Skills and Training

Head to Head: Mud or All-Terrain Tires

Big lugs or little knobbies. Which is best for you. We address some of the basics.

A hand holds a small bottle of lubricant near the zipper of a green Foxwing awning cover on an overland vehicle's roof rack, set against a clear blue sky.

Gear, Gear, Skills and Training, Tools, Recovery and Safety

Travel Tip: How to Maintain Your Zippers

Never deal with a stuck zipper again

Adventure, Skills and Training

Women’s Travel Fest

The Women’s Travel Festival is coming up March 3-5 in New Orleans

Two overlanders in protective gear struggle to push a large BMW adventure motorcycle through sandy terrain in a dry, desert-like environment with bushes and rocks in the background.

Four Wheel Drive, Motorcycle, Skills and Training, Uncategorized

Overland Skills: Knowing When to Turn Around

It’s not a defeat if you live to travel another day.

Camping, Cooking, Gear

Camp Champ

A chuck box of the luxury nature

Five different brands of motor oil containers are displayed on the hood of a white Land Rover 110 inside a garage, ready for the next overlanding adventure, with shelves and blue walls visible in the background.

Camper and Trailer, Four Wheel Drive, Skills and Training

Travel tip: Mixing Engine Oil

Can you mix different motor oils without damaging the engine?

A red overlanding vehicle drives over rocky, rugged terrain surrounded by small bushes and patches of grass in a desert landscape with dirt trails winding through hills.

Four Wheel Drive, Skills and Training

Five Off-Road Driving Basics for the New Overlander

Driving any vehicle onto unimproved roads is not something to take lightly. Many variables, seen and unforeseen, can conspire to stymy forward progress or damage vehicles and the occupants within. While there are an endless number of techniques and skills to be learned, much of it only through hands-on time behind the wheel, there are a few general…

A white off-road truck climbs over rocky terrain, followed by a red vehicle; an overlander sits on a large rock nearby, watching the vehicles navigate the rugged landscape surrounded by trees.

Four Wheel Drive, Four Wheel Drive, Skills and Training

To Shift or Not to Shift

We address the overland pros and cons of manual cogs versus a slushbox transmission.

A white overlander pickup truck is parked on a muddy dirt road surrounded by dense green forest. A yellow road sign ahead reads One Lane Bridge, highlighting the remote and rugged overlanding adventure.

Four Wheel Drive, Four Wheel Drive, Skills and Training

Going Alone – Single Vehicle Offroad Travel Safety

With no one else to count on but yourself, you had better be prepared.

A white overland vehicle on a sandy dirt road stops near a large muddy puddle. A person stands beside the overlander, bending down to inspect the road ahead, surrounded by dense green vegetation.

Four Wheel Drive, Four Wheel Drive, Skills and Training

A2A Expedition: Overlander Off-Road Driving Techniques – Water Crossings.

You better know before you go.

Two uniformed men with badges sit inside an overland vehicle, holding rifles. They both have mustaches and are looking directly at the camera. One wears a black beret; the other wears a green beret.

Adventure, Adventure, Four Wheel Drive, Health and Safety, Skills and Training

Landcruising Adventure: How to deal with police officers while overlanding

How to handle bribes, bravado and other bouts with authority.

A blue overland vehicle loaded with gear is stuck in deep mud on a dirt path, surrounded by dense green vegetation.

Adventure, Four Wheel Drive, Four Wheel Drive, Skills and Training

Why do a 4×4 training course before an overland expedition?

You bought the capable truck. Do you know how to drive it?

A glowing tent sits on the shore of a calm lake at dusk, perfect for an overlanding adventure, surrounded by dark mountain silhouettes and a colorful sky fading from orange to deep blue.

Skills and Training

Overland Skills: Selecting a Campsite

How to select a plot of earth for a short overnight stay.

A rugged overland vehicle with gear and supplies strapped on top is parked on a sandy landscape near the ocean under a clear blue sky.

Adventure, Adventure, Four Wheel Drive, Skills and Training

A2A Expedition: Staying Safe on your International Overland Journey

The road to adventure is often lined with corrupt border guards, potential thieves and other hazards.

An Overlander wearing a headband, puffy jacket, and red backpack kneels on a rocky ledge, taking a photo with a camera while overlooking a steep forested valley.

Photography, Skills and Training

Adventure Photographer: Ten Tips for Better Travel Images

You’ve made the journey, be sure you come home with the image souvenirs you wanted.

A woman with a backpack and motorcycle jacket sits on her heavily stickered overland motorcycle, looking over her shoulder and smiling. She is parked beside a colorful wall and a red building in a sunny outdoor setting.

Motorcycle, Skills and Training

The top 10 must-have pieces of luggage

In my article Top 10 advice for new travelers, I ranked first advice to travel as light as possible. And I mean it. I can do without many things, even if they seem vitally important, and I can gratefully use something simple without complaining about lack of comfort or pretentious brand name. Sometimes I even…

A rugged overlanding vehicle with a trailer and rooftop tent is parked on rocky terrain in a desert landscape, distant mountains beneath a partly cloudy sky. Sparse bushes are scattered in the foreground.

Camper and Trailer, Camper and Trailer, Skills and Training

Is an off-road trailer really for you?

Why a trailer could be the best camping investment you’ve ever made, or your worst.

Four Wheel Drive, News, Skills and Training

The Rebelle Rally announces women’s navigational event!

For the first time in the U.S., a Women’s only off-road navigation rally will be held

A black overland vehicle drives along a dirt trail winding through a rocky red canyon, surrounded by sparse green vegetation and rugged cliffs.

Four Wheel Drive, Four Wheel Drive, Skills and Training

What You Need To Know Before Driving Off-Road

Driving off-road doesn’t have to be scary. Yet most people that spend serious cash on 4WDs never even put them in low range, much less take them off the pavement. Let’s try to fix that with a few basic skills everyone can master. What 4WD Is And How Traction Works Off-Road Four-wheel drive is…

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